If What You're Doing is Working - Ignore This

I'm not sure why so many people think "eating balanced" or "everything in moderation" makes so much sense. You wouldn't say that it's ok to just do a little cocaine right? Some junk is just junk and should be kept as low as possible. I think the great quote from Benjamin Franklin is "Keep all things in moderation, including moderation." There is a time for being hardcore, I believe.

Is the cocaine example too much? Alright - maybe. What about eating a moderate piece of fudge every day, and a moderate amount of pizza and McDonalds? I think we all know where that leads.

Some people think keeping fat low is the answer to weight loss - I tried that with mixed results. It did reduce my fat and left me fairly lean, but I couldn't stop binging on sugary/carb foods. The problem was I was trying to eat that junk in moderation. That's way harder for someone like me than just cutting the cord entirely.

It wasn't until I gave up having a few hundred grams of carbs/sugar (which are basically the same thing) a day, that my binges came under control and I finally could stay on track for long period of times.

Paleo lowish carb nutrition has worked for me for over a year now. It has been amazing. It's made eating out so easy, and less stressful, it's helped with keeping my body fat nice and low and has helped with my general energy levels. I no longer crash after a big carb meal, my energy is more of a baseline all day long. Sleep has improved and all my blood tests have come back with improved numbers.

I don't worry about calories at all - that's a tremendous relief. It caused a lot of unnecessary stress worrying that I'd be over calorie by the end of the day, under calorie, miss a 3 hour feeding window - whatever. Now, I eat 2-3 meals a day, until full, no worries.

Here's my simple rules:

Eat: Animals/Veggies

Don't Eat: everything else. (including wheat, rice, corn, anything out of a box, fruit, sugar)

wait.... fruit?

Yeah - here's the thing.

Fruit has some great stuff in it (although all that can be found in a healthy variety of veggies) but also a bunch of fructose. That's not so great. It's probably too long to post the whole thing, but can you just go with me that fructose won't help big weight loss. Once a client is close to their goal weight, some fruit probably won't hurt, but during the big weight loss portion, I recommend to stay away.

Can overeating protein/fat make you fat?

OF COURSE!

However, when is the last time you really binged hard on protein and fat? If you have - then by all means, ignore me. But if you're like me, I never binged on steak and chicken. It was always carbs/sugar. Ice Cream, Doughnuts, Cake, Pie, Chocolate, Chips - whatever. I have a long long long history of binging and not once crushed an animal in a 3 day mega binge.

I believe that for many of us who struggle with overeating and weight gain - carbs/sugar (love how that's one word?) are as much of an addiction as heroin or cocaine. In fact, it actually activates the same part of your brain - the reward center.

I wish that I could have just a bite of a doughnut and walk away, but I can't. That bite will lead to a whole pie, a pizza, a bag of doritos and all the rest. I've stayed lean for a couple years by completely eliminating all carbs except veggies from my life.

If what you do is working for you - then please, keep doing it. But if it's not - if you're struggling, try my way for a month. If you do it and it doesn't work - you may come to Pittsburgh and kick me in the shin.

Steve.

Resources:
www.Whole9Life.com
www.Marksdailyapple.com
www.RobbWolf.com
The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
www.KnightFit.com - by me.