Many New Year resolutions include losing (some) weight, and I have received questions regarding the best way to approach that. Here is what I recommend:
1) Cut out the simple carbs from your diet. "Simple" carbs are those that quickly break down and convert to sugar in your blood stream, causing your insulin levels to spike. As long as your insulin levels are high, you CAN NOT burn off the stored body fat, no matter how much you work out. You will only burn off some of what you currently eat and then you will just be hungry for more!
Simple carbs include: pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar and flour (including whole grain bread). You may not believe me, but trust me on this ... the more you cut that out of your diet, the quicker you will lose weight and the healthier you will feel! Sugar and flour are in many, many things ... read the labels, and especially avoid anything that contains high-fructose corn syrup (a sugar substitute). It is even worse than sugar!
2) Eat more complex carbs. "Complex" carbs take longer to break down and have less effect on your insulin levels.
Vegetables and fruit are complex carbs. You can eat vegetables until you turn green and still lose weight! Go easy on the fruit though because of the natural sugars. A couple servings a day is enough. Avoid fruit juices, even if they are completely natural. Imagine how many pieces of fruit it takes to make a glass of juice ... that's a lot of (natural) sugar in one glass. So if you are going to have juice, make it a very small glass.
Note: Complex carbs have far more nutritional value than simple carbs ... which pretty much have NO nutritional value.
3) Eat more protein! Surprisingly, most people do not get enough (good) protein. Beans, tofu, etc don't count! They are an inferior protein to the real thing .... Meat, Poultry and Fish! Get some at every meal .. breakfast as well. Make extra at dinner time and have some leftovers for breakfast. If you don't eat (enough) meat, a good quality Whey protein will help.
Eggs are good! Don't believe what you hear about it raising cholesterol levels ... it simply isn't true and cannot be proven. The body manufactures most of your cholesterol, you can't add to it by eating cholesterol. It is the simple carbs that actually increase your cholesterol levels because of what they cause your body to do.
Speaking of breakfast, it IS the most important meal of the day! It sets your body up for proper functioning for the rest of the day. If you skip breakfast or eat something like a muffin (or toast and processed jam) with a glass of processed fruit juice, then you are sabotaging yourself.
4) Eat more healthy fat! Fat, does not make you fat! The low-fat diet craze of the 80's was based on bad research and was totally wrong. If it was right, why is it that obesity and diabetes has gone through the roof since it's inception?
Healthy fat includes olives, olive oil, nuts (not peanuts .. they are a legume), seeds, avacados, coconut. Eat lots, and this will actually help your body to LOSE fat!
All of this may sound crazy to you. Based on mainstream nutritional advice and the Canada Food Guide, you will think I am "out to lunch". Trust me ... the mainstream advice is based on lies and driven by the agricultural industry, big business and politics. If you want real health, then eat like we evolved to eat ... like a cave man! The general rule: "If you can't hunt it or forage for it, then don't eat it ... it's not food!"
Food has a powerful effect on your health. It can mean the difference between a healthy weight and good overall health, ... or an unhealthy weight and disease ... even cancer. The secret is Insulin control, and your food choices are the keys. They are very powerful ... use them wisely.
I have lots of info available on my blog (see "post by topic" and select "nutrition"), and you can ask me questions any time.
Good luck!
9 comments:
Given that pasta actually has quite a low glycemic index ~40, should it still be included with all the simple/bad carbs?
The problem with pasta is not so much about the glycemic index, but the glycemic LOAD!
Read this:
People tend to eat way too much of it. A serving about the size of your fist (cooked) is more than enough, but typically the bowl or plate is filled, so the actual glycemic LOAD is very high.
Besides that, it is made from processed grains, so there is little to no nutritional value to pasta and it may severely affect people with a gluten intolerance.
So, why fill your belly with an empty calorie that will have a negative affect on your health?
link did not show up above!
"http://www.glycemicindex.com/faqprint.htm"
Nice post Rick!In reality, this is a lifestyle change. You have to want it bad enough to sacrafice. I mean, yea pasta isn't all that great for you, but it sure tastes awesome and leaves me feeling nice and full for a while.
I've been working on this for a while now...I've basically cut bread and all simple carbs out of my diet...but I didn't do it overnight. Reality is, you gotta live too (mmmm...chocolate cake with pizza)! So I think a slower, more gradual change is better and will most likely last. At least that's how it is with me.
I've quit smoking cold turkey before and this is similar in a lot of ways. If you go from one extereme to the next, it will be tough...it is possible to do, but I bet the failure rate is much higher. Like working out...small increases that last.
But you nailed it right on Rick! This is the roadmap. (I'm still waiting for that 6-pack!-lol!)
Hi Vlad.
You are absolutely right. It is easier to make the changes gradually ... start by cutting one or two things out. As that gets easier, cut something else.
Slow steady progressions, just like training, will net big gains in the end.
Thank you for sharing your experience with this and bringing up this point.
Keep up the great work!
It's true the glycemic load is high, but in this case it is really just a representation of the caloric/carbohydrate density of the food (thus affecting the amount that tends to be consumed). I see why glycemic load is usefull for reduced calorie consumption, but in terms of health if you don't have caloric excess I don't see why it is a factor.
The point of empty calories is a good one, although in themselves they don't seem bad for you as long as your other food is meeting your nutritional requirements.
I guess what I was trying to get at is, given pasta's low glycemic index is it better to consume the same number of calories from them as say a bagel or rice which have a much higher index.
I quit crap carbs cold turkey and lost 25lbs in 6 months. Why anyone would want to ingest pasta or any other flour based food is beyond me. I mean the documentation is out there, you just need to do some research. My old pasta meals have turned to spaghetti squash and homemade sauce with ground turkey. It blows any pasta dish out of the water. If I told you I didn't eat pizza I would be lying. The serving size for pasta is a joke anyways, I'd rather eat a half can of tuna, walnuts, and some veg than pasta. Just saying.....Great topic.
Thanks Jay, for your input and for sharing your experience with this issue.
Spagetti squash is a great alternative and much more flavorful (in my humble opinion).
I would also be lying if I said I NEVER ate pizza or anything else flour - based. However, it is a very occasional "treat" for eating so clean most of the time.
I go by the 90% rule ... eat clean 90% of the time, and enjoy the tastier, not-so-healthy "treats" once in a while (10%). After all, we are human and need to enjoy life a little ... even if it is bad for us, lol!
Hey Jay, out of curiosity, how much simple carbs did you have in your diet before you went cold turkey?
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