(Almost) Military Approach to Remain Healthy

It's about one of the basic needs of everyone, food.

Early Days

I remember myself years ago working on a project far far away and having dinners made of defrosted shrimps with a shot of cognac. I knew it wasn't the healthiest choice, but the project had a deadline, so the diet had to end, too. Now I teach my kids that they can't eat pasta every day except breakfast because it's unhealthy, but I'm not sure if it's true.

You can't rely on the habits of your family and even on local cultural traditions. If the Mediterranean diet is ranked as number one, then it's implied other diets are less healthy, isn't it?

It is just a matter of time you face the fact that you can and have to take your diet under control. Today we have access to products from all over the world, and without control, it's easier to mess things up and even pay for that extra, then make your living better.

Precise and Fussy: What People Do

People who are concerned about controlling their diet can find a swarm of devoted apps. The apps help you count calories you get and burn, the amount of vitamins and minerals you receive with every single meal. You should analyze the daily numbers and charts, compare it with the desired outcome, and make your choice for tomorrow. It's like a feedback loop in control. It seems the most precise way to go, but it's very time-consuming.

Another approach would be to adopt some existing recommendations. I hear many of them: eat more fish for omega-3, two-thirds of meal should be fruits and vegetables, have all-colors-food on your plate, and so forth. One of your friends has become vegetarian, another is vegan. I have to admit, I was also caught by a couple of trends, following my friends. If you google on the topic, "The best 10 diets" pop-ups. High-protein, low-carbs and high-fat, etc. They are all different. Wait, isn't the recommended nutrition intake (RNI) meets the nutrient requirements of almost all (97.5%) of us?

One-shot: Military Approach

You need a healthy diet, and you have no time to control it every day. Can you solve the problem once for a whole year, in advance? Feed the army cheap? Those were the questions the military officials struggled with, in the 1930s. They found the answers. Now we know it as a mathematical problem called The Diet Problem. Can we do the same for us? Having fewer restrictions, can we do it better? Have more food, more money to spend, have a flexible planning period?

Indie Hacker's Way

I decided to solve the diet problem for myself. Usually, I go to a supermarket one or two times a week. If I shop on my own, I end up buying only essential foods like eggs, pasta, cheese, and olive oil. And white wine. The choice gets more diverse and simpler for me if my wife sends me a message with a grocery list. I appreciate when it's already sorted by the supermarket's departments.

Now I want a grocery list made smartly. Have the products which I prefer, with quantity and nutritional quality fulfilling the requirements of, for instance, WHO. Since most of them are about minimal intake, nothing is wrong if you follow your mood and buy something extra. For the same reason, dining sometimes out doesn't impact the balanced diet much.

I spent some time checking if it's workable. It is. I haven't gone shopping with the output of the algorithm yet, but it's on the way.

Here is the only non-rhetorical question: what do you think about having a healthy diet this way?

Optional questions:

• Can this idea be monetized?
• Do you care about what you eat, and which approach is yours, if so?