One thing I’ve tried to do in this series of essays is give you very simple things you can focus on. The “eating healthy / getting lean / healthy food industry” is a multi-billion-dollar affair, which if you think about it, is outrageous.  And this is outside of the food industry itself.  It shouldn’t be that hard and complicated to eat well.   And it’s not.  It’s more about internalizing a few rules of thumb and internalizing some good core habits and ways of eating.  Just like religious and ethical training repeated often enough can lead to virtuous and happy living, simple philosophies like the make-up meal or day, eating a little protein with every meal, drinking water, and other simple things can also add up quickly to a way of eating and way of life that make sense and help us be healthier.
 
There’s an old religious saying that says:
 
Thoughts lead to actions, actions to habits, habits to character, and character to destiny.  
 
You can also apply this to the way we think about food, though I would not want to suggest that eating takes on as much of a moral weight as ethical and religious decisions do. 
 
Thoughts lead to actions, actions to habits, habits to health, and health to a destiny.  
 
Think the right things about food, and though it is not on near the same level as “thou shall not kill, steal, etc.”, it does have a significant impact on the quality of your life and relationships with others.  One donut won’t kill you.  One pizza won’t clog your arteries.  One coke won’t hurt you, neither will one cigarette.  But, there is an accumulative effect to these things. A lifetime of bad decisions adds up.  Everyone has that uncle or great grandparent who smoked, ate chocolate cake, never exercised, and lived to be 97, but the exception proves the rule.  Most of the time, our decisions add up and catch up with us eventually.  
 
Think small, and win big, with the way you eat.  Think about little things, little habits, and make them second nature.  That way these little healthy things happen automatically. You wake up., you drink water. Every Friday, or one day a week, you fast.  Every meal, you eat some vegetables.  You eat fruit for desert, instead of empty calories.  You don’t even have to think twice about it.  And you say no enough to things which accumulated enough would be bad for you (simple carbs, cake, fried food, fatty meats) and that too is no longer a craving for you.  
 
Make it second nature in many small decisions because they add up quickly.  
 
Thoughts build a lifetime, so start thinking about food the right way. 
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I want you fasting at least once a week and everyone could benefit from it. You and I need to learn to go without in all aspects of our lives, for a variety of reasons.  Even beyond the reduction in calories, I think the most important thing is just to learn to be a little hungry, and to get by with less.  One big challenge we have in our culture is just having too much of an excess- in options, in distractions, in media, in dating options, in job and career options, and of course in excess calories.  I know this from experience!
 
We would all be happier and leaner if we could simply learn to do without.  One of the primary principles of traditional health care is “Via Negativa”, which I’ve written about before, an ancient way to treat someone by taking something away which might be causing health problems.  ‘Take away’ stressful things, unhealthy foods, toxic relationships, addictions, environmental concerns, an ill-fitting pair of shoes (or shoes altogether), too much debt, and / or too much clutter.  The list of things via negativa applies to goes on and on but in this case, it applies to meals!  

Take one meal per week away and go hungry. 
 
Fasting once a week is a powerful habit to eating better than ever.  It will reduce your caloric intake by 2000 calories per month, which if done alone, with no other changes, would amount to 7 pounds of weight loss per year.  It will also build your ascetic discipline and self-control, which are muscles you can strengthen.  We all need to learn to control our urges, especially to overeat.  
 
Forget all the complicated books and theories.  Follow this formula:

1. Once a week skip a meal. 
2. Try to go 16 hours without eating.
3. Try to make the meal you skip a dinner, and then possibly a breakfast the next day, but the bottom line is to simply skip a meal.  
4. Don’t do this every day, or your metabolism could slow down.  
5. If you want to do this twice per week, that’s a viable option.

 
Fast once a week, and let me know how it goes.  I believe you’ll love it!

P.S. I've been doing more speaking lately, with the small amount of free time that I have.  If you'd like me to speak to your group, please let me know!

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The Cheat Day, or Cheat Meal
 
You can take anything too far, but we should eventually swear off certain types of foods, because of how unhealthy they are. Rarely should we be eating French fries, chocolate cake, or potato chips.  There’s just not much there other than clogged arteries, high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity.  The sooner we can break the addiction to salt, fat, and sugar, the better of we will be. 
 
Completely eliminating certain foods with no redeemable qualities is a goal worth shooting for. If you can ween yourself off addictive foods, you will eventually stop craving them. Like any addiction, (social media, shopping, 24/7 news, social media, porn, alcohol, gambling) the struggle is real to get off food with a “hit” of dopamine, because of how much this stimulates the brain.  It takes time to rebalance the brain.  
 
Over time though, this recovery happens as the brain’s anatomy changes for the better. You can replace addictions to food (or other potentially unhealthy things) with other healthy things like napping, exercise, music, or healthy foods which taste good. But it does take time. Some foods you may decide to stop eating completely, and I will let you make the call on that. I personally crave salty food, so I stay away from French fries or chips, because I know moderation is difficult.  
 
Even though a ton of discipline and healthy habits are required (especially at first) to eat well, for most of us, it can help to take a whole day, or just one meal, per week, to eat whatever we want.  These are the benefits:
 

• It’s a type of cognitive stress release.
• It’s a way to stay motivated during the week, when you have a special day or meal to look forward to.
• An occasional high-calorie meal can speed up your metabolism, because you aren’t accustomed to eating that much.  
• A rare high calorie meals can temporarily aid in recovery or immune function.  

 
The Cheat Day
 
Depending on where you are in your eating journey:
 

• If you’re just getting started eating better, ease up on Saturday and Sunday.
• If you have been at it for 6 months, and are developing healthy eating habits, one day per week eat whatever you want.
• If you’ve been eating healthy for at least 2 years and it’s now second nature, take one meal per week to enjoy something you previously couldn’t live without. You’ll be surprised how easy it is now to go without it.  

 
For me, a couple meals on the weekend I load up on pancakes or some other type of heavy carbs like Pizza, because I know I’ll burn it off anyway.  On Sunday night, it’s back to eating right!
 

One of the best things you can do to be lean is to eat fat. 
 
This is one of the great paradoxes of the world. 
 
Wait, what?  Doesn’t fat make you fat? No, it simply does not. Healthy fats are one of the best things to eat.  The predominant profile of obesity and weight gain is insulin resistance, higher blood sugar, and high caloric consumption, something which is often called Diabesity in its more severe form. Fat intake usually has little to do with health or weight control.  As a matter of fact, not eating enough fat is as bad as too little.  
 
Good fats have several key benefits which might improve your health, and improve your ability to control the insulin response and thus lose and control weight.  Even though fat has 9 calories per gram, whereas carbs and protein only have 4 calories per gram, fat is still an important part of a weight control program.  Calories are important, but focus on prioritizing healthy fats, and it will be easier to control how much you eat.  On a personal note, I am always amazed for how long I can feel full (4-5 hours) by eating a handful of nuts.  
 
The Best Types of Fats

• In general, try to avoid excess saturated fat, which is animal fat.  A little bit won’t hurt you, but overall, eat less.  The studies are somewhat inconsistent but it seems to raise LDL cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart disease.  *Cocunut oil contains lauric acid and may be metabolized slightly different and studies show it could be good for you, even though it contains significant saturated fat. 

 

• The bottom line about animal / saturated fat, is that it is unclear, but likely has negative health consequences.  Healthy fat tastes good, and is good for you, so focus on it.  

 

• Dietary cholesterol is not highly related to cholesterol levels, but saturated fat is.

 

• Aim for no more than 10% of calories as saturated fat. In a 2000 calorie diet, this would be no more than 21 grams per day, which I believe is still too high. Aim for 10 grams or less in most cases. 

 

• Total fat intake should be 20-35 % of calories for most people.  On a 2000 Calorie diet, this would be 500-700 calories, or 55 to 77 grams per day.  

 

• Never consume “Trans” fats. They are still out there on shelves and they are the worst thing you could possibly eat, causing inflammation and raising LDL significantly. They are usually hidden in processed foods, baked goods, cakes, and cookies.  

 

• Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids can’t be produced by the body but are needed for health. The 2 types of fat, which contain these and other essential nutrients which you want to consume are:

          -Monounsaturated Fat
          -Polyunsaturated Fat  
 
Key Sources of Healthy Fats

• Olive oil
• Vegetable oils
• Avocado
• Whole Eggs
• Nuts & Seeds
• Fatty Fish- Salmon, Sardines
• Seed butters
• Olives
• Edamame / Tofu
• Limited amounts of saturated fat from grass-fed, local meats, organic dairy

 
Key Benefits of Healthy Fats

• Eating healthy fat makes you feel full, and could help you eat less.  
• Improve HDL cholesterol
• Nerve and joint health
• Improved insulin control
• Decreased inflammation
• Better brain function & focus
• Decreased ADHD
• Less blood clotting and a dilation of the blood vessels
• Potentially lower blood pressure

 
Just like nuts, which I wrote about being so good for you, fats are too!  Enjoy them to help you eat less overall.  Be smart and don’t overdo it, but they really will help you cut back on high-calorie junk foods and they are a real pleasure to eat.  
 
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