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Over the last eight months or so, a lot of people have asked me if I’d help them out with their diet or, at least, share what I do so they could modify and adapt as necessary.  I’ve promised to do so but when it comes right down to it, I’m a bad person and I just haven’t made the time to sit down and crank it out.  At long last, and without (much) further ado, I present to you…

Oh, wait.  Before I write another word..and I think this is pretty common knowledge, but I want to say that I’m not a doctor or a scientist.  All of our bodies are different and react differently to things.  My diet is strict but it’s the genes, more than anything, that tried to kill me.  What has seemingly worked amazingly for me may not work as well, or at all for you.  Hell, it may kill you.  As I’m not a trained professional, I can’t say for sure that it won’t.

What I can say is this:  I obsessively read and study.  I’ve always been interested in nutrition; how varied it is, differing schools of thought, etc.  I’ve spent the last few years exercising in spurts and reading about what it was I should be doing.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  The thing that all of the educated folk have been saying for pretty much eternity…the thing we all know and pretend we can avoid…that’s it.  That’s the secret to losing weight and being a more healthy person.  So here it is.  Are you ready?  Eat healthy stuff.  Exercise regularly.  That’s it.  Shocking, I know.

And I’m not going to lie, a total bummer.

Here’s the other thing I know.  In just over a year I’ve lost 60 lbs.  I’ve managed to stay alive (thus far..man, I hate writing stuff like this) after my body tried to kill me.  I have gotten to a point where I do not take any medication for my diabetes and my blood sugar is like clockwork every time I check it.  I’m in better shape, visibly, and actually, than I have been in my entire life.  There are some things that just come with getting older but, them aside, I have a body I would’ve done some pretty horrible things to have attained when I was in my teens/20’s.  Also, apparently doctors and nurses think I’m inspiring.  Which is weird.  Whatever.

I’ve written about a general sense of what I eat and do, but I’m going to take a few minutes here to lay it out in a heavier level of detail.  This could be a rough guide or a starting point.  I do this daily.  You’re lucky.  You don’t have to.

Final note before we get started:  I’m giving some pretty serious thought to going vegan, which I know turns a lot of people off.  This diet, with some very easy tweaks, could be made vegan and still contain all the current benefits.

Also, none of the companies I mention below know I exist.  It’d be cool if they paid me to eat their stuff, but they don’t.  I eat it because it’s what my research has led me to as the best.

Ok, here goes.
GENERAL NOTE:

The core of a lot of this is whole grains.  Every week or so I boil 3 dry cups of some sort of grain with 8 cups of water.  I strain and put these in a container in the fridge.  It saves so much prep time it’s unreal.  For grains, I like the Bob’s Red Mill ‘Ancient Grains’ line.  These consist of things like Bulgur, Kamut, Farro, Spelt, etc.  These are nutty, occasionally slightly sweet, have great texture, and cook like rice or pasta.  Bulgur cooks in roughly 15 minutes, so it’s easy.  Kamut takes about an hour but it’s both nutty and sweet, and is my favorite.  These could be replaced by brown rice for anything but the breakfast (though I guess you could do that too..weirdo).  Trader Joes sells 3 packs of sprouted brown rice for about $3.  They microwave in a few minutes and are also great.  Replace in the same quantity as the grains.

The nice thing about any of these options is there is zero sodium, very little fat, and the carbs are 100% whole grain and high fiber.

BREAKFAST:

90% of the time breakfast consists of a whole grain of some sort, skim milk, and berries (depending on the grain).  If I’m using the pre cooked whole grains I mention above I will add a small handful of blueberries or other assorted berries.  If I’m not using them, I generally have Muesli, again from Bob’s Red Mill.

1 cup grain of your choice.

1 cup skim milk.

Handful berries.

That’s it.  It’s ready almost immediately, delicious, and super good for you.  Hint: if using the pre-cooked grains I put everything into a cup the night before and eat it when I get to work.  The milk soaks into the grain a bit and the berries plump and flavor the milk.  I’ve read that the traditional way to eat muesli is to soak it overnight in water with lemon juice, but I like it dense and crisp.

LUNCH:

Lunch is generally either extra dinner from the night before or salad/similar composition as follows:

1 large handful dark leafy greens

3 medium mushrooms

Sliced Onion to taste

Sliced carrot or beet.

Small handful cranberries.

1 cup quinoa or pre-cooked grains

1 large chicken breast or cubes of tofu.

1 bell pepper (prefer orange/yellow). Sliced or chopped.   I prefer this on the side.

A small amount, generally 1-1.5 tsp of  dressing.  I stick to oil/vinegar or low-fat balsamic.

Cracked pepper to taste.

Note: Once you realize the average person puts and absurd amount of dressing on their salad, only using 1-1.5 tsp becomes more than enough.  The trick is drizzling it in such a way that it can be mixed and cover most fork-fulls.  It honestly makes me a little sick now when I see people drowning their greens in thick goopy stuff, like I used to do.

DINNER:

Dinner is fairly homogenous.  I try to change up sides and extras, and to switch between chicken and fish but the core is consistent.  Yeah it gets a bit old sometimes, but it’s quick, easy, nutritious, and always tastes amazing.

1 cup grain.  Can substitute brown rice.

Large handful leafy greens.  I use any of the dark mixes or swap in Chard, Spinach, Broccoli tops, Kale, etc.

1 bell pepper (prefer orange/yellow/red) sliced thin.

1/4-1/2 small onion or a few green onions, chopped.

Chopped garlic to taste.  I like a TON.

Sliced Mushrooms, thin or thick..personal preference.  I like the brown baby Bella’s the best.  Mushrooms are a freebie for me so I eat as many as I can.

1/4 can rinsed no-sodium black beans (or any other beans with no salt added.)

1-2 small tomatoes, cubed or sliced.

1 large chicken breast or fillet of fish.

Small amount olive oil.

Note: While this is pretty consistent, I don’t always do the beans and tomato.  They are excellent, but pretty much change the whole character of the meal.

Turn oven to high broil.

Coat a non-stick pan with olive oil.  Use only enough to coat.  You don’t need a lot.  Turn burners on low, basically just warming up your pan.  Add chopped onions and garlic and let them sweat, but do not let the oil start sizzling.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray with PAM.  Butterfly chicken breast or wash/cut fish and lay the on the foil.  Season as appropriate (see below for SEASONINGS).  Put in oven on middle/upper-middle rack.  Leave until cooked through (10-15 minutes, generally).

Add tomatoes, grains, and greens to the warm pan and turn up the heat to just below medium.  Let these simmer for a minute or two, turning until the greens begin soften.  Add any seasonings as appropriate here.

Add the rest of your veggies and cover with a sauce-pan lid.  Turn the heat up a little more.  Stir as necessary.  You’ll start to hear things sizzle now.  Cook until al dente or until uniformly cooked through.

Once the main ingredients and the meat are done, plate however.  I like using big fluted bowls for all of it but it’s all personal preference.

Note: You can play a little here.  Some days I like to stop when the veggies are just barely past raw, other days I’ll let them soak in the tomato juices for a while.  Some days I crank the heat and let the garlic grains start to crisp.  Little things like this make the same ingredients with the same prep into a different kind of meal.  You can also put all the ingredients in a bowl uncooked and whip up a vinaigrette for an awesome salad.  For variety, change up the veggies and/or the spices.  Different greens have different tastes and textures, as do different types of mushroom.

DESSERT:

If I’m hungry at night I generally allow myself the same as breakfast.  I actually find myself craving this now.  For ‘dessert’ I will often add a handful of a different type of cereal on top of the whole grain stuff.  So if I have muesli I will sometimes put some shredded wheat squares or a handful of stone-ground whole grain flakes with a little cacao in them.  It makes a big difference and feels like a huge splurge, even though it’s a very minimal change.

MEATS:

Meats generally play a secondary role in my diet.  There’s usually chicken or fish with dinner, but it’s just to provide the protein.  With that said, it’s always pretty tasty too.

I almost never eat red meat.  I don’t eat pork.  I only eat the white of eggs.  80-90% of the chicken I eat is white meat.  Fish is fair game, but I try to be mindful of the extra sodium in it when planning everything else.

A note on chicken.  Chicken these days is pretty gnarly.  The vast majority of it has been brined and has a ton of sodium.  Even the stuff that says it’s ‘reduced’ is still pretty absurd.  I try to limit myself to chicken that has not been brined.  It costs a ton more (I get two large breasts for the price of 4-5 regular ones) but it has a hugely lower amount of sodium.  If you look at some of the numbers, eating regular chicken is almost the same as lean red meat.  I try to avoid both.

A concern with as much as I exercise is that, if I don’t eat red meat, etc, how am I going to get enough protein.  This is an American thing, I believe.  We’re taught that every meal needs a massive slab of flesh to accompany it and that if you don’t you’ll be a scrawny weakling.  In point of fact, I just saw that the guy who either is, or was, Mr Universe is vegan, as is his wife who is also a top ranking bodybuilder.  Sometimes I fall prey to this, though.  Bulksupplements.com sells some amazing pure supplements.  I’ve bought their whey isolate on occasion and if I’m hitting the weights harder than usual or feel like I might need some extra bulk, etc, I will throw a scoop or two in with my cereal, or mix some into a tiny bit of water after the gym.  With looking into maybe going vegan again I’ve discovered that a mix of brown rice and pea protein is as complete as whey protein and supposedly digests easily.  The nice thing is, most of these are isolates, so all you get is protein, and maybe a tiny bit of salt.

A note on supplements:  In looking into protein supplements I realized that the majority of supplements, even the isolates, are chock full of cholesterol, sodium, carbs, etc.  I know this is what some people want, but I feel like for my needs and those of most people it’s absolutely unnecessary.  If you’re buying supplements, be prepared to do some research and to pay extra.  The company I mentioned above are actually pretty cheap, and their stuff is all pure.  There’s also Naked Nutrition, whom I will be buying some brown rice and pea protein from shortly.

SIDES:

I play sides by ear.  Generally I don’t need them.  The above is actually a ton of food and I’m usually stuffed by the end.  Occasionally, I’ll use a few scallops (high sodium) or bok choi, green beans (excellent with horseradish), mukamame, etc if I feel like I need some variety.  The other day I sliced some tomatoes from the garden and cracked pepper over them.  A tiny splash of herbed olive oil, and they could’ve been a full-on appetizer.  They worked perfectly as a side, though.

SEASONINGS:

Pre-mixed seasonings will get you every time.  This is where a HUGE portion of hidden sodium in people’s diet comes from.  I don’t use salt and I don’t use any seasonings/spice blends that have salt in them.  There is still a surprising amount of amazing spices from around the world that can be used.  Basically any ‘pure’ spice is fair game.  I use a lot of curry, gram masala, paprika, shichimi, chipotle powder, etc.  Fresh cracked pepper was a forgotten revelation to me.

There are some pre-made seasonings that I occasionally allow, depending on my meal content the rest of the day.  Chili Garlic with the rooster on the bottle has about 90mg sodium per tsp.  1/2 tsp goes a long way when added while cooking the veggies and only adds a minimal amount of sodium.  Mina Harissa has about 60mg per tsp and also goes a long way.  Creamed horseradish is awesome and generally has only 5-10mg sodium.  Some really good mustards have higher sodium, but they can be found in lower sodium iterations in regular stores.

The real secret to the dinner is that I love garlic and onion.  By sweating them before all the rest of the dish goes in you’re creating a seasoned oil that the rest gets cooked in.  Often I don’t use any other spice, but it just depends on my mood.

All of this applies to seasoning meats as well.  A scallop has a ton of natural salt in it.  A splash of cayenne pepper, a crack of pepper, and a pinch of garlic and green onion on top is incredible.  Garlic powder works great on chicken or fish.  Pepper goes a long way too.  If you buy good meat, it shouldn’t really need much to help it out.  Even in the good old days it killed me to see people put steak sauce on steak.  I just don’t get it.

RULES:

Sodium:  I try to keep my intake to under 1000mg a day with a max ‘allowance’ of 1500.  I have read that the body needs, at a minimum, 500mg a day, but 700 should be the lowest amount consumed.  On an average day I’d estimate my sodium to be between 700-100, depending on the portion size of the meats I consume.

Fat:  I try to not eat anything that is over 8-9% of my daily RDA of fat.  If each meal is around that, I’m keeping to around 40% of the daily RDA.  I will occasionally add a tsp of chia seeds to my cereal in the morning, or have a small amount of high cacao dark chocolate.  This, especially, if I have been, or will be going to the gym.  Almost all of my fat comes in the form of either olive oil, white chicken, fish, or the natural fats in oats and similar products.

Cholesterol:  I don’t buy anything that has cholesterol in it.  I don’t eat egg yolks.  Again, I don’t really do red meat or pork and I eat white meat chicken or fish only.  This should mean that, in general, any of the cholesterol I do consume is the ‘good’ kind, whatever the hell that means.

Calories:  Calories are one thing I honestly don’t count.  When I was starting all of this I balanced my meals based mostly on carbs, fat, and cholesterol.  When I did the math, the calorie content was right in line with where it should be.  To wit, I have lost the 60lbs, but I work out heavily and regularly.  I don’t put on massive muscle like I used to, but I’m stronger and leaner, and the muscle I do put on is hard.  My weight bounces between about the same 3 lbs day to day and if I gain or lose it’s usually over the course of 2-3 months now.

Dairy:  I have skim milk with cereal in the morning and a lot of nights.  I’m probably switching to almond milk soon.  You’d be just as well served using any of the alternatives.  I’ve heard hemp is good, though it’s a bit high fat for my tastes.  Cheese is all high sodium, high fat so I just stopped using it.  This is a hard one, because cheese is a phenomenal substance.  If you have to have cheese, have no more than a 1 oz cube’s worth, which, if you look at it, is not even enough to make it worth having cheese.

No snacks.  If I need to snack I’ll get a handful of veggies or a SMALL handful of granola, etc.  2 Egg whites are surprisingly filling and are good here and there.  They can also be made in bulk and kept for a week or so.

No salt:  I don’t add salt directly to anything.

No refined carbs:  No white rice.  No white flour.  No excessively sugared things.  If you need rice, make it brown.  If you need bread, get whole wheat, multi grain, seeded, hippie shit.  The only reason I don’t eat more bread is that good bread is salty and, again…see above.

No drowning food in sauces:  If I get chicken wings (boneless, white meat) I get sauce on the side and just dip a tiny bit.  It’s amazing how quickly you adjust and how crazy it is to see how much gets used in general.

Very little processed food:  The majority of my diet is put together from individual ingredients.  They are mostly fresh veggies, locally bought (though produced elsewhere).  Whole grains.  Beans.  Etc.  When you start reading labels you start to see how shitty the content of most processed food is.  There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, I just don’t eat stuff that’s made in a factory with a ton of ingredients.
So there it is.  I’m honestly a bit tired of writing, so I’m going to do a pt2 that has my workout stuff later on this weekend or in the upcoming week.

RESULTS:

So this is my life now.  I’m not going to lie, I often lament the fact that I can’t have certain things anymore, or at least not in quantity.  I have always thought of myself as a ‘foodie’ and it’s shitty to walk past the cheese bar at Harmon’s or to ignore all the beautiful bread everywhere I go.

As I noted a few times, I’m down 60 lbs and I believe I’ve kind of landed at or around my body’s natural ideal weight.  I’m hoping that with some new workout plans I might actually gain a bit and put on some more noticeable bulk.  I still have a little fat to get rid of too, but not a ton.  I can run further and faster than ever before in my life.  I can ride harder than I ever have been able to.  My hikes are limited more by time than lack of condition.  And so on and so forth.

When I’ve had my blood checked, every 60-90 days or so, all of my numbers have come back good.  My A1C is at a level that I’d wager is below most non-diabetic people out there.  My cholesterol and triglycerides are perfect.  Basically on paper, I’m as healthy as shit.  For a dying guy, that’s not too bad.

So this stuff works.  For me.  For now.  I honestly wouldn’t recommend anybody living like me unless they had to but, then again, maybe if I’d lived like me before I wouldn’t find myself saddled with all this debt and these crazy lifestyle changes.  I want to put in writing again that I’m no doctor, scientist, nutritionist, etc.  I’m just a dude who’s had to make radical life changes, and has seen some awesome results come out of the ashes.  Plus enough people have asked me that I figured it’s maybe worth putting into writing.