Written by: Natalie Pirolli, MS, RDN, LDN, RYT | August 14, 2024
One of the first questions I almost always get asked when people learn I’m a dietitian is "What is the best diet to follow?”, which I know translates to: ”What should and shouldn't I be eating?"
The truth is, there really isn't a one-size-fits-all diet that is the “best” for everyone. We all have individual needs and unique circumstances and preferences. But the diet industry makes it seem like we're just one diet away from our goal of weight loss, health, happiness, you name it. We constantly get the message that we need to cut out foods and restrict ourselves to be healthier or reach our weight goals, but often it's adding to our diets to fill in the gaps that we really need.
This is why when working with clients I find it helpful to first look at their diet as a whole and see what it may be lacking. While yes, there can also be areas of excess, these too usually result from lack in another area, so this first step is typically helpful all around. The goal here is diet enrichment—feeling satisfied and properly nourishing ourselves—versus restricting, depriving, and depleting.
Here, I’ve included just a few areas where our diets may be missing something:
Lack of Color
Phytonutrients are what give plants their color. They’re also linked to a variety of health benefits like reducing inflammation, improving heart health, reducing cancer risk, and more. Not to mention all the other great things, like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that fruits and veggies provide.
We may be low on our fruit and veggie intake overall or may only go for the same green or red ones each day. Incorporating a variety of colors means a variety of health benefits, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and more. (More on variety later!)
How many different colors are you getting in a day? Could you aim for 3? Or maybe 5 colors each day?
Lack of Protein
Protein plays an important role in many functions in the body from our muscle integrity to hormone production and more. It also adds a satiety factor to our meals and snacks helping us feel fuller longer, and balancing our blood sugar levels when eaten with carbs and fats (more on those coming up!). Balancing our blood sugar can help with regulating cortisol, our stress hormone, as well.
A lack of protein may play a role in having decreased satiety from meals/snacks, inconsistent energy, unstable blood sugar levels, and other symptoms. I think females especially receive the message that we don’t "need" a lot of protein or it’s better to choose "lighter" meals lacking protein, which is typically not the case.
Are you incorporating quality proteins? These are foods like eggs, poultry, meat, dairy, and soy products to name a few.
Lack of Carbs and/or Fats
Like protein, carbs and fats are also required for many vital functions in the body from energy production, cognition, mood regulation, and more. We need a balance of all 3 macronutrients in our diets. Eating a balanced diet is not only important for our physical health, but our mental health and mood!
We might consciously or unconsciously be avoiding carbs and fats due to whichever latest fad diet or misinformed social media influencer is saying that we should. This can also lead to inconsistent energy, mood implications, and lack of satisfaction with meals (which may be the root of cravings, overeating, etc.) among other things.
Do you find yourself avoiding either of these foods? Or craving either of these foods? (Craving might be a sign you’re not getting enough of these foods or are lacking enough overall energy intake, or satisfaction with your diet—more on that later!)
Lack of Variety
This may sound obvious but when we eat a variety of foods, we receive a variety of nutrients. Switch up your carb (starches, grains, fruits, veggies), protein, and fat sources to ensure you’re getting a variety of nutrients. For example, if you always have yogurt, berries, and granola for a snack, you could swap the berries for a banana, which will provide different benefits like more potassium, vitamin B6, prebiotics, and other nutrients. Or maybe you swap the granola for another crunchy food item like crushed Brazil nuts, so now you get a boost of selenium, vitamin E, and other nutrients.
A lack of variety can mean a lack of certain nutrients. And we need a LOT of nutrients for our bodies to perform their many daily functions. (Did you know magnesium alone is needed for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body?!). Lack of variety can also mean monotony, which leads to boredom and dissatisfaction. But I get it—sometimes I don’t have the mental bandwidth to come up with new meal/snack ideas for myself, but even small switch-ups can have a big impact over time.
Do you always snack on the same foods? Or make the same lunch? Where can you incorporate variety?
Lack of Satisfaction and/or Enjoyment
We can get so caught up in choosing the “healthiest” food choice that sometimes we forget about our own preferences. While it’s important to incorporate nutrient-dense foods, it’s also important to actually enjoy our food. This is an important step in developing a more positive relationship with food (and ourselves, as nurturing ourselves is one of the best ways to show ourselves love and care). It’s also a factor that influences our fullness—without the feeling of satisfaction, our fullness cues can actually be hindered, meaning the body can take it as a sign that we’re not done eating yet. That’s right, satisfaction and enjoyment may impact our satiety from a meal just as much as the food components themselves can.
This one is common because we rarely receive the message that satisfaction and enjoyment are important and part of a healthy diet! Another thing to note here: guilt negates satisfaction/enjoyment. If we feel guilty about eating something we enjoy (as diet culture can often make us feel), the satisfaction/enjoyment piece may not even register.
How do you feel about your meals and snacks? Is anything missing?
Some Additional Food for Thought
These are just a few areas to consider. Another big one can be eating enough in general—whether it is intentional or unintentional that we're not meeting our calorie, macro-, and micronutrient needs. And I know what you're thinking, if I focus on adding more to my diet, won't I just gain weight? Not necessarily! Filling in nutrient gaps and adding satisfaction and enjoyment can displace our less nutrient-dense food choices and curb our cravings and overeating tendencies.
This approach also sets us up for an abundance mindset (instead of a scarcity mindset) which positively impacts our eating habits and views about food (and ourselves). These things can actually result in healthy weight loss over time when needed. That said, if someone is below their healthy weight range, filling in their nutrient gaps should result in weight restoration, which would be necessary to improve their health and well-being.
If you’re interested in learning more, I go into more detail about the importance of diet enrichment for weight management, health, and well-being in this article I previously wrote for Well+Good.
You can also reach out with any questions or schedule a free call to learn more about working together to enrich your diet and reach your health goals!
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