Questions about Eating Well

Hey Ben,

Okay, I'm in. I've been trying on my own, but it's not working. Ultimately, I need to be accountable to someone other than myself. Otherwise, I get halfway through a week of journalling and fall off the wagon. And, it's the end of January and bathing suit season is around the corner. So, I'M IN!!

The problem I have with your diet is the Carbs thing. I don't think it's realistic/sustainable to eliminate carbs from a diet. I'm not a huge carbs eater to begin with, and have been trying to eat those at lunchtime instead of dinner. So, I'd like to propose that I stay inside my calories/protein/carbs etc. limits for the day, but manage the bread/rice/pasta intake within that in appropriate small portions sizes....and I will eat whole wheat instead of white. I also find the Liquids thing difficult. Mostly because it doesn't include wine!!!, but also because it doesn't include milk or tea. Why is that?

Thanks!!
Andrea

Good questions all. Let's take this one at a time:

1.) Ultimately, I need to be accountable to someone other than myself. Otherwise, I get halfway through a week of journalling and fall off the wagon.
The best thing about the food log is that it leads to better decisions. If you know you're going to write down "4 slices of french toast" and see that you obliterated your carbs for the day, than you will be less likely to eat it. Especially if you plan to show your log to someone else. That someone doesn't necessarily have to be me. (Though, that's what I'm here for.) You know the numbers; you can ask another camper or friend to hold you accountable as well.

2.) I don't think it's realistic/sustainable to eliminate carbs from a diet.
I don't think it's realistic to think you will change your body composition if you continue to eat carbs. (To be clear, we're talking about high-density, starchy carbs here.) You decide: carbs or dress size? What's more important to you? Why do you want to change your body composition anyway? The answer to that question needs to be powerful. Seriously. When the "why" becomes powerful, the "how" becomes easy. If you really want it, the carbs thing isn't so hard. Talk to a diabetic who has done this. It's realistic and sustainable. Here's a thought: ask a recovering alcoholic if it's realistic/sustainable to eliminate alcohol from a diet.

3.) So, I'd like to propose that I stay inside my calories/protein/carbs etc. limits for the day, but manage the bread/rice/pasta intake within that in appropriate small portions sizes . . .
If you're trying to lose fat, then you're shooting to keep your carbs within 100-150g--of vegetables and fruits--per day. If you're eating 100-150g of carbs in a day with bread/rice/pasta, than you are not eating enough vegetables. Let's take a look:

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread ~ 25g
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat pasta ~ 25g
• 1/2 cup of brown rice ~70g
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal ~ 30g

On a typical day, take any three of the four servings from above (and I dare say those are smaller servings than most people eat), and you put away 80-125g of carbs. Which means you have room for only 25-70g of veggies. You need more veggies than that. In fact, veggies are supposed to be the biggest (in volume) part of your eating plan. (Remember Dr. Sears' Hand-Eye method?) All those vitamins and nutrients your mama told you that you need are in the veggies. Eat veggies. If you absolutely must have bread/rice/pasta for some flavor, think of it as a condiment--eat a tbsp size portion max. (macronutrient values from www.fitday.com)

4.) . . . and I will eat whole wheat instead of white.
If you're only going to eat a tbsp size portion for flavor, I don't care if it's whole wheat or white. If you're going to eat a sandwich, you're still eating too many high-density carbs, and again, I don't care if it's whole wheat or white.

5.) . . . it doesn't include wine!!!, but also because it doesn't include milk or tea. Why is that?

• Wine: The plan doesn't include any alcohol. Tell me again what you're trying to do? Lose fat, right? It's called "beer belly" for a reason. Bodybuilders will scream about the astonishing 7 calories/g of alcohol, but we don't count calories. We count the mass of macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats). Alcohol itself contributes nothing in terms of macronutrients. Zero grams. Alcohol is an empty calorie. You get the calories, but it doesn't "feed" the body. Your body works very hard to metabolize the alcohol, but gets no benefit from doing so. In fact, when your body is metabolizing alcohol, it isn't metabolizing anything else--which increases your appetite. That's why people serve cocktails before dinner--to increase their guests' appetites. (Question: what foods are you generally eating when you drink wine?) In fact, when given options, your body metabolizes alcohol before anything else, which means you postpone all fat burning when you drink alcohol. In the process, the glucose floating around in your blood (resulting from carb intake) is getting stored as fat. In short, if your goal is to burn fat, you move further away from your goal when you drink alcohol. . . . As for wine specifically, you still get the empty calories, and you pick up relatively few carbs (approximately 4g/glass for red wine). Multiple studies suggest ample benefits of the antioxidants in red wine such as cancer prevention and treatment, cardiovascular health, and anti aging. All good things for your overall fitness. So, if you have to drink alcohol it might as well be red wine. For fat loss though, just keep it to a minimum. My recommendation is a limit of 2 glasses per week. Perfect for a cheat day.
  
• Milk: I'm not going to get into that here. The bottom line with milk is this: biologically speaking, it's meant for babies. You're not a baby human, and certainly not a baby cow. I'm still working out my professional opinion on this, but true paleo practitioners have nothing good to say about milk/dairy consumption. I freakin' love the stuff, but the more research I do on milk, the more I wonder if my excessive consumption over the years is the reason for my most persistent ailments--arthritis, acne, belly fat, etc. When I have something more definite to say, I'll say it. For now, my recommendation for fat loss is still to drink water, fresh fruit juice and nothing else . . . (see the next bullet).
  
• Tea: More to come on this one too. The NEW eating plan, actually includes coffee and tea. I know, I know. Chaos.

Thanks for the questions Andrea. I hope that helps!

Future Eat Well talks:

• Tuesday, 14 Apr 09, 7:30-9:00PM at Kavarana
• Monday, 20 Apr 09, same