The 3-6 Rainbow Diet: A How-To Guide

Disclaimer:

Am I a nutritionist?  No.  It’s just another marginally-educated hobby of mine.  I’ve attended several lectures on nutrition, read books, and bring knowledge from the high-performance athletic world, Aryuvedic & Yoga traditions.  My goal in writing this is to encourage myself to eat better and have more energy, and I figured if I could make it simple, I would follow it, and maybe you could too!

The advice is not 100% scientific, but it’s free, so eat the following diet at your own risk! If this works for you, let me know, and maybe I’ll start selling it for millions of dollars! If it is too hard to follow or just plain doesn't work, let me know, and we’ll improve it.

It starts with 3, for the 3 Major Food Types:

  • Fruits/Veggies
  • Grains/Pastas/Carbs (Tan-colored things)
  • Proteins

Then 6, for 6 main meals a day:

  • 7-8am –Light Breakfast
  • 10 am—Morning Snack
  • 12pm--Lunch
  • 2-3pm--Afternoon Snack
  • 4-5pm—Light Dinner
  • 6-7pm--Evening Snack

Optional:  8-9pm—Warm Tea, Warm milk (yuck, who likes that?), or Water (8-16 oz.)

  • Note: Each meal should be about ½ the size of a regular meal
  • A good rule of thumb is a handful amount is one serving, but try to hit about 300-400 calories average per meal.
  • Drink water throughout the day when you feel thirsty (or more often if you are In a dry climate or are exercising frequently), 2-4 8oz. cups is usually plenty

 

Finally, use the Rainbow principle to plan your meals. 

Pick a different fruit or veggie for each meal that is a different color of the rainbow.  Pair your fruit/veggie with a carb item, and sneak in some protein with every other meal (or at least 3 out of the 6).  It’s that simple!

 

Fruits/Veggies

Here’s what should be on your shopping list to remind you to buy all different colors each week (add/subtract your favorites):

White – e.g. cauliflowers, bananas, onions, potatoes, mushrooms
Red—e.g. tomatoes, watermelon, cherries, berries, red apples, red peppers
Orange/Yellow—e.g. carrots, apricots, peaches, oranges, cantaloupe, mangoes, yams/sweet potatoes
Green – e.g. broccoli, lettuces, green apples and grapes, zucchini, cucumbers, asparagus, peas, beans
Blue/Purple—e.g. blueberries, plums, purple grapes, raisins, eggplant

  • Don’t forget Juices, Jams/Jellies, Smoothies, Dried Fruits, and Sauces, Veggie Burgers, salads, etc. count as servings of fruits/veggies
  • Try to pick items that are in season.  You should be buying 6 x 7 = 42 servings of fruits/veggies per week! (This is assuming you pack/make all your own meals, so buy less if you eat out often.  Think about how often you eat out per week and subtract that from the total # of fruits/veggies to buy):

 

Carb/Starches

  • Anything “Whole Grain”
    • Brown Rice
    • Darker breads
    • Pastas
    • Noodles
  • Sports Bar
  • Rice Cake
  • Cereal/Breakfast Bar
  • Cereals – especially Brans or Oatmeals/Granola
  • Muffins, Cakes, Cookies (try to choose the whole grain varieties, and watch the fat)
  • Crackers, Darker the Better (buy the kinds without hydrogenated/fractionated oil on the label)
  • Milk, Chocolate Milk, other Flavored Milks
  • Yogurts
  • Tapioca, Puddings
  • Candy or Sugary foods like Jello or Jelly (not ideal, but can work in a fix)
  • Sports Drink
  • Try to choose foods that have a low-glycemic index--they won't spike your energy then leave you feeling low. For example, when you have the choice, pick whole wheat spaghetti over macaroni, oatmeal & bran cereals over corn flakes or cheerios, yams instead of potatoes.

 

 

Proteins

  • Meats/Eggs
  • Beans
  • Nuts, Peanut Butter
  • Soy products like Tofu or Tempeh, Edamame, or Soy Milk
  • Avocados
  • Milk/dairy
  • Protein-Supplemented Smoothies

That's it!

 

Miscellaneous Other Tips I Follow:

  • The key is to mix it up, and don’t eat the same stuff all the time, unless you are really craving something in particular for a while.  You should find that the craving will naturally go away after a few days or weeks.  I believe a diet high in variety is good in our culture due to pollutants/toxins/pathogens that can occasionally be found in mass-gathered foods, and you have more of a chance of getting what you need nutritionally, especially if you don't have good instinctual awareness yet.
  • Never order drinks larger than 16 oz.  It’s not necessary, and you will probably feel sick after drinking more than 16 oz.!  Somewhere between 8 oz. & 16 oz. usually feels like a good amount.
  • Problems with this diet:  Social eating!  If you eat out, I guarantee you will be given at least twice the amount of food you actually need at a setting.  So rather than skipping a meal and eating 2 at once, just eat ½ your food and take the other ½ to go.  Economical, and you won’t feel like crap after dinner (like everyone else will).  Sometimes you will get a hefty waitress that will look at you like you are anorexic and will try to get you to eat more, but don’t give in!
  • Observe whether raw or cooked versions of certain vegetables taste better to you.  Eat the type that tastes better.  For example, I can eat raw carrots, but I don’t care for raw onions or tomatoes, unless they are combined into a salsa.  Don’t force yourself to eat things just because they are supposedly “good” for you.  All veggies & fruits are naturally “good”, but not all are good for everyone all the time.
  • Cooked is sometimes better than raw!  For example, the high lycopene levels in tomatoes come out only after they are cooked.
  • Don’t drink OJ in the morning.  It is better digested later in the day.  You know this applies to you if it tastes weirdly sharp, and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth that you just can’t place.
  • I don’t buy the eating right for your blood type philosophy unless you have a certain problem you are trying to solve.  I just don’t think we are at the point that we are such well-tuned machines yet.  How good do you really need to feel?  If you are feeling fine, don’t start restricting your diet in a complicated manner for an incremental result.  Too much stress.
  • Always have a little fat with your vegetables & fruits.  Some vitamins are fat-soluable, which means if you don’t eat them with fat you won’t absorb them and they will pass straight through.  Have your fruit with nuts or yogurt, for example, or cook vegetables with some olive oil, or dip them in ranch dressing or peanut butter.
  • If you have a smoothie with frozen yogurt or peanut butter (not just fruit), then you’ve taken care of your protein and/or carbs and it is considered a meal in itself without any separate protein or carbs.
  • Eat easily digestible food in the morning & evening (yogurts, fruits, cooked vegetables). Have the rough stuff around lunchtime when your body is in peak digestion mode (meats, heavy grains, raw vegetables, etc.)
  • If you are not hungry after 3 hours, you probably had too much food, too much fat, or are under some stress.
  • Don’t munch food without determining how much you are going to eat.  When you eat, really eat, and don’t do a bunch of other things.  Take time to appreciate and taste your food.  Digestion begins with the saliva in the mouth, so chew slowly and you won’t get a stomach-ache.
  • If your skin gets oily, you are probably taking in too much fat.
  • If your pee is dark yellow, you are dehydrated or eating too much of certain foods.
  • Have fun with it.  If it is too strict, it’s no fun.
  • Ice cream and chocolate are allowed, of course!