You ask “Hey do y’all eat meat? What’s your daily regime of food? I carry a lot of inflammation in
my body. I wanna switch up my diet.”
The diet question is one of the top three I get asked. I’m no doctor but I’ve studied the topic
more than most and I’ve tested out just about everything. The short answer is – everyone is
different and a diet should fit your goals. I do not believe in a one size fits all solution. I believe
you should try different diets and tailor them to your goals. So first you must figure out what
your goals are.
Here are mine in order: Longevity, Performance, Appearance.
I prefer a mostly plant based + fish diet. Studies of blue zones (the places with the longest living
humans) show those residents eating mostly vegetarian with meat eaten about 5 times each
month. That meat is mostly limited to fish. I suggest the book Ikegai by Héctor García, Walter
Dixon for more on this topic.
Moving from longevity to performance, my diet fluctuates based on my training period. When I’m
close to an endurance event I’m mostly plant based with very high carbs to fuel my long runs,
swims and rides.
Currently I’m eating more meat than usual because my foot is fractured so this is a good time to
bulk up and gain some weight which leads to my third priority, appearance. While I love
endurance events I do hate the way they make me look. I do not like looking scrawny with my
suits hanging off me. So right now I’m trying to gain twenty pounds. Just two more to go.
Weight loss is probably the goal for most people. My suggestion is to not get caught in the low
carb trap. Low carb works and you will lose a lot of weight, but it’s almost always unsustainable.
Most people gain that weight back. What people need is sustainability – a healthy diet they can
stick with long term.
To that end I would start by calorie counting and focusing on your macros: proteins, fats and
carbs. The best tool I’ve found is the Carbon App which modifies your calories and macros
based on your goals and your tracking. It’s far better than the My Fitness Pal app. Good luck!