Nutrition
The easy version…
What does your plate look like?
The longer version…
When it comes to nutrition there’s no shortage of information available. Low fat, no fat, high carb, low carb, fruit juice, super protein, cottage cheese, goat cheese, no cheese, stone age, new age, fasting, and a seemingly endless array of other diets are making their way around the world. It seems anyone who ever lost a pound is a born again authority when it comes to eating. I don’t want to further complicate an already complicated issue so here is what Crossfit has to say on the subject.
“In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts, little starch/grains, and no sugar. That’s about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.”
-Crossfit.com
Whether you know it or not, you are on a diet. It may not be spelled out for you like the Atkins or the South Beach but the food you put in your mouth, good or bad, IS your diet. There’s nothing earth shattering about a nutritious menu. We all know a quarter pounder with fries and a coke isn’t a healthy choice, that fruits and veggies are just super duper, and that water somehow bests coffee and soda. But we also know that frozen meals are easier to prepare, that take out is faster and that the snack machine at work never runs out of Dorritos. We live in a world that makes it extraordinarily convenient to eat poorly.
However… That doesn’t dissolve your responsibility in the matter. If you want to see a change then you’re going to have to change something. Uproot the foundations of your current diet and pioneer your way into healthier choices. It’s not going to be hard. It’s going to be different. To make the transition easier, below are 2 diets that I’ve personally tried, found success with and believe in. Although weight loss isn’t a concern for me the eating habits I’ve adapted through these diets has lead to an increase in energy, post workout recovery, and an undeniable overall feeling of wellness. Other folks I’ve recommended these diets to have found success in the aforementioned areas as well as a decrease in excess body fat. Definitely worth trying. Both are essentially low carb diets, with differing stances on types of carbs consumed.
The Zone Diet. Eat whatever you want just do it in the right quantities.
The Paleo Diet. Eat quality foods, quantity be damned.
The Zone links:
Paleo Links:
Paleo Recipes
Zone and Paleo Recipes
Videos:
A rebuttal to the High Fructose Corn Syrup” commercials…
A quick note about processed grains and vegatable oil
Bottom Line: Eat This Stuff, EVERYDAY
MEAT
POULTRY
FISH
FRUITS & VEGGIES
And don’t eat this stuff…
BREAD - PASTA
Anything in a box, bag, or jar
Anything with a shelf life. Food is PERISHABLE!
Have to say I’m one of those who was on a course of disaster with diets and had the misconception that I was eating good and healthy. As JP’s dad I was there at the beginning stages of his fitness club and there fore his first client, so to speak. I prefer to call myself his first victim. We started out with diet, excluding all breads, pastas and sugars, and progressed into doing a series of pushups and squats etc every time we opened the frig. I also had the misconception that I was in good shape as my first attempt at pushups came up very light and within a week was doing them with ease. I also lost at least 25 lbs in say 6 weeks. the zone diet is great and you are never hungry, you are just eating healthy and in small portions. Two things I have learned is never allow yourself to become overly hungry and never leave the table totally full. Fresh fruits and veggies, raw or cooked any way you like, chicken, turkey, seafood, and lean beef and pork. there’s a hundred ways to do a stir fry with any combination of meats or poultry or sea food. stay away from processed foods, or the middle aisles in the grocery stores and cut out or cut back on bread items, pastas and off course sugar. tatters is another item to cut back on with the starch and high carb content. I find my self in my 60s and a trucker, sitting in truck stops or places I load or unload, do people watching, and I see a vast majority of men, way younger than me, so out of shape and even obese, that I have to chuckle to myself. Most people, I’d say, live to eat, where they should start considering eating to live. I am, and I don’t look to live any longer from eating right and exercising, but I do think and project that I will live right up to the end with full function and mobility, and a positive state of mind.