Best diet for health/fitness and not just pure weight loss?

I think macro combo for best health is not as important as micro nutrients.

health wise-i personally think (i know people hate it) clean natural foods in a 40/40/20 ratio more or less
with your basic food pyramid foods without a ton of crap in it
grains, fruit n veg, lean meats
honestly tho if you aren't looking for 6 packs abs and you are comfortable with where you are, eat the way that you like and just choose healthy options. there is no one best way-if you ask 2 different mr olympias or olympic athletes or someone with perfect health none of them eat the same way. thats why when people come here to look for advice on basic questions you are going to get a million answers

Avoid heavily processed foods full of chemicals, artificial colors, shelf life preservatives. Drink lots of water.

Generally, you should you should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (the more colorful the better), limit your consumption of red meat, eat cold water fish on a fairly regular basis, replace saturated fats with mono-saturated fat from plants sources like nuts and avocados, etc, get plenty of fiber, keep your consumption of Sodium under control, maintain your calorie intake in line with your calorie expenditure, blah, blah, blah.

But a quick Google search would have told you all of this.

i honestly, eat what I want, when I want......only in moderation.....I eat a lot of the same things though, from day to day.....my pantry/fridge looks fairly simple......I got walnuts, almonds. mixed nuts, spinach leaves, romaine, blue berries, tuna, sardines, peanut butter, strawberry preserves, wheat whole grain bread......, etc.....yes, I still eat the ocassional cookie or pastry.....lol, basically only if it's free haha. and damn do I work it off, afterwards! haha.....

As far as drinks......coffee in the morning, typically 2 cups of regular medium roast, cheap drip coffee haha.....with a splash of half and half......and a bowl (err....should I say a "serving".....since it looks like a drop in the bucket compared to the "cereal bowls" of today!) of whole grain cereal.....lately it's been ALDI Brand Kashi GoLean generic with a half cup of milk......last week it was Special K Strawberry cereal.....lol......


I don't see it as a "diet" - but I lifestyle change......I also do a lot of fasting, which basically consists of not eating anything after 9-11 p.m.....

Typically my 2 largest meals are breakfast and lunch.....I rarely have a "dinner" per se...my dinner is usually my post workout shake....maybe a handful of mixed nuts, or almonds.....actually.....let me rephrase that.....I don't go by "handful" - that's a misnomer! Nuts - though very nutritious......are very high in calories.....so I weigh those puppies out on my digital kitchen scale.......my "handful" is typically 28 grams......comes out to hundred some calories......but it keeps me satieted

Down ~90 lbs....in 2 years (as of September 18th.....is when I started MFP)

Everybody is different but the magic numbers for me are 40/30/30. And the best "diet" is NO "diet"! Diets are a temporary fix for a lifelong change, which is why they don't work!

I also EAT to fuel my body rather than starve my muscles. Healthy happy muscles = fat burning = metabolism on FIRE!

"Healthy" is such a subjective term, it's almost useless, in my mind. I acknowledge the fact that we're all different, with a wide variety of goals and metabolisms. What I consider is healthy, might disgust you

Now, if we're talking medical state, that's something different. Consciously try to eat in a way that MIGHT prevent lifestyle diseases, would be a good start. Although you can't really know if you've gotten the bad lottery ticket gene-wise. I had family and known wider circle people who were fanatics eating healthy. That didn't stop cancer killing them.

Is stuffing yourself with disproportionate amounts of protein good for muscle building? Probably effective since many lifters do it. Is it "healthy" for longer life, maybe not. It all boils down to what we as individuals feel is most important. Bulking beauty or skinny, emaciated living into the 3-digit numbers.

I'm a huge advocate for moderation and portion control in any direction when it comes to the general population. Both in body and mind. Becoming orthorexic is probably not so healthy either, increasing stress hormones unnecessarily. "Omg, they're sold out of my favorite organic grass-fed whey protein powder!"

What you choose to do with your body is frankly none of my business. I wish we could all be a bit more respectful here on MFP regarding that. Common sense does get you far.

Edit: My motto is "Whatever works for you, hon "

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