Don't get all sideways from the title, my intent here isn't to bash the mighty 'superfood' with perhaps the greatest PR firm in the history of mushy green stuff. There's absolutely nothing wrong with avocados; in fact, they're quite nutrient dense & contain lots of good stuff, like essential vitamins, minerals, and the perfect little ball for peggin' pigeons.
The problem, as it typically does, begins with people misunderstanding a good thing and abusing it. For too many folks, the 'super' label feels like a license for unlimited snacking (and for the "you can't have too much of a good thing" crowd - you can literally die from drinking too much water, go read a book).
I hate to break this to you - as long as we've been pals - but if it contains same amount of calories as a McDonald's burger, it's gonna affect your overall body fat % in about the same way as the burger. You may retain a little extra water due to the high sodium content in the burger, but you can easily flush that out by re-hydrating, so that slight difference can be mitigated with a few extra Dasanis or by keeping your mouth open during your next 2-3 showers.
I doubt anyone would argue the merit of the burger being 'healthier' than the avocado, and I definitely don't recommend a steady diet of fast meat, but if your goal is to achieve and/or maintain a certain weight, look, or body fat %, you need to realize that your physique reacts more to the QUANTITY of your calorie intake than the QUALITY.
When we're discussing 'physique' here, please understand I'm not factoring in any medical conditions, issues, or your long-term clinical health. If your doctors have directed a specific diet because of a medical situation - please don't start crushing McDoubles and tell them UncleBod said it was ok (unless they seem like they're interested in personal training, in which case send them a link!)
The same applies for diets that have restrictions for specific purposes (Keto, Paleo, Olsen-twin), so if you're avoiding gluten/starches for any decent reason, don't take my rant as an exception to the bylaws of your chosen pledge of misery.
And for those of you who like to push the boundaries (I know bc I'm one of them) - if you try to circumvent the system by eating ONLY McDonald's burgers for all your calories (or at least a large portion of your intake), there will be a point of diminishing returns in about 3 months when your blood coagulates and your lungs become saturated with ketchup. The big picture here is that moderation wins out long-term, not that burgers are a Superfood.
There's nothing unique about avocados & McDonald's burgers that made me choose them for this example; you can play this game with any two food items that are similar in calories (1 slice of pizza vs. 1 Lg sweet potato, Splenda vs. rat poison, etc.). In fact, if you think of a sexier food duo, please share it with me in a private email so I can reproduce it as my own without crediting you.
Transforming your physique/fitness will ultimately come down to consistency more than any thing else. So if you can eat what you enjoy and keep it within the right range, you'll be on a direct path toward your end goal instead of randomly shoving "superfoods" into your body and hoping something happens.
To keep up with your intake, almost every food label has a calorie/macro count, and for every other food there's a pretty decent guesstimate on a startup search engine called google.com. There are also tons of free "calorie tracker" apps like MyFitnessPal, but don't let them trick you into the paid memberships OR let them set your calorie goals. They're GREAT for tracking, not so great for anything else.
You can also find "calorie calculators" on the Google to give you a ballpark estimate, but shoot me an email at robbie@unclebod.com if you wanna dig a little deeper and find the right range for your body/goals or talk about a plan to get there
In sum, if you're ever offered an 'avocado burger', you can respectfully ask (without laughing in their face) for a double burger instead and save a few calories for a cold Montucky.
-RR
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