Decades of diet advice has turned out to be wrong! Doctors demonised fat and told us to eat more carbs. That’s meant too much sugar! The sports industry did the same thing – athletes have been told to carb load and refuel with sports drinks at every opportunity. There’s a better way – DITCH the sugar, and eat MORE fat. Your body and brain will love it!
The What the Fat? Challenge is a personal or family challenge that we’re going to run over the summer. We’ll blog about it, keep you on the straight and narrow and change your life!
We’ll start you on the path of low carb healthy fat (LCHF) eating. This week we’re kicking off with our 10 rules.
The 10-Rules for Low Carb Healthy Fat
1. Go low “HI”
Replace processed foods with stuff that was recently alive – foods low in the human interference (HI) factor. Real, actual food is the foundation of the LCHF lifestyle.
2. Cut the carbs (down: not out)
Sugar and grains are not good for you (yes, that means bread, even if it is wholegrain). Just how low you go depends on your personal tolerance to carbs, or degree of insulin resistance.
3. Virtuous vegetables
Vegetables are good for you. Eat lots of them, at each meal if possible. The good news is you can add fats such as olive oil or butter to make them taste even better.
4. Make fat your friend
Sugar is out, total carbs are low, protein is moderate, and because you have to get your energy from somewhere, fat is in. We will show you how to overcome “fat phobiaâ€.
5. Put protein in its place
You need protein for life, but once you have more than your body needs, it gets converted into sugars by the liver. LCHF is not a high-protein diet. Many people stall in their progress because they are overdoing the protein.
6. Eat on cue
The whole point of LCHF is that your body will now be able to send and receive the messages it needs to stay in shape, to tell you when you are full and to energise you.
7. Sort your support
Other people matter. Surround yourself with helpers, ask for support, and don’t be afraid to request exactly what you want when you are out and about. Yes, it feels odd to order a burger without the bun the first time, but you will be amazed at how much people will help someone on a life mission.
8. Diligence, not effort
Relying on your “won’t power” (effort) – like avoiding the chocolate cookies in your pantry – is futile. Instead, rely on being organised and having a ready supply of the right foods around you (diligence) in the first place.
9. Adopt the “3-meal” rule
You, like us, are human. Humans make mistakes. We do, and we expect you will fall off the wagon. That’s okay as long as we can help you jump back on again. We run the 3-meal rule: there are 3 meals a day, 21 meals in a week. Let’s get most of them right, knowing that three meals off the wagon a week is okay.
10. It’s not just about the food
News flash from the Prof and Dr Obvious: other things also affect your health – exercise, booze, cigarettes, drugs, stress, sleep and much more. We will help you understand how these fit (or don’t fit) into the LCHF lifestyle.
All the best with your journey! We look forward to keeping you updated.
Prof Grant Schofield, Dr Caryn Zinn, Craig Rodger
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