Five Minutes to Feed Your Potential - Diets We Love - And Those We Don't

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00][Music] are you looking for healthy ways to power your day and your life welcome to five minutes to feed your potential our series of short podcasts designed for busy people just like you who are looking for easy delicious and practical ways to be healthy and happy listen along as our chefs dietitians and other experts offer insights ideas and inspiration [Music] for many people managing their weight can be an ongoing battle three-quarters of adults say they're concerned about their weight and nearly half were on a diet during the past year as every Dieter knows there's just an overwhelming amount of dieting products advice and information out there some of it is trustworthy but unfortunately so much of it is not so what's a Dieter to make of it all we asked registered dietitian Amy Anderson to help us navigate the confusing world of dieting and to share her thoughts about maintaining a healthy weight for a healthier life I'm so happy to talk to you about popular diets it's one of the top questions I get as a dietitian and nutritionist because so many people struggle with their weight people are understandably concerned about the health issues and many just want to manage their weight to help them feel better in their day-to-day lives there's good news though thanks to years of research experts do know what leads to Lasting weight management and what doesn't but there's almost always constant Buzz about some new diet plan weight loss book or Trend whether they actually work or not and many don't for example one popular diet eliminates certain foods for 30 days including lots of healthy foods like whole grains beans and Dairy another popular diet is based on how people ate thousands of years ago it limits the food you can eat to what people would have hunted or gathered in the wild a third diet severely restricts carbohydrates almost entirely eliminating carbs but it excludes a long list of very healthy foods that people love to eat and should be eating all three of these popular diets and many others like them can help people lose weight at least at first but there are some real problems with all of these diets and others like them first by severely restricting certain foods you can miss out on important nutrients your body needs also some of these diets may put you at a higher risk for health conditions because they include such high levels of saturated fat and the bottom line is they are all just so hard to maintain there have been countless scientific studies about why diets fail and there are lots of reasons why weight loss is so hard so what if you could find a positive way of eating that you could actually enjoy an approach that could help you achieve a healthy weight and what if we didn't even call it a diet ideally this would be a way to eat where you could enjoy more delicious foods instead of always focusing on what you have to eliminate or restrict it's a simpler and more holistic way of eating that can lead to Lasting results it goes like this first you start by including a lot more wholesome unprocessed plant-based Foods on your plate foods like fruits and veggies beans and lentils and whole grains and when I say eat more I mean your plate should be 50 full of these Foods or more next look to replace the unhealthy fats in your diet the saturated fats that have been shown to cause health issues with foods that have healthy unsaturated fat the kind that have actually been shown to have health benefits think Seafood nuts seeds avocados and olive oil and with this style of eating you can still eat eggs low-fat Dairy and lean proteins like chicken and fish but think about these Foods as a compliment to the healthy plant-based foods that make up the majority of your plate to be enjoyed in moderate amounts with less red meat I know that we said we wouldn't call it a diet but this style of eating is sometimes called the Mediterranean diet I love this approach to eating studies show that it's associated with better weight management and a reduced risk for many types of disease but the real Plus in my experience is that it works because people love it the food is delicious and it's all about what you can eat instead of what you can't people don't feel deprived they actually begin to enjoy their food more rather than less this way of eating helps you fill your plate with lots of delicious wholesome food with more of the good stuff and less of the not so good stuff managing weight becomes easier you don't have to move to this style of eating all at once but every step you take will be a step in a positive direction as you progress on your journey remember moderation is always a good idea think about portions and serving sizes also let your body guide you eat when you're hungry savor every bite and stop when you're full and of course it's important to move more regular daily physical activity has so many health benefits the magic word here is sustainable I love food and I love eating and my experience has been that if you can find a healthy and holistic approach to eating that you love you're more likely to achieve both your weight and your health goals so the next time you're tempted by the quick fixes of a popular fad diet consider a different approach thanks for listening whenever you're looking for inspiration for Healthy Living our chefs dietitians and other experts have lots of ideas to feed your potential visit our website at fyp365.com to see all our recipes blogs podcasts and more