You may not believe this, but until I was eighteen years old, I had never tasted a strawberry!

In fact, until I was twenty-four, I hadn’t eaten a lot of things that the average person eats. Today, I’ll eat practically anything. I like most things, and I’m not afraid to try a thing! This is a far cry from my former self, whose idea of a balanced diet was a hot dog with ketchup and mustard.

Food rules the world. This is as it should be, because without food, we’d die. However, the irony is that many Americans are now eating themselves into an early grave. We’re a culture of extremists, and we don’t celebrate mediocrity, so why is it that so many of us have such mediocre tastes?

The way you’ve been raised has a lot to do with how you look at food. In my own case, my dad was a picky eater, and money was pretty tight when I was growing up. The kitchen was typically stoked with such delicacies as peanut butter and crackers, instant mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese in a box (and not that fancy Velveeta stuff, either. We’re talkin’ Kraft blue box, baby), and canned ravioli.

This was eating as I knew it.

The highlight of mealtimes at Leigh’s house

On the plus side, even though my family ate like crap, we never stopped moving. My mom exercised and took us to the park, we played sports, and my dad had a labor-intensive job. As I got older, though, my eating habits stayed the same. I ate a lot, and most of my calories came from things like hot dogs and instant potatoes.

Before long, I wasn’t moving around enough to offset the massive amount of calories I was taking in, and needless to say my health wasn’t so hot. I needed to re-boot my tastebuds, and fast.

Here’s what my diet looked like:

• I didn’t eat fruit or vegetables.
• Meat consisted of hot dogs and Tyson chicken.
• I thought “eating healthy” meant ordering the iceberg lettuce salad with deep-fried chicken nuggets.
• I did drink water, but only if you count melted ice cubes in my Lipton instant sugar-water tea.

I had work to do, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

What are taste buds?

A typical taste bud

Taste buds are small receptors on your tongue that register what you’ve tasted, then relay the message to your brain. Most of the “buds” sit on the front raised part of your tongue but “buds” are divided into multiple sections.

The least of your taste sensation can be found towards the flatter back area of the tongue. These stations help to identify the five primary “tastes,” which are sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory.

Change the shape of buds to come

The great thing about taste buds is that we can change them, thus changing our entire eating habits, in as little as two to four weeks! This is why a lot of diet programs utilize a detox system — to help steer you into a better eating direction with actual taste sensations.

Of course, the problem with a lot of diets is that many “diet foods” are either smaller amounts of the crap we normally eat, or else they’re frankenfoods so loaded with chemicals that even if there’s some healthy stuff in there somewhere, you have to wade through half a cup of crap to get to it.

You should be able to enjoy the broccoli without the fake chemical cheese. The natural flavors and colors of real food should make your mouth water. If they don’t, then maybe it’s time to re-boot your taste buds.

You’ve been eating cake all your life; how do you expect to fall for broccoli overnight?!

Change creates change

Slowly, I started trying new foods. I started being grateful for the amazing selection of food in the world. As my culinary horizons broadened, I realized that although I didn’t like everything at first, I eventually acquired an appreciation for new tastes and textures.

I’m not closed-minded in other aspects of my life, so why should I be with something as fantastic as food? I started ditching the hot dogs and picking up the filets.

Now, don’t start thinking that I’m depriving myself. I still eat hot dogs, and hamburgers, and I love fries. The difference is the ingredients, and how they’re cooked.

I cook, I create, and I enjoy every bit of eating. You can do that too, enjoy every bit of your eating, and still achieve and maintain your dream body. In fact, for me, it’s the biggest key to doing so. The majority of us can’t achieve and sustain leanness by constantly “dirty dieting.” That doesn’t mean you can’t lose fat, but you’re going to be stacking the cards high against yourself.

The 4-week taste bud detox

All it takes to re-boot your taste buds is four weeks. The goal of this is to learn how to taste food again. A lot of people experience this same taste bud reprogramming with the Velocity Diet. Don’t fret, though; if you find something like the V-Diet to hard to follow, you’ll be pleased to know that this program is easy! Also, this isn’t about fat loss, and can fit into any diet and training program.

Since each taste has its own sensor, we’re going to attack it one taste bud at a time.

Taste bud #1: salty

These are probably the most accessed taste buds in the country, with sweet coming in a close second. In fact, for most Americans, it’s safe to say that these taste buds are constantly on sensory overload.

When you over-stimulate a taste-bud, it’s like a drug: it takes more and more to satisfy you. Before long, even though your food may taste “okay” to you, it’s likely got enough salt in it to shrivel a whole garden full of slugs.

Assignment: eat 90% unpackaged foods, use a “lite” salt, and maintain your sodium intake at 500 milligrams for every 500 calories you eat.

*Note: if you do heavy cardio, be sure to have some extra sodium around the times you train.

Taste bud #2: sour

Drinking straight lemon juice can be a piquant experience.

A lot of people get sour and bitter confused, but there’s a distinct difference. Sour is the detection of acidity and in general sour foods are cleansing foods. Think acid, and then think “palate cleansing.” Items like lemons and limes are sours.

Assignment: Turn to acids more for seasonings, particularly with meats (i.e. lemon juice on your fish). Also, drink water with a slice of lemon with every meal.

Taste Bud #3 Bitter

Our bitter taste buds actually evolved as a mechanism for detecting poisons. This should suggest that when we taste something bitter, we should avoid it as if it were cyanide gas. However, it’s not that simple. For example, one of the most antioxidant foods ever is unsweetened natural chocolate, which is bitter as all get-out.

Black, white, and green teas are all pretty bitter, and their antioxidant qualities are equally legendary. I don’t suggest you chew on nickels, or quaff a frothing mug of rat poison, but you shouldn’t be afraid of a good piece of chocolate.

Assignment: Instead of ending meals with a sweet, end it with a bitter. Ending a meal with a bitter taste in your mouth can stave off those fifteen-minute-later “still hungry” binges.

Taste bud #4: Sweet

It doesn’t get much sweeter than this.

The sweetness taste bud is the downfall of a lot of people’s diets. Interestingly enough, what the “sweet tooth” craves isn’t necessarily sugar, or even carbohydrate. Nine times out of ten, though, that’s what people reach for to feed the craving.

Studies suggest that then the leptin receptors in taste buds are deficient or over-stimulated, it causes problems with the natural hunger and fat storage signaling in the brain. In other words, over-feeding your sweet tooth is bad news. Replacing real sweets with fake isn’t the answer, as artificial sweeteners over-stimulate the taste buds just the same.

Assignment: Cut out all refined and artificial sugars for one month. Get your sweetness kicks only from natural food sources like fruit, veggies, and fats. Buy as fresh and as high-quality as possible.

Taste bud #5: Savory

The Japanese call this “fifth taste” umami, and it’s best represented by the taste of a seared Kobe beef steak. It’s your “protein tooth,” if you will: your amino acid taster. The savory taste means richness and boldness, not in the way many people think.

When most folks hear the word “rich” their minds jump to images of Godiva chocolate and Haagen-Dazs ice cream. That’s not it at all. Next time you hear the word “rich,” think of a thick, juicy slab of prime rib. Studies suggest that satisfying this taste bud can help trigger repair functions in the body even before the amino acids in the food have been digested.

Assignment: No packaged processed meats. That doesn’t mean it has to be organic free range but it should be fresh or properly frozen and unseasoned. Try cooking processes that bring out the true flavor of the meat itself, and add flavor enhancers rather than coverings. Outdoor grilling, salt-free spice rubs, light oils, and fresh herbs are great places to start.

Putting it all together

You can’t completely change your tastes overnight. For those who are scared to dive in, I recommend starting off easy. Stick to fruits and vegetables that have more natural sweetness at first, like cooked carrots, sugar snap peas, bananas, pineapple, and apples. Later, move towards more delicate flavors and subtle tastes.

In general, ease up on the salt! You need some sodium for training, but you don’t need loads. Too much sodium isn’t good for electrolyte balance, and can make you look bloated. Drinking more water will also help with this, and will keep your body constantly cleansed.

The Ultimate Cleansing Meal

Below is a great example of how you can eat for the next 30 days without feeling deprived. Again, start simple, but I wanted to give you an example of what a clean course of eating can look like from start to dessert.

Starter:
Plain Mixed Green Salad with Fresh Parmesan Shavings

Entrée:
Wild Smoked Salmon with Lime Juice and Fresh Dill
Steamed Asparagus

Photo courtesy of Body By Eats by Leigh Peele

Dessert:
Two Pieces of 85% Bitter Chocolate and Black Coffee

Life after re-booting your buds

There’s a whole fascinating world out there beyond blue-box macaroni and crap, and Slim Cow ice cream treats; all you have to do to enjoy it, is re-awaken your taste buds. If you can commit to eating clean and using your taste buds to their full advantage for a month, I guarantee it’ll help speed up your body comp goals.

Lastly, this isn’t just about health, I assure you. It’s about taste.

*You can find this article originally posted on Figure Athlete.com