Is it more important to have a balanced diet or a regular schedule

For the vast majority of healthy adults with no underlying diseases, there is no comparison of "who is more important" between a balanced diet and a regular schedule - the two are parallel pillars that maintain the body's metabolic homeostasis. Without either one, the health benefits that the other can bring will be directly reduced in half or even completely eliminated.

I used to have a junior sister who worked in content operations, and she had a textbook level of self-discipline when it came to eating: I fixed oatmeal with chia seeds and a spoonful of whey protein in the morning, a fistful of staple food, a palm of lean meat, and two fistfuls of green leafy vegetables at noon. I only had plain nuts and fresh blueberries for afternoon tea. Even milk tea only dared to order three-thirds of sugar without any additives. The ratio of various nutrients was very clear. The result? I stayed up until two or three o'clock every day to catch up on the project, and had to get up on weekends to hold planning meetings. Within half a year, my hair started falling out like crazy. My aunt postponed it for half a month, and her transaminases were twice as high as normal. The doctor said that this was a typical case of her: "No matter how much nutrition you take, staying up late causes endocrine chaos, and your body simply can't handle it."

It’s interesting to say that my grandmother’s schedule is so regular that she can be used as a living clock. She goes to bed on time at 9:30 every night, wakes up at 5:30 in the morning and goes downstairs for a walk. This habit has lasted for almost 30 years. Is it supposed to be a very strong body? As a result, last year's physical examination revealed moderate anemia and a bit of hyperlipidemia. Our whole family was confused. After careful questioning, I found out that she was always reluctant to throw away the leftovers and would only eat the fried vegetables from the day before. She ate meat at most twice a week. The staple food was all polished rice and white noodles, and she also liked to eat pickles with her meals. Even if her schedule was accurate, she did not make up for the protein and trace elements that her body needs. She also took in useless nitrites and sodium. No matter how good the rhythm was, it could not cope with poor raw materials.

I was talking about these two examples with my regular gym instructor before, and he told me that diet is more important. After all, fitness circles say "30% training, 70% eating." No matter how accurate your schedule is, you will eat junk food high in oil and sugar every day, and you won't even get enough protein for cell repair, so everything will be in vain. He has seen many young men who have a very regular schedule and eat fried chicken and Coke every day, but their body fat rate has soared to 30%, and they still suffer from fatty liver disease.

As a result, I accompanied my junior sister to the endocrinology department for a follow-up consultation last month. The director laughed immediately after hearing this and said that you young people always like to compete for first and second place. In the eyes of our doctors, the priority of work and rest is sometimes higher. The human body's hormone secretion all follows the circadian rhythm. If you stay up late once, cortisol will be disrupted for three days, and insulin sensitivity will directly drop by 25%. At this time, even if you eat all healthy meals, your blood sugar will still easily fluctuate. Over time, diabetes and gout will appear, and no matter how balanced you eat, it will be useless.

Hazard, in fact, if you really encounter a stage where you are so busy that you can’t even touch the ground, and you can only take care of one end, there is no time to worry about right and wrong. Whatever you can do now, do it first. A while ago, I was busy working on a project for two consecutive weeks. Not to mention cooking, I was still earning money if I could lie down and sleep for five hours. At that time, I didn’t force myself to go to bed early. When ordering takeout, I deliberately chose light dishes with vegetables and meat. At least I ensured nutrition first and didn’t delay. As soon as the project was over, I immediately postponed all gatherings to catch up on sleep and adjust my schedule. Within a few days, I was back to my best condition.

To put it bluntly, your body is like an old noodle shop that has been open for more than ten years: a regular schedule means a fixed opening and closing time, opening the door to prepare food at that time, cleaning up and taking a rest. The chefs and staff have accurate recipes, so the work will not be messy; a balanced diet means that the flour, pork, and vegetables you eat are all fresh and good, so that you can cook delicious noodles. You always open in the middle of the night and close during the day, and the employees are so sleepy that no matter how good the food is, they can cook it until it's mushy; you bring in rotten vegetables, leaves, and smelly pork every day, and no matter how much you open on time, no one will come to eat.

I used to argue with my friends for a long time about which one was more important. Later, after staying up late several times and eating heavy-fat takeout for a week, I realized that it was useless to argue about this. If you really care about your health, do your best to do both. When you really can't care about it, pick up the things that can be changed and change them first. It's better than standing still and struggling, right? After all, your body is yours, and you know better than anyone whether it’s comfortable or not.