How I Eat

Most people overcomplicate nutrition.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to assign your identity to a diet, or be thinking about it every meal. The way you eat should support your life, not control it.

We’re all different. We live different lives, work different jobs, train differently, and have different needs and goals. So it makes sense that no one way of eating will be best for everyone. But even with all that individual variation, there are some simple principles that I think work across the board.

Here’s the foundation I follow and recommend:

• Eat mostly whole, minimally processed foods

• Get adequate protein (about 1g/lb of bodyweight)

• Eat a wind range of fruits and veggies

• Don’t drink high-calorie drinks

• Build in flexibility so your diet is sustainable and enjoyable 

That’s it.

You don’t need to cut out carbs or eliminate animal products. You don’t need to count every calorie or be 100% perfect. Just eat real food most of the time, and you’ll already be ahead of the game.

What you eat matters more than how precisely you measure it.

It’s hard to overeat a big salad or a plate of steak and roasted vegetables.

On the other hand, it’s very easy to blow through 1,000 calories of chips, soda, or dessert and still feel hungry. If you focus on what you’re eating first, you’ll naturally eat more foods that are harder to overeat and better for your long term health.

Now, tracking your food does have its place. It can help some people bring awareness to how much they’re actually eating. You can find a free online macro/calorie counter to get an estimate on how much you should be eating daily. And for those who want to use it occasionally, I suggest this:

Pick a random day once every few weeks and track your meals honestly. Use an app like MyFitnessPal or MyPlate, and be honest about your portions, including the snacks, sauces, and just do your best. It’s not about perfection, it’s about learning.

When you track occasionally, it teaches you a few useful things:

• You become more aware of hidden calories (like oils, sauces, or snacks)

• You develop a better visual sense of portion sizes

• You see how your “normal” eating habits stack up to your goals

But again, that’s bonus. If you never track a calorie and just consistently eat whole foods, get enough protein, and avoid drinking your calories, you’re probably doing very well.

Nutrition doesn’t need to be a 30-step formula. It just needs to be built around real foods and something you can maintain.

If you start with the basics and build habits around them, you won’t need to constantly restart another “plan.” You’ll already have a system that works.

Stay Healthy,

Thomas Stevens

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