Many of you already know that I have been eating in Zone ratios for about 2 years now. Originally with any food I liked and in the past 12 months using mainly Paleo foods (which I also like).

Recently I have been receiving regular updates from the Health blog of Dr Barry Sears, the founder of the Zone diet. I call it the Zone diet, but I prefer to think of it as eating in the Zone, the word diet has so many stigmas attached to it, and rightly so!

The Zone diet simply means balancing your protein, carbs and fats at every meal. It also shows you how big or small your portions should be at each meal. It has easy to read charts to reference portions sizes for protein, carbs and fat.

It is by no means a fad diet and by no means a high protein diet. The proportions that zone recommends are 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat. It is basically structured balanced eating. Something most of us don’t do (regardless of what we think we do).

Eating in the Zone simply means eating within a zone that keeps your blood sugar levels stable without spikes, thus reducing the amount of insulin circulating in the body and keeping inflammation in the body to a minimum. Inflammation is responsible for most health issues in our bodies along with increased weight gain.

It is a much easier approach to weight loss and inflammation reduction than Paleo eating, but when you get a handle on portion control, you should look to switch the majority of your eating to Paleo foods to get the best results for your health and weight loss.

So anyway, the reason for this post is to share with you some of the better updates I have received from Dr Sears Health blog.

I have been posting them regularly on the Fitta Bodies facebook page, but here they are for all of you to read through at your leisure. They are quite short and concise with loads of relevant info.

Enjoy!

Click on these links to read the full article;

Eat like our paleolithic ancestors
No excuses, eat your breakfast
The secret of blueberries
Coffee and diabetes
Polyphenols make probiotics work better
Blame weight gain on the brain
What’s the story on chocolate
New food trends may be dysfunctional
The latest useless fad diet
Gastric banding – admitting failure
Mythologies in treating childhood obesity
Good and Bad carbohydrates
Fish oil and fat loss
Where does fat go
The demise of the mediterranean diet

To stay up to date the easiest with all of my updates, simply join the facebook page here.

I came across this webpage yesterday which has a good explanation of paleo and zone eating. I was impressed with the details, almost all of them I agree with, which is hard to find these days.

The Paleo article has loads of info, which is great and the zone has a smaller article, but still enough to get the idea.

Happy reading, start thinking zone paleo from now on. It’s the best way to long term stable weight control and health.

Paleo http://www.electricphysique.com/paleolithic-diet.html

Zone http://www.electricphysique.com/the-zone-diet.html

So the last few posts have been based around fat loss and I guess I got a little carried away on the wrong side of things.

Yes, you are definitely going to lose weight and start to look a lot more like you should look, but the health and sickness side of things is the real reason why I want everybody to participate in March.

Just as a quick side note. I am not making any money off this challenge and there is nothing in it for me except loads of time writing these posts which could be better spent doing things for myself or my family, so please take note.

I know what’s good and bad, I do research on “health” all the time.

How many of you have benefited from cutting down sugar? You can thank me later for that.

How many of you think that CrossFit is the best exercise program you have ever done? You can thank me for that later too!

This is the next big thing in your road to a healthier life, so don’t let me down.

Do it for 31 days and then I will discuss anything that troubles you about the diet.

Sometimes I think everyone needs to take a step back and look at this from an outside view point. I’m not asking you to eat dogs for 31 days or to shave your entire family’s heads. I’m asking you to eat fruit, vegies and protein for 31 days to improve your body composition and health.

I’m also not asking you to bore yourself stupid and read the latest Di Morrissey book, I am asking you to read the best book I have read in years if not ever, so that you can grasp exactly what you are doing to your body on a daily basis.

Do you ever look at a smoker and think why? Don’t they know or don’t they care or don’t they think it will affect them? I’m there right now with this challenge and you!

This is for you! YOU and YOUR HEALTH and YOUR BODY.

Now, the majority of diseases are caused by inflammation. Not only diseases, but injuries. How many of you have ever had an anti inflammatory? Wow, that many? Well, listen up.

Food is the most powerful drug you can consume. You eat it all day every day. What you eat both becomes and affects your body.

The basis of this diet is to control inflammation and hormones. The two things that will contribute greatly to most illnesses or health issues, from cancer to cholesterol to cardiovascular disease to infertility.

I am not going to go into, because it is too long for me to write about correctly and the experts have detailed it all in the book I recommended “The Paleo Solution” by Robb Wolf. Buy it, read it, understand it.

Next time you tell me about your illness, injury, health issue, weight problems, you can know 100% what I will be thinking in my head, but probably not bothering to say out loud….

Has anyone ever seen the movie “Madagascar”? You may remember the scene at the end with the penguins laying on the beach…”Just wave and smile boys, just wave and smile”

For those of you who are worried about calcium intake, here’s your answer – Calcium and Paleo

For those of you wanting a few tips about eating, check this out – The Food Matrix

I also had a conversation with someone last night where he said he wanted to read the book before he signed up. I told him to sign up for me. He proceeded to tell me that he wouldn’t be doing it for himself if that is the case.

My response is that you may be doing it for me right now, but 2 weeks into March, when you feel the difference in yourself and you have started reading the book and understanding the inner workings of your body, you will be doing it for yourself, I guarantee it. You will also be doing something that has become common for you, you will be once again thanking me for pointing you in the right direction, because as far as I can remember,I haven’t led you the wrong way yet!

One thing I noticed from our no sugar events is how much people focus on what they going to eat as soon as the challenge is over.

I always hear about the chocolate they ate that night etc.

What I want you to focus on towards the end of this challenge is what you are not going to eat.

It’s quite simple really. When you are eating your dinner, think to yourself. I really don’t need to eat pasta anymore.

Or when you order Thai takeaway, you might realise how enjoyable it is without rice.

Lunches may seem more enjoyable as fruit and turkey instead of bread and turkey.

Think of the things you are enjoying and would like to stick with.

Think of how you feel when you eat something and think of how you used to feel when you ate the alternative. Thats a sure fire way to keep you eating well. The lack of bloat and lethargy you will feel.

I personally do not eat like this all the time. I do enjoy eating like this all day almost every day. It is convenient, healthy and I feel great all the time.

I do enjoy some takeaway and a treat on a Saturday night and sometimes a Sunday night. I also don’t really hold back at parties etc. I am not an extremist and I am not stupid, I understand how good all of this food tastes, but I am a realist, I understand how bad it is for you and how it makes you feel. So moderation is the key.

If there are 42 meals in a week, make sure 39 of them are clean. Do the math on that one. Surely you can get some great results and put less stress on your body by eating clean for 93% of the time and still enjoy the things you like in moderation…

Remember, focus on what new habits you can continue. Don’t focus on how you are going to break your new habits. It’s all a state of mind!

One more thing, how many people have you even met who are fit, healthy and lean, I mean lean, not not-obese, who have become that way via something along the lines of lite’n'easy, weight watchers, tony ferguson etc etc etc. Pardon? None? Oh…..

This blog is brought about by 4 people I spoke to before 8 am this morning and I think all of the questions/statements are related.

Person 1) Asked if I recommend eating fruits and veg as my only source of carbs long term?

Person 2) Asked if grains contain antinutrients?

Person 3) Made a comment about long term trainees and injuries

Person 4) Said they didn’t feel satisfied unless they had rice on their plate.

So, yes, I recommend getting all of your carbs from fruit and veg for the rest of your life as much as is possible in your particular lifestyle/diet.

Grains do contain antinutrients and a whole bunch of other bad things which makes me think we should not be eating them.

Now, some people can train every day, some with multiple sessions per day and still remain injury free. Yes, others can train 3 days a week and report a range of injuries. Why? Well, do you think nutrition may have something to do with it?

What you put into your mouth becomes your body and although it pains me to say it, a lot of my clients don’t follow my advice. They go out and follow fad diets, they punish their bodies with alochol, grains, sugars, no carbs, no fat, you name it, they do it.

So what effect will this have on your body?

Well, do you think a body made up of toxins, antinutrients, not enough amino acids, not enough good fat, over restricted calories, too many grains and dairy will perform as it should?

I don’t think so. I am sure that cells will not repair themselves as they should. I am sure injuries will occur and not get better. I am sure energy levels are not what they should be. I am sure illnesses and diseases will present themselves. And last but not least, I am sure bodyfat levels will be much higher then they should be.

If you had a car and you put super in the unleaded tank, bubble blowing liquid in the windscreen washers, canola oil in the engine and lemonade in the radiator, what do you think would happen to the car?

Do you think the car may present itself with car injuries, car illnesses, car diseases? In other words, your car wouldn’t work for very long.

The difference here is that we know very clearly what needs to go into a car to make it run and if we put the wrong things in, we wouldn’t blame anyone else or think it is bad luck that the car wouldn’t be running properly.

Not so true with the human body, which I might add is far more complex than a car.

Unfortunately for us, TV commercials, global companies, people who invent bad diets in order to sell books and useless governments are the ones telling us what we should and shouldn’t be eating.

And guess what, too many people listen! And guess what again, too many people are fat, injured and sick.

Here’s a scenario for you;

I know this guy who eats clean 95% of the time. He is lean, healthy and injury free. in fact, he injured himself recently and that injury which was very painful only hung around for 3 – 4 weeks and disappeared without weekly visits to the physio. He also gives great advice on how to be like him. Just to reiterate, he is lean, healthy and injury free.

I also know a book store that sells loads of diet books, they range from one extreme to the other. From low carb to low protein, to low fat, to eat like a french person, to eat like a mediterranean, to eat like a himalayan monk etc, etc, etc.

Wow, which one should I choose first. There are so many, I might just work my way through them alphabetically, I mean they all must work, otherwise the book stores would sell them right?

Actually, which one did that lean, healthy injury free guy write? I can’t seem to find it. He might not have written one yet. Maybe I should just jump onto his blog and read his info for free. It may be possible that his info doesn’t have any underlying intentions other than to help me get lean, healthy and injury free…..

So, don’t come to me with any diet that you may be trying. I don’t care what you read in the paper, I don’t care what your overweight dietician told you, I don’t care what the guy in your office did to lose 20kg in 2 months, I don’t care about any of that because I am telling you what I want you to do to be lean, healthy and injury free long term.

I walk the talk and that is why I am so passionate about helping you.

If you read something that you think is high quality info, then you go for it, but do me a favour and actually do what I suggest for 30 days first and check the results.

Now, to back track to the original subject, I have to address person number 4.

If you don’t feel satisfied by a meal without rice, you need to add more lean protein and veg or salad.

Think of it this way;

Fruit, veg and salad contain loads of vitamins and minerals. They have a lower carbohydrate density which makes them much more suitable for weight loss. The are tasty, natural and provide loads of antioxidants which boost the immune system and aid in disease prevention.

Carbs such as rice, bread, pasta etc don’t contain any vitamins or minerals. They have a very high carbohydrate density which makes them very suitable for weight gain and they have properties that link them to long term health problems.

Now as inteligent human beings, would you choose the food group that provides vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and aids weight loss.

OR

Would you choose the food group that provides nothing except bloating, weight gain and has links to diseases and illness?

What is your food doing for you?

Happy New Year everyone!

Now it’s time to get back into action.

I am sure most of you ate way too much of the naughty stuff over the holiday break and I totally understand, if you are going to do it at any time of year, then that is the time to do it.

So, what are we going to do now to kick the year off to a flying start.

Well, I have plenty of things in store for you this year, to help bring you to optimal health, fitness and bodyfat levels, but the first thing we are going to do it increase our fruit and veggie intake for January.

There is no warning for this one as there is no preparation needed other than a trip to the fruit and veg shop today to stock up on your favourite foods.

Starting today! I challenge you all to eat only fruit and vegetables as your carbohydrates Monday to Friday afternoon for the entire month of January. The only addition to this is if you would like to eat rolled oats. The normal ones, not the quick oats.

So from the moment you wake up monday morning until dinner time on a Friday, you will eat only fruit and vegetables as your carbohydrates.

You will still eat protein and fat at every meal and if you are already following zone principles, then please stick to your ratios of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat on you plate at every meal of the day.

I am not concerned with what you do on the weekend, it is up to you for January, but I would love to hear at what point in the month you start to desire bad foods on the weekends, because it will happen.

Put your name in the comments below if you are ready to give it a go. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below so that I can answer them for everyone to see.

Happy weekday cleansing!

P.S I forgot to tell you how you are going to feel. You will feel less bloated, lighter, clearer thinking and have less bodyfat by the end of the month. Enjoy!!!

Last weekend I did the Canberra AROC adventure race which took us 4:38mins. Now that sounds very much like an endurance event, true?

So what should one eat if one wants to do an endurance event?

Well I am assuming it would be lots of pasta meals in the days leading up to the event, maybe a large baked potato the night before, maybe a couple of sandwiches everyday for the lead up week. I have heard that your diet should be 70 – 90% carbohydrates to carb load effectively.

I will now tell you what I ate in the week leading up to the event. Fruit, veg, meat, nuts, oats, eggs, oil.

I will now tell you what I didn’t eat. Pasta, bread, rice.

I did have a little bit of potato the night before the race because I felt like eating it, but at the end of the day, it is still a vegetable and it came out of the ground.

I performed really well in the race, if anything, I did better than when I have eaten more carbs in the lead up to a race.

All of my meals were in “zone” proportions with 40% of each meal being carbs, 30% being protein and 30% being fat. This helps to keep my blood sugar levels stable and gives me loads of energy all day and doesn’t make me feel sluggish.

So can I say that carb loading isn’t really necessary and we can get a lot of energy from fruit, veg and fat? I think so!

So what does this mean to everyone out there who tells me that they need bread, pasta, rice etc because if they don’t have it they feel too tired? I hear it every time I have a new client and still quite regularly from some of my old clients.

Someone actually told me once that fruit and veg is not real carbs. Really? So real carbs are only made by human hands, is that correct? mmmm, not sure that is correct.

So;

• Please try to make your diet balanced. This means that every meal should include protein, carbs and fat.
• A balanced meal is not muesli, fruit and yogurt. That is a meal of carbs!
• A balanced meal is not toast with vegemite and a coffee!
• A balanced meal is not pasta with a non creamy sauce! People always expect me to be impressed when they eat a non creamy pasta sauce, no matter how many times I tell them not to eat the pasta in the first place.
• Don’t keep eating the same thing and hope to lose weight. If it hasn’t worked for you up until now, why will it all of a sudden start working for you?
• If a food has been manufactured from man, it is probably not going to be very good for you.
• Make friends with your local fruit shop and butcher!

And last but definitely not least, please don’t try to tell me you need pasta, bread, rice, cereal etc for energy, because I will tell you the truth. Those foods will raise your blood sugar levels and make sure you stay fat.

Thanks to Jovana again, I have this great article about sugar and insulin and diabetes.

It is a few pages long, so you have to keep clicking across the page links because they only put a little bit of info on each page, but please read it, it is well worth it, with some very scary info in there.

After reading this, you may understand why you don’t have to be a weight loss candidate to limit your sugar intake and why I associate sugar with heart disease more than I associate fat with heart disease.
Read me, I’m an awesome article:)

I have had a new yogurt brought to my attention by one of my clients, I have not tried it, but the nutritional label is awesome, the best I have seen!

I will definitely be getting hold of some of them, with only 4.8g sugar per 100g in the passionfruit flavour! It has more protein than carbs! It looks like a good balanced snack. Balanced with carbs, protein and fat.

Just to top it off, it is organic!

Check it out here!

Last week I got sent another awesome article about processed food consumption. Please take a few mins to have a read, it is well worth it and may get you thinking a bit about your own diet.
I am loving these article, it is making my writing job a whole lot easier!

Big Food and You – http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/big-food-and-you-rules-for-a-healthy-life-20100701-zp5p.html