I'm still not sure why, but the post I wrote about being a fat loss scientist continues to be the most popular thing on this blog. It's an idea that I really believe in. Taking control of your own health and fitness, and not relying on other people's experience for everything. It's your body after all.
Experimenting with different foods and ways of eating is fun, and also a great way to find out what makes you feel your best. My latest experiments have included bulletproof coffee, and eating paleo. I hate that name, by the way, so let's just say eating real food. One was an epic fail, the other a huge success and a big help in reaching my goals.
Bulletproof coffee was the fail. There is a good reason why though. When you read about bulletproof coffee, it's presented in a way that claims that the rules of caloric balance don't apply to grass fed butter, and coconut oil. The fact that I bought into this is slightly embarrassing, to say the least. I gained a lot of fat super fast. Something to the tune of 1kg per week. But here's why. People are losing weight with bulletproof coffee because they are using it as a stepping stone into the world of intermittent fasting. Replacing breakfast with fatty coffee. This lets you consume fewer calories, and more than likely you would be replacing processed carbs (aka healthy breakfast foods) with good healthy fats. That's a perfect switch. In my case though, I went from completely fasting to drinking a 500 calorie cup of coffee. Not such a great trade. The rules of caloric balance apply, the nice new layer of fat on my stomach is proof.
I still think that the concept of replacing breakfast with a cup of fatty coffee is a wonderful idea for the majority of people. The effect of most breakfast foods on your body is less than desirable, and most people aren't eating enough healthy fat. But, you have to remember that at the end of the day things need to balance out.
Eating real foods, and thinking about the way people ate thousands of years ago has been a great revelation. This concept gets a big thumbs up in my books. My take on it differs slightly from the hardcore paleo people though. There are two major differences.
The first is this. Just because a food is "natural" doesn't mean it's natural to eat frequently or in large quantities. The best example is nuts. Almonds are healthy, and natural. But, when in history have people been able to go out and buy large bags of pre-shelled roasted almonds? If you had to shell them yourself, you'd eat three, give up, kill a bear, and chow down. Killing a bear would probably be easier than cracking those damn things open. Being so easy to eat makes them incredibly easy to overeat. I will have some now and then, but view them more as a treat. A delicious, addictive treat.
The second difference has to do with realistically looking at my goals. I want to look amazing, and be as strong as humanly possible. Paleolithic people didn't care about squatting heavy weight and having low body fat. I care about these things. So, I make exceptions. After I lift heavy weights I eat lots of carbs. These carbs could be from sweet potatoes, jasmine rice, or even evil-gluten-laden-bread from time to time. These are not "paleo foods", but I don't have "paleo goals". It makes sense to me.
I think that experimenting with food choices, and even dabbling with "fads" like bulletproof coffee is great fun. I learn more and more each time I try something new. The funny thing is, the more I figure out, arguably the hard way, the more I realize that eating meat and vegetables, and throwing in some carbs after heavy weight lifting sessions, is what makes me feel the best. There is nothing fancy or cutting edge about this. Don't buy into the idea of super foods, or fast fat loss diets. Just eat real food, and be healthy. I truly believe that it's better to think of fat loss as a by product of good health. Eat real foods most of the time, and be conscious about what is truly a healthy food choice. I assure you that if you eat a bag of 'healthy" almonds every day you will get fat. In my case it's the cashews I have to watch out for. I will eat the whole bag.
My challenge for you is to experiment. Try something, anything really. Take bread out of your diet and see how you feel. Or try to eat two cups of leafy greens every day, see if you start poopin like a champ. Just try something different, and see what it does for YOU. Let me know what you try, and how it works.
Experimenting with different foods and ways of eating is fun, and also a great way to find out what makes you feel your best. My latest experiments have included bulletproof coffee, and eating paleo. I hate that name, by the way, so let's just say eating real food. One was an epic fail, the other a huge success and a big help in reaching my goals.
Bulletproof Coffee
Bulletproof coffee was the fail. There is a good reason why though. When you read about bulletproof coffee, it's presented in a way that claims that the rules of caloric balance don't apply to grass fed butter, and coconut oil. The fact that I bought into this is slightly embarrassing, to say the least. I gained a lot of fat super fast. Something to the tune of 1kg per week. But here's why. People are losing weight with bulletproof coffee because they are using it as a stepping stone into the world of intermittent fasting. Replacing breakfast with fatty coffee. This lets you consume fewer calories, and more than likely you would be replacing processed carbs (aka healthy breakfast foods) with good healthy fats. That's a perfect switch. In my case though, I went from completely fasting to drinking a 500 calorie cup of coffee. Not such a great trade. The rules of caloric balance apply, the nice new layer of fat on my stomach is proof.I still think that the concept of replacing breakfast with a cup of fatty coffee is a wonderful idea for the majority of people. The effect of most breakfast foods on your body is less than desirable, and most people aren't eating enough healthy fat. But, you have to remember that at the end of the day things need to balance out.
Real Food
The first is this. Just because a food is "natural" doesn't mean it's natural to eat frequently or in large quantities. The best example is nuts. Almonds are healthy, and natural. But, when in history have people been able to go out and buy large bags of pre-shelled roasted almonds? If you had to shell them yourself, you'd eat three, give up, kill a bear, and chow down. Killing a bear would probably be easier than cracking those damn things open. Being so easy to eat makes them incredibly easy to overeat. I will have some now and then, but view them more as a treat. A delicious, addictive treat.
The second difference has to do with realistically looking at my goals. I want to look amazing, and be as strong as humanly possible. Paleolithic people didn't care about squatting heavy weight and having low body fat. I care about these things. So, I make exceptions. After I lift heavy weights I eat lots of carbs. These carbs could be from sweet potatoes, jasmine rice, or even evil-gluten-laden-bread from time to time. These are not "paleo foods", but I don't have "paleo goals". It makes sense to me.I think that experimenting with food choices, and even dabbling with "fads" like bulletproof coffee is great fun. I learn more and more each time I try something new. The funny thing is, the more I figure out, arguably the hard way, the more I realize that eating meat and vegetables, and throwing in some carbs after heavy weight lifting sessions, is what makes me feel the best. There is nothing fancy or cutting edge about this. Don't buy into the idea of super foods, or fast fat loss diets. Just eat real food, and be healthy. I truly believe that it's better to think of fat loss as a by product of good health. Eat real foods most of the time, and be conscious about what is truly a healthy food choice. I assure you that if you eat a bag of 'healthy" almonds every day you will get fat. In my case it's the cashews I have to watch out for. I will eat the whole bag.
My challenge for you is to experiment. Try something, anything really. Take bread out of your diet and see how you feel. Or try to eat two cups of leafy greens every day, see if you start poopin like a champ. Just try something different, and see what it does for YOU. Let me know what you try, and how it works.
