I’ve Given It Some More Thought
My Primal Living Diet for Life – This eating plan is made up of two diet philosophies: the raw foods concept as espoused by Dr. Doug Graham of the 8-1-1rv camp, and Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint, a program of paleo/primal foods. Being neither an absolutist in one or the other, but an agnostic in what is sometimes called ‘common knowledge,’ I am taking what I consider the best of both worlds and applying them to an experiment of one – me. On the one side, a raw foods diet is made up of fresh, whole, unrefined, living, plant-based foods: fruits, leafy greens, vegetables, nuts and seeds, which are consumed in their natural state without cooking or steaming. Primal eating per the ‘Primal Blueprint’ is made up of lean meats, fowl, eggs, sensible healthy fats, and is very low in carbohydrates. It avoids most grains and sugars and focuses on eating foods as our long-ago ancestors ate. So my diet will be a combination of the two programs – lean proteins from beef, pork (mostly lean ham and bacon), eggs (lots of eggs), chicken, and some whey protein powder in 2% milk. Along with this, I will eat abundantly from the raw side with fresh vegetables (mostly non-starchy ones), some fresh fruits, a handful of nuts every few days, and fats in the form of avocados, etc. A common saying is “Eat real food, not much.” The true key to losing weight / bodyfat is to eat fewer calories than you spend in energy output. This is true regardless of the number and ratio of micronutrients, be they protein, fats or carbohydrates. To lose a pound of body fat, one MUST consume 3,500 kilo-calories less than one burns – despite the “is a calorie a calorie” crowd comparing types of foods. So “Eat Less – Move More” becomes a mantra for better health and fitness. Eat less of the ‘right’ foods and get more physical exercise – a winning prescription. (Eat as little of the ‘wrong’ foods as possible, allowing for reasonable exceptions due to company and circumstances.) Do not become a zealot in this matter – it’s just food. Use it for nourishment and rebuilding the body, not for entertainment or comfort. Eating less food, but eating the right kinds of foods, will allow me to rebuild the shape and health of my body. Getting more of the correct types of exercise (mostly body weight, suspension and low-level cardio) will reshape the physique into the lean, muscular build I want to achieve. Eating this way will require that I know the calories I’m consuming as well as the energy output of my exercises. This means for a short while – two or three months, I will be restricting the variety of foods to a known value and quantity. What follows is a list of “acceptable” foods… there will be a few add-ons occasionally, but this will make up the bulk of the foods and drink I will allow on this plan: Water, filtered/purified Eggs, whole Tea, black & green Beef, lean Coffee, w/cream Bacon/Ham, lean Milk, 2% (limit) Fish (tuna/salmon) Chicken Broccoli, steamed Cabbage, shredded Avocados Carrots Bananas Celery Grapes, seedless Cucumber Lemons/Limes Lettuce(s) Olives Onions Oranges Potatoes, dutch/baked Peaches, canned Spinach, raw leaf Pineapple, canned Tomatoes Watermelon Zucchini, grilled Almonds Whey protein powder Cashews Beef Jerky Walnuts Two meals a day of approx. 800 calories each; as I work at night (9PM-5AM), my tentative meals will be at 2pm and 7pm; I have a ‘lunch break’ during the working hours, but will not be eating any food during it – drinking water and/or teas instead. This will be my ‘eating plan’ from now (10/18/10) through the end of the year. An occasional modification for days off and meals out with my wife – but the main plan is the main plan.
