A Simple Guide to Your Nutrition

There are immense health benefits from eating high-quality foods that fuel your body without excessive inflammation, high insulin levels, cranky joints, or extra body fat. These benefits include reduced risk of heart diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes, and joint maladies from excess weight. Aside from that, you will feel better, look better, and perform better in your physical efforts and workouts.

The goal is to change your body to derive its energy from proteins, healthy carbs, and fats, instead of grains, legumes, dairy, and other foods that irritate your body. Of course, individual results will vary, so the best way to see how the diet will affect you is to jump in and try it.

Nutrition in 120 words

Eat lots of protein, veggies, and healthy fats. The best protein sources are wild fish and grass-fed meat, antibiotic & hormone-free. Focus on nutrient-dense vegetables (those with dark or bright colors) and save the starchy ones like sweet potatoes and yams--if you need them--for post-workout meals. Go for organic for veggies that don't have peels or shells to protect them--and us--from pesticides. Whole fruits, not fruit juices, and preferably fresh, not dried. And remember, avocados, nuts, and coconuts are your friends. Eat SOME fruits, but don't go overboard. Some people have particular sensitivities to eggs, nuts, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. Pay attention to these foods to determine if you feel discomfort after eating them. 

Your first five ways to boost performance & feel better

1. Drink plenty of water. About half your body weight in ounces each day. Drink room temp, chilled, or iced—whatever works for you. Slow down as you approach bedtime to avoid disrupting sleep.

2. Sleep at least 7 hours per night in a pitch-black room. If you're going to drink coffee: stop drinking before noon so that it doesn't interfere with your sleep. Minimize your nighttime computing and television watching. Less 'blue' light from those screens leads to better sleep through hormone regulation.

3. Reduce stressors in your life. Try to reduce or eliminate activities that you don't enjoy. Make time to decompress with meditation, yard work, or another active hobby.

4. Shoot for eating three meals and 1-2 snacks daily, plus a small amount of protein and carbs pre-workout. Try to keep things consistent (timing, portion, etc.) for the best results.

5. Get outside for at least 15 minutes every day. Walk daily and work out several times per week. Our ancestors moved all day, so getting moving for a few minutes is beneficial and doable.

Consider avoiding these

Grains, dairy, added sugars, alcohol, legumes, and oils derived from corn, safflower, and soy.

Suggested meal timing and ratios/sizes:

• Breakfast: eat within one hour of waking up. Go big! Eat lots of protein, fats, and veggies. Skip the high sugar carbs like fruits or sweet potatoes. You want to start with a clear brain so that you can be productive and have sustained energy throughout the morning.

• Snack: eat some more protein and fat--approximately about a half meal size--enough so that you are no longer hungry and can get back on task and stay mentally focused.

• Lunch: eat at your regular lunch-time, probably 3-4 hours after breakfast. Make this the feast of the day: lots of protein, fats, and veggies. A serving of fruit won't hurt if you have a craving for a little sweetness.

• Snack: same as before--protein and fat, about a half-meal size or more, enough to keep you energized and on task.

• Dinner: this is the smallest meal of the day. You have fewer hours left to digest and utilize this meal, and the goal is to discourage the body from storing fat, so keep it lean and mean: protein, healthy veggies, and fat for this meal. Resist the urge for sugars like chocolate, wine, or even dried fruit. Those cravings are your caveman body trying to prepare you for surviving times of famine. Try to get this meal finished a few hours before bed.

• Pre/post workout meals: on days you work out, eat a small amount of protein, and carbs about one hour before your workout. Too much may leave you feeling nauseous during strenuous effort. You don't want it coming back up, or for your body to learn to burn this food before burning the fat on your body. Keep this "meal" under 100 calories...about a palm-full of protein and carbs.

• If you are at or near your desired level of leanness, eat some carb-dense veggies (yams, squash, beets, parsnips), and some low-fat proteins within 30 minutes.

• If weight loss is your goal, keep carbs low here, but include some--your body needs some to power the efforts of the workout! You should be eating again--one of your regular meals--within an hour or two after this meal.

How much food should you eat?

Here are some easy-to-remember general portioning guidelines to make sure you get the right amount of food. Remembering these makes it easy to measure and adjust your daily intake. You may need more portions depending on your starting point, goals, and training level, but you can use these guidelines to make sure you're accurate about your portions.

Proteins: the size and thickness of your palm. Or as many eggs as you can hold in your hand.

Vegetables: as much as you can fit on your plate! Eat them any way you can, cooked or raw. Save the carby ones for post-workout (yams, sweet potatoes, squash, beets, etc.)

Fruits: a fist-sized portion. Limit to two per day for weight loss

Fats: a couple of sources or servings per meal. A serving equals:

• Oils/butter - the size of your thumb

• Coconut milk - one-third of a can

• Avocado - half an avocado

• Nuts - fist-sized

• Olives/coconut - a full handful

Shopping List

Eggs/egg whites - look for local and pastured eggs, or at least Omega-3 enriched eggs.

Beef, bison, buffalo - ideally grass-fed AND grass-finished, hormone and antibiotic-free and locally raised and butchered

Chicken & turkey - preferably local, pastured, or organic and hormone/antibiotic-free.

Fish/shellfish - ideally wild-caught, although the habitat damage caused by certain fishing practices may outweigh the health benefits. Refer to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Guide for more info.

Lamb - ideally grass-fed, hormone-antibiotic-free, and locally raised. Otherwise, make sure it's lean and trim off any excess fat.

Pork - the ideal cut is local pastured pigs supplemented with fruits and veggies in their feed.

**Limit quantities of sausage, bacon, deli meats, and jerky. Always check ingredients. You'd be surprised what they are adding to foods these days!

Fruits and veggies - Check the lists below

Fats

• Coconut * - (unsweetened, organic, raw) coconut flakes are a great snack, and (unsweetened) coconut milk (full fat in a can) makes an excellent base for sauces.

• Avocados - fantastic as a mid-day snack, sliced on top of eggs, in a salad, wherever!

• Oils - preferably coconut oil for high heat use like pan-frying (refined coconut oil doesn’t have any coconut taste), avocado, and olive oil for dressings (no corn, safflower, soy, or seed oils).

• Olives - black or green

• Nuts - best are cashews and macadamia nuts, but almonds, Brazil nuts, chestnuts, pecans, and pistachios are ok. Limit or stop consumption of pre-shelled nuts for best fat loss—shelling your nuts will slow down the process of eating and reduce your total intake. No peanuts or peanut butter as these are ‘legumes’ and can cause issues for many people. Try almond butter or sunflower butter

Beverages

• Water - half your body weight in ounces each day. You can always add a lemon or lime to make your water more fun. Consider adding a pinch of salt during hot weather or if you are sweating a lot. Talk to a professional (doctor or nutritionist) about adding salt (to ensure it's an appropriate step for you).

• Coffee * - Organic! Regular or decaf…black, hot or iced. Keep it simple — ideally, no sweeteners.

• Tea * - Organic! Regular or decaf or herbal, black, or add lemon/lime. Hot or iced.

Sauces & Spices

Some pre-made sauces may be ok, but pay closer attention to the ingredients--avoid added sugar and anything you can't pronounce.

Stock up on herbs and spices--fresh and dried! Start getting creative with flavor combinations, and you'll never miss that French bread, rice, or pasta. 

A word about terminology

The term "pastured" means that the animals are allowed to roam around and forage in fields and pastures, while "free-range" requires the doors to the animal's cages to be left open for parts of the day. It does not mean that they are actually out on the "range." The best option is to buy local and ask the farmer how the animals are raised. Note that many you talk to may use the term "free-range" since this is the typical jargon that most people are looking for, even though the animals are really "pastured"). And while organic is good, many local supplies may not be certified organic--the important thing is that the animals are (1) hormone-free and (2) 'grass-fed' & 'grass-finished.'

When it comes to your fruits and vegetables, organic is important. If you cannot afford to buy everything organic, focus on those fruits and vegetables that do not have a thick peel or shell to protect them from pesticides. If your budget is forcing you to choose between grass-fed meats vs. organic produce, go with the grass-fed or pastured hormone and antibiotic-free meats while purchasing most fruits and veggies with thick peels/shells.

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