In the first week, more than 4 million people clicked through the post. On one hand, part of me felt like we succeeded. On the other hand, my growing frustration shifted to something much bigger: Are any of these articles really helping you improve your diet?

Sure, you could say that not reaching for a tapeworm or cabbage soup is a win, but I’m not sure that anyone who chooses those options feels like they’ve found the perfect way to eat. Instead, they’re just trying to get small wins, even if it means taking a short-term loss in enjoyment from eating.

The frustration and guilt I experienced from that article changed my career (I left my job shortly after) and the way I wanted to help people. Just as importantly, it made me rethink which diets are really dangerous.

And, rather than starting with the obvious, I started to wonder if a timeless staple — chicken and broccoli — was a part of the problem.

If your diet only consists of chicken and broccoli, it should be because that’s your choice. Not because you believe bland foods are the only way to a better body and improved health.

What Is The Chicken And Broccoli Diet And Why The Craze?

It’s not as much a “diet” as it is a mentality of what you must eat in order to be healthy. As you’ll see, when you survey diet coaches, RD’s, and nutritionists, the majority point to “chicken and broccoli” as being a staple of a healthy diet.

Why is eating chicken and broccoli seen as the picture of health? On the surface, there are many obvious and fair reasons. Skinless chicken breast is lean meat that is a good source of lean protein. And, when it comes to vegetables, the “broccoli diet” approach is as old as time. Need a vegetable? Just add broccoli.

The combination is high protein, low fat, low carb, and not very caloric. It’s the reason why it became the staple of old-school bodybuilding diets because that combination helps control body fat when substituted for multiple meals per day.

It became a craze because it works…technically. If you eat chicken and broccoli multiple times per day it can help you lose weight and insert “healthier” options into your diet.

But, if following a healthy diet was as simple as pressing the “chicken broccoli” easy button, then no one would ever struggle with their weight.

The reality is that following a diet (any diet!) is incredibly difficult. Research has compared 4 popular diets and found that on each one, the longer you were on the diet the harder it was to follow the diet.

It didn’t matter if it was high protein, low fat, low carb, or some variation of a balanced approach.

And some of that is the result of a chicken and broccoli mentality. If you believe that eating a limited number of foods — and options that you might, admittedly, find less-than-desirable —then burnout is very likely to happen and weight loss won’t last.

Why Dietary Ends Don’t Justify Dieting Means

Let’s return to the idea of “dangerous diets.” It’s fascinating to think about because even though many of them are seemingly crazy (honestly, who wants a tapeworm?), people are still willing to give these diets a try.

The desire to lose weight, build muscle, or live longer is such a powerful end-goal that we’re willing to go the farthest lengths to try almost anything to achieve the results we desire.

There are three important factors to keep in mind when considering your own diet.

1. Chasing a goal gives us a rush. We know that the anticipation of something gives us a bigger shot of dopamine than the end result. It’s why it’s important to enjoy the journey, but also something to keep in mind when selecting diets. The idea of getting fast results (with higher cost or discomfort) will charge your brain with feel-good chemicals that can blind you from what the actual experience will be like.
2. Diet culture is messing with your perception. If you’re willing to eat (or more appropriately, not eat) almost anything to lose weight, then some prior experience must have made extreme scenarios appear doable. Hold this thought for a moment because it’s incredibly important. 
3. Don’t take the quick weight-loss bait. Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true or extremely temporary, then it’s unlikely to give you the results you want. Or, it’ll be all smoke and mirrors. If your goal is to lose fat, you don’t need to lose 10 pounds really quickly only to gain it back just as fast. This does far more damage than we can begin to explain. (Yeah, we’re looking at all those 7-day cleanse diets.)

For a moment, let’s revisit point #2 about the current diet culture. Your willingness to pursue extremes might be the result of the nutritional institution of unfair diets.

What’s an “unfair diet?” Any plan that instills the belief that healthy eating must be:

1. Limiting or restrictive
2. Unenjoyable
3. Bland and flavorless
4. Inflexible
5. Shifting from one extreme to another

While many coaches scoff at the juice cleanses and cabbage soup diets of the world (myself included), are these really that much worse than “healthy” plans that result in you losing your mind, binging, thinking your body is broken, or believing that a good diet is impossible to maintain?

It’s easy to see how both are a problem, but when you grab the tapeworm, at least you have a sense that you’re going to an extreme. When you follow the “never eat dessert” diet, you’re building a belief that health requires long-term sacrifices that don’t feel sustainable.

It doesn’t have to be a black-and-white decision between extremes.

The Unofficial Great Diet Experiment

What happens when you ask a nutrition expert to put together “the perfect human diet?” You might be surprised.

To get a sense of what is shaping your opinion of “healthy diets,” I ran an experiment. I reached out to diet and nutrition coaches with social media followings (combined) of at least 50,000 people. Admittedly, some were credentialed RD’s, others had nutrition certifications, and others fell into an unclear category of expertise.

The goal was to understand how people position the foods you should be eating. I wanted the coaches’ opinions on the type of diet they would create for a client, and I provided some very specific guidelines.

The final tally of contributors included: 3 RD’s, 2 people with a master’s in science, 3 “nutrition coaches” with varying levels of certifications, and 2 diet coaches who worked with bodybuilders and physique competitors.

I purposely avoided experts I’ve worked with before. After all, I didn’t want any experimenter bias interfering with my selections. [Translation: if I know how someone will respond, what’s the point in asking.]

Each person received the following email:

Hey, [insert name here],

I’m writing an article where I’m collecting the thoughts of some influencers in the world of health and fitness. Here’s the hypothetical scenario I’d like you to troubleshoot: if you could put together your version of the healthiest, most sustainable and enjoyable diet, what would you recommend?

Your individual answer may or may not be used. In your response, please highlight the primary goal of the diet. (For instance, it could be for general health, fat loss, muscle gain, sports performance, or any other specified goal.) Feel free to be as detailed as you want, and be sure to design for enjoyment but without sacrificing results. Thanks for your time and consideration

The Perfect Human Diet (And Why It’s F*cked)

I received 10 responses, and all of the contributors decided to create “the perfect human diet” designed for fat loss.

I reviewed all of their diets and pooled together common responses. These included:

• 80 percent of the respondents included “chicken and broccoli” in at least 2 meals per day. 
• 100 percent avoided bread, dairy, or grains of any type.
• 100 percent did not include any type of dessert, even a small allowance such as a piece of chocolate or even a non-dessert like a bowl of cereal.
• 100 percent included protein shakes, meal replacement bars, or powders
• 70 percent did not allow for any condiments or dressings other than olive oil.
• 50 percent did not include any starch, not even natural options like potatoes.
• 0 percent of respondents recommended white rice (a crushing blow to my rice-loving ways)

This very informal survey (yeah, I admit it’s not exactly a peer-reviewed meta-analysis) pointed me towards a very simple conclusion:

Most diet plans—and the experts creating them—consider “The perfect human diet” to not be very human.

The growing diet battle isn’t just about helping people identify healthy foods. It’s about meeting people where they are, creating sustainable plans, and helping people see that some freedom in a diet plan can help them believe they can stick to the plan for the long term.

Most people know what is good for them and what isn’t.

Sure, more education can help offset confusing food marketing, but the expert’s job isn’t to make the simple act of eating seem so difficult to follow.

The perceived lack of variety and freedom is a big reason why so many people are unable to sustain better eating habits and maintain a healthy body weight.

Undoing Unfair Diets: How to Fix Your Diet

Part of me wonders how many experts understand how to cater their vault of knowledge into realistic practices and habits that still deliver great results.

Many people know the basics or even more complicated aspects of nutrition science; but, they don’t know (or choose not to take the personalized path) to help people build a plan around foods they could enjoy.

These experts are still stuck in a “clean eating” mindset, where the idea of good foods versus bad foods dominates the conversation.

They blindly suggest a low-carb diet (keto diet), hop on the intermittent fasting bandwagon, or try another weight loss diet trend without fully understanding the individual’s needs and lifestyle.

While I’ll admit any diet should consist of less processed foods, more fruits and vegetables, and sources of protein, the black-and-white mindset is the foundation of what is wrong with most diet plans.

You don’t need to go cold-turkey on most foods. You can eat pasta, potatoes, rice, and dessert and still be healthy and lean.

There are limits to dietary freedom. Building a diet around Pop-Tarts, ice cream, and pizza as long as it “fits your macros” isn’t the best use of macronutrient science.

Instead of building a plan around those foods, find a way to fit them into your life around everything else.

Building the “You” Diet

The healthiest diet is the one that considers both the foods you should be eating for nutritious reasons—proteins (meat/chicken/eggs/fish/plant sources), fats (oils, nuts, dairy sources, avocados, seeds), and carbohydrates (fruits, veggies, rice, potatoes, grains)—and the food items that you enjoy and need to add for the sake of pleasure and mental sanity.

If your diet only consists of chicken and broccoli, it should be because that’s your choice. Not because you believe bland foods are the only way to a better body and improved health.

If you stop fearing foods, you’ll eventually see how many different plans can be a good solution, without having to break the bank (or your sanity) trying to be healthy.

A little less stress and a lot more understanding will go a long way towards not only making your diet more enjoyable and something you can follow for the long run.

Simplify Your Eating

Need help with your diet? What to eat, when to eat, and realistic tips to make it easier to snack, enjoy, and still lose weight? Find out how you can have your meal plans (and workouts) personalized with Born Fitness coaching.

READ MORE: 

How Much Fat Should I Eat?

Do Carbs Actually Make You Fat?

How to Lose Weight: Why Sleep Can Make You Fat

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Do You Really Need to Eat Chicken and Broccoli? appeared first on Born Fitness.

The second rule of eating is picking a goal and sticking to it for more than a month.

The third rule of eating is tossing out most of what you think you know about dieting because it might be the reason you’re currently stuck in a plateau.

Macros are not for everyone. Yes, counting works, but sometimes the number crunching does more harm than good from a practical standpoint.

While rule #3 has plenty of exceptions, it’s usually necessary for even the savviest of dieters and fitness pros. Why? Because what we know oftentimes makes it harder for us to accept new information or to question what we already assume as fact.

When it comes to building the right diet for you, simply avoiding what didn’t work in the past or blindly following what appears to work now is important (see rule #1), but it has many limitations. The biggest of which is understanding that progressing to a new level of success and noticeable results usually means identifying flaws in your current plan, and understanding why what you’re doing might not be the most efficient way to get the job done.

To help provide more clarity, use this guide as a starting point for any diet plan you create. It will help you understand what you we know about good diet design, as well as what factors might relate to seeing the most results out of your body.

The Macro Question: Does IIFYM Work?

The undeniable aspect of counting your macros (AKA “if it fits your macros” or IIFYM) is that science is on your side. This is a very good thing if you’re looking for a way to finally jumpstart weight loss frustration or a stagnant muscle building plan.

The laws of thermodynamics are very real, so if you receive a good macro plan that understands progressions, how to manipulate the nutrients, and how to factor in types and duration of exercise, then playing by the numbers is a great path to results. If you know what you want to look like or a have a goal weight, use this as your starting point (instead of your current weight). This will allow you to eat towards a goal.

That said, macros are not for everyone. Yes, counting works, but sometimes the number crunching does more harm than good from a practical standpoint. Becoming OCD about how much to eat or worrying about being 5 grams “over” on daily carb intake (which, honestly, is not a big deal) is something that is determined by your personality.

For some people, creating food templates that allow for “serving-size” based eating is a style that takes a macro approach without all the math. This means breaking down your meals into types of foods, and then just filling in the gaps with what you want to eat.

If you’re not going to count all your proteins, carbs, and fats. however, you still might be best served by a 1-week counting and measuring period that will help you learn portion sizes.

If that still feels like too much, start by learning how to measure portion sizes by eyeballing quantities. The images below (via Precision Nutrition) area great start to visualize individual portion sizes.

Either way, if you’re struggling with your diet, the best way to start in the right direction and make progress is by recording your foods.

You see, research in the New England Journal of Medicine has suggested that those on a weight loss diet tend to under-report how much they eat by as much as 47 percent and overestimate how much exercise they perform by 51 percent. You don’t need to be a math major to see how this ends up.

Recording your foods does not have to be a long-term approach; just the opposite, it’s a short term investment that will offer you eating freedom for the long-term. At the same time, it will allow you to be honest with what’s happening in your body and why you might not be seeing the results you want.

Goal-Based Eating: Understanding Macro Meal Plans

Remember rule #2? The one about goal based eating? This is why so many “one-size-fits-all” plans simply don’t work.

On one level you need to know your primary area of focus. While it’s certainly possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time (despite what many people might suggest), maximizing your results is about maximizing your focus.

If fat loss is the goal, don’t worry about your biceps becoming bigger.

If muscle gain is what you want, getting the most out of your plan might mean adding a little bit of fat. (But nothing crazy; there’s no need to go on some old-school type of bulking program. In fact, that could lead to more problems.)

After you choose your general goal, then you need to adjust for your own personalized goal. (More on this below.)

As I tell my clients, the goal is to eat for the body you want, not the body you have.

So setting up a clear target will make the process of building your diet easier.

Finally, you’ll want to start with a generalized approach and then adjust as you see how your body adjusts.

Here are a few breakdowns of what a diet might look like, based on goal

Maximizing Fat Loss

The Approach: higher protein, moderate fat, lower carbs

Your Nutrition Plan: 40% protein, 35 % fat, 25% carbs

Recomp (mild muscle gain and progressive fat loss)

The Approach: Building an isoisocaloric (AKA balanced) macronutrient split. Want equal parts muscle gain and fat loss? Then it should come as no surprise that your diet is going to be fairly evenly spread out across all macros.

Your Nutrition Plan: 33.3% protein, 33.3% fat, 33.3% carbs

Stubborn Mass Gain

The Approach: For the stubborn mass gain, ingesting a lot of calories is key, and oftentimes more protein beyond a certain amount is not as productive as upping the carbs to achieve the extra food.

Your Nutrition Plan: 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat.

Understanding Diet Design: Is This for You?

The guidelines above are for people who spend anywhere between 4 to 7 hours of training each week. This includes all types of activity, such as weight training, recreational cardio, and sports.

These numbers are not designed to meet the calorie needs of endurance and endurance-type athletes who have a high training volume. This type of person needs  more carbs.

Why the Diet Design Works

Muscle Gain and Fat Loss

The balanced breakdown of the ensures enough protein for muscle repair, growth, and maintenance. It provides enough fat to support optimal testosterone production. It supplies enough carbs to provide training stamina, as well as synergy with the protein for muscle growth. It does not have the tendency to provide carbs in excess of the individual’s training and physical activity demands; instead it supports lean gains and lean mass maintenance.

Maybe most importantly, it allows for the full range of food groups in order to get not just the proper macronutrients, but also a good range of micronutrients. By focusing on macronutrient splits (instead of just focusing on particular foods), it allows you to focus both on foods that are good for you (animal and plant proteins, vegetables, fruits, fibrous starches, dairy) while still enabling you the flexibility to eat foods that you enjoy.

After all, research in the International Journal of Obesity suggests that the diet you can follow for the long term is always the best option for you.

Although alcohol and desserts are not listed, they can be used sparinglly. These foods are a highly individual matter; research shows that 1-2 drinks per day may have health benefits without hindering physique goals.

However, if you don’t already drink, there’s obviously no need to start. As for desserts, either limit your intake to 1-2 large desserts per week, or a very small portion per day, max (try to limit this to 100-200 calories of dessert of you intend to have dessert daily or most of the days per week).

Maximizing Fat Loss

In the scenario of a very low-carb diet with high training volume, there’s domino effect of defensive physiological phenomena that can help fat loss or cause trouble.

For instance, going to low carb as you push intensity can stimulate your hunger hormones at the same time as decreasing the hormones that suppress hunger. This leaves you wanting to eat everything and the kitchen sink, all while experiencing a drop in the hormones that regulate your metabolic rate.

Translation: this is why so many ultra low carb diets combined with high intensity exercise is a fast road to frustration or failure.

It’s not that these changes are significant enough to halt progress altogether, but what they do is prime your body to fight against losing fat and weight. Or more importantly, they set up your body for rapid weight and fat regain once the dieting phase is over. In a nutshell, that explains your typical yo-yo diet.

The best way to minimizing these dietary backlash is to diet as little as possible in the first place; in other words, your caloric deficit should be as little as necessary to achieve the desired rate of loss, and carbohydrates in particular should be set at the highest level possible that will allow the desired rate of fat loss.

Planning Cheat Days

That said, while severe carb restriction combined with training amplifies the body’s natural defenses, sometimes it is necessary to achieve extreme levels of leanness. But these approaches should only be applied once you achieve levels of the super lean. (In general, starting below 8 percent body fat.)

In this case, carbohydrate “refeeds” serve the multi-purpose of replenishing glycogen, and reversing the defensive hormonal and metabolic events that occur with severe restriction.

However, in order for the refeeds to be effective for this purpose, they must be rather massive (picture a carb shoveling fest spanning from a few hours to a few days).

But in the case of the less severe and gradual fat loss diet, a traditional refeed used in cyclical ketogenic (low carb) dieting isn’t necessary or beneficial.

Instead, a single indulgence meal can be employed. The purpose of the hyperfeed is more psychological than anything else, since it isn’t being used for that purpose of reversing the effects of severe prolonged carb restriction.

Unlike traditional low-fat carb-based refeeds, the hyperfeed can be anything on Earth you damn well want to eat, just keep it to a single main dish, plus a dessert if you’re feeling like eating like a king.

Men at 15% body fat or lower (for women, around 20%) can enjoy a hyperfeed once a week by having it in place of a main meals.

If you’re concerned about weight gain, you can either cut out all snacks or cut out an entire meal on the day of a hyperfeed.

Those dieting for a show or a photoshoot (mind you, with enough weeks in the pipeline to not need to diet severely) can  get away with a weekly hyperfeed, but it’s a touch riskier. Most folks in this population refuse to take advantage of this meal even when given “permission”, but a hyperfeed every 2 weeks is certainly not gonna impede progress regardless of how much of a banger it is.

The Pink Elephant: Personalization

The worst thing that can happen is for you to read the numbers above and think, “I’m set for life.”

Good nutrition is much more about understanding how to eat healthy and work around your frustration than trying to find a magical formula.

All of those formulas will help you; but most people will receive benefits only up to a certain point. The formulas should serve as a ballpark guide, not a set-in-stone blueprint. Everyone has unique requirements, genetics, and food sensitivities.

Just as important (and often overlooked) is that your current state of body composition (your ratio of muscle-to-fat) will significantly influence how your body responds to what you eat. It’s not fair, but very lean people can “get away” with eating more carbs and treats, whereas those with more weight to lose don’t have as much room to slip up in the amounts that they eat.

Notice, I didn’t say that being heavier means you can’t eat good food. Therein lies the joy of a good diet and a macro based plan: any diet has room for treats and indulgences. So it’s not about restriction, but instead a matter of control and confidence that it doesn’t take being perfect to be healthy.

Rather than committing to staying within the lines, use all diet plans (like the one above) it as an initial template from which to adjust according to your results.

Just make sure you weight long enough. Too many people change diets within a matter of days, when in reality it’s best to measure progress after about 2-4 weeks, and then continually adjust.

Diet Planning 101

Still not sure what to eat? Sign up for a risk-free month of personalized coaching, including assessments that reveal the biggest mistakes with your current plan.

Get started now. 

READ MORE: 

How Much Fat Should I Eat?

Big Meals vs. Small Snacks: What’s Best For You?

Winning the War on Hunger: Practical Solutions to Overeating

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Diet Plans: Considerations for Muscle Gain and Fat Loss appeared first on Born Fitness.