The Chow

“Ok Brent...but I just need to know what to eat...just lay it out for me so I can start” .

This is what most people say to me after I’ve rambled on passionately about healthy eating. The thing is... I feel that if I just say ‘well eat this and that’ without explanation and understanding...the commitment is a lot harder to maintain. Besides the fact that it usually takes me a couple hours because the human diet, although should be simple, is still complex. It’s not just...open up a bag and start eating. I’m sure deep down you know exactly what is healthy eating and what is not. I think once you understand the reasons ‘why’ you should eat certain foods and not other foods, then you can make the lifelong commitment to superior eating.

First of all this is not a ‘diet’. I call it a program because I eat all day long. I’m serious, all day long. I never go hungry. I have counted the usual calories I eat per day and I couldn’t believe it. It’s around 4-5000 calories a day. Of that, about 2500 calories comes from fat. Can you imagine a diet that consists of 2500 calories in just fat alone and not gaining any weight, having your arteries clear and strengthen and having perfect cholesterol/triglyceride levels?

It all has to do with eating the ‘right fats’,’ digestible foods’ and ‘exercise’...that’s it...it’s that simple!

Dr Atkins was close and yet so far off when he advocated the high protein/low carb diet. His idea of lower carb was bang on, yet, the problem with his thinking, in the early 1980’s, was he went to the extreme of practically zero carb and he promoted ‘animal’ protein and fat instead of good clean ‘plant’ protein and fat. Animal protein and fat is extremely toxic to the body when it’s cooked. The only animal protein that I recommend is sashimi (raw saltwater fish) because it falls into the ‘right fats/digestible foods’ category.

Nathan Pritikin’s famous diet of low fat/high carbohydrate is superior to Atkins diet because, unlike Atkins diet, Pritikin’s is very effective in preventing the major diseases that afflict modern society, such as heart disease, type II diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

Although everyone will advocate, including me, that unprocessed, raw ‘straight from nature’ foods like vegetables, fruits and nuts are excellent foods I still believe his diet is flawed. What I disagree with is the promotion of 'low fat' and starchy foods. Starch is extremely hard on the pancreas, very difficult to digest and should be avoided at all times. Also, Pritikin’s low fat diet increases your craving for junk food and will starve your cells of the proper building blocks.

You must get a huge amount of fat in your diet. Good clean fats are the best source of energy. You have to get your body burning fat as a source of fuel instead of carbohydrate and protein, because fat gives you twice the energy compared to carbohydrate and protein. There are 4 calories in 1 gram of carbohydrate and protein and more than double; 9 calories in 1 gram of fat.

Also, carbs and protein are like burning fossil fuels, very dirty. They have half the energy of fat, yet, they create twice as much toxic waste in the body.

Most dietary authorities will recommend that your ‘total daily calories’ come from 50-55% carbohydrate, 30 % fat and 10-15% protein. The ‘taoofchow’ highly recommends to cut the carbohydrate and protein and increase the fat to... 50% fat, 40% carbohydrate and 10% of your total daily calories coming from protein.

“Ok...So...what do I eat?” Everyone asks.

You can check out my top ten foods to eat for a full description of the foods to eat but I must first really emphasize the importance of avocados. In Dr Young’s book he recommends at least 1 avocado daily for every 50 lbs of body weight. I was eating 4-5 per day when I weighed 190 lbs and still lost 25 lbs in about 6 weeks. Now that I’m 165 lbs I eat 3 every day before noon. That alone is about 1000 calories with about 750 calories of it in good digestible fat.

I like to call avocados ‘junk food inhibitors’. Eating avocados is a bit of a science. They are not usually ripe when you buy them so it becomes a real juggling act of moving them from the fridge to the counter to ripen and then back to the fridge to slow down the ripening and to cool so that you always have some ready to eat with the perfect ripeness. About 6 weeks into the ‘taoofchow’ program I miscalculated having avocados ready to eat. I had no avocados to eat for a day and a half and surprisingly all my junk food cravings came back. Not once have I ever had a junk food craving as long as I was eating enough avocados. I don’t know if it’s the high fat or what but it’s incredible.

Other ‘right fats’ are 3-6-9 omega oils, virgin coconut oil and extra-virgin olive oil. With 120 calories for every tablespoon of these oils, the fat calories add up quick. I put 4 tablespoons on my lunch and at least 4 on my supper salads, which adds another 1000 calories a day in fat. With the oil, avocados and eating a couple tablespoons of virgin coconut oil everyday gives me over 2000 calories coming from fat alone. But that’s not all...there is also a lot of fat in my nut bars which puts me up to, like I said, about 2500 calories a day in just fat alone.

Once you are eating the ‘right fats’ with ‘digestible foods’ don’t forget you must exercise. Whether it’s jogging, hiking, swimming, palates, yoga, tai chi or simply riding a stationary bike in front of the TV, it is important for the body to use the calories it processes. If you can...try to break a sweat for at least 15 minutes a day or 20-30 minutes every second day.

Let’s not kid ourselves, 3500 extra calories is equivalent to 1 lb of body fat. Try to follow the laws of equivalent exchange. Keep it balanced. Do you remember taking thermodynamics in high school? The first law of thermodynamics; ‘In any process, the total energy of the universe remains constant’. In other words, energy cannot be created or destroyed...the amount of weight you will gain or lose will be directly proportionate to the amount of stored energy you have and the work (heat) your body uses up.

Everyone must find their own balance of work output/caloric intake in order to stay at a perfectly balanced weight. But what I find on the ‘taoofchow’ program is that even if there are days when I’m stressed, bored or whatever and eat way over the top in calories my body just burns it. There will be a week where I know I’m eating way more calories than I need, yet, every time I step on the scale I remain my perfect body weight.

Weighing yourself everyday is a good idea. Watching your goals come to fruition is very rewarding and knowing right away if you’ve gained a pound or two is also good so that you can make the necessary caloric adjustments.

In my recipe section I will be always adding new snacks and meals that I like, so do come back and check once in a while and try out some new dishes.

Bon appétit!

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