Portion Control
View this guide as a place to start. Each person is individual. Try this for a few weeks, and then experiment with portions and balance of foods to figure out what makes you feel best. Most people go through an adjustment period when they change diets, so you may feel tired, out of sorts, and get headaches while you adjust. This should not last longer than 3 weeks.
How often should you eat?
I recommend 3 meals a day, and one or two snacks. If you have a heavy physical work schedule or training – add an extra meal rather than a snack. You should not need to eat more frequently than every 4 – 5 hours.
Protein – amount needed is approx 1.5 – 2 grams per kilo ideal body weight per day. For most people following this rule: 1 – 2 palms of protein food per meal just happens to work out very closely to this. (If you want to be more precise – use this as a guideline: Protein amounts in seafood, meat and dairy) I recommend ‘leanish’ protein as I’ve sometimes noticed excess fat in protein foods can keep fat cells topped up rather than allowing them to empty (if fat loss is your goal). Make one meal a day a seafood meal. Eggs, 3 per meal for most females, 3 – 5 for males.
Eat protein sources rich in omega 3
Omega 3 enhances fat loss – use seafood at one meal every day – fish, and shellfish, crustaceans, etc. The bonus is you get a lot of minerals in seafood as well, many of these are low in land based animals, e.g zinc, selenium, iodine, and trace minerals.
Carbohydrate: for adequate carbohydrate – at least 100 grams per day, this is the amount that most people need for physiological functions. If you are doing high intensity exercise like CrossFit or Boot camp, you may need more -150 – 200 grams a day. A fist of starch at each meal and one post workout usually supplies enough. (For a more accurate guide to carb amounts use this: Paleo diet carb list and carb counter.)
Lean, pear shaped women, or slightly overweight people doing a lot of exercise usually tolerate more carbohydrates than sedentary, apple-shaped and insulin resistant folks.
The amount needed if you are exercising and insulin sensitive is from 2 – 6 grams/kg/day. Play around with this and see what makes you feel best.
Non starch vegetables: Eat a lot for nutrient content, prebiotic fibre and polyphenols. At least one cup per meal in addition to starch. Try to get two cups per day from each of the sulphur group, green vegetables, and bright colours. Also add some sea vegetables for minerals. Mushrooms have their own nutrition qualities, eat several times a week. Fermented vegetables will improve your gut microbiome, eat daily.
Fruit: Fruit contains both glucose and fructose. Fructose is useful for topping up liver glycogen after exercise. Have 1 – 3 serves a day, primarily highly coloured fruit like berries.
What about fat? Eat about a thumb size at each meal. 2 – 3 teaspoons of added oil or fat, if nuts about 2 – 3 tablespoons, if avocado; 1/4 to 1/2. Make sure you eat low omega 6 fats and foods high in omega 3 (Use this as a guide: Omega 3 and 6 in fats, oils, meats and seafood) If you are lean and need the extra fuel – don’t be afraid to add more healthy fats to your meals. If you need to lose fat, eat mainly leaner cuts of meat and add only a small amount of fat to meals.
(Note: Some people will thrive on a moderate protein, high fat, low carbohydrate diet, however I recommend you try this method first. Folks who may do better on high fat, low carb, moderate protein are those who are insulin resistant.)
Food reactions: When changing your diet you might have a sudden increase in some foods and develop problems, you may have been unaware that these foods impacted your health e.g. foods high in histamines or FODMAPS
Snacks
Try not to snack – if your meals are well balanced, and your plate is full as per the template, your meals should be satisfying and high in nutrients. A meal should last 4 – 6 hours, so snacking should be unnecessary. I you do need a snack – make it a mini meal, or if need the food, a full meal.
Other food recommendations:
Eat organ meats for their high nutrient value once a week (liver, kidneys etc)
Make bone broth and drink a small cup most days, or use bony meats like ox tail and lamb necks in slow cooked casseroles. These are rich in collagen and glucosamine, good for joints and gut.
Probiotic foods: kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut etc. for healthy gut bacteria
Supplements:
Get sun at midday to keep vitamin D levels high. In the winter you may need to supplement, 2000iu per day is safe amount. Vitamin D is needed for insulin sensitivity, fat loss and strength.
Magnesium is useful for helping sleep improve. The more exercise you do the higher your magnesium requirement.
I also recommend a good quality multivitamin initially as it can help weight loss and reduce cravings linked to nutrient deficiencies.
Diet drinks, Alcohol and Caffeine
Diet drinks
People assume because diet drinks are calorie free they wont contribute to weight gain. Research is showing that det drinks are linked with a number of problems. They increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and being overweight.
Alcohol
Alcohol interferes with sleep quality.
Alcohol decreases self-control and increases impulsiveness. So you go out for a meal, decide to eat well, and a couple of glasses later: I’ll eat the triple scoop ice-cream sundae, to hell with it – I’ve been good all week.
Alcohol is fuel. Once detoxified by your liver it goes into the cells where it is converted into ATP (the energy for your cells). (Alcohol metabolism) If cells have all the energy they need that ice-cream sundae is shunted into your fat cells.
My recommendation – cut down on alcohol, save it for social nights and when you do drink – drink a small amount (1 – 2 glasses), earlier in the evening, so it is less likely to interfere with sleep, OR cut alcohol out for a few weeks to reduce reliance on it. (If you can’t do this – you have an alcohol problem in my opinion)
Caffeine
People’s responses to caffeine vary, however for some even one cup a day can affect sleep. If sleep does not improve with dietary changes I recommend removing all caffeine for a trial of 2 – 3 weeks.
Sleep
Many people vastly underestimate the importance of sleep for weight loss and performance. Lack of sleep increases insulin resistance, increases hunger hormones, gives poorer appetite control, increases muscle loss and decreases fat loss. When college athletes slept more – their performances; both strength and fitness improved in this study. I recommend the client gets 8 hours sleep per night.
Stress
Both physical (overtraining, illness, inflammation, lack of sleep) and psychological (work, life, money, relationship) stresses play havoc on your body. Do your best to minimise these and destress in a way that works for you – nature walks, meditation etc.
