Diet Hacks – Pizza: Your Perfect Partner!

I’m sure many, if not all readers of KFK content have seen advertisements for “special, scientific diets” that allow you to eat anything you want and gain 6-pack abs. These advertisements are definitely getting at something…but let’s be honest with ourselves. Even though you could eat only junk and still get ripped, it’s certainly not an optimal food for your overall health and wellness. Maybe you’d have the ‘look’, but your body would be suffering due to mineral and nutrient deficiencies beneath the surface. Well jeez, that sucks, guess I’ll just go eat my boring chicken and rice…but WAIT just a second! Enter this Diet Hack – Pizza: Your Perfect Partner!

What if I told you that this simple, versatile food is not only delicious and considered “junk”, but is perfectly healthy for you (if made correctly)! OK so  why is it the best? It’s among the most nutritionally balanced meaning that it provides roughly an even amount of all macronutrients. What are macronutrients? Well I’m glad you asked. In layman’s terms, macronutrients are: proteins, carbs, and fats. Each one of these nutrients has a vital role not only in your athletic performance, but in your general health too. Take note.

Protein: 4 calories per gram: protein is necessary for building and repairing your muscles, as well as your immune system function.

Fat: 9 calories per gram: in my opinion, the most important macronutrient is fat. It has a bad reputation, but people get “dietary fat” confused with “body fat”. There’s a huge difference between the two.

Dietary fat: is consumed and utilized by your body to ensure your brain’s health, regulate hormones, aid digestion, and even help with blood clotting.

Body fat: is typically the result of consuming more calories than you use. To provide an example, imagine someone who works a sedentary desk job for 8 hours a day, but eats breakfast, snacks, and a big lunch within that time period. Now it doesn’t take a quantum physicist to realize that this person has more than likely consumed 1.5 – 2k calories and burned hardly any of it. If this person decides to eat a medium-big sized dinner, and another snack, that calorie count will increase almost two-fold! Now, unless this person is an athlete, or trying to bulk up, I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t gain body fat from this habit. Now, body fat isn’t bad as long as it’s in a healthy range.

Carbs: they’re an absolute necessity for high-intensity training. Aside from that, your body needs carbs for waste elimination, brain function and metabolic function.

Now that you know all 3 essential macronutrients, let’s get back to the topic at hand. So, imagine being able to eat pizza whenever you want, and not having to feel guilty about it, sounds pretty awesome, right? The crust contains carbs, the cheese and meat is where the fat and protein content come from. You can even go vegetarian or vegan for a healthier pizza option. The downsides to consuming too much pizza is constipation due to a lack of fibre or any allergic reactions to dairy. However these can be easily remedied if you make your pizza with wholemeal flour, and have lots of veggies like corn, mushrooms, bell peppers etc and dairy-free cheese, or maybe even cheese sauce.

So yes, pizza could be considered a go-to food when trying to find the balance between what’s super “tasty” and what’s “good for you”. That said, take a moment to figure out your favourite pizza combinations. Do let us know your recipes in the comments below, join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. (Why not check out some of our other healthy eating articles to help you keep YOUR Fit ON?)

Bryan Richardson

Inspired by his early life adversities and the desire to help others, Bryan who currently serves in the US Forces aspires to become a Light Heavyweight boxing champion and start a gym that specialises in conscious human development. Bryan likes researching useful info and insights that can be applied to his and others' lives. When he's not feeding his insatiable appetite for knowledge, he's found either in the boxing ring, on the dance floor, or busy downing some Ben & Jerry's "Phish Food"!

1 Comment
  1. Totally agree with you, especially if we are talking about Italian-style pizza, which is usually less oily and lighter than the American brands and even better if you make it yourself. Home made pizzas can be one of the healthiest and easiest to make dishes one can make him/herself.

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