Nutrition: Either Or Won’t Cut It

I used to take a strong stance on nutrition ideology. The short story was I was a food-quality-guy. In the shortest articulation, this meant that I perceived that a real food diet that prioritized the highest quality sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fats was the easiest, best way to achieve nutritional success. 

The reason I took this view was multifaceted, but a few reasons included the natural auto-regulation of satiety available when eating real food rather than highly processed foods, which are easy to over consume. If I’m being honest, the other main reason was a reaction to the “opposing” perspective that often boasted quantity over everything. This, of course, results in an obnoxious celebration of how well candy and cake can fit into one’s macronutrient arithmetic while maintaining washboard abs. 

Like most dichotomies, integrating both is better than one or the other. 

My dogma fell apart when I had to admit that all of the finest pasture raised meat and organic vegetables in the world are ineffective if you don’t eat enough. As I should have expected, integrating both quantity and quality as a nutritional strategy is critical for success. 

When looking from a movement perspective, this becomes obvious. You can squat with perfect movement quality and even design an entire training program with the most beneficial movement selection (quality), but if you don’t assign proper reps and loads (quantity) one thing is certain: you won’t be getting fit.