The information to what we should and shouldn’t eat changes every couple of years, leaving most of us confused and bewildered and hardly able to enjoy anything anymore without wondering if we’re ruining our health with the next bite we’re about to put in our mouth.

Let’s start with breakfast – by many still considered the most important meal of the day.
Once upon a time we believed that an egg, maybe some bacon, buttered toast, glass of juice and/or milk was a well ballanced breakfast. I felt good sending my children off to school having provided them with all those important nutrients. First the bacon had to go – too much fat. Then the butter had to be replaced by some awful spread. Next was the egg – too much cholesterol. Then the good milk had to be replaced by a greyish tasteless concoction that only vaguely resembles milk. Newest research indicates that the toast (surely you didn’t have any jam on it?!) and the juice are the true villans, full of carbs. So we could have the eggs now – unfortunatelly, no toast to mop up the yolk… The butter seems to be allowed now, only we weren’t told yet what we should do with it, since the bread and the potatoes we used to put it on are the new “no-no” foods.

We were supposed to eat 3 meals a day, no snacking. That was changed to 5 smaller meals to keep our blood sugar levels from spiking. We were supposed to eat plenty of fruits, but not anymore as they contain too much sugar, so we need to limit those – last I read we’re supposed to stay away from bananas and grapes.

Carbs are bad, too much protein is bad – which leaves us with ???? Oh yeah, pulses and steamed veggies are still ok, you may have some nuts but watch the calories! The jury’s still out on oatmeal.

So now we’re fasting – might as well, there is hardly anything left we can eat.
And we keep chasing our tails, faithfully following the latest research and becomming fatter and unhealthier in the process.

After avoiding all new diets and fads for the past 20 years I decided to try 5:2, intuitively I felt that giving the body a break from digesting food all the time could be a good thing. It works for me, I’ve lost 25 lbs (11,5 kg) and 6 inches (15 cm) off my waist. Who knows what the research will say about fasting in a couple of years?

But for the rest of the time I just try to eat a balanced diet – some protein, some carbs, some fat, fruits and veggies. I refuse to feel guilty if I have potatoes with butter, pasta, a piece of cake or some grapes – solid or liquid :). I refuse to exclude a complete food group because some new guru decided it is bad for us.
And I’m trying my best to avoid articles on the newest findings, as they may be just as wrong as the previous findings.

Sorry, didn’t mean for this to be so long, but once I started I had to get it all out.
So – are you just as confused? What do you eat, whom do you trust?

Hi rockyromero,
I try to catch up on as many postings here as I can, so I noticed that you really seem very dedicated and disciplined. But surely you don’t live just on water, greens and fruit ? Do you take supplements ? Hope you don’t mind my asking.