How Much Is Too Much?

“How much avocado should I eat each day?”  “Is 6 ounces of wild salmon too much for one meal?” “Are two apples in one day too many?”.

All commonly asked questions and all have the same answer- there is no right answer!

In other words, there are too many other factors that I’d ask of someone who made any of those inquires.  Simply put, there is not enough info for me to make a blanket statement in response to any of the sample questions listed above.

How much fat, protein or carbohydrate one eats in any given meal depends on several factors including:

  • The person’s age, gender, size and activity level
  • What else is in any given meal
  • When the meal is eaten in relation to exercise
  • When the meal is eaten in relation to other meals
  • One’s physical hunger level

It would be a grandiose statement of misinformation for me to arbitrarily announce that something like “no one should eat more than one apple per day” or “all of us need twenty grams of protein for breakfast”.

Of course, use common sense; does it sound like a good idea to eat ten apples in one sitting?  Or an entire jar of coconut oil? Precisely!

Just think balance.  Imagine a medium sized plate with leafy greens, some wild, lean protein, followed by a dollop of natural fat, sometimes with some fruit, and use that as a model for all your meals.

Take that, MyPlate! (No need to save room on your plate for grains, legumes or dairy!)