19: The Small Changes Approach to Dieting versus Diet Perfectionism

Change is super freaking hard.  In an effort to get people to change their diets, many practitioners have advocated for a "small changes" approach.  That is, make a few small changes to your existing diet and exercise to make the change a little easier to get started.On the other side of things, is nutrition perfectionism.  And as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has said, "The standard is the standard".  You do it or you don't.  Nutrition perfectionism is all about getting in your servings of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats including fish, low-fat dairy, water, omega 3 and 6's, vitamins, and minerals all while limiting processed food intake, saturated fat, sodium, alcohol, and added sugars.To probably no one's surprise, The Nutrition Grouch isn't a fan of either of these approaches.  Small changes should be part of the overall strategy but not "the" strategy and losing weight requires cutting calories and not necessarily health focused eating.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:The small changes approach and public health (2:03)How I used to be a small changes advocate (4:27)What is nutrition perfectionism (6:45)A perfect diet score is impossible (6:54)Are nutrition recommendations more a guiding star than an endpoint? (8:12)Dope like Lance and bones of steel (10:25)The Blue Zones (11:50)The Power 9 Lifestyle Factors (12:49)Wine at 5 (14:42)Liquor, beer, wine: what’s healthiest? (15:57)Wine and dark chocolate for health? (16:11)The 80% Rule (17:06)The free radical theory of aging (18:27)Eat till content, not full (21:57)The Plant Slant (22:26)Red meat, saturated fat, and cholesterol (23:00)How much red meat can I eat? (23:42)Generic advice on eating meat – diversity (26:00)Meat 4 days/week versus 2 days/week (27:12)Total calories versus red or processed meat – what’s worse? (33:14)Future disease versus current reality (obesity) (33:47)Why I’m drawn to weight management (34:50)The man who ate 34,000 Big Mac’s (37:39)Eating as many calories as you can get away with on a weight loss diet (44:55)Put forth an effort that you’re proud of (48:38)