Why Your Fat #2

Well this blog fell off fast...

Because your eating too many calorie replete, micro-nutrient deplete meals.  I've been pushing around a post in my head about micro-nutrients but for now this brief primer will have to do.

ASIDE: As I move on with these posts I'll rarely be posting links to sources of my ideas.  Much of this is accumulated knowledge from things I've read in the past, with some added synthesis and insight.  Hopefully, I'll establish enough credit (or have it already) with my readership that the posts will be believable.  If your a massively overweight and don't know why, then you can take it on pretty good authority that I know what I'm talking about.  If you've got a Ph D in evolutionary microbiology then you can probably poke a hole or two in some of this.

Anyway, people tend to focus too much on macro nutrients and total caloric load.  While a good macro nutrient ratio and calorie deficit is implicit to losing weigh, in the end it can sometimes be hard to reach satiety.  Personally, when I'm losing weight I aim to do the following things.
              -Keep as high a calorie deficit as possible
              -Attain satiation
              -Meet ALL MICRO nutrient needs

For newcomers it can be hard to do all of these things at once.  The key to solving this dilemna is to use nutrient dense foods.  Nutrient dense foods offer more of the proverbial bang for your buck (as well as the literal economic value of buying less food).  These foods have a large amount of nutrients available for a relatively small "caloric penalty".

So nutrient dense food swill meet criteria 1 and criteria 3.  But how does nutrient density increase satiety.  I thought you'd never ask.  The purpose of eating is to feed not our bodies, but our individual cells.  Every cell in your body has nutritional needs that go behind simply fat and protein.  Cells need different compounds including metals, hormones, and vitamins and minerals.  When we eat nutritionally barren foods our cells needs are not totally met.  Therefore the brain tells us we are still hungry (not sated).  This is PART of the reason why you can eat 2500 calories worth of donuts or pizza, and still feel hungry in a few minutes.  Your body is receiving the calories it needs, but it's not receiving all the adequate micronutrients. 

So how do I avoid this problem?  I have two strategies:  I make sure every piece of food I eat has a specific nutritional role in my diet, and I make sure to include as many nutrient dense foods as possible. 

Today for breakfast I had 2 eggs, at lunch I had an arugula spinach salad with onions and 3 hardboiled eggs, and for dinner I had about 4 ounces of grass fed ground beef with a baked sweet potato and 1.5 Tbs' of butter.

Each item I ate today served a specific role.  The eggs are full of fat, cholesterol, and protein, as well as being great sources of choline, Vitamin A, and other nutrients.  The salad covered all my leafy green needs for the day (the benefits of leafy greens being well known).  And the potato, beef, and butter were a perfect compliment to complete the day.

However, I realized that I wasn't eating that many calories (13-1400) today, so i decided to reinforce my dinner with a small piece (1 oz) of beef liver.  Liver is a nutritional powerhouse capable of providing many trace minerals, vitamins, and cofactors.  By reinforcing my dinner with nutrient dense foods I am able to fool my body into thinking I am full, and thereby reduce my caloric load, therefore meeting all three of my dieting criteria.