It wasn’t until I started helping people out with their diets roughly 15 years ago, when I realized that most people have shitty diets. I mean seriously, there is no way to put this nicely. In my experience from working with the general population, the majority of people have no clue as to what they are doing when it comes to dietary nutrition.

Now who am I to pass judgement or criticize as to how a person chooses to eat? Well, truth be told, unless a client asks me to help them with their diet, I rarely if ever say anything at all. To me, dieting is like politics and religion. It’s a very personal and touchy subject for some people. Therefore I refrain from providing my opinions or my views on a particular FAD Diet, Juice Cleanse, or latest Fasting Trend, unless I am asked or I am able to do it passive aggressively through one of my Online Blogs. ;^)

Canadians Aren’t That Much Better

A large percentage of my online clientele live and work in the United States of America. And an even larger percentage of my online clientele live and work right here in Canada. And the ongoing joke when it comes to health and nutrition is that Americans are much less knowledgeable and much more unhealthy than Canadians. Americans after all do have a higher obesity rate than we do here in Canada per capita. And we always hear about how much larger the food portions are in restaurants in the U.S in comparison to the rest of world. And finally, the leading cause of death in the United States continues to be heart disease. Whereas here in Canada, the number one leading cause of death continues to be cancer. So it should go without saying that when it comes to eating clean and being healthy, Canadians get an A+ right?

WRONG!!!!!

I’ve reviewed thousands of personal food logs that clients have sent to me over the years. And let me tell you that regardless if someone is American, Canadian, or of another Nationality, most of these food logs have had numerous red flags and faults. As a Personal Trainer/Online Coach, it is my job to help educate my clients on both health, fitness and dietary nutrition. However as a human being, I also have to have an understanding as to where the person that I am working with is coming from – both physically and mentally.

Emotional Eaters

A few weeks ago, I released a blog called “Are You An Emotional Eater?”. I was surprised to have received so much positive feedback from this particular blog. It turns out that everything I was writing about when it comes to Emotional Eating had resonated with so many people. I wasn’t trying to solve anyone’s problems, I was just trying to let people know that Emotional Eating is normal and that there is nothing to feel ashamed about. I myself have even struggled with emotional eating at times. The problem with me though, is that I usually just don’t eat at all when I’m feeling stressed or upset. Everyone deals with stress and sadness differently. And those of us who do use food as a coping mechanism to help deal with the problems in our lives, are no different than someone who turns to alcohol, drugs, sex or any other type of stress reliever that allows us to escape reality for a few hours.

How I “Diet” People Differently

I think one of the reasons as to why my Customized Nutritional Plans have become increasingly popular amongst our clientele over the past year is because I don’t actually believe in diets. To me, when I hear the word “Diet” the terms “Restriction” “Deprivation” “Grumpy” “Low Energy” “Mood Swings” and most importantly, “Unsustainable” come to mind. I don’t like the word “Diet” and therefore I don’t design “Diets” for my clients. I do however design Nutritional Plans.

Now I know you’re probably thinking – “What the hell is the difference between a Diet Plan and a Nutritional Plan?!?!?!”
Well, quite a bit actually…….

My initial goal when designing a Nutritional Plan for a new client is to help them correct the bad eating habits in which they have created and have become accustomed to over the years/decades. Whether I’m working with a Sugar Addict, Carboholic, Keto King/Queen, or just someone who chooses the foods in which they eat out of pure convenience, I make it my mission to identify and expose the problem, and then troubleshoot some strategies in order to find a solution.

Check Out Part 2 of this week’s blog next week, as I explain how I actually use certain foods and particular macronutrients and micronutrients in order to help retrain the tastebuds and allow people to form better eating habits over time.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance