What to say?

People have started noticing and commenting on my weight loss (6 kilos in 3 months which is by no means outstanding, but it’s obviously noticeable). With the comments come the inevitable “how are you doing it?” questions. These are the ones that I still cringe at. Not because I don’t want to share, but because I know that my answers will cause some raised eyebrows.

Here’s the thing. When you say to people “I’ve started eating 200g steaks for breakfast” they look alarmed. They also don’t understand when you say “I only use full fat dairy and put butter on my vegetables”. Other concerning statements include “I cook in coconut oil – yes it’s high in saturated fat!”, “Soy makes me sick”, and “Potatoes don’t count towards my vegetable consumption.” And the most outrageous thing you could possibly mention is that you don’t eat whole grains. EVER! 

I shall never eat this way again!

The only way I can justify some of my eating habits is with my gluten intolerance. That gets most people off my case with the bread/wheat thing, but still doesn’t explain why I don’t eat rice or beans. The fat debate is one that I know I will never win, so I don’t even go into that argument except to say that coconut oil is the absolute best thing to cook in because it has a higher heating point than most things – including olive oil! It also helps that Miranda Kerr has spoonfuls of it each day ;-p 

This is more like it!

With the start of my Leptin Reset challenge, another difficult thing for people to understand is the no snacking thing. We have had the 6 small meals a day mindset drilled into us from all angles… Most people don’t take the time to understand the logic behind this – they just hear it and think “Yay! Another couple of times I can eat!” By following an eating plan which advocates eating windows allowing at least 5 hours between meals, I don’t only feel better, I feel free-er!! It’s less meals per day that I have to think about preparing.

In the exercise stakes, it’s a similar pattern, although a bit easier to explain away. At my first session at my new gym, the personal trainer assigned to me looked a bit crazed when I said I only wanted a weights program from him. “But you need to do cardio at least 3 days per week for weight loss!” No, actually I don’t. Apart from the fact that 70% of weight loss comes from what you eat, excessive cardio actually stresses the body! I told him that my main daily cardio would come from walking, and I would do one HIIT session per week (sprints on the treadmill or intervals on the rower). The rest of the time I would divide my workouts between weights, pilates and yoga.

Now that the weight loss is showing, it’s nice to know that I’m finally on the right path. I’ve been trying the excessive cardio route for years and combined with a conventional wisdom eating plan with whole grains in abundance, I didn’t lose any weight! So much for busting my gut at 5am every morning and starving myself by eating “low – fat” (but high sugar) yoghurt and calorie restricted meals! Conventional wisdom certainly does have a lot to answer for…

What's all the fuss about soy?

Thanks to one of my awesome followers, I dedicated some time to publishing this post, which I have been working on for some time. Soy has earned a reputation as a health food in recent years, but does it have the credentials to live up to this title?
The main debate about soy needs to define the difference between fermented and unfermented soy products. And really, this comes back to one of the key Primal Blueprint laws - eat real food! The least processed it is, the better. This goes for soybean products too! It seems that fermented soy products, such as tempeh and miso, could reasonably be put into the 'healthy' category. The issue comes however, when you start to think of all soy products (including the unfermented ones such as many soy milk and tofu products) in the same way.
As Mark explains soy requires preparation to make it safe to consume and that in itself does not instill you with a lot of confidence. When you learn that the process includes acid washing, neutralisation solutions, aluminium tanks and high temperature heating, soy really loses its appeal. For me, my dedication to consuming food that is as close to natural as possible means that soy is definitely off my list!
While the negative effects of consuming soy generally only seem to come into play if someone is consuming A LOT of soy, the fact that there are negative effects should be cause for alarm. We have health authorities telling us that this is a SAFE inclusion in our diets, and, even more alarmingly, safe for inclusion in baby formula. It makes you wonder exactly how much people who consume large quantities of soy products actually understand.
Phytic acid, which restricts the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, is found in high amounts in unfermented soy products. A further concern is that soy contains high levels of a natural chemical that mimics estrogen, and some studies have suggested that this chemical can alter sexual development. This story about one man's experience with the negative effects of consuming soy milk should be read by all men!
Basically, if you subscribe to the primal blueprint way of living, fermented soy products can be consumed occasionally. Anything else just misses the point of whole, unprocessed, natural food!

Conventional "Wisdom" Part 1

My post today is inspired by a thread on the Mark's Daily Apple forum about the most controversial 'myths' that Conventional Wisdom has to offer us... This is always going to be the hardest thing about adopting a Primal lifestyle - confronting all of those ideas about health, eating, and fitness that conventional wisdom has drilled into us since we've been born. Here's some of the biggest things that I've struggled with on my short journey:-

1. Eating fat will make you fat...
This one has so many things wrong with it, it's difficult to know where to start. Just understanding that weight gain (and loss) is a hormonal event and that our body's preferred fuel is fat is a stretch! Get to know your fats and avoid the trans-fats which are terrible for you and your body will thank you for it.

2. Chronic Cardio is the best way to lose weight...
Another biggy and not one that I have touched on in depth yet. A combo of strength (heavy weight lifting) and interval training as well as low impact cardio (eg walking, swimming) will lead to bigger weight loss than hitting the treadmill every day for an hour. Try it, I dare you!

3. Grains should be the staple of our diet. Wrong! Oh, but the food pyramid says I should eat 6-11 serves of them per DAY. Totally crazy!
Learn the Real Truth about grains because it's scary... and not just for people who have celiacs disease. Cut out grains for a month, a week even, and notice the difference.

4. If it's low fat, it's healthy for me and I can eat as much of it as I want!
This one kind of relates to no. 1 but I think it deserves it's own post. Eating low fat but high sugar is much, much, much worse for you than eating full fat, real food. And the proliferation of low fat, no fat, "skinny" options available to us now are doing so much damage to our bodies. Wake up! Have full fat milk or cream in your coffee and don't feel guilty!

5. Be careful in the sun - never go outside in the heat of the day without sunscreen or appropriate covering.
I bet you didn't know that Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many serious diseases, including cancer. The idea that we're overdosing on the 'sun safe' campaigns is gaining credibility as more studies come out proving that we actually need vitamin d for optimal health. The recommendation is to get at least 15 minutes of sun, unprotected, per day.

These are just some of the myths I will bring you over the coming months... I'm not telling you that you have to believe anything I say, but maybe just think about it and do your own research - you might be surprised!

Final thought - have you ever heard anyone say "I've stopped drinking soft drink, I only drink Diet Coke now, it's much healthier"!!! Consider the logic of this ;-p