High Fat & Lower Carb
Before you get into this blog and start breaking down the diet plan that I’m following, remember that everyone’s body is different. What might work for me, might not work for you. The thing to focus on is the general idea of how I’m eating and see if that can help you see how you might be able to alter your diet in order to lose that unwanted fat.
Let’s start here: Fat has gotten a bad rap over the last few decades. With the increasing obesity problems, heart decease, cancer, diabetes and multitude of other conditions that have been plaguing modern society, doesn’t it seem possible that most of the ideas we have about healthy eating might be wrong.
According to the food pyramid, before Michelle Obama made her changes, the majority of our caloric intake was recommended to be carbohydrates. Including grains, breads, cereals and such.
Our fruits and veggies were almost equal. Meat and dairy were equal. And fats were to be used sparingly! Thank you very much USDA for putting together this program.
Then along came Michelle Obama, don’t get me wrong I like her, but she didn’t really do much to help the cause. Here’s a look at Michelle’s “My Plate” created to be more user friendly.
I have to admit, I kind of laugh whenever I look at this plate for 2 reason. First, it’s really not that different then the pyramid except for the fact that is on a freaking plate. Second, WHERE’S THE FAT!! They’ve just eliminated it from the whole diagram all together. Hilarious! And these are the people we’re supposed to be taking our queues from for our nutrition? No thanks!
Over the last year I’ve been researching what others have done and experimented on myself to see how I can get the best results and feel awesome at the same time. I’ve learned a lot about what my body needs and how it responds to exercise and food. I realized how much more important my diet is in comparison to my workouts. Yes, I wouldn’t look the way I do right now without exercise, but I could be just as lean with the proper diet. After I posted my last blog I was asked to share exactly what I’m eating to prepare for this men’s physique competition. I’ve decide to go a little beyond that and help you break down the percentages of my macronutrients, which include my protein, carb and fat intake, along with my caloric intake. Take a look.
As you can see I’ve flipped the food pyramid on it’s head. I’m eating almost 50% fat, 35% Protein and 15% Carbohydrates. Wait a second Rob, we all know our bodies use carbs as fuel and if we’re not getting enough carbs our bodies can’t function! That’s what most people have been taught to believe, so I don’t really blame you for thinking that, but what if the food pyramid was 100% wrong? That would mean we’d have to make Fat the main source of fuel for our body, Protein next and then Carbohydrates would come in last. We should be looking at fat as energy, not carbs.
If you’re interested in changing your life, losing weight, feeling and looking amazing I highly recommend this lifestyle of eating. It definitely takes some getting used to, but after a few weeks it will just become habit. Don’t just take my word for it. This way of eating has been blasted into the world of health and fitness over the last few years with the introduction to the Paleo Diet and a bunch of new studies that are now showing the benefits of a low carb, higher fat diet.
Check out these books that I find really helpful.
1. Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter
2. The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf
3. Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore
Podcasts that just might blow your mind:
1. Fat Burning Man with Abel James
2. Paleo Solution with Robb Wolf
3. Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast
Get interested people! You don’t have to listen to Men’s Health or Shape magazine to learn about health and wellness. The articles in those magazines are written by journalists, not health experts. Don’t be fooled by the “How to Get a 6 Pack in 5 Minute” articles anymore. They’re all bullshit and a complete waste of time. If you want to see your abs, stop eating sugar and grains. If you want to lose weight, workout hard, eat whole food and don’t eat sugar and grains. If you want to be big and strong, workout hard, eat more whole food and don’t eat sugar and grains. It’s that simple! It just takes will power, discipline, and freaking integrity! If you don’t have any of those qualities, I’m sorry, you’ll probably read this blog, forget about it in five minutes and then start google searching some get skinny quick pill. Good luck!
By the way, if you’re reading this post and you’re agreeing with what I’m saying and are interested in hearing more, then you’ll love our new podcast that’s coming out Tuesday, November 5th! To read more articles that I find interesting and helpful, “like” Open Sky Fitness on Facebook. We’re aways posting great articles from other sources we think are awesome.
