First off, thank you to everyone who has given me feedback
about my first blog post! Second, I've already gotten so many questions about
my lifestyle and I’m so excited to answer them all!
The
main question I got was, what the hell is Primal?! Well, let me start off by
saying that Primal was the best thing that has happened to me. Our entire
lives, we've been programmed to believe different things about what we should or
shouldn't be putting into our bodies. It’s a constant cycle of “eat less fat!
Fat is bad!” or “eat all carbs! Carbs are good!” or “Don’t eat carbs!” Or my
least favorite, “To lose weight means you have to be hungry all the time!” No,
no, no! I want you guys to keep an open mind about what I’m about to share with
you. Everything that has been programmed into your heads about health and
fitness is all extremely flawed.
Everyone
reading this right now most likely knows how it feels to be just mentally and
physically exhausted. Always feeling like you’re in an all our sprint for the
finish line, but never being able to reach it. I’ve been there. All I wanted to
do was fall on my bed and never open my eyes again, to just sleep forever. I blame one thing for this feeling. CARBS! First
off, I would like to talk about what the Primal Diet is. The idea behind this
lifestyle is to reprogram your genes to the way they are supposed to be. To the
way they were programmed in our ancestors 10,000 years ago. The things we eat
and the things we do have influence our genes immensely. Our genes have an “on
and off” switch, so to speak. We don’t have direct influence on the genes such
as eye color, skin pigment, height, hair color, ect, but we do have direct
influence on the genes such as muscle development, fat storage, inflammation
and other aspects of health and longevity. We've spent millions of years creating the
perfect set of genes. Those who were unable to adapt died out and those who
were too stupid, too slow, too lazy or had weak genetic traits were lost
forever. Throughout the years, we have weeded out the genes that are not
needed, creating the perfect human genetic recipe to survive and to be
fit. It is our given birthright to be
fit, strong, and healthy. In fact, our genes expect us to be exactly that.
So where did the change come in? Agriculture. Technology. Factories. A growing population made food high in demand. So we created rice, pasta, bread, wheat ect. Around 7,000 years ago, the Egyptians had a mostly grain based diet. They had a significantly shorter life; they were less muscular and had lower bone density. Most of them only lived long enough to reproduce and died around the age of 30. However, anthropologists state that if it wasn’t for fatalities such as getting eaten by a lion, or by getting a fatal infection, primitive man would have lived to be up to 94 years old without medications or modern comforts! Modern research in epigenetics and evolutionary biology confirms that we are genetically identical to our hunter-gatherer ancestors as well as our Egyptian ancestors. With our lifestyle choices, we have turned on the bad genes such as diabetes, cancers and other illnesses and we have turned off the ability to rely solely on our body’s fat storage for energy. We can still be the fit, healthy fat burning beast, but we just have to reprogram our genes. And I’m going to tell you how.
It’s time to throw out your general knowledge of nutrition. Our whole lives, it’s said that grains and wheat and fiber is good for you! Eat lots of it! Truth is, Grains and other agricultural foods is what are killing us. Processed carbohydrates drive excess insulin production in our bodies, which in turn can lead to weight gain. One piece of whole wheat bread can spike your blood sugar more than a tablespoon of table sugar. If you don’t have excess body fat concerns or problems, grains still cause inflammation, fatigue and burnout. The most important concept of this diet is to set your genes back to your “factory setting” and be a healthy, fat burning beast! With all the excess carbs and sugars in our bodies, it signals the fat to hold onto itself since we have another fuel source. Here’s an example. You know that feeling at the beginning of your workout, when you’re about 10 minutes into your run and you feel like you’re about to die? Then at about 20-30 minutes into your workout you all of a sudden have a second wind? A burst of energy and you feel like you could run forever? That’s your body switching from carb burning to fat burning. Your body has burned off all the carbs and is now reaching into your fat storage for energy. So why not have the second wind at the beginning of your workout?! Going straight into your fat storage for energy? Makes sense huh? At least, it did to me.
So where did the change come in? Agriculture. Technology. Factories. A growing population made food high in demand. So we created rice, pasta, bread, wheat ect. Around 7,000 years ago, the Egyptians had a mostly grain based diet. They had a significantly shorter life; they were less muscular and had lower bone density. Most of them only lived long enough to reproduce and died around the age of 30. However, anthropologists state that if it wasn’t for fatalities such as getting eaten by a lion, or by getting a fatal infection, primitive man would have lived to be up to 94 years old without medications or modern comforts! Modern research in epigenetics and evolutionary biology confirms that we are genetically identical to our hunter-gatherer ancestors as well as our Egyptian ancestors. With our lifestyle choices, we have turned on the bad genes such as diabetes, cancers and other illnesses and we have turned off the ability to rely solely on our body’s fat storage for energy. We can still be the fit, healthy fat burning beast, but we just have to reprogram our genes. And I’m going to tell you how.
It’s time to throw out your general knowledge of nutrition. Our whole lives, it’s said that grains and wheat and fiber is good for you! Eat lots of it! Truth is, Grains and other agricultural foods is what are killing us. Processed carbohydrates drive excess insulin production in our bodies, which in turn can lead to weight gain. One piece of whole wheat bread can spike your blood sugar more than a tablespoon of table sugar. If you don’t have excess body fat concerns or problems, grains still cause inflammation, fatigue and burnout. The most important concept of this diet is to set your genes back to your “factory setting” and be a healthy, fat burning beast! With all the excess carbs and sugars in our bodies, it signals the fat to hold onto itself since we have another fuel source. Here’s an example. You know that feeling at the beginning of your workout, when you’re about 10 minutes into your run and you feel like you’re about to die? Then at about 20-30 minutes into your workout you all of a sudden have a second wind? A burst of energy and you feel like you could run forever? That’s your body switching from carb burning to fat burning. Your body has burned off all the carbs and is now reaching into your fat storage for energy. So why not have the second wind at the beginning of your workout?! Going straight into your fat storage for energy? Makes sense huh? At least, it did to me.
"What
Can I Eat?"
It’s time to throw out your general
knowledge of nutrition. Our whole lives, it’s said that grains and wheat and
fiber is good for you! Eat lots of it! Truth is, Grains and other agricultural
foods is what are killing us. Processed carbohydrates drive excess insulin
production in our bodies, which in turn can lead to weight gain. If you don’t
have excess body fat concerns or problems, grains still cause inflammation, fatigue
and burnout. The most important concept of this diet is to set your genes back
to your “factory setting.” With all the excess carbs and sugars in our bodies,
it signals the fat to hold onto itself since we have another fuel source. It’s time to start eating primal foods like
meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, high quality fats and moderate
consumption of high fat dairies and the sensible indulgence of dark chocolate
and red wine. You will take on the Primal Eating Philosophy, which is freedom,
no calorie counting, and no portion control. Eating to your heart’s content
with total awareness of your natural cycles of satiety and hunger.
“That
shit’s expensive. How can I afford it?”
I have two answers. One, you feel
fuller longer from the fats and proteins you’re eating, therefore; you eat
less. Answer number two; budget, people! Buy things on sale. Use coupons. Do
what you have to do because it’s 100% worth it.
“How do I keep the weight off?”
That one’s easy. Will Power. Stay primal. You
can eat as much as you want and never gain a pound. Just stay as active as you
can and stay away from that fluffy, deliciously sinful bread.
Government Food Pyramid
Primal Food Pyramid
The first few weeks, you may feel even more tired and groggy, but that's your body switching from being a carb burner to being a fat burner. Sometimes it takes your body a while to adjust to the fact that it's not getting it's normal source of fuel. I know for me, every time I have a cheat meal, I feel terrible the next day. It's just not worth it. Stick by the Primal Food pyramid and you'll lose the fat as fast as if you were starving yourself. I haven't counted a single calorie since the say I turned myself into a cave woman. This lifestyle saved me, and it could be the very thing that saves you. If you are interested in it, I suggest you check out the book "21 Day Total Body Transformation" by Mark Sisson. Also, Check out the book "What Belly" by William Davis. If you don't believe me, those books have scientific proof. You can continue to eat foods like this:
And this:
\
And continue to feel like shit. While I eat food like this:
And still feel fantastic and just as satisfied! Stay Primal, my friends.
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What works for me, may not work for you. It takes will power and dedication.
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