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ActiveAge® Energy Diet
I don’t like using the word “diet” since it implies a temporary, let’s-give-it-a-try mentality but I use it because, well, everyone at least has an idea of what the word means.
Food (and beverage) is fuel for energy to help you do the things you want to do and help repair/restore and build your brain and body.
With that in mind, the ActiveAge Energy Diet is not a diet. It’s mindful eating. It’s a way of making choices to consciously optimize your performance and it becomes a way of living.
Most “diets’ tend to focus on calories. Cut calories which means eat less and you’ll lose fat – supposedly. But how about focusing instead on the best options for your body? What helps you look, feel, and be at your very best as you age?
The ActiveAge Energy is one that focuses on smart choices backed up by science. It’s not a fad or a gimmick. What we’re going for is enhanced function and
The Basics
Perfection is not required. If you can achieve 70% success each week, you will havea good outcome. The effects of changing what you eat and drink compound over time like interest in a bank account.
The easiest way to manage a “diet” is to simplify it. You optimize for success instead of variety. Eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day and then vary the evening meal. Some people also use a “cheat” day where they ignore the guidelines and eat & drink whatever they want. That’s up to you. If having a cheat day helps you stick to the overall plan, great.
In a nutshell, this is what your plate looks like:
You can’t overeat vegetables. Problems show up when you consume the following too much:
- sugar (sweets, table sugar, foods with sugar added)
- alcohol
- simple carbohydrates (white flour, breads, pastas, chips, pretzels, etc)
If you eliminate sugar and alcohol, you’ll lose weight, sleep better, feel better and have more energy.
You don’t eliminate carbohydrates. You have to figure out how sensitive your body is to the rise in blood sugar from the breakdown of the carbohydrate (which is much faster than, for example digesting protein or fat). Some carbohydrates are referred to as slow carbs. This means that they digest more slowly and have less impact on blood sugar. Legumes, barley, specialty grain breads and corn tortillas are examples of slow carbs.
And, as your training progresses and activity level goes up, you need carbs for fast fuel.
Protein:
Daily intake for most people is about 1.0 gram per kilogram of body weight. As your activity level increases, training intensity and volume goes up, then protein increases as well (see chart below).
For example, if your bodyweight is 150lbs or 68 kg, your protein intake per day would be about 68 grams (1.0g/kg/day).
Breakfast options:
- 2 eggs with 2 ounces of cheese = 26 grams
- Plain Greek yogurt, 6 ounces = 20 grams.
- Whey protein smoothie (made with 8 ounces of almond milk) = 24 grams (or more depending on what you add to the smoothie).
Lunch options:
- Green salad with tuna, cheese = 25 grams
- Green salad with grilled chicken, cheese = 25 grams
Dinner options:
- Beef, chicken, tuna, salmon, turkey – a serving will yield about 25 grams
Fat
Boosting your fat intake helps in a lot of ways. One, you won’t feel hungry, it stabilizes blood sugar. The medical community now agrees that low-fat diets are generally less healthy than a higher fat diet.
There’s a lot of debate/controversy over the daily fat requirement but the general rule is about 1 gram of fat per kilogram of body weight.
So, using the same example of a 150lb (68 kg) person, this means aiming for about 68 grams of fat per day.
Breakfast:
- 2 eggs with 2 ounces of cheese = 28 grams
- Greek yogurt, 6 ounces = 1 gram
- Whey protein smoothie with almond milk = 3.5 grams
Lunch:
- Green salad with tuna, cheese, a tablespoon of olive oil = 37 grams
Dinner:
- Most protein (as listed in the dinner example above) contain between 1-2 grams per serving
- Add fat to dinners with avocados, butter, olive oil, nuts & seeds, coconut oil.
What About Carbs?
Vegetables are carbohydrates and most of them are slow carbs. The carbs that tend to interfere with weight loss or weight maintenance are the fast carbs.
- Just about any food that’s white – bread, pasta, chips, crackers, white rice, french fries, most cereals, and potatoes.
The Fast Track
If you do only this thing, stop drinking alcohol, you’re body fat content will drop quickly and you’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll feel. Even if you drink, for example, 1-2 days per week, you’ll still make a lot of progress…and help your liver, brain, soft tissues, and… just about everything.
How Much Should I Eat?
Portion size helps control how much you eat without the need for counting calories. To put portions in context and align with your body, use the chart below from HealthyEating.org
Source: HealthyEating.org
What About Dining Out?
It’s tough but you can control portion size and do the best you can to get close to the target. Perfection is not required.
Putting it All Together
If you can stretch the time between dinner and breakfast the next day to 16 hours 2-3 days per week (or more depending on how you react and feel), this helps regulate hunger and fat storing metabolism.
A routine day might look something like this:
- Breakfast -> two fried eggs in butter, whole wheat toast with avocado, 2 ounces of cheese
- Lunch -> a hefty green salad with grilled chicken, cheese, almonds, and olive oil.
- Dinner -> grilled salmon, asparagus, quinoa and a salad.