For 48 years of my life, I was in love with oats, bread, pasta, rice, fruit, and all that ‘healthy’ food that I was led to believe was great for me; it would keep me fit and lean and provide me with sufficient energy for the day.
I was deeply in love and I would get anxious whenever we were apart. When I traveled overseas for business meetings, I would be desperate to keep my love as close as possible. I would often take pastries and muffins from the buffet at the hotel and carry them in my bag to work so I could maintain my energy levels throughout those long days.
However, I was putting on weight no matter how many hours I spent trying to lose it, and I was ALWAYS starving. I started to think this love affair wasn’t giving me what I wanted and that a change was in order.
The next step I took was to engage a ‘marriage counselor’. She begged me to continue and told me I was on the right path – I just needed to adjust my expectations a little, and as I was getting older, the love affair would hopefully diminish.
The ‘marriage counselor’ was, of course, a highly qualified dietitian. I was paying her $200 a session to keep me in love, FAT, and UNHEALTHY.
Here I am in 2011 when I was in love with oats, bread, pasta, and all those ‘health’ foods. I even carried my Endura Carbs-filled drink with me around a 42.2 km race. I was close to 75 kg and not feeling full of energy.
I was sucked in by experts trying to save me from a messy divorce; by the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) who told me my brain would stop working if I didn’t have enough carbs on board, by running experts, by fitness industry experts – the list goes on. I was convinced I needed to stay in this toxic relationship or there would be no way I would be able to run a marathon without bonking about 3 hours into the race.
Bonking describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. It’s what endurance athletes are talking about when they use the term ‘hitting the wall’.
One of those experts happened to be Professor Tim Noakes. Professor Noakes wrote the world-famous “The Lore of Running”, a runner’s bible, and as a running expert, he was adamant that you needed to fuel on carbs.
He was afflicted by the same love affair as me, but when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, he divorced for good and disregarded the nutrition chapter of “The Lore of Running” completely. He came out with this:
“If you’ve got The Lore of Running, tear out the section on nutrition.”
So, after many years of running for hours but not losing weight, being happily married to ‘health’ foods but not getting healthier, and wasting a lot of money on expert advice that didn’t change anything, I decided I was following what I like to call the Conventional Stupidity approach and it just wasn’t right.
I’ve always admired Tim Noakes for his expertise, and now even more so. It takes a certain kind of person to put their hands up and say they got it wrong on a topic they’ve been promoting for years.
It’s a pity that the ‘experts’ have not done the same. You can thank them all for keeping you unhealthy. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Tim recently when I was in South Africa speaking at the initial Nutrition Network Training session.
With Professor Noakes leading the way, I was ready for this unhealthy relationship to end, especially after discovering that my true love was having an affair with processed food companies, the fitness industry, sports drink companies, and the supplement industry.
The divorce papers were filed and I made a clean break. No affairs on the side or running back to my old ways. We split, and I said goodbye and fell out of love immediately.
*Note that I also took much advice from other amazing people such as Dr. Stephen Phinney, Prof. Grant Schofield, Peter Defty, Ken Sikaris, and Dr. Jeff Volek.
The moment I made that decision, I found my new love, and it has been a tremendous marriage since day one. It’s a relationship that’s rock-solid – almost as solid as my new-found physicality, endurance, and health. Read more here about exercising less and still losing weight.
My weight loss was easy, fast, and totally sustainable. It became clear just how trapped I’d been. Maybe it’s the polypeptides that addict us to processed foods and grains that make it so hard to take that first step. My old love had me in a trance that was hard to break free from, but once I did, I never looked back.
Here I am in December 2016 finishing a 70.3 Ironman in 5 hours, 3 minutes. I’m 64 kg with no inflammation, running close to 15 minutes faster in a marathon than in the photo at the top of the blog in 2011. The best thing of all: my brain has not stopped working and I am still full of energy.
Plus, at the end of the 2017 endurance running season, I was ranked 10th in the 50-54 age group in the Ironman All World Athlete rankings for Australia in the 70.3 Ironman category (this is the top 5% of my age group). I had clearly made the right decision.
There are many highly successful athletes who have shifted away from Conventional Stupidity, and there’s no telling how much they can achieve now they have the fuel their bodies need to excel. Are you ready to sign the papers?
If you’re in love with porridge, bread, cereal, and processed foods, if you’re constantly exercising but not losing weight, or if you’re spending money on advice that doesn’t seem to be working, then it’s time to get a divorce!
It’s time to get rid of those love handles and get lean. It’s time to find a new, healthy relationship – a relationship that will keep you happy forever and satisfied all day and all night. I can be your matchmaker and help you find TRUE love.
If you’re ready, so am I.
I’m cheaper than a lawyer BUT I am not here to argue with you. I have no interest in trying to convince you that a divorce is the right decision, so please only get in contact if you’re ready to sign the papers and say goodbye to a toxic relationship!
If you’re ready, drop me an email at [email protected].
Andre Obradovic is an ICF Leadership PPC Level Coach, A Primal Health Coach, a Certified Low Carb Healthy Fat Coach, & a Certified Personal Trainer. Andre is also a Founding member of the Dr. Phil Maffetone MAF certified Coach. He is an Ambassador for the Noakes Foundation, and a regular subject matter expert lecturer for the Nutrition Network (a part of the Noakes Foundation) Andre has completed 16 x 70.3 Ironmans and in 2017 he competed in the 70.3 Ironman World Championships. He has completed 18 Marathons and over 30 Half Marathons. Andre currently focuses his athletic competition on Track and Field with the occasional Marathon.
Another stupid myth. Listen to the real experts.
Prof Noakes says: “Weight gain cannot occur without the ingestion of more calories than are needed by the body. In this sense the energy balance model of obesity is correct. But the point is that the over-ingestion of calories cannot occur if the brain appestat is functioning properly, as it did in 1980.
The appestat of the obese must fail because it is especially susceptible to the appetite-stimulating effects of high-carbohydrate foods, especially those found in modern processed foods that are designed with the single goal that they are highly addictive.
It is those addictive foods that have invaded the human food chain in the past 30 years.”
As a personal trainer, I have a responsibility to my clients to provide them with the best advice based on up-to-date science.
I recently watched a video interview by some young personal trainers on #wastebook, and the advice they provided about health and nutrition prompted me to write this article. This is a small section of the full article. If you want to learn more and read the full article, simply click here.
As far as I’m concerned, the advice some trainers are providing and the intense training they are putting their clients through, as though everyone is the same, is based on old principles and old science.
The problem is that almost anyone can become a personal trainer these days. With government funding supporting these courses and the number of gyms supporting these personal trainers, I think it’s getting worse.
In my opinion, there is not enough content covering nutrition on the accredited personal trainer's courses in Australia – certainly not enough to provide the proper advice to someone who has had weight problems for years. Because of this, the advice provided can actually do more damage than good.
This includes injuries through high-intensity workouts that often lack appropriate techniques and elevated cortisol (stress hormone) levels, day after day, session after session, which often leads to adrenal fatigue, weight gain, self-doubt, depression, anxiety, and binge eating.
As a fully qualified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, advanced level 1 Les Mills RPM instructor, spin coach, USA and Australian triathlon coach, and currently ranked number one in my 50-54 age group in the AWA Ironman 70.3 rankings, I do know a little about exercise and nutrition (about me).
However, I don’t pretend to know it all, and I turn to real experts in their fields for guidance.
With help from these experts, I’m going to correct some nutritional advice provided by some young personal trainers.
After four years of restructuring my approach to nutrition and reading an extensive list of books, I have decided to collate much of what I have learned in order to save you four years of your own research.
If after reading this article, you do decide to fundamentally challenge your beliefs on training and nutrition (thanks, Prof. Noakes), you should book some time to talk to me.
Andre Obradovic is an ICF Leadership PPC Level Coach, A Primal Health Coach, a Certified Low Carb Healthy Fat Coach, & a Certified Personal Trainer. Andre is also a Founding member of the Dr. Phil Maffetone MAF certified Coach. He is an Ambassador for the Noakes Foundation, and a regular subject matter expert lecturer for the Nutrition Network (a part of the Noakes Foundation) Andre has completed 16 x 70.3 Ironmans and in 2017 he competed in the 70.3 Ironman World Championships. He has completed 18 Marathons and over 30 Half Marathons. Andre currently focuses his athletic competition on Track and Field with the occasional Marathon.
Ben Greenfield says: “Eating less does not create the need to burn body fat. Instead, it creates the need for the body to slow down. Contrary to popular opinion, the body hangs on to body fat. Instead, it burns muscle tissue, and that worsens the underlying cause of obesity.
Only as a last resort, if the body has no other option, it may also burn a bit of body fat. When you are starving your metabolism wants more stored energy and body fat is the greatest source of stored energy – so it holds onto it.
Your tissues burn a lot of calories so when your metabolism thinks you’re starving it gets rid of calorie-hungry muscle tissue. Studies show that up to 70% of the weight lost while eating less comes from burning muscle – not body fat.”
Tim Rice says: “The old disproven “calories in vs. calories out” model of weight loss simply doesn’t work and does not account for the differing hormonal effects of varying macronutrients.
It is much more likely that an overweight person has eaten too much of the wrong kinds of foods and unfortunately, due to misguided nutritional advice given out by most healthcare providers, they don’t even know what the wrong kinds of foods are.”
Prof. Noakes says: “Persons with insulin resistance have a reduced capacity to burn carbohydrates as fuel both during exercise and when at rest. Humans differ in the ease with which they will gain weight when exposed to a high-carbohydrate diet.”
Tim Rice says: “Obesity is a slow, degenerative, metabolic process of gradually increasing degrees of insulin resistance. No one just wakes up one day to discover that they are obese.
The simplistic “eat less, move more = weight loss” was conceived under the notion that all calories behave the same in our bodies.”
As a personal trainer, I have a responsibility to my clients to provide them with the best advice based on up-to-date science.
I recently watched a video interview by some young personal trainers on #wastebook, and the advice they provided about health and nutrition prompted me to write this article. This is a small section of the full article. If you want to learn more and read the full article, simply click here.
As far as I’m concerned, the advice some trainers are providing and the intense training they are putting their clients through, as though everyone is the same, is based on old principles and old science.
The problem is that almost anyone can become a personal trainer these days. With government funding supporting these courses and the number of gyms supporting these personal trainers, I think it’s getting worse.
In my opinion, there is not enough content covering nutrition on the accredited personal trainers' courses in Australia – certainly not enough to provide the proper advice to someone who has had weight problems for years. Because of this, the advice provided can actually do more damage than good.
This includes injuries through high-intensity workouts that often lack appropriate techniques and elevated cortisol (stress hormone) levels, day after day, session after session, which often leads to adrenal fatigue, weight gain, self-doubt, depression, anxiety, and binge eating.
As a fully qualified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, advanced level 1 Les Mills RPM instructor, spin coach, USA and Australian triathlon coach, and currently ranked number one in my 50-54 age group in the AWA Ironman 70.3 rankings, I do know a little about exercise and nutrition (about me).
However, I don’t pretend to know it all, and I turn to the real experts in their fields for guidance.
With help from these experts, I’m going to correct some nutritional advice provided by some young personal trainers. After four years of restructuring my approach to nutrition and reading an extensive list of books, I have decided to collate much of what I have learned in order to save you four years of your own research.
If after reading this article, you do decide to fundamentally challenge your beliefs on training and nutrition (thanks, Prof. Noakes), you should book some time to talk to me.
Andre Obradovic is an ICF Leadership PPC Level Coach, A Primal Health Coach, a Certified Low Carb Healthy Fat Coach, & a Certified Personal Trainer. Andre is also a Founding member of the Dr. Phil Maffetone MAF certified Coach. He is an Ambassador for the Noakes Foundation, and a regular subject matter expert lecturer for the Nutrition Network (a part of the Noakes Foundation) Andre has completed 16 x 70.3 Ironmans and in 2017 he competed in the 70.3 Ironman World Championships. He has completed 18 Marathons and over 30 Half Marathons. Andre currently focuses his athletic competition on Track and Field with the occasional Marathon.
Dr. Tom O’Bryan says: “No human has the enzymes to fully digest the proteins of wheat, rye, and barley. These grains will cause inflammation and intestinal permeability every time they are eaten.
Dr Alessio Fasano conducted research at Harvard University and recently published a paper that showed that gluten in wheat causes intestinal permeability in every human.
His team studied four populations; recently diagnosed coeliacs, coeliac patients in remission, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity patients, and patients with no sensitivity to gluten, amazingly in his conclusion he states that “increased intestinal permeability after gliadin exposure occurs in all individuals.”
As a personal trainer, I have a responsibility to my clients to provide them with the best advice based on up-to-date science.
I recently watched a video interview by some young personal trainers on #wastebook, and the advice they provided about health and nutrition prompted me to write this article. This is a small section of the full article. If you want to learn more and read the full article, simply click here.
As far as I’m concerned, the advice some trainers are providing and the intense training they are putting their clients through, as though everyone is the same, is based on old principles and old science.
The problem is that almost anyone can become a personal trainer these days. With government funding supporting these courses and the number of gyms supporting these personal trainers, I think it’s getting worse.
In my opinion, there is not enough content covering nutrition on the accredited personal trainer's courses in Australia – certainly not enough to provide the proper advice to someone who has had weight problems for years. Because of this, the advice provided can actually do more damage than good.
This includes injuries through high-intensity workouts that often lack appropriate techniques and elevated cortisol (stress hormone) levels, day after day, session after session, which often leads to adrenal fatigue, weight gain, self-doubt, depression, anxiety, and binge eating.
As a fully qualified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, advanced level 1 Les Mills RPM instructor, spin coach, USA and Australian triathlon coach, and currently ranked number one in my 50-54 age group in the AWA Ironman 70.3 rankings, I do know a little about exercise and nutrition (about me).
However, I don’t pretend to know it all, and I turn to real experts in their fields for guidance.
With help from these experts, I’m going to correct some nutritional advice provided by some young personal trainers.
After four years of restructuring my approach to nutrition and reading an extensive list of books, I have decided to collate much of what I have learned in order to save you four years of your own research.
If after reading this article, you do decide to fundamentally challenge your beliefs on training and nutrition (thanks, Prof. Noakes), you should book some time to talk to me.
If you want to read the full version of my article, just go here and enjoy listening to the real experts. Apparently, Oprah Winfrey collected $12 million from Weight Watchers for posting a tweet about losing weight and eating bread. What a joke.
Andre Obradovic is an ICF Leadership PPC Level Coach, A Primal Health Coach, a Certified Low Carb Healthy Fat Coach, & a Certified Personal Trainer. Andre is also a Founding member of the Dr. Phil Maffetone MAF certified Coach. He is an Ambassador for the Noakes Foundation, and a regular subject matter expert lecturer for the Nutrition Network (a part of the Noakes Foundation) Andre has completed 16 x 70.3 Ironmans and in 2017 he competed in the 70.3 Ironman World Championships. He has completed 18 Marathons and over 30 Half Marathons. Andre currently focuses his athletic competition on Track and Field with the occasional Marathon.
As a personal trainer, I have a responsibility to my clients to provide them with the best advice based on up-to-date science.
I recently watched a video interview by some young personal trainers on #wastebook, and the advice they provided about health and nutrition prompted me to write this article. This is a small section of the full article. If you want to learn more and read the full article, simply click here.
As far as I’m concerned, the advice some trainers are providing and the intense training they are putting their clients through, as though everyone is the same, is based on old principles and old science.
The problem is that almost anyone can become a personal trainer these days. With government funding supporting these courses and the number of gyms supporting these personal trainers, I think it’s getting worse.
In my opinion, there is not enough content covering nutrition on the accredited personal trainer's courses in Australia – certainly not enough to provide the proper advice to someone who has had weight problems for years. Because of this, the advice provided can actually do more damage than good.
This includes injuries through high-intensity workouts that often lack appropriate techniques and elevated cortisol (stress hormone) levels, day after day, session after session, which often leads to adrenal fatigue, weight gain, self-doubt, depression, anxiety, and binge eating.
As a fully qualified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, advanced level 1 Les Mills RPM instructor, spin coach, USA and Australian triathlon coach, and currently ranked number one in my 50-54 age group in the AWA Ironman 70.3 rankings, I do know a little about exercise and nutrition (about me).
However, I don’t pretend to know it all, and I turn to real experts in their fields for guidance.
With help from these experts, I’m going to correct some nutritional advice provided by some young personal trainers. After four years of restructuring my approach to nutrition and reading an extensive list of books, I have decided to collate much of what I have learned in order to save you four years of your own research.
If after reading this article, you do decide to fundamentally challenge your beliefs on training and nutrition (thanks, Prof. Noakes), you should book some time to talk to me.
Dr. Jason Fung says that the reason why traditional societies can eat high-carb diets without showing signs of obesity or diabetes is that these carbs are unrefined and unprocessed, which means they are very high in fiber, which is the protective mechanism of the food.
Carbohydrates in their natural, whole, unprocessed form always contain fiber. However, dietary proteins and fats contain little to no fiber because our bodies have evolved to digest these foods without the need for them.
For instance, the Okinawans base their diet on sweet potatoes and consume an estimated 80% of their calories as carbohydrates.
The fiber content in the sweet potato protects against obesity. Until recently, they were one of the longest-living peoples on earth. The Kitavans of New Guinea followed a diet estimated to be close to 70% carbohydrate with no evidence of ill health.
Traditional Italians make their own pasta from flour that they grind themselves – this flour still contains fiber, fat, and protein. It is the introduction of the Western diet into these traditional societies that have caused chaos.
Here is a summary of the impact of the Western diet.
Dr. Tom O’Bryan says: “No human has the enzymes to fully digest the proteins of wheat, rye, and barley. These grains will cause inflammation and intestinal permeability every time they are eaten.
Dr. Alessio Fasano conducted research at Harvard University and recently published a paper that showed that gluten in wheat causes intestinal permeability in every human.
His team studied four populations; recently diagnosed coeliacs, coeliac patients in remission, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity patients, and patients with no sensitivity to gluten, amazingly in his conclusion he states that “increased intestinal permeability after gliadin exposure occurs in all individuals.”
Prof. Noakes says: “Humans do not have any essential requirement for dietary carbohydrates. Humans cannot survive unless they include fat and protein in their diets.
But carbohydrate serves only two functions in humans – it must be either burned as an energy fuel or stored as fat; it cannot be used to build any of the body’s structures.”
Prof. Noakes says: “Weight gain cannot occur without the ingestion of more calories than are needed by the body. In this sense the energy balance model of obesity is correct. But the point is that the over-ingestion of calories cannot occur if the brain appestat is functioning properly, as it did until 1980.
The appestat of the obese must fail because it is especially susceptible to the appetite-stimulating effects of high-carbohydrate foods, especially those found in modern processed foods that are designed with the single goal that they are highly addictive.
It is those addictive foods that have invaded the human food chain in the past 30 years.”
Ben Greenfield says: “Eating less does not create the need to burn body fat. Instead, it creates the need for the body to slow down. Contrary to popular opinion, the body hangs on to body fat. Instead, it burns muscle tissue, and that worsens the underlying cause of obesity.
Only as a last resort, if the body has no other option, it may also burn a bit of body fat. When you are starving your metabolism wants more stored energy and body fat is the greatest source of stored energy – so it holds onto it.
Your tissues burn a lot of calories so when your metabolism thinks you’re starving it gets rid of calorie-hungry muscle tissue. Studies show that up to 70% of the weight lost while eating less comes from burning muscle – not body fat.”
Tim Rice says: “The old disproven “calories in vs. calories out” model of weight loss simply doesn’t work and does not account for the differing hormonal effects of varying macronutrients.
It is much more likely that an overweight person has eaten too much of the wrong kinds of foods and unfortunately, due to misguided nutritional advice given out by most healthcare providers, they don’t even know what the wrong kinds of foods are.”
Prof. Noakes says: “Persons with insulin resistance have a reduced capacity to burn carbohydrates as fuel both during exercise and when at rest. Humans differ in the ease with which they will gain weight when exposed to a high-carbohydrate diet.”
Tim Rice says: “Obesity is a slow, degenerative, metabolic process of gradually increasing degrees of insulin resistance.
No one just wakes up one day to discover that they are obese. The simplistic “eat less, move more = weight loss” was conceived under the notion that all calories behave the same in our bodies.”
Dr. Jason Fung says:
Dr. Aseem Malhotra says that “it’s about the quality of the research – Cambridge Medical Research Council did a very big study, with over 600 thousand participants, which concluded that saturated fat could be part of a healthy diet as long as you’re getting the rest of it right.
Cut out refined carbs and sugar, and have vegetables, olive oil, nuts, oily fish, and some meat. Fat is very satiating and has the least impact on insulin responses.”
“Too much-refined carbohydrates — white bread, white rice, potato products — all the foods that crept into our diets as we’ve followed the low-fat craze has undermined our metabolism.
In other words, the high-carb, low-fat pattern of eating caused us to become hungrier and burn off fewer calories. It’s a double-whammy for weight gain. We’ve been told for decades that if you don’t want fat on your body, don’t put fat into your body. It’s a very appealing notion, but the problem is it’s wrong,” says Dr. David Ludwig.
In conclusion, it’s important to look at all aspects of the human body when it comes to health and exercise. Below, I have provided a summary of the key points to consider before embarking on a health and lifestyle change.
Each individual is unique, and although one individual may be able to utilize carbohydrates effectively, another may not. Listen to your body and think about how your body reacts to what you feed it. Choose your carbohydrates wisely – select whole, unprocessed carbs with fiber instead of refined carbs.
If you’re going to be eating carbohydrates, make sure that you’re using them for fuel. Otherwise, they will be stored as fat, particularly if you’re insulin-resistant. Avoid wheat at all costs, as it causes damage to all individuals.
Exercising more and eating less is just going to make you hungry, which in the long run is an unsustainable approach because eventually, you’ll revert to your previous way of eating and put all of the weight back on, and possibly more.
This happens because the body reacts to weight loss by trying to return to its original set body weight.
The first step to getting lean is to get the appestat working again.
You’ll know that it’s working correctly because you won’t be hungry. If you’re lean, it means that your appestat is functioning perfectly. If you are overweight, it’s because your appestat is not working.
Eating processed carbs distorts the appestat and tells you to eat more than you should, which makes you put on weight and keeps you hungry.
Reduce the number of carbs in your diet and increase the fat to keep you satiated. “Banting works so effectively in so many because it quietens the appestat so that calorie consumption drops without hunger and weight is lost effortlessly.” – Prof. Noakes
I’ve helped many people lose weight and keep it off by following the above principles. Let me guide you to your optimal health and ideal weight.
The approach I take is based on the Real Meal Revolution’s four-phased approach to weight loss as a certified low-carb, healthy fats coach.
I include one-on-one coaching sessions that will help you change your mindset to really optimize your life.
https://idmprogram.com/fibre-reduces-insulin-how-to-lose-weight-x/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25734566
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384703/
The world’s healthiest foods are the basis for my preference for fueling after exercise. I train in excess of 24 hours a week, so I take this seriously. They are whole foods and they are nutrient-rich. Here are the three top takeaways:
This is full of vitamins K and A. It also contains high levels of manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, and potassium.
Moreover, spinach contains significant protection against damage to cell structures, and the flavonoids act as anti-inflammatory compounds, which help with recovery. It’s a major source of selenium – an antioxidant – and helps lower the risk of oxidative stress.
(Go easy if you’re trying to lose weight.) If you are lean, this is great food, but serve them with sour cream and good quality butter. Why? Because good healthy fats help keep our blood sugar lower, which lowers the impact of insulin on storing FAT.
Sweet potatoes have an unusual blood sugar-regulating benefit; they contain adiponectin, which is a protein hormone produced by our fat cells, and it serves as an important modifier of insulin metabolism.
The vegetable is also a high source of bioavailable beta-carotene. It promotes antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection and is high in vitamins A and C.
This vegetable is on the top of the clean fifteen of organic foods. It’s full of mono-saturated fats, high levels of phytosterols, and polyhydroxylated fatty acids with excellent anti-inflammatory benefits. It also increases our HDL and lowers our LDL cholesterol.
The combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds in winter squash has shown this food to have clear potential in the area of cancer prevention.
It’s high in vitamins B1, B3, and B6, which are also beneficial for blood sugar control.
High in levels of carotenoid, they also have an important antioxidant function of deactivating free radicals, which are single-oxygen atoms that can damage cells by reacting with other molecules.
This is full of health-promoting compounds such as glucosinolates, which promote detoxification. It also contains high levels of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and carotenoids.
It’s high in vitamin K and C and chromium, and it’s great for heart health, digestive health, and metabolism.
Don’t eat it raw, just lightly cooked and covered with olive oil or butter.
This contains high levels of CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid (2.5 times more than from non-grass-fed beef).
The benefits of this are increased immune and anti-inflammatory system support, improved bone mass and blood sugar regulation, reduced body fat, and maintenance of lean body mass. Don’t be scared of eating the fat in the meat.
Ribeye and scotch filet are fantastic – cook it with good-quality butter, lard, or olive oil or grill it on a BBQ grill. Never use vegetable oils. Beware of beef that is finished on grain. Ask questions and do your research for the best meat possible.
There are significant benefits here for cardiovascular support because of the high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic (EPA).
One serving can deliver 450mg of EPA. Numerous inflammation-related health problems have been shown to be reduced with improved EPA intake. The meat is also one of the top sources of vitamin D to help with pro-inflammatory signaling.
Moreover, it contains high levels of selenium, which supports the function of metabolism and protects from oxidative stress. (Only buy wild-caught salmon, not farmed, as farmed fish is usually fed grain.)
These are very high in vitamin B12 and selenium and very rich in heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty Acids (EPA) and bone-building calcium.
They promote heart health and, like salmon, they have excellent levels of alpha-linilenicacid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
They are one of the top foods for Omega 3 richness, even higher than salmon. Have them for breakfast and power your body through the day and after your workouts.
Free-range/pasture-raised eggs have very broad nutrient support. All B vitamins are found in eggs. They also contain high levels of choline, iodine, and selenium, as well as high levels of Omega 3s and excellent levels of phosphorus.
This is critical for your bones, teeth, and DNA/RNA. It’s also one of the main regulators of energy metabolism in organs and helps generate energy in every cell of your body.
The best thing is that eggs can be easily taken to the gym boiled and are a great fast, healthy meal to eat any time, not just for breakfast. I eat two eggs every day of the year without fail.
Flaxseeds or flaxseed meals and oils are excellent for athletes.
They are unique in regard to nutrition, being incredibly rich in anti-inflammatory Omega -3 fatty acid and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Special support is provided for digestive health that’s critical for proper nutrient uptake into our bodies. It’s a great food to support women’s health to lessen menopausal symptoms too.
Finally, it’s high in fiber to help with the passage of food through the digestive tract, which is critical for our ability to take in nutrients so we can train and recover properly.
Andre Obradovic is an ICF Leadership PPC Level Coach, A Primal Health Coach, a Certified Low Carb Healthy Fat Coach, & a Certified Personal Trainer. Andre is also a Founding member of the Dr. Phil Maffetone MAF certified Coach. He is an Ambassador for the Noakes Foundation, and a regular subject matter expert lecturer for the Nutrition Network (a part of the Noakes Foundation) Andre has completed 16 x 70.3 Ironmans and in 2017 he competed in the 70.3 Ironman World Championships. He has completed 18 Marathons and over 30 Half Marathons. Andre currently focuses his athletic competition on Track and Field with the occasional Marathon.
