Many of us have a nearly unlimited access to a wide variety of ultra-processed, highly palatable, energy dense food.  And yet, most of us don’t gorge ourselves on these ultra processed foods at every waking moment like a bear in September.  But why don’t we?

With the risk of oversimplification, I think that most of us have some level of restraint (outside of hunger and satiety, because we know that can be overridden) based upon an internal framework of what they should be eating and how much of that food or drink they should be consuming.  Even the most uninhibited eater has his limits.  

People have some level of reasoning and rationale behind what they eat and how much of it they eat.  I call this reasoning and rationale your “nutrition rules”.  Nutrition rules are self-imposed (somewhat) arbitrary boundaries that help guide your eating.  Some people have extremely loose rules while others have very strict rules, but everyone has some set of rules, whether clearly defined or clear as mud.

I encourage you to make your own nutrition rules that fit your life and your goals, not someone else’s (i.e. a fad diet’s).  Your nutrition rules should follow the golden rule of energy balance by limiting unnecessary calories from fat, carbohydrate, and snacks, while also allowing you to fully enjoy calories from fat, carbohydrate, and snacks.  You just can’t be open to eating ALL OF THEM.

By establishing your own set of nutrition rules you’ll be able to automate and streamline your eating decisions, thus reducing your decision load (fatigue) throughout the day and freeing up more space to tackle some of the more pressing and important problems that you’re likely to encounter throughout your day.

Some of the topics in today’s episode include: 

• How much weight can you lose on a diet, exercise, meds or surgery? (1:31)
• What is your dream weight, goal weight, happy weight, and acceptable weight? (2:46)
• The first weight loss conversation you need to have (6:17)
• Flooding the zone with bullshit (8:51)
• What are Nutrition Rules? (12:18)
• Nutrition Rules = Setting Boundaries = Self-Binding (13:58)
• Mostly positive, yet mixed reviews of James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits (14:44)
• Fad diets are based upon arbitrary nutrition rules (17:33)
• You can’t trust government scientists, but you can trust gurus? (18:32)
• Any diet that is not of your own making is a fad diet (20:48)
• The golden rule of nutrition (27:13)
• Design your nutrition rules to limit unnecessary excess calories (28:35)
• How I limit some fats and how that allows to me to enjoy other fats (29:12)
• How I limit some carbs and how that allows to me enjoy other carbs (31:36)
• My relationship with alcohol and snacks (36:19)
• Fad diets depend upon executing one rule exceptionally well, forever (42:52)
• I’m not against fad diets per se, but I am against fad diet magic (43:48)
• There’s 3 and only 3 ways to cut calories and 3 and only 3 ways to eat too many (47:10)
• What is decision fatigue? (48:28)