Hey,

Food is very personal and its intrinsically linked with your culture and environment.

We thrive on different things!

For some people, I know they can eat almost 70 percent of their calories from carbohydrates and still build a good physique and can stay healthy.

Like in the picture below, mostly when you ask us Indians how much food we eat, we mostly reply in carb quantities like, oh, I ate three rotis/paranthas. I had this much rice, and so on and so forth.

Whereas for someone like me, I feel bloated if you give me a sandwich or pasta, or paranthas and I rather eat meat, eggs and a lot of healthy fats.

This variation is well-researched by William Wolcott in his book  ‘The Metabolic Typing,’ and if you get a chance to read his book, please do so.

Dr. Mercola builds upon that concept and came out with a new term called ‘Nutritional Typing’ where we humans are basically divided into 3 categories:

1) Mixed Type

2) Carb Type

3) Protein Type

If you want to read more about this and want to know what type you are, you can take the test for free. You will learn a lot by taking this test. ¹https://products.mercolamarket.com/nutritional-typing/

Having said that, there are many common guidelines and principles which, when applied to your everyday diet, can make you healthy and fit:

Here are a few of them:

Eat Less

But don’t starve. It’s always a good idea to know how much your body burns and your maintenance calories which I have explained clearly in the article below.

Related Article: How To Lose Fat In Five Simple Steps

No matter how healthy you eat, if you don’t eat around your maintenance, you will have a tough time maintaining your weight and, therefore, your health. No matter what type you are, try and include at least 15% of either of the macros. Don’t be scared of fat.

Related Articles: 

Saturated Fat: Good Or Bad?

Good Fat Vs. Bad Fat: Complete List And Chart

I support a moderate protein diet; a high protein is also no issue; just don’t go beyond 1gm/lbs of your body weight (BW).

Lastly, when it comes to eating more carbs, eating more is not a problem, especially if you are the carb type. But the type of carb can make a huge difference. Always choose complex and unprocessed over refined ones.

Choose white rice over brown, what bread over whole-wheat. Try and minimize refined sugars found in soft drinks, donuts, ice cream etc.

Eat Your Veggies

There is no way around it. You got to eat your veggies. There are so many nutrients we still haven’t discovered in our food yet, and eating raw vegetables provides you with just that in abundant quantities. Try juicing if you cannot find the patience to eat tons of salad with your meals.

Try And Eat A Variety Of Food

Ok, now I may sound contradictory here as I recommend eating almost the same foods every day. But from time to time, when you eat out, say, a buffet, try out things that you haven’t before. Your body needs variety, and this way, you can satisfy your taste buds (sweet, salty, crunchy etc).

I have also stayed on three different continents, and I usually try and embrace local foods and spices. So experiment 20% of the time, and eat the same 80% of the time. Makes sense?

Always Keep An Eye On The Quality Of The Ingredients

I know organic is expensive. The first step is to start eating at home more often. This way you will save lots of money. And if your budget allows, I highly recommend eating organic, free-range, and grass-fed. This applies to your supplements also.