Uncategorized
My top 3 tips to be healthier in 2019
| I’m really sorry I did that to you last week, with the ‘to be continued’. I could have easily written more on my first tip: “Don’t fear fat or cholesterol, but fear excessive carbohydrates.” To reinforce this message, the seminar “Please Just Tell Me What To Eat’, that I presented in Toowoomba two weeks ago, is now available for you to watch. I really do understand what a challenge it is, to do an almost 180-degree turn, regarding what we are told to eat, and what I am telling you to eat. Believe me, I had 10 years of failure as a nutritionist by following the ‘healthy eating’ guidelines. I was telling patients to snack and graze and eat ‘wholemeal’. The whole time I watched the majority of them lose a bit of weight, and then put it all back on again. The majority of patients, with digestive issues, insulin resistance/diabetes or heart disease really didn’t improve either. The problem is, we think we are eating well, but we are actually eating short-term, ‘carbohydrate rocket fuel’, because we have been ‘warned off’ traditional foods like meats, eggs, nuts/seeds and full-fat dairy. I had a look at Census data from 2014, to see what the ‘experts’ say we are eating on a daily basis. They say we are eating plenty of fats and protein, and that we need carbohydrates ‘for energy’. But about 1/3 of all the ‘protein and fat’ foods we are consuming, include sweet biscuits, cereals/cereal products, cakes and buns! These foods are actually majority carbohydrates (and sugar), and don’t even belong in the fats and protein section. |
| So the bottom graph is more representative of what we eat on a daily basis, and is the reason we are so unwell.. We are eating so many carbohydrates, so little fat and protein, and drinking way too much alcohol. When you think about it, it makes sense when you head off to Subway or pizza, Thai or burgers. The majority of the food you eat will be the buns, the fries, the soft drink, thick shake, juice, rice and the vegetables. The meat/protein component is actually minimal. Even a fry-up for breakfast-you will probably end up filling up potato cakes, mountains of crusty white bread and pancakes, and much less of the ‘good stuff’ like the eggs, mince, haloumi, chops and bacon. And those massive salads for lunch! All leaves, vegetables and fancy dressings, but with virtually no protein! No wonder we are starving in the late afternoon, as our blood sugars plummet. Protein and fats are the key to satiety. More food for thought. So, what is my second tip? Start practising the art of ‘not eating’. (you can call it intermittent fasting if you really want) I really want to re-name fasting: ‘just taking a break from eating, to give your body a rest’. Just like we meditate to quieten the mind, I want you to take a break from eating to ‘quieten the body’ and ‘quieten your gut’. This will enable your gut to repair and inflammation levels, insulin and blood sugars to reduce and reset, for the first time in decades. It will also help your poor old fatty liver and pancreas, to start working through that backlog of fat, that has been accumulating for decades. Don’t overcomplicate things, don’t buy a book (yet), but just start by not snacking between meals (nothing but water!) and not snacking after dinner. Once you have cracked that (personally, it took me ages)-then we can go onto more in-depth ‘food breaks’. This will involve pushing out your breakfast by a few hours to maybe 9 or 10am, and bingo, if you have an early dinner, you have just taken a food break for about 15 or 16 hours that is possibly the longest time you haven’t eaten in decades? You can aim to then do this a few times a week. Many patients have then extended out this fast. But it is a case of walking before running, and to grasp why you are fasting, and how it will help you. Just like we train for sport, have to be disciplined to save money, or we up-skill at work or university, the art of ‘not eating’ needs to practiced and fine-tuned. It also must be results-driven, and change must occur, whether mentally, physically or in your blood tests (and that will then get your doctor on-board). Can I let you in on a tip? You don’t need mountains of probiotics, kombucha, kefir, fibre or lemon and water to fix that bloating, reflux, farting, IBS and SIBO-you just need to get off the eating rollercoaster. |
| Next week I’ll give you my final tip, that will help you take this ‘break from eating’. Head over to my Facebook page as I’ve just posted another of my most popular recipes. |
| I am a regular on ABC Radio Brisbane if you would like to have a listen to past episodes or you can watch some short videos that may explain in a simple way, complex ideas. If you would like to book an individualised appointment, simply do that on-line. Or visit my Website, Twitter or Facebook should you want to know a bit more about me. Instagram has a few more recipes as well. |
