So, a few friends have been asking about my eating plan at the moment. Basically, I'm a big believer in Science and the fact that our bodies simply haven't evolved as fast as our diet has. Most people in Western countries are fat; they are struggling with their weight and rushing to the gym, spending more money, on getting thin. This is not healthy, mentally or otherwise.
I employ two techniques that have helped me lose weight over the past six weeks. It's not just that I have lost weight, but I have gained muscle and am starting to look toned, despite the fact I've been to the gym about six times total (mostly in the past two weeks haha).
I am intermittent fasting and I am eating paleo.
Intermittent fasting means that I don't eat breakfast. Most people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but most people are fat... so? Is this really true? I don't think so. Your cortisol levels are a lot more sensitive in the morning, in fact they are 10 times more sensitive than a few hours later, say around 11am. This means that when you eat in the morning, your body is much more likely to have a glucose spike and that will cause you to be hungry, much hungrier than if you ate later in the day.
Pretend you were a caveman, or cavelady, because our bodies are still this primitive. What would happen first thing in the morning? Would you rush to the fridge and grab a couple of slices of processed bread and spread some processed spread on them? Nope. You'd fast, until your caveman goes out and hunts something delicious for you. You'd be fasting, you would spend the morning of your day working or hunting without food, until maybe lunch time when you would then eat.
And you know what would happen? You'd be fine! The first few days I skipped breakfast I felt weird... but it made me a lot more conscious of my eating. No longer was I getting up in the morning and just shoving anything I could find into my mouth. I was actively analysing my food; whether it had any nutritional value and what benefit I would get from eating it. No more mindless eating.
The other bonus is obviously there's a calorie deficit Which means that it's harder to go above a good number of calories for you on a daily basis. This also means you can enjoy eating out occasionally without feeling guilt or overanalysing your calories for the day. It gives you some breathing space.
Now, I eat paleo which means that I avoid things that my cavelady or caveman friends would not be able to find. I avoid dairy, although I have 1-2 servings a week. I avoid bread (processed), rice, potatoes, pasta and anything that comes in a package... really. When I go to the supermarket I hover around the meat and vege section and that's basically it. Most of my carbs come from sweet potato and my diet is relatively high protein.
I think of the nutrition content of anything - what is bread? It's basically just a dense bit of energy. If I have extra fat on my body, do I need this bread? No. So I don't eat it. Sometimes I'll have chocolate, I'll drink occasionally but the weird thing I noticed was that my body no longer craved shit things. My body wants good food. I feel stronger, clearer and thinner. I look better.
It's the simplest thing; eating how our bodies evolved. Feeding it what it needs, rather than what your mind wants. I avoid white processed sugar, as it is only energy and hold no real value for my body.
I implement one cheat day a week, although it isn't strict and I'm very flexible. In the first four weeks I lost about 6ks, from 67kgs down to 61. At present I'm not really dropping weight, although I have noticed that my body keeps reshaping. I can see lines where my abs are, muscles in my arms and overall I just feel better.
It's working for me, I'm not sure it would work for everyone, but I can't see why not.
I employ two techniques that have helped me lose weight over the past six weeks. It's not just that I have lost weight, but I have gained muscle and am starting to look toned, despite the fact I've been to the gym about six times total (mostly in the past two weeks haha).
I am intermittent fasting and I am eating paleo.
Intermittent fasting means that I don't eat breakfast. Most people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but most people are fat... so? Is this really true? I don't think so. Your cortisol levels are a lot more sensitive in the morning, in fact they are 10 times more sensitive than a few hours later, say around 11am. This means that when you eat in the morning, your body is much more likely to have a glucose spike and that will cause you to be hungry, much hungrier than if you ate later in the day.
Pretend you were a caveman, or cavelady, because our bodies are still this primitive. What would happen first thing in the morning? Would you rush to the fridge and grab a couple of slices of processed bread and spread some processed spread on them? Nope. You'd fast, until your caveman goes out and hunts something delicious for you. You'd be fasting, you would spend the morning of your day working or hunting without food, until maybe lunch time when you would then eat.
And you know what would happen? You'd be fine! The first few days I skipped breakfast I felt weird... but it made me a lot more conscious of my eating. No longer was I getting up in the morning and just shoving anything I could find into my mouth. I was actively analysing my food; whether it had any nutritional value and what benefit I would get from eating it. No more mindless eating.
The other bonus is obviously there's a calorie deficit Which means that it's harder to go above a good number of calories for you on a daily basis. This also means you can enjoy eating out occasionally without feeling guilt or overanalysing your calories for the day. It gives you some breathing space.
Now, I eat paleo which means that I avoid things that my cavelady or caveman friends would not be able to find. I avoid dairy, although I have 1-2 servings a week. I avoid bread (processed), rice, potatoes, pasta and anything that comes in a package... really. When I go to the supermarket I hover around the meat and vege section and that's basically it. Most of my carbs come from sweet potato and my diet is relatively high protein.
I think of the nutrition content of anything - what is bread? It's basically just a dense bit of energy. If I have extra fat on my body, do I need this bread? No. So I don't eat it. Sometimes I'll have chocolate, I'll drink occasionally but the weird thing I noticed was that my body no longer craved shit things. My body wants good food. I feel stronger, clearer and thinner. I look better.
It's the simplest thing; eating how our bodies evolved. Feeding it what it needs, rather than what your mind wants. I avoid white processed sugar, as it is only energy and hold no real value for my body.
I implement one cheat day a week, although it isn't strict and I'm very flexible. In the first four weeks I lost about 6ks, from 67kgs down to 61. At present I'm not really dropping weight, although I have noticed that my body keeps reshaping. I can see lines where my abs are, muscles in my arms and overall I just feel better.
It's working for me, I'm not sure it would work for everyone, but I can't see why not.
