Eating

Naturally Lean for Life – The Simple Map

Nutrition is number 1: 80% of the lean equation is nutrition. Get this part nailed down, throw in a little exercise here and there (the exercise map will be posted later), and your excess body fat should start dropping.

Drinking: Your drinks should be mostly water. Do not drink juices or anything with calories. A little coffee and herbal tea is fine. Leave the sweeteners and creamers (and alcohol) out of your drinks. No artificial sweeteners. No soy of any kind. No alcoholic beverages. And yes, beer counts as alcohol. No beer.

One drink that is ok that has a few calories is coconut water. On the plus side, coconut water has a lot of electrolytes. 12 ounces or so has about 60 calories.  60 calories of coconut water to rehydrate after a lot of sweating is ok. (Unnecessary detail- In comparison, a 12 oz Coca-Cola Classic has 140 calories).

Eating: Eat real food. Real food is what people ate before the advent of cheap industrial processed factory food. Real food includes stuff like meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, berries, fruit, and healthy oils like coconut or extra virgin olive oil. Choose the highest quality food whenever you can.  Grass-fed, organic, no hormones, no pesticides, free range, etc. For an in-depth look at industrial food processing watch the film Food, Inc.

Your location and your budget will determine how ‘pure’ you can be.

Eat foods with very few ingredients or that have no ingredients at all because they’re fresh and natural. (Like  cabbage, for example)

Eat a variety of non-dairy protein (fish, pork, beef, poultry, eggs, nuts, and seeds). Aim for lower fat (leaner) proteins as a rule but high fat is not bad and is not to be avoided. Diversify your protein intake. Eating nothing but bacon for weeks is probably not a good idea—but bacon here and there is definitely not bad. And it is tasty!

Eat a variety of leafy veggies. Eat different veggies often. Lots of colors and lots of textures is better. The less cooked the better, but cooking the veggies is fine, too. Eliminate the starchy veggies like potatoes, yams, etc especially during a fat loss effort.

Eat berries when you can. A handful or two is enough. No sugar or whipped cream or yogurt- just the berries.

Eat a little fruit. If you are trying to lose body fat, you will need to be careful here. A piece or two a day if you are not intensely working out that day is plenty.

Foods to avoid, at least for 30 days.

For the maximum effect totally eliminate or radically cut down on these for at least your first 30 days or so. They are listed in the order of importance (which is my personal opinion).

1. Do not eat sugars or sweeteners of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, aspartame, Splenda, or Truvia, etc. The jury is still out on stevia, but for the most certain fat loss, skip the stevia, too. Zero sweetener.

2. Do not eat grains at all. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn, corn derivatives, oatmeal, and all of those gluten-free grain-like products. Zero grain.

3. Do not eat any potatoes, yams, or any other very starchy vegetables. Zero potatoes.

3. Do not eat processed foods. This includes factory food, most fast foods, most snacks, most foods  that comes in a bag or a box  (fresh or frozen fruits and veggies in bags or boxes are ok), prepackaged drinks and shakes, processed ‘health’ bars (like Zone bars or granola bars), dairy-free creamers, etc. Zero processed foods.

Larabars, on the other hand, are mostly ok. Read the ingredients, though- the Larabar company might change their ingredients one day. Use Larabars like dessert. 1 daily is probably ok, but I try to only eat them after I have worked out pretty intensely.

4. Do not eat legumes (beans). This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter- peanuts are actually legumes, not nuts.  No bean products, like hummus or bean dip. Zero legumes.

5. Do not drink alcohol, in any form. Especially beer. Zero alcohol.

6. Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, milk, cheese, yogurt, and cream in your coffee. Zero dairy.

That’s it. That’s the simple map to eating and drinking on your way to becoming naturally lean. It is s simply saner way to eat.