Deciphering Diets

I started reading Eat Right 4 Your Type yesterday... very interesting stuff.  I am trying to digest what the book is saying and fit it into my perspective on food/nutrition/diet.  It is challenging me.  Basically the book lays out dietary suggestions for 4 different blood types, Type O, A, B, AB; it describes why each type requires a different diet, type of exercise and lifestyle habits.  A lot of what it said about me correlated perfectly (with a few exceptions).  I have always been curious about different diets, the Mediterranean diet, Atkins, the Schwartzbein principle, the Zone diet... and my opinion is that each diet has its merit BUT like everything else, it needs to be applied in a way that makes sense for each individual person.

I think I can safely say that we all get confused, what helps us lose weight more, low carb, low fat, calorie restriction, exercise alone??!  All of these questions are important to ask, but equally important is figuring out what works for you and understanding how your body reacts to changes in your diet and lifestyle.  That being said, I think it is not something we can figure out once and go with for the rest of our lives, our bodies and life circumstances are always changing and so too are our dietary and life-style needs.  

I will give you an example from my personal experience.  When I hit 18 I started having a tremendous amount of trouble with my endocrine system (hormones and blood sugar), I started gaining weight despite reducing the amount of calories I ate and exercising like a crazy person!  After talking to Dr. Williams in Santa Barbara (at the Life Balance Centre), I understood that I was overtaxing my adrenals... basically putting additional stress on my body by excessive exercise and fewer calories at a time when my hormones were already wacky!  I worked with him to get to the root of the problem and fix it from there.  For about 2 years I only did moderate exercise, yoga, pilates, walking, etc. and ate a low-carb, nutritionally balanced diet (eliminating gluten, soy and dairy because apparently I am allergic!).  It took a while, and a tremendous amount of dedication, but my body adjusted.  My hormones are still slightly touch and go but definitely on the right track, and I am able to exercise a little differently.  We are always evolving and changing so I guess I have worked out my own question... what plan should we stick to?

Your own!

That being said, I always find it valuable to gather as much information and data as I can, always reading and trying to keep up with new findings.  That way I can continue to learn and make the right decisions for me.