Breaking The Dietary Rules

What is eating healthy? You'll get a different answer from each and every person you ask. Is it eating lots of veggies and minimizing fat? Is it limiting sugar and salt? Is it going vegan? No wonder we're so confused! Nobody has a definite answer to the question because we're constantly listening to people who really don't know the answer.

Let's take a step back and look at the people who are giving us dietary advice nowadays. Let's first be on the right page and agree that we all want to look great naked, be strong, and most important be healthy. Would you listen to a doctor, dietitian  or nutritionist that didn't truly understand your goals or even worse didn't look like he gave a damn about their own health? There are plenty of these type of people. Take away the degree and/or certification and you basically have a case of blind leading the blind. I don't like to let a piece of paper or plaque dictate a man's worth because frankly I know plenty of unaccomplished college graduates. In the same way would you like to have a fat - I won't even say fat, let's say "out of shape" personal trainer make you do something that probably he should be doing with you?

I would much rather listen to a person who lives and breathes what they teach. Because there's nothing more convincing than actual physical proof. We'd rather see results than read about them, or see results, then read about them. It's all about application. Science is nothing if its efficacy is not tested and proven. So why do doctors (most of which are not qualified to be giving nutritional or dietary advice), magazines, and books keep telling us to minimize fat, salt, meat, and increase our consumption of grains and carbohydrates?

I bought into this garbage like everyone else did and saw no beneficial changes to my athletic performance or physique. I'm a guy. I want to look good and I want to be strong. If you're a guy and don't value these aspirations, you need more than a dietary makeover. That deserves its own blog which i'll write up in the near future...Anyway back to my main topic. For over 10 years I listened to what the so called experts were recommending and saw no results. The problem was I was getting advice from people that followed the same advice but were either taking performance enhancers or had the benefit of training for a living. Yes, calories in vs. calories out does have its legitimacy. It's one of few things that I actually can agree with.

As a fan of extremes I decided to do the complete opposite of what everyone was saying. I decided to adopt and high fat/low carb lifestyle where my food sources only came from animal meat, vegetables, and pretty much no fruit. I didn't even eat organic the entire time I adopted this new lifestyle just to see how far it would actually take me and also because i'm still skeptical about the importance of going all organic. I also increased my salt intake via mineral salts and plenty of bacon and as much as I can minimize my grain and processed carbohydrate intake. Despite the questions I received from peers, friends, and family I noticed myself gaining amazing energy, awesome strength (for my size and build), and rapidly decreasing body fat levels, basically getting ripped! So what dietary rules have I broken so far and benefited from?

1. Decrease salt intake - BROKEN
2. Minimize saturated fat intake - BROKEN
3. Increase omega-6 fatty acid consumption. BROKEN
4. Eat more grains - BROKEN

I've pretty much done every single dietary no-no that the average person, let alone doctor would advise against. Yet at 28 years old, I'm in the best shape of my life.

My goal here is not to convince you to do exactly what I do. But it's to encourage you to forge your own path and question every single thing people tell you when it comes to nutrition and performance. If something isn't working for you, it's time to try something new. Know who you're talking to, look at them and ask yourself if they sound and look like they know what their talking about.

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