Six Pack 101

Absolutraining gets published in April's MyMadmethods magazine.
Pick up a copy at MyMadMethods.com

What should I eat? It’s the number one question that we ask ourselves every morning, during lunch hour, and in the late night. Food, it’s the thing we love and it’s the one thing we can’t live without it! 

The problem most people are faced with today is deciding what to eat or knowing what meals/snacks are the most nutritious for them. Which foods are going to give them the BEST nutrition to focus at work and be productive, have energy to workout, and go home and help their kids with their homework. The “right” nutrition can do this for you, but most people aren’t eating the BEST foods. In fact most people eat foods that contribute to poor health, weight gain, and lethargy. Let’s take a look and see what they are.

Today we live in a fast paced, high tech world, and we are always on the go. We start the morning running out of the house, hurrying for work, sitting in front of a computer, working on projects, reaching work deadlines, checking/responding to emails, messaging on Facebook, and fiddling with social media technologies. We are all caught up in this mix and when it comes to eating, we are not paying attention to “what” food is served in front of us. When we are hungry we want something convenient and we want it FAST. This has led us to eat a diet that consists mainly of food products. Food products are everywhere; in every house, every vending machine, and dominates most of our grocery stores. What happened to good old pure food? Let me share what I believe is adding inches to the average Joe’s waistline.

Foods you should not eat:

1. Wheat- The medical and fitness industry have paraded around wheat declaring that it’s heart healthy and ‘good for you,’ making wheat the number one food product consumed on the planet. Yes it has fiber and nutrients but wheat also contains gluten, phytates, and lectins, which can damage your intestinal lining.  Wheat can also have an aggressive spike on your blood sugar which usually causes weight gain.  Good ol’ veggies have NONE of the above and are more nutrient dense then wheat.  So pile the veggies on and toss out the bread!

2. Juice/Soft drinks- A wise man once told me, “If you want an apple then go eat a apple, why drink apple juice?” Don’t kid yourself; juice is a sneaky way to add on pounds. The sugar content of juice is through the roof and when you add the carbohydrate content to that your blood glucose will be higher than a diabetic. As for soft drinks, they are just not healthy for you no matter how you spin it, “Diet,” “Zero Calorie,” or even “Caffeine Free,” are all just syrup to the body. We have all seen that “guy” eating a hamburger and fries while gulping down a “low calorie” diet coke. Do you really think that diet coke is helping his diet? If you’re thirsty drink plain tea (not sweetened with syrups) or water and if you want flavor in your water just add some fresh strawberries, cucumber slices, lemons, or even limes to give it a nice twist.

3. Cheese/Dairy- Most people consume dairy because they believe it is a good source of calcium thanks again to our doctors and the conventional wisdom that we have all been taught.  Dairy has a few “not-so-friendly” substances that our bodies don’t do so well with. Casein is a milk protein and is the majority of protein found in dairy. The problem with casein is its strong correlation with derailing the intestinal lining (similar to that of gluten) and adding to autoimmune/allergen issues.  In addition, lactose and galactose are milk sugars that can cause diarrhea (if intolerant) and jack up your blood sugar (even more than wheat) adding pounds to your fanny. Consuming dairy is not worth the risk. Dairy is not the only source of calcium. Consuming a lot of green leafy veggies will satisfy your calcium worries and obviously not have the harmful effects mentioned above. In addition to providing calcium, green leafy veggies will give you a load of anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

So what should I eat then?

Every time you eat ask yourself this, “where did this come from?” Was it made in a warehouse? Or was it created by chemical compounds and ingredients that a spelling bee champion can’t even pronounce? If so, then steer clear!  The simple answer is to eat pure food - meat, vegetables, moderate fruit, nuts and seeds.

5 Strategies to eating pure food

1. Pure food and food products are not the same. I don’t care if it’s good old “heart healthy” whole grains or oatmeal, those are not pure foods. Pure food is anything that comes from the earth NOT manufactured or “created with chemicals.” I’m sorry, bread is not a plant folks!  Meat, vegetables, moderate fruit, some nuts and seeds.
2. Reread strategy number 1 and memorize it so that when you go out to eat, you know how to order pure food.  Don’t let them fill you up on bread, ask for fruit or veggies as a good substitute. 
3. Plan your meals in advance. That’s right, plan ahead! I don’t care how busy you are with your schedule, make time to buy groceries and plan your meals at the start of the week (Sunday).  Cook your meat in abundance, chop up your veggies, and store them in glass containers so they will be easily accessible and last you a couple days. 
4. Have fun and experiment with different combinations of food.  With just a basic list of proteins, vegetables, fats, herbs & spices you can come up with several different meals.  See chart below:

Proteins (6)	Vegetables (6)	Fats (6)	Herbs & Spices (6)
Chicken Breast	Broccoli	Avocado	Basil
Chicken Thigh	Chard	Coconut Oil	Cinnamon
Ribs	Mustard Greens	Olive Oil	Oregano
Salmon	Brussels Sprouts	Butter	Thyme
Turkey	Artichoke Hearts	Lard	Rosemary
New York Steak	Red Cabbage	Macadamia Oil	Pepper

With just these few items listed above you can have a total of 1,296 different meals (6x6x6x6)!  Imagine how many meals you can get if you had 10 or even 15 different items listed?  So there is no reason to get bored and eat the same meal over and over, unless of course you find a new favorite.

1.  Learn how to cook! This is a big one. I am still amazed at how many people don’t know how to turn the stove on. Ask your spouse for some pointers or if that doesn’t work (because they can’t cook either) then go pay your mom a visit. Mom will always have some tasty recipes up her sleeve and I bet she will be happy to teach you a thing or two.

As far as I am concerned people eat cheap food for most of their lives. They eat boxed goods and granola bars because they make no time for cooking.  Do your body a favor and toss out all food products. It’s just not worth it. Why settle for suboptimal food when you can eat OPTIMAL? A client once told me “ food is like medicine, you want to eat food that makes your body feel good.” I couldn’t agree more!

Make the change. You won’t regret it.