| Exact quantities and menus are not listed, just the | | | | every single day. |
| individual foods, and of course my food intake does | | | | My 10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains |
| vary. I aim to get as many different varieties of | | | | 1. Oatmeal (old fashioned) |
| fruits and vegetables as possible over the course of | | | | 2. Yams |
| every week and there are a lot of substitutions | | | | 3. Brown rice (a favorite is basmati, a long grain |
| made, so you are not seeing the full list of | | | | aromatic rice) |
| everything I eat, only what foods I eat most of the | | | | 4. Sweet potatoes (almost same as yams) |
| time. | | | | 5. Multi grain hot cereal (mix or barley, oats, rye. |
| I also want to point out that while I don't believe | | | | titricale and a few others) |
| that extreme low carbs are necessary or most | | | | 6. White potatoes |
| effective when you look at the long term, research | | | | 7. 100% whole wheat bread |
| has shown that there are some definite advantages | | | | 8. 100% whole wheat pasta |
| to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for | | | | 9. Beans (great for healthy chili recipes) |
| fat loss purposes. These include reduced appetite, | | | | 10. Cream of rice hot cereal |
| higher thermic effect of food and "automatic" calorie | | | | My Top 10 top vegetables |
| control. | | | | 1. Broccoli |
| Personally, I reduce my carb intake moderately and | | | | 2. Asparagus |
| temporarily prior to bodybuilding competitions. | | | | 3. Spinach |
| Specifically, it's the foods that are on the starchy | | | | 4. Salad greens |
| carbs and grains list that go down during the brief | | | | 5. Tomatoes |
| pre-competition period when I'm working on that | | | | 6. Peppers (green, red or yellow) |
| really "ripped" look. I keep the green and fibrous | | | | 7. Onions |
| veggie intake very high however, along with large | | | | 8. Mushrooms |
| amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and | | | | 9. Cucumbers |
| adequate amounts of essential fats. | | | | 10. Zucchini |
| This list reflects my personal preferences, so this is | | | | My top 10 lean proteins |
| not a prescription to all readers to eat as I do. It's | | | | 1. Egg whites (whole eggs in limited quantities) |
| very important for compliance to choose foods you | | | | 2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder |
| enjoy and to have the option for a wide variety of | | | | supplements) |
| choices. In the past several years, nutrition and | | | | 3. Chicken Breast |
| obesity research - in studying ALL types of diets - | | | | 4. Salmon (wild Alaskan) |
| has continued to conclude that almost any | | | | 5. Turkey Breast |
| hypocaloric diet that is not completely "moronic" can | | | | 6. Top round steak (grass fed beef) |
| work, at least in the short term. | | | | 7. Flank Steak (grass fed beef) |
| It's not so much about the high carb - low carb | | | | 8. Lean Ground Turkey |
| argument or any other debate as much as it is about | | | | 9. Bison/Buffalo |
| calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, | | | | 10. Trout |
| restricted diets and staying in a calorie deficit is | | | | My top 10 fruits |
| difficult, so most people can't stick with any program | | | | 1. Grapefruit |
| and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that | | | | 2. Apples |
| may be. | | | | 3. Blueberries |
| I believe that a lot of our attention needs to shift | | | | 4. Canteloupe |
| away from pointless debates (for example, low carb | | | | 5. Oranges |
| vs. high carb is getting really old… so | | | | 6. Bananas |
| like… get over it everyone, its a calorie deficit | | | | 7. Peaches |
| that makes you lose weight, not the amount of | | | | 8. Grapes |
| carbs). | | | | 9. Strawberries |
| Instead, our focus should shift towards these | | | | 10. Pineapple |
| questions: | | | | Note: I DO include healthy fats as well, such as |
| * How can we build an eating program that we can | | | | walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, |
| enjoy while still getting us leaner and healthier? | | | | flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado |
| * How can we build an eating program that helps us | | | | and a few others. |
| control calories? | | | | Also, I do eat dairy products and have nothing |
| * How can we build an eating program that improves | | | | against them, nor am I lactose intolerant. I simply |
| compliance? | | | | don't eat as much dairy as the rest of the stuff on |
| Here's one good answer: Eat a wide variety of high | | | | my lists. When I eat dairy, its usually skim milk, low or |
| nutrient density, low calorie density foods that you | | | | non fat cottage cheese, low or non fat yogurt and |
| enjoy which still fit within healthy, fat-burning, | | | | low or non fat cheese (great for omelettes). |
| muscle-building guidelines! | | | | Last but not least, I usually follow a compliance rate |
| Here are the lists of foods I choose to achieve these | | | | of about 95%, which means I take two or three |
| three outcomes. This eating plan is not difficult to | | | | meals per week of whatever I want (stuff that is |
| stick with at all, by the way. I enjoy eating like this | | | | NOT on these lists - like pizza, sushi, big fatty |
| and it feels almost weird not to eat like this after | | | | restaurant steaks, etc) |
| doing it for so long. | | | | I hope you found this helpful and interesting. Keep in |
| Remember, habits work in both directions, and as | | | | mind, this is MY food list, and although you probably |
| motivational speaker Jim Rohn has said, "Bad habits | | | | couldn't go wrong to emulate it, you need to choose |
| are easy to form and hard to live with and good | | | | natural foods you enjoy in order to develop habits |
| habits are hard to form but easy to live with." | | | | you can stick with long term. In the fruits and |
| These are listed in the order I frequently consume | | | | vegetables categories alone, there are hundreds of |
| them. So for example, if oatmeal is on the top of the | | | | other choices out there, so enjoy them all! |
| list, it means that is the food I am most likely to eat | | | | |