Don’t make these beginner nutrition mistakes if you want the best long term results.
Nutrition is a crazy world.
Although each person may have their own unique set of needs, the simple principles still apply to everyone.
Calories, protein, whole foods, and consistency.
However, most people don’t follow this.
Ironically, they overcomplicate it and end up getting worse results.
Well, who is to blame?
Social media for one.
You have access to more information than ever at the tip of your hands, which is great, but most of that information is bogus.
There will be people on social media saying carbs and fruit are bad because they spike insulin.
Scroll down a few people and then someone says not to eat protein because it’s toxic to your kidneys.
Oh, but wait…
That magazine you saw at the grocery store just said that fat is terrible for your health and arteries so avoid it at all costs.
Well fuck… I guess that leaves you with water then.
God damnit… Aunt Susie, the family’s health freak, said that the water we drink contains chemicals and it should be avoided at all costs.
So, based on this logic, I guess everything is bad then, right?
I would also argue that academia plays a role since they teach outdated and agenda driven information.
You’d think since you’re paying boat loads of money for a college degree that you’d be able to trust the information that people are telling you.
Well, when they start cherry picking study’s to back their own beliefs versus teaching the facts, things get a bit murky.
I once had a college “professor” call out a kid in the middle of class for eating spaghetti with meat sauce because “red meat causes cancer.”
She told him, with a straight face, that if he continued on his red meat eating path, he had 5 years until the cancer would show up
The whole class, including myself, sat there with our jaws dropped to the floor.
Yeah, that’s unfortunately where we’re at.
Listen…
People live in their 80’s, 90’s, and 100’s now – even while doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and smoking cigs.
And we’re talking about healthy food that people have been eating since the beginning of time?
It’s crazy talk and no wonder why people make these beginner nutrition mistakes.
Let’s dive into them.
Nutrition 101:
Before we dive into the 4 beginner nutrition mistakes to avoid, let’s first go over what REALLY matters for nutrition.
Calories are number one. How much you eat determines if you gain, lose, or stay the same weight.
Macronutrients make up these calories. There’s protein, carbs, and fats.
Protein is essential for you overall health, improving your body composition, keeping you full, reducing cravings, and increasing your metabolic rate.
Think of this is as your secret pill to staying lean.
Fat is also essential for your hormones and overall health.
Carbs are technically optional, but they give you energy and contain fiber which is important for your health and reducing your chance of overeating.
The best diet is the one you can stay consistent with for the rest of your life.
A diet is simply the food you eat… it doesn’t have to have a name tied to it.
Consistency is going to be the gift wrapping around this beautiful gift of nutrition.
The things inside are great, but if they can’t be all held together, than they’re going to spill out and break.
Basically, choose the healthy foods YOU enjoy.
Don’t demonize anything – that’s a massive beginner nutrition mistake.
Beginner Nutrition Mistakes 1: Listening to “Gurus”
Guru – quack or person who says they have all of the secrets if you buy their product.
What’s crazy is someone can have the label of “Dr.” before their name and somehow everything they say becomes true.
Actually, some of the most popular social media accounts are made by these people who have a strict tribalism stance on something.
People like to gravitate towards tribes of like minded people – It’s in our DNA to be a part of a team.
The problem though is that most of these people don’t do this for the health and the betterment of everyone else.
They do it for clicks and cash.
Attentions = More mula!
Now, I have nothing against making money. Money is amazing.
However, I do have problems when it’s made unethically.
I mean, when you have someone who claims things like “I eat goat testicles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner BRO!” to stand out, that’s freaking wild.
Which brings me to the point – “social media” is still media.
It’s all for attention and attention wins.
So, whatever these doctors or gurus can do to get your attention they will do.
Just like Fox News says one thing to push their agenda and CNN says the exact opposite to push theirs.
They’re appealing to certain audiences for attention and money and ironically, both are pieces of shit.
If you’ve fallen for these people’s claims, don’t feel bad because I have too.
I was part of the keto and carnivore cult for years. Thankfully I opened my eyes to what is actually going on.
Which is why I’m writing this article – so you can find out the beginner nutrition mistakes to avoid so you can actually make progress.
Here is a piece of advice, which can be used for more than just fitness and nutrition:
If something sounds too good to be true, that’s because it likely is.
Do your own research. Challenge your beliefs and those of others (including me). Then make your OWN conclusions based on what you came up with.
Beginner Nutrition Mistakes 2: Believing Foods Are Bad
I wrote a whole article HERE on this that you can check out.
Essentially, it breaks down that there are no good or bad food.
Food is just food and has no morality tied to it.
You’re not a terrible human being for eating a piece of cake.
You’re someone who wanted cake and ate it. That’s it.
And what is bad anyways?
Judging by the intro above, everything can be considered bad, so you’d technically be left with nothing to eat.
So, “bad” and “good” are very subjective.
Now, there are foods that are healthier for you, give you more energy, keep you full, help you build more muscle, and make you feel better overall.
And then there are foods that do the opposite.
But…
That doesn’t mean those foods are bad.
Remember – everything in moderation.
Even “bad” foods have a place.
For example, if eating a serving of Oreos helps you stay on track with your diet during the week, then you’re going to eat the damn Oreos.
Or maybe having a family dinner every Sunday gives you more motivation to stay on track during the week.
That’s technically part of your plan so ain’t nothin wrong with that my friend.
Imagine if I told you, “Oreos are terrible for you and what the fuck are you doing? You can’t eat those.”
Well, that diet you were following that allowed you to lose weight, get in shape, and get healthier now went straight out the window.
Because what was helping that diet be more sustainable for you, is now unsustainable.
So stop focusing on the small things, and instead focus on what you eat MOST of the time.
Because those are the things that have the most IMPACT on your body.
Don’t believe me? Look at strength training.
If you were to lift weights once, what would happen? Nothing.
You’d look and feel the same – except for the little soreness that came with it.
But, if you were to lift weights a couple of times per week for weeks, months, and years – essentially most of the time – you’d get stronger, build more muscle, shape out your body, etc.
Just like if you were to take a day off from lifting, nothing would change because most of the time you lift.
So yes, it’s not what you do some of the time it’s what you do most of the time.
And if your calories (how much you eat), protein, and fiber are in check most of the time, that’s what matters most and that’s what’s going to lead to the best results.
It’s called the 80/20 Rule:
80% of what you do is going to lead to the majority of the results.
That extra 20% is for you and sustainability.
When you split it up like this, you realize that “holy shit… this isn’t as bad as I thought.”
This 80/20 Rule can look like:
- Having that dessert each night to fit into 20% of your calories.
- Taking a maintenance break during the holidays and going hard the rest of the year (20% of the year)
- Spending 80% of your week in a deficit and the rest of the 20% week at maintenance
- 80% of the time going hard in your workouts and 20% of the time going through the motions
So let me say this one more time for the people way in the back:
What you do most of the time matters – not some of the time.
Beginner Nutrition Mistakes 3: Not Tracking Your Calories
I’m very passionate about this topic because I’ve experienced it with plenty of my 1:1 Online Coaching Clients.
There is a lot of talk that you don’t have to track your calories if you don’t want to because it’s obsessive, tedious, and time consuming.
While you don’t have to track calories to make progress, it’s not as bad as it’s made out to be.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
Calorie tracking is not obsessive unless you make it obsessive.
Again, the 80/20 rule applies here (such a great rule).
If you realize that you only need to be 80% consistent and not 100% perfect, that takes all of the pressure off of you, right?
So tell me how that can be obsessive when you’re ALLOWED to mess up?
Exactly, you can’t. It’s only obsessive if you focus on being 100% perfect and accurate 100% of the time which is not realistic AT ALL.
Now, is it tedious? You bet your ass it is.
But why is that an excuse not to do it?
Because it’s inconvenient and takes time?
Not a good enough excuse.
If you want results, sometimes you have to do things that you don’t necessarily want to do.
I know, I know – hat’s hard to hear sometimes but it’s the truth.
So, I’ll leave you with this question:
Do you want the best results possible while doing something that may be a little tedious?
Or,
Do you want to have no stress at all, have everything with unicorns and rainbows, but not get any results?
You can’t have both so the choice is yours.
What about the time commitment to tracking calories?
I understand time is a factor and that you live a busy life.
I have a newborn on the way (when you’re reading this he could be 3 by now), an amazing wife, family, and I own a business.
So I completely understand about time.
The problem is that people will use that as an excuse to not take action and it’s the biggest bullshit excuse out there.
You have more time than you think.
That social media scrolling or Netflix time would be perfect to use to track your macros and plan your day out.
And here’s the thing… it only takes 10-15 min max to track your calories, which decreases over time as you get more used to tracking.
That takes up only about .69% of your day.
Dude.. less than 1%.
So no… it’s not time consuming at all.
It’s not that you don’t have the time… you have to make the time.
What about building healthy habits?
Building healthy habits are the key to long term results.
These are what allow you to sustain this lifestyle and the results long term.
The problem though is that in order to build these healthy habits, you have to also educate yourself on nutrition and build awareness around what and how much you’re eating.
And one of the best ways to do this is by tracking your calories.
So, you track your calories to learn about macros, food, and portion sizes so you can get great results WHILE ALSO building these habits on the side.
That way, in the future, you earn the right to not have to track again and eat more intuitively.
“This is the way” as the Mandalorian would say.
So track your calories, educate yourself, and those habits will slowly be built over time.
Nutrition Mistake 4: Following If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM)
Here’s another reminder that calories are what matter most.
As long as you’re in a calorie deficit, you’ll lose weight.
I know… you’re probably rolling your eyes but sometimes it takes that 10th time to hear it for it to really click in.
Now… just like everything else, people take this to the extreme, which is one of the most common beginner nutrition mistakes.
They only focus on quantity – “how much you eat that matters most” vs quality “what you eat”.
So, as long as all of the pop tarts, pizza, pastries, and burritos can fit into your calories and protein targets, you’re good!
And they’re technically right. They can eat all of those foods and as long as it fits within their macros, they’re good.
But, they’re missing out on one key part.
Sustainability.
Eating too many processed foods is one of the most common beginner nutrition mistakes.
First, a lot of these processed foods are not very filling at all.
They taste great, they have an amazing texture, and they barely take up any room in your stomach.
They’re literally designed to be over-eaten.
So, this triggers your body to actually want more which requires more will power to fight it off – aka cravings through the roof!
Compared to whole foods that contain less calories and more volume.
Whole foods take up more space in your stomach, which essentially tricks your brain into being full is your stomach expands.
Plus, whole foods aren’t as palatable (they don’t taste as great) so they’re not as easy to overeat.
This is important because palatability plays a key role in NOT over eating. If you eat something that has the same flavor, you’re more likely to get pallet fatigue and not overeat.
For example, imagine eating 500 calories of pizza. That’s an easy 2 pieces.
Now, try eating 500 calories of plain ass chicken breast. Good fucking luck.
So, this is again, why eating 80% of your food from whole nutrient dense options and 20% from processed food is the way.
Now, let’s talk about health.
Since processed foods are loaded with carbs and fats – the secret ingredients to deliciousness – they’re very easy to overeat.
Chronic overeating = weight gain = becoming unhealthy and increasing your risk for disease.
Whole foods contain more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, that your body needs to live and thrive in a more bioavailable form – essentially being able to extract more nutrients from the food.
Also, these foods contain better percentages of macronutrients. They’re loaded with protein and fiber – the secret ingredients to not overeating, staying healthy, and having a kick ass body.
If you’ve eaten a lot of protein and fiber rich foods before, you know that they’re very hard to over eat.
So, eat more whole nutrient dense foods. You’ll feel better, have less cravings, and get better results.
I have a whole article on grocery shopping HERE if you want it.
Final Thoughts:
That is basically it.
Navigating the fitness world can be cruel – especially in the days of social media.
Just remember, trust nobody – including me – until you do your research.
And keep it simple because simple = effective.
If it sounds too good to be true, you know what to do.
– Coach Bob
Ps. If you want a free guide that is no BS, is simple, sustainable, and actually gets you legit results, download my free fat loss cheat sheet HERE.
Pps. If you want to join my coaching program and all of the bad asses inside so you can have all of the guesswork taken out for you, apply HERE to set up a FREE CALL.