Day 4 – How To Become ‘Fat Adapted’ –Nutrition Continued

Last time, we discussed how we became ‘sugar burners’ and how insulin impacts your cravings, metabolism, and fat storage.  Insulin drives our desire for additional carbohydrates (after a blood sugar crash) and locks fat in our cells. And, it is a never ending downward spiral.

So, do you just start eating sticks of butter and slabs of bacon? No – although some people do eat very high amounts of fat (70% or so), there is a difference between fat adaptation and the higher fat ketogenic eating strategies.

But, the composition of your eating WILL need to change.

According to Loren Cordain, author of the “Paleo Diet”, approximately 70% of the calories we currently consume comes from foods that were not found in the diets or on the tables of our ancestors. Examples include:

• Packaged and baked goods
• Corn fed meat and poultry (also laden with hormones and antibiotics)
• Refined sugar
• Partially hydrogenated fats
• Grains (corn, wheat, rice, oats, pasta, farro)
• High fructose corn syrup

But, we’ve been eating these things for so long?

Yes, many of these foods we have been eating them for about 7000 – 10,000 years. But, two things:

1. 7,000 – 10,000 years is a drop in the bucket as far as our genes are concerned. And, fat and protein made up most of the calories of our ancestors’ diet.
2. When you see that the ‘low fat’ experiment is not working – we may have had the pendulum swing too far on the side of eating high carb diets (often 350 g or more per day). And, we’ve discussed the unfortunate consequences of this.

So, what are we supposed to do?

• You need a course correction on what you eat.  Cut the carbohydrate intake!  I generally eat between 50 – 100 g per day.
• Concentrate on eating ‘real’ food that is nutritious, filling, and delicious. This style of eating may seem a bit stringent at first. But, I promise you that you won’t feel like you are denying yourself.  Soon, your taste buds will change and your energy will sky rocket as your body gets back to what it was really meant to run on.

o   How – by eating lots of nutrient dense vegetables and berries.  A 3 cup spinach salad with 1/4 c. strawberry slices, a hard-boiled egg,  grilled chicken and homemade vinaigrette contains 15 g. of carbohydrates – and I guarantee that you will NOT be hungry.

o   Even a crudité platter with carrots, broccoli, red pepper slices, snow peas and baba ghanoush contains 21 g of carbohydrates and it is a great snack.  It is great to keep you going when those initial munchies hit (and they will at the beginning)

Off the menu…

• Grains (and, yes – corn is a grain).
• Sugar substitutes (more on this later).
• Alcohol – at least initially.
• High sugar fruits  – tropical fruits (mangos, pineapple, papaya, banana), peaches, apricots, etc.
• Industrial cooking oils (canola, soy, and corn) – very high in inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids. Inflammation causes water retention.

On the menu…

• Vegetables –lots of them – eat the rainbow.

• Good protein -preferably grass fed.
• Lower carb fruits such as berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries).
• Good fats (olive oil, olives, avocado, avocado oil, coconut oil and nuts).

I know, I know, I know – it sounds difficult!

But, it’s not.  The food will keep you fuller longer because the fat provides a necessary component to keep you full – and, help you burn your stored fat and improve your gene expression. And, if you think this is difficult – then, think of how difficult poor health can be.

Healthy eating is important for your health and vitality. Don’t you owe it to yourself and your family?