A natural weight loss diet relies exclusively on those natural
fat burning foods that were consumed by our Pleistocene ancestors. This
is not a reducing diet that you go on and, eventually, off; instead, it
is a permanent way of eating better. By understanding how your ancestors
ate, you will automatically understand how you should eat if you want
to flourish physically.
A
natural weight loss diet is very conservative and as well-grounded and
tested scientifically as any eating plan could be. Especially when
combined with a plan for sensible movement (exercise), it is the best
way to achieve lasting weight loss.
The Pleistocene is the
geological epoch that began about 2.6 million years ago and ended only
about 12,000 years ago. Nearly all human evolution occurred during the
Pleistocene. Your genetic code differs less than one-tenth of one
percent from the genetic code of your ancestors at the end of the
Pleistocene.
A natural weight loss diet is an eating plan that
consists of eating foods that are as close as possible to the foods
humans or proto-humans ate during the Pleistocene. We evolved eating
those foods, and we are healthiest when we eat them.
What are
those foods? They are foods that consist of natural sources of fats,
proteins, and (unrefined or unprocessed) carbohydrates. These are the
only foods consumed on a natural weight loss diet.
Unfortunately
for us, there is a big difference between eating wild plant foods and
eating cultivated plant foods, and there is also a big difference
between eating wild flesh foods and domesticated flesh foods. The
animals and plants that provide many of our foods have evolved
significantly since the end of the Pleistocene.
This makes it more
difficult for us to obtain the foods of a natural weight loss diet.
Still, it is possible to choose foods that are as fresh as possible and
as natural as possible. Incidentally, they tend to be low carb foods.
The
best low carb foods from plants are non-starchy vegetables. Especially
important are leafy green vegetables like spinach. Other good low carb
foods are asparagus, lettuce, mustard greens, beet greens, turnip
greens, parsley, kale, collard, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, celery,
cucumber,(green, red, or Chinese) cabbage, mushrooms, peppers, yellow
summer squash, and zucchini.
Unless you are extremely active
physically, you would be wise to limit your consumption of root
vegetables such as beets, carrots, and onions as well as from other
starchy vegetables such as watercress, kohlrabi, turnips, avocados,
pumpkin, radishes, and brussel sprouts.
Flesh foods are staples of
a natural weight loss diet as well as being low carb. Good selections
are eggs (but not more than one yolk daily) and egg whites; wild caught
fish such as wild caught salmon, Alaskan halibut, orange roughy,
sardines, anchovies, Chilean sea bass, trout, herring, and mackerel;
shellfish such as shrimp, crab, clams, oysters, and lobster; wild game
such as deer, elk, or rabbit; lean red domesticated meat from grass-fed
animals such as buffalo, beefalo, and cattle that has not been treated
with hormones or antibiotics; wild game birds such as duck, goose,
pheasant, and quail; domestic poultry if it has been raised outside
cages, feed natural foods, and not treated with hormones or antibiotics;
goat; and internal animal organs such as liver, heart, pancreas, and
bone marrow.
So these are the basic foods of a natural weight loss diet.
If
you drink alcohol, have no more than one drink daily if you are female
or two drinks daily if you are male. Always avoid sweetened alcoholic
beverages.
With respect to oils, liberal amounts of omega-3 fatty
acids (from deep water fish or fish oil supplements) and omega-9 fatty
acids (from, for example, cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil) are a
good idea. It is best to restrict your intake of omega-6 oils.
Drink plenty of clean water--at least two or three quarts daily.
If
you are eating poorly and begin to eat much like your Pleistocene
ancestors ate by using a natural weight loss diet, I predict you will
begin to feel much better in just three weeks--and that you will be
healthier with less body fat as well! (Avoid, however, making dramatic
changes to your eating or exercising habits without the prior blessing
of your physician or other health care provider.)
If you want that
result, please avoid eating the following: All forms of potatoes, sweet
potatoes, and yams. All dairy products. Legumes (beans, pease, peanuts,
and so on). All nuts and nut butters except walnuts. All foods
containing processed carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, rolls, muffins,
crumpets, pastries, bagels, pretzels, doughnuts, cookies, cake, corn
chips, pizza, croissants, soft drinks, granola bars, and breakfast
cereals. (When digested, all carbs become sugar [glucose] and the idea
is to burn fat rather than sugar.)
Avoid all grains and that
includes anything made from corn, rice, wheat, oats, triticale, rye,
barley, spelt, and kamut. Also avoid wild rice, teff, millet, sorghum,
sugarcane, and cane sugar.
In other words, avoid anything that
your Pleistocene ancestors could not have eaten including candy, sweet
fruits, dried fruits, and sweetened foods.
Please do not worry
about eating a low carbohydrate diet. The minimum daily requirement for
carbs is zero! If you stop eating processed carbs, your body will
automatically switch to burning fat for energy instead of carbs. That is
what you want, is it not?
Yes, it requires discipline--especially
at first. However, if you force yourself to do it for a while, you are
soon going to love the way you look and feel! When the compliments start
coming in, they will provide additional motivation for you to stick
with the program until it becomes habitual.
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