26 Oct Ditch the Excessive Carbs!

It’s quite often found that an overweight individual is given advice of from their doctor or medical practitioner to consume more carbohydrates and less fat. For example, people with high cholesterol get told to keep whole grain bread in their diet for fibre and to make sure they start making “healthy” decisions, like having no butter or “low cholesterol” margarines.

Because their insulin-resistant bodies can’t handle carbs well, they produce lots of insulin in an attempt to to get over the hump. Big problem? Yes, those carbs aren’t sequestered into insulin-sensitive muscle glycogen stores as energy, because the muscle is insulin-resistant. Meanwhile, the excessive insulin prevents the burning of fat and any extra fat and carbs from the meal are instead sequestered into fat cells. People get fatter.

Since the food isn’t being used and is instead being stored away for later use, the body thinks it’s starving and gets hungrier as a result. People eat more carbs. The cycle continues uninterrupted.

This is your body using the sugars/carbohydrates as fuel. Its time to change the fuel.

You see, fat is the perfect fuel for us. It’s efficient. It burns clean. And it’s the type of fuel our bodies like to burn. Otherwise, why else would we store it on our bodies for harsh times where we have limited access to food? Like a bear that hibernates, fat storing is our body’s way of prepping for survival mode.

That’s what people miss about body fat. It’s not just “there” because we messed up and our body has nowhere to put it. Body fat, or adipose tissue, is stored energy. Sure, the obese have way too much body fat, but the fact is that our bodies evolved the ability to put fat into fat cells because it is effective fuel.

The problem is that many of us are broken. Sedentary living, modern food toxins, too much stress, not enough sleep, and a distinct lack of play and fun, have fundamentally changed the way we process fuel. Many of us can’t even access the stored fat, instead running on sugar (and poorly at that). All that stored energy – body fat – is going to waste.

So, if you’re overweight or obese, chances are you’re broken. And – at least for the time being until you’re healed – excess carbohydrates are making the problem worse.

But you can be fixed. You don’t need doctors or medication or expensive treatments. You just need to start accessing your body fat and burning fat for fuel.

So how? We take a whole and real foods approach to eating. If it’s in a packet or it’s man made it’s probably not good for you. “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seed, some fruit, little starch and NO SUGAR” (Greg Gassman, CEO of CrossFit Inc.).

Animal meats, especially beef and lamb, are rich in protein (important for building muscle and keeping you full) and have the extra benefit of both saturated and monounsaturated fats that are essential for the body and promote fat burning. You also get all of the micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, that the animal ate in a form your body can absorb. (One of the many reasons we recommend free range, wild caught or grass fed meats) – you literally are what you eat!

Although most meat will have some degree of fats attached to them it’s still not quite enough fats for the body to function correctly. This is where the likes of nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, and oils come to use.

Now, although fats and protein will fuel you they will not give you everything you need. We do still need carbs. We just need to manage the levels and qualities of consumption. No more processed carbs. This is the packet stuff. To take it one step further, if it has been ground down and manipulated by man or machine it’s a processed carbohydrate.

So which carbohydrates do we eat? Vegetables, and lots of them. Consuming the correct amounts of the correct vegetables will not only fill you with micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals, it will also aid in the necessary fat loss.  Some vegetables like; potatoes, pumpkins, other root vegetables and most fruits should be sometimes food as they are dense in starch or fructose. If eaten in excess they may have a negative play on the energy systems and will result in excess fat storage.

Now, carbohydrates can be useful and even beneficial in certain cases. Eat carbs when you need fuel for endurance activities (but still not in the form of bread, rice, pasta or cereal as these are no good for anyone). Don’t eat carbs just because; eat them because you need the energy. Because you’re actually active and they won’t go to waste.

Bottom line: if you’re overweight, you’re not utilizing the energy stored in your body. Switching over to “The Chief Life” macronutrient balanced meal plans will unlock that stored body fat and allow you to use what you’ve already got, whilst still getting to eat a heap of food and not feel like you’re deprived or starving hungry.

If you need to lose weight, start by cutting back on processed/packet carbs and eating more animals (and their fat) and vegetables. That’s all it takes to enter the “Fat Paradigm” and start burning fat, and it’s as easy (and delicious) as it sounds.

How?

Swap out grains: refined grains, whole grains, bread, pasta, muffins, biscuits, doughnuts, bagels, cereal, baked goods, and pancakes. Anything made from flour, really.

Swap out sugar: white sugar, ice cream, lollies, cake, cookies, pastries, milk chocolate bars, high fructose corn syrup, soda, milkshakes masquerading as coffee drinks. If it’s made in a bakery or a factory or a restaurant and it’s sweet, just avoid it.

Swap out vegetable oils and trans fats: corn oil, soybean oil, canola, sunflower/safflower, margarine, shortening, anything with “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list.

Swap out all other junk foods, most of which encompass the previous three “food” categories: potato chips, crackers, “crisps”.

Swap out fast food: Pizza, Kfc, McDonald’s, Hungry Jacks, etc. don’t eat McDonald’s and think just because you removed the bun that it’s all-good. Just say no to fast food.

—-

Eat animals: Beef, pork, lamb, and poultry (and their eggs. Favor grass fed animals which have better fatty acids and contain more vitamins and minerals (and taste better!).

Eat animals from the sea: Salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, crab, prawns, oysters, mussels etc. Wild-caught fish are best, though farm shellfish are usually raised exactly like wild shellfish and thus are fine.

Eat unlimited produce: leafy greens of all kinds, colorful plants, berries, cruciferous vegetables, assorted fruits, roots, and tubers.

Eat some nuts and seeds: macadamias, walnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, pistachios, hazelnuts; pumpkin, squash, and sunflower seeds.

Use healthy cooking fats: butter (especially grass-fed), coconut oil, olive oil, red palm and regular palm oil, ghee, and animal fats (lard, duck fat etc.

Stock spices: keep plenty of herbs and spices on hand. Cumin, coriander, thyme, rosemary, sage, chili powder, mint turmeric and cayenne are a few of my favorites, but you can use anything else you like. Spices and herbs add flavor to dishes and prevent the breakdown of vital nutrients during cooking so that when you add spices or herbs, your food tastes better and is actually healthier for you. Plus when spices are added you don’t have to add sauces, which are usually quite high in sugar. Think clean eating is non-processed eating.

Remember that eating quality foods will only excel you so far. To truly unlock your fat loss or performance based goals go to the shop and purchase your own individualized meal plan.

– Matty, “Stop thinking about it and go be about it!!!”