How to lose Fat. Part 1.

This is the no.1 question people will ask me: “What do I have to do to lose fat?”.

The answer is simple and complicated at the same time. First of all I have to ask you the weight, height, the medical condition, what about your family, any history of diabetes, cancer etc.. There are somewhere between 15-20 questions..

After hearing their eating patterns, favorite food and whatnot, I am  almost capable of giving some sort of indications, following the mimic of his/hers face as they listen to it – uncertain? scared? confused? happy?

At the first meeting the ground-rules are established. There are two aspects when it goes to weight-loss: diet and sport

DIET

1. Set your calorie deficit.

2. Choose your nutrients wisely: Proteins come first, veggies, fats, carbs only after your workout.

Don’t forget water!

SPORT

Move!

I’ve written this post as an introduction for what it will happen next. Basically, I’m going to divide this in parts ( I like keeping my stuff organized), so it will be easier to understand, to follow and when you’ll need information about proteins, for example, you won’t have to go through the whole post to get it.

Coming up: Setting the deficit

Dieting and Hunger..

I fasted yesterday and.. obviously, at a point.. I got hungry.. So there I was.. hungry and bored. The combination that can only lead to failure..  I’ll give you one hint, when you want to fast, chose the busies day possible. There’s nothing worse than thinking about food all day long.

When you think about hunger you have to keep in mind two things (hormones): leptin and ghrelin. Long story short, when you eat, adipocytes trigger the release of leptin into the body, as the level increases, there will be a reduction in the motivation to eat. After a couple of hours, leptin levels will drop and this will cause the release of ghrelin, which brings back the feeling of hunger.

Now that we settled this.. what about the hunger pangs? It goes like this: they are actually contractions that take place in the stomach. Usually they begin after 12 to 24 hours after your last meal. You will have the pangs for 30-45 minutes, after that, though, you’re clear for 30-150 minutes.. and so on..

Since we are on a Paleo Diet blog.. it’s normal to make a connection, here it is. Personally, I don’t think we were meant to have a constant supply of food at our hand 24/7 – think about Grok, he didn’t haunt every day – as we have now. Being hungry is somehow to key to weight-loss. Honestly, I was never good at 6 meals per day, having food in your system all day will actually keep you from burning fat(not weight).

Your body has to use the stored energy source, meaning : bodyfat. He does this best:

1. after an workout

2. through fasting

What’s your pick?

Guys.. the only good advice I can give you is this: Accept it! That’s just the way it is. You want to lose weight? expect being hungry from time to time, you’ll get used to it. Personally, I much rather have an emptiness feeling than the “filled” one. Forget what you have been led to believe.. hunger is natural!

Eat Less. Move More

I guess all this blog can be summarized in these few words: Eat Less. Move More. That`s it! Seriously.. you want to know the big secret behind diets and exercise, well.. you have just read it .. it’s stupidly simple..

Michael Pollan has this (famous) saying: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Get it? Got it? Good..

Want to loose weight? Fine. Eat less. Less than what you’re eating at the present moment. Don’t start counting calories and whatnot, just look at you’re plate. Eat 2/3 of what you have there, leave something for the next meal, or I don’t know.. don’t have the next meal, just do some fasting.

Know your food . REAL FOOD.. As long as you know what you’re feeding your body with and you’re not eating too much of it, you’ll be ok.

Want some cheesecake? Grate! Have some. Just don’t exaggerate,smell it, chew it properly, enjoy it, have one bite and put the fork down, wait a little.. and think about it. Do you really want one more? it will have the same taste you know… simply.. enjoy eating less.

As for the move more part.. well.. it’s self explanatory. Honestly. I don’t care too much for the weight-lifting fashion. You know what?! Just MOVE: walk, run, play, hike, dance, swim… anything… never stop moving. What do I have to say to convince you? Benefits? Well.. if : keeps your metabolism through the roof, you in shape, you in a great spirit and sense of well-being, your muscles toned, isn’t good enough.. I don’t know what is.

4 words: Eat Less. Move More

Supplements..

I have to be frank with you.. I was a real supplements fan.. I knew every product on every brand.. Thankfully I’m not like that anymore. I started reading, experimenting and finally made my decision.. Before I share it with you, here’s a quote from Food Politics about supplements:

Supplement makers do not need to demonstrate that their products are safe and effective before selling them. [..] Although the supplement industry has always couched its political efforts in terms of health benefits or “freedom to choose”, its more immediate rationale was and is economic.

The FDA was not to demand scientific proof of statements of nutritional support as long as they were “truthful and not misleading” and did not use such words as diagnose, treat, prevent, cure or mitigate.

Bottom line, the FDA and FTC will deal with dietary supplements only after people start reporting problems with their use.  So.. you’re safe.. don’t worry.. they got it all taken care of.. NOT

This is, though, just a small piece of the puzzle. Supplements could help, but most of they are not vital. The way I see it, the biggest help they give is a mental one.. aka placebo. You know you’re taking your weight loss pills, you wouldn’t want to ruin their effect by eating too much, or by not exercising (it claims it gives energy right?).. Or even worse, you eat more, thinking that the pill will take care of everything..

The only kind of supplements that I suggest are vitamins and minerals, overrated as they might be, it’s the best choice if you have some money to spend on your health. Don’t expect them to do miracles, to treat diseases, or bad eating habits. You’ll have to take care of yourself, that’s the way it goes, there is no such thing as wonder pill, don’t trust advertising, don’t trust claims you read on packages..

Real Food is your pill,  your vitamin,  your mineral,  your cure.

Apologies..

Sorry for not posting recently.. I was away at the mountains.. for some fresh air and well.. just to take my mind of things and simply relax a little..

Here are some pics..

It was really hard getting there, but worth every second …

The tents..

The camping fire..

You can imagine how fun it was being there.. I truly recommend a break like this.. 3 days that felt like 3 months..

Cheers`

Wine

What can I say. This is probably the best (health-wise) alcoholic drink that you can consume. There are numerous studies regarding wine, both pro and contra. On the one hand it reduces signs of aging, better immunity, and it is rich in resveratrol, a vital antioxidant. On the other hand, though, drinking alcohol decreases brain size.

That’s all there is to it. It’s better than beer, but it’s worse than a normal cup of tea. It has some benefits, but you can’t really point them out: “I’m drinking wine to get some antioxidants”, not even a four-year-old will believe you. Eat some real food, there’s your antioxidants.

Here’s a tip: I don’t know if you are aware of the term spritz, it’s basically wine with sparkling water.  It’s about half water, half wine; or 1/3 water and 2/3 wine. See how you like it best. It’s a good trick if you want to give the illusion that you drink more.

Grok never drank wine, if anything, he ate grapes (which I advise you to do). All in all, wine is probably the best choice when it comes to alcohol. The key word here is moderation. Keep repeating it every time you want to drink alcohol.

Psst… Next week I’ll go at the country side to pick some grapes and make some wine. Tell no one.

Dairy and the Paleo Diet

Dairy has always been a big thing in dieting. Is it good, is it bad? Low fat or low carb. What about the calcium and the lactose intolerance? I’m going to try and answer all of these questions, but.. like most things in life.. there is no straight answer.

Lactose = milk sugar – carbohydrate.

75% of adult humans are lactose intolerant. Introducing lactase, this is the enzyme needed to digest lactose. This enzyme, reaches its highest level in the small intestine after birth and then begins a slow decline unless milk is consumed regularly. I guess Mother Nature knew her business. As a general rule, the longer a cheese is aged, the less lactase it will have.

Let’s talk about the fermentation process. When raw milk is left standing for a while, it turns “sour”. This is the result of fermentation, where lactic acid  bacteria ferment the lactose inside the milk into lactic acid. So, the bacteria will partly/fully digest the lactose (think about lactose intolerance), it will also partially digest casein (protein in milk, difficult to digest for some people). And last but not least, the lower PH of fermented milk makes its minerals more bioavailable. It reintroduces lactic-acid bacteria, along with their digestive enzymes, and all in all contributes to intestinal health.

These being said… When it comes to the paleo diet technically you shouldn’t eat dairy.. Animal milk is first known to have been used as human food at the beginning of animal domestication and as far as I know.. Grok didn’t raise cows next to his cave.

Now..If you really really really want to have it :), pick the one that is full fat, raw, organic, from a grass-fed cow/sheep etc, fermented, aged.

Don’t think about it too much, just keep in the the back of your head. Grok didn’t eat dairy, this means it’s not essential, you can live without it. No one will cut your throat if you eat it, just enjoy it sparingly and not for their protein content.

Paleo Diet vs. Low Carb Diet

Basically… this is what Paleo means right? Low Carb….

Hmm.. yes and no..

Loren Cordain in The Paleo Diet has an entire chapter dedicated to low carb.. to be more precise.. Why Paleo isn’t just another Low-Carb Diet. After so many years of low-carb, I was a bit angry at first, since he considers it to be just a faze and it is all part of this diet craze.

These would be, after Cordain, the main difference between the two diets:

Modern low-carbohydrate weight-loss diets are really high-fat diets that contain moderate levels of protein. They don’t have the high levels of protein that our ancestors ate – the levels found in the Paleo Diet. Actually, compared with what our ancestors ate, the carbohydrate content of these modern weight-loss diets is far too low. Even worse, almost all of these low-carbohydrate diets permit unlimited consumption of fatty, salty meats (such as bacon, sausage, fatty ribs, and lamb chops) and dairy products(cheeses, cream and butter) while restricting the consumption of frutis and vegetables. Cancer fighting fruits and vegetables! This dietary pattern is drastically different from that of our ancestors.

The way I see it, low carb has done wonders for me, and it continues to do so. The fat intake depends on each one following this diet. I have seen low-carbers with a pretty low fat intake and they were fine also. The protein intake is the same thing, you just try and see what works best for you (keep in mind we’re not talking about the keto diet)

Indeed.. it’s a different thing. Low-carb is more permisive, you are “allowed” to eat a bigger variety of foods and not everyone will choose the healthier ones. Paleo on the other hand holds that as natural as possible ideea, which brings an advantage, you can’t eat paleo and chew gum, even if it has no sugar.

The biggest difference is the fruit and cheese issue. I’ll eat a little amount of cheese from time to time. For example,  if a sauce requires 1cup of sour cream, I won’t hesitate on using it. Here’s a tip though, consume mostly the fermented dairy: feta, cheddar cheese, parmesan etc.

Just stop and ask yourself: What would Grok eat?

What have I been eating lately..

Since I don’t have time to post everyday my meals, I’ll do this every once in a while just to assure you that I’m doing fine, from all points of view.

I usually have eggs in the morning: boiled, fried, scrambled etc, for breakfast:

After that it’s either some leftovers, or, I`ll cook something. Yesterday was beef soup

Beef, veggies, water, condiments.... deliciousness

Cooking doesn’t have to be something hard, complicated and boring. I rarely prepare my ingredients in advance, I just throw in there whatever comes to my mind and just see where it takes me.

Is it good? Perfect than, let’s try something else.

Is it bad? No problem, we’re going to try it again and again until it suites our taste.

I search for other recipes but rarely make them 100% “correct” . Trust me, the kitchen is a fun place to be, as long as you’re cooking for pleasure.

So? What’s on today’s menu?

Six Rules for eating wisely

After finishing The Omnivore’s Dilemma I fell in love with Michael  Pollan’s work, so..

I started looking after more of his

Food is fun. Enjoy 🙂

books and articles. Naturally, I stumbled upon his web site and found a history of all his articles published in different magazines/newspapers. One of them was called:

Six rules for eating wisely, I want to share this one with you.

1. Don’t eat anything your great-great-great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. Eat food, not food products.
2. Avoid foods containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It’s not just in cereals and soft drinks but also in ketchup and bologna, baked goods, soups and salad dressings.
3. Spend more, eat less.All this “cheap food” is making us fat and sick. It’s also bad for the health of the environment. The higher the quality of the food you eat, the more nutritious it is and the less of it you’ll need to feel satisfied.
4. Pay no heed to nutritional science or the health claims on packages.Consider that the healthiest foods in the supermarket–the fresh produce–are the ones that don’t make FDA-approved health claims.
5. Shop at the farmers’ market.You’ll begin to eat foods in season, when they are at the peak of their nutritional value and flavor, and you’ll cook, because you won’t find anything processed or microwavable.
6. How you eat is as important as what you eat.Americans are fixated on nutrients, good and bad, while the French and Italians focus on the whole eating experience.So, relax. Eat Food. And savor it.

This is it. Pretty easy huh ? Try to follow these rules as much as possible, and you’re already doing more than any diet would.