Go/No-Go for Lunch

Here it is, the nutrition page. I will be updating this page periodically until I am happy with it. I also have plans for a weekly(?) segment on food and hormones and whatnot that will also be added here.

The Broad Strokes
You want all my nutritional advice in a nut shell? Well here it is. Eat meat, real animal meat, at every meal. Eat as much meat as you want (aim for 1g protein per lbs of body weight). If you don't want meat, well you're going to need to learn. Eat as many veggies as you can stand, if you're eating the right kinds you really can't overdo this. Fruit, save it to one serving a day when you just need something sweet. If you find your energy is low add more fat, olive oil, coconut (oil, milk, meat), avocados, nuts...

What do I need food for?
Quite simply we need food to repair and sustain our bodies and tissue. Some building blocks we can create in our bodies, some we can't. If we can't create it, it is known as an "essential" nutrient, whether it's amino acids (protein), fatty acids (omega-3) or vitamins and minerals it doesn't matter. These essential nutrients need to be put in our bodies through food.

Protein
Protein is necessary for sustaining, maintaining and repairing your body's tissues. Not all protein is created equal. There are 22 amino acids, 8 of which are essential. (this means we need to eat it or we won't have it when we need it). Not all sources of protein are "complete" (meaning they have all the essential amino acids we need to eat). Animal sources are always complete. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs... all complete all the time. Eat these. Veggie sources are rarely complete, there are a couple sources I know of, but are very rarely available in an unprocessed form, and they also come with other "side effects" that we'll get into later.

Carbohydrates(CHO)
Carbohydrates are sugar. Simple. Complex carbohydrates are just complex sugar, once it's broken down in your digestive tract it becomes more sugar than simple sugar does. Now don't get me wrong, you need CHO to support organ and brain function. But it IS NOT your every day fuel source. Muscle glycogen fuels your muscles during an effort, but FAT provides your energy upon which to live.  You will have plenty of sugar to get through the day and crush your workouts at <50g CHO/day. (I've been there and know plenty of others who have also) Also interesting to note, there are NO ESSENTIAL CHO! That's right... you don't NEED to eat ANY CHO to survive. Let me say that again, there are NO ESSENTIAL CHO! So saying you "need" to eat ____ is false... Your body can create all the glucose it needs to get by. With that being said, it is useful to provide some for it to use so it's not wasting resources that are put to better use elsewhere, that's where the veggies and odd pieces of fruit come in.


Fat
This topic could use a page unto itself... hell a whole book! But here is the jist. Fat fuels recovery and your day to day energy. Now let me explain something... eating fat does not make you fat. It does not immediately get stored as body fat. It isn't as simple as that. In fact, what triggers the storing of body fat is insulin and the metabolizing of sugar! Without sugar, fat cannot be bonded together into triglycerides and stored as fat... Fat ≠ body fat, sugar does! With that said, how much do you need? Well you can start by cooking your meat in fat, be it coconut oil, butter, olive oil... eat a small handful of nuts at each meal... Add avocados in, there are a few ways to use coconut and coconut four to bread things. IF you find you are always hungry, you're getting your 1g protein/lbs of bw, add more fat. Not all fat is created equal either. You want to avoid at all costs vegetable and grain oils. They are pro-inflammatory, and might be rancid. They are deodorized so they don't reek from day 1, thus all the stuff that would stink when rancid is gone, so you'd never know... There are plenty of oils left to consume and cook with that are from nuts, seeds, etc... you don't need your veggie oils.

Supplements
There are few supplements I recommend people take when eating this way, as these food choices are very nutrient dense. But there are a few things that can benefit from a little supplementation.
Omega-3: You get this from fish and fish oil. What you're looking for here is about 1g of EPA/DHA per KG of body weight.  Let me repeat, 1g of EPA/DHA. All of the capsules I've seen are 1000mg BUT the number that counts is the combined total of EPA and DHA in the cap. The higher the concentration of those the better. If your caps only have 120/180 you might need to down a bottle a day... and that's insane. There is stuff at Costco that has 600mg combined, for me that works out to 15 caps/day to get 9g of the good stuff.
L-Glutamine: This is an amino acid, it is non-essential so it's something we make. It's supposed to help with lactic acid in the muscles. I find my threshold of lactic acid buildup is improved and soreness is not quite as intense when taking it regularly. (1 teaspoon 2x/day)
Creatine: It doesn't "store water in the muscles to make them bigger" but it does help with recovery and stuff. Use it, don't use it, but I like it in my PWO shakes and notice a difference when I don't use it regularly.
What shouldn't I eat?
I try not to think of food as being "good" or "bad" for me... Food isn't moral. But there are foods that are useful, useless, and outright damaging and counterproductive. So here is a short list of things to avoid.
Grains: All grains, whole grains, wheat, corn, bran, barley, oats, rice... all grain products (bread, pasta, etc...)
Gluten: If you don't eat grains you should be ok but be wary of gluten in other food stuffs... it's everywhere!
Legumes: Beans, lentils, peanuts, carob, soy, etc...
Dairy: Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc...
Starch: Potatoes, etc...

What SHOULD I eat?
Great question! Nutrition isn't about what you can't do... it's about all the wonderful, colourful, tasty and nutritious things you CAN do!
Meat: Anything that had parents and a heartbeat. Meat (red/white), poultry, fowl, fish, eggs. If you can source wild/free range/grass fed that would be best. Get the best quality you can afford.
Vegetables: Green leafy stuff, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, onions, garlic, asparagus, sweet potatoes, yams, tomatoes, celery, carrots, parsnips, etc...
Fruit: Berries are best, but all fruit is OK. Just don't overdo it, 1 serving per day, don't make a habit of mangoes and bananas (due to higher sugar content)
Nuts and Seeds: Raw, butter, etc... Watch out for legumes masquerading as nuts/seeds.
Fats and oils: Avocado, coconut, olive, nuts and seeds...


To be continued...