I've been working on a computer virus for the past couple hours and managed to get it fixed. Rogue antivirus programs are extremely annoying but a simple fix. For your reference, shut down your computer, bring it up in safe-mode with Networking and download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (or update your current version) run it and it will take care of it, restart the computer when prompted by the program and your done. Otherwise it will not allow you to use anything on your computer until you get rid of it. Anyways, never thought I'd be giving tech advice on here, but I figured now would be as good a time as any to make a post on overall Nutrition and why people have it backwards.
The general school of thought on weight-loss follows this prescription: Eat less calories than you burn, avoid Fat, Exercise, eat low-fat "foods" = Weight loss
I cringe when I hear this because people don't realize this but here is really what that prescription is a possible lead to. Diabetes. Low fat "foods," in general, and I'm going to exclude real FOOD from these statements are typically high carbohydrate (mostly processed) content, nutrient devoid, protein devoid, chemically engineered STUFF that your body doesn't understand as FOOD. High carbohydrate counts without the essential fats that your body needs to function can cause unwanted insulin response, constantly elevated blood sugar (figuring that almost ever meal will be eaten the same way and blood sugar hasn't tapered off by the next meal), and eventually a body who's insulin receptors are EXTREMELY CONFUSED. Then, in the spirit of this weight loss, we have to have our cake and eat it too, so we still need sweet stuff, so we'll use artificial sweeteners, chemicals that our body doesn't understand, but still triggers receptors in our body that trigger the body's Cephalic Insulin reponse (a trigger for enzymes in the body to break down sugars), and when the body doesn't find what it expects to break down, since it doesn't recognize these chemicals as FOOD, it begins to lose sensitivity to such substances, and thus the REAL DEAL when we consume it. It's the proverbial "crying wolf" scenario.
The real prescription for weight loss is as follows, and it's a little non-sensical.
Eat FOOD, ONLY FOOD, JUST ENOUGH, NOT TOO MUCH. You would be surprised how much weight you can lose eating lean meats, cooking with bacon fat/butter/essential oils, eating tasty fruits and veggies, and enjoying nuts and Paleo/Primal baked goods. In reality, the list of things you can eat is astronomical and purely up to your imagination. Pasta and bread is pretty unimaginative. They're just fillers, nutrient devoid, carbohydrate laden, wastes on the proverbial palate. You can do better!
So what should I eat?
Here is a brief list of the good stuff
-Eat breakfast. It's called that for a reason because overnight, you are FASTING. It's the longest period you body will go without eating in 24 hours. It needs a kick-start and the key to that kick-start is a protein rich, relatively low sugar breakfast (although some fruit wont hurt).
Breakfast:
-Eggs (Preferable Local Jumbo eggs, they're delish)
-Leftover meat from previous meal (steak, chicken, pork, fish, anything really)
-or Freshly cooked Bacon (Nitrite free variants you can find at your local whole foods store)
-or Freshly cooked and home-made sausage patties (Essentially it's just ground pork, easily found at the store and red pepper flakes, and a few more ingredients, when I perfect my recipe, i'll post it up, but you should be able to google a good one).
-Nuts of some sort (except peanuts) - Almonds are a Primal persons go-to nut. They're great, and ironically if you eat wild almonds, they'll kill you. There is a reason cyanide smells like almonds, because that is the plant it comes from and the almonds that we eat comes from a genetic anomaly that doesn't produce the toxic levels of cyanide that kill humans. Interesting stuff huh! Aside from this the protein count of nuts is high and they're great in essential fatty oils.
-Berries, especially blue-berries. Blueberries have been proven to help regulate blood sugar in adults. I'll post more as I get more research on this, but not only are they good for you, but they're delicious. Dried blueberries and sliced almonds make a perfect on the go snack for class/work/your busy lifestyle.
-Water/Black Coffee (you can add some agave if you have to)/Tea (same thing) (i'll discuss later the healthier alternatives if you have to have some cream in your coffee).
Since I know some people are thinking about Milk and drink milk, I'll address it. Milk has carbohydrates. It has a sugar content in it. My suggestion, don't drink a ton of it, and don't remove the fat. When you remove the fat from it you remove the good stuff that your body needs and you up the relative sugar to fat ratio. I'm agreeing with Mark Sisson here (The guy who named the Primal lifestyle and wrote "The Primal Blueprint."
Lunch:
No huge burger here! So whats on the menu?
-A big A$$ Salad. Yes, you heard me, a SALAD. Throw as many leafy greens as you want on this bad boy. Personally, I prefer spinach and fresh lettuce that I get off of the bunch myself. Washed thoroughly and thrown into a bag (for convenience). Below is a list of great salad toppings:
-Green Bell Pepper (great snack by itself too)
-Spinach
-Lettuce
-Almond slices
-Avocado (Although depending on the ripeness, might be better eaten separately with a spoon)
-Arugala
-Cucumber
-Red Bell Pepper
-Grapes
-Apple chunks
The list is really endless, just avoid legumes (beans), and tomatoes (although a few small cherry tomatoes might not kill you), croutons, etc...
I'll post a few recipes for primal salad topics (dressings) later, but in general, you don't need them and you can actually enjoy the taste of your vegetables on their own. If you need the protein, you can throw some leftover meat on the salad/in your bag and head out the door. You can make this ahead of time and keep it in the fridge at work. You'll be surprised at how much time you save not having to go get lunch or order lunch every day.
-Fruit of choice
-Water (drink it, lots of it, it's good for you, and your body will thank you)
Dinner:
Now is the time when you get to pull out the nice meats that we so very love.
-Meat of choice: Chicken, Steak, Fish, Pork, other Poultry, etc... Use your imagination here (I'll post a ton of recipes with ideas and suggestions. I'll also post some old lifestyle favorites, presented in a new lifestyle way).
-Veggies of choice, yes, you can have another salad, but you can cook them too if you want.
-If you need it and if you want it, you can have a sweet potato prepared how you want it. I'll post solid recipes for both baked sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, and sweet potatoes fries shortly. Rule of thumb, keep the skin, wash your spuds, eat the skin....Good dietary fiber!
-Water
"Snacks" are a topic i'll cover in later posts
Who is to blame for the first and detrimental school of thought?
Simply put, the responsibility for people's misunderstanding of nutrition on the whole is the food pyramid, its sponsors, the companies who produce these foods, and the government lobby who supports these entities. These food companies have armies of lawyers and lobbyist who work hard to make sure that they can produce what they produce and enjoy the profits they enjoy with relatively no recourse against them. This being said, the one thing that lawyers cant protect them from is demand-side economics, and companies MUST response to market demand (or lack-there-of). We'll talk more about what you can do to fix the "food" delima. The food pyramid is incredibly backwards and I'll post a picture of what it should look like later. You'll be surprised. If you take a look at the food pyramid as we look at it today, and then look at who sponsored the research into the food industry, you'll see why it is the way it is....
Anyways, sleep awaits.
To good health and happy eating!,
-PickyGonePrimal
PS- Feel free to ask questions!
PickyGonePrimal is not a physician, please contact yours before making drastic changes in eating habits. PickyGonePrimal is not responsible for any adverse affects YOU may experienced during the changing of eating habits or adaptation of anything mentioned in his blog posts. These posts are put together out of experience and research and recount information that may be helpful towards your more healthful pursuits. Thank you for reading.
