Beans, Beans, They're Good For Your Heart

My nutrition journey

Are you having trouble scarfing down a lot of food so you can get those gains?

I was.

For the past 10+ years I’ve subscribed to a whole foods diet dogmatically and have been eating a less than optimal diet. That whole time I’ve been dealing with acid reflux. Waking up in the middle of the with a tangy taste in my mouth, or even worse, bile. I tried switching from cow’s milk to almond milk. That helped a little bit. I even tried having my last meal super early in the evening. I noticed that stress did not help.

As I started working out more and increasing my protein intake, things got even worse. I noticed I was simply having a hard time breaking down all that meat protein, but I had to keep going for the gains. Or so I thought.

So last year I hired some professionals to help me with my challenge. A holistic online doctor. They have you fill out a bunch of surveys, they have you go to the lab for blood tests, and you meet with a doctor every couple weeks/months to check-in. Besides a few deficiencies, everything came back OK. I was still having symptoms so the doctor prescribed me all of these supplements to take. DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice extract), digestive enzymes, probiotics, you name it. These were like band-aids to the root cause, and while it soothed me for a while, it wasn’t really working. I eventually got tired of taking all of these supplements before every meal.

I honestly didn’t know what to do. Giving up meat was the farthest thing from my mind. How would I meet my macros? I like my veggies, but how many vegetables would I have to eat to be full? It didn’t seem worth it. So I continued to stuff my face with a lot of carbs (rice), meat, and the weekly junk food to try and add some more calories. I continued to pop pills to soothe my gut.

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine told me about a detox tea. The only thing allowed while on the 14 day detox is raw vegetables. I think at this point I was desperate to try something that might work. I really want to heal my gut. What do I have to lose? I lasted 5 days on that diet, because I was still training hard. For the 5 days I had to rethink my meals. How was I going to get protein in so I don’t waste away? How would I stay satiated? I honestly didn’t do too bad. At least I thought. I trained on the 4th day, and when I woke up on the 5th day my body was screaming for food. “Feed me!!” it said.

At that moment I knew I could go back to my old ways, or I could continue on the veggie path. So far, veggies rule!! I’m not only hitting my macros, but I’m able to eat in a slight calorie surplus without feeling gross. My workouts haven’t suffered at all. I need to track over time, but after a week I’ve maintained my strength and I’m finally cutting down the fat around my midsection (It’s not much, but it’s the deciding factor on whether my lower abs are visible or not. Now I actually want to focus on building my abs more so they can pop, instead of ignoring them). I feel light as a feather movement wise. I feel satiated. I feel full of life and energy. No more waking up with a gross taste in my mouth, or choking on bile in the middle of night after a heavy meal or stressful day. This is working for me. Hopefully this means more gains this year.

An idea of what lunch and dinner look like for me. I’m getting anywhere from 600-800 calories in per meal (Always 900-1000 for breakfast). High protein, high fat, moderate carbs (oatmeal and toast/eggs in the am):

• A bag of mixed greens and spinach

• lentils/chickpeas/mixed beans/edamame/black beans/white beans/pinto beans/kidney beans/etc

• raw cashews/roasted almonds

• beets, avocado, artichoke hearts, etc

• no dressing - but there are low sodium dressings if you need it

• I snack on apples/bananas/berries/dates and raw cashews/roasted almonds

I am now counting my calories using the Cronometer app and using a food scale.

Damn, I wish I had tried this earlier. Now I know.

Also, everyone’s body is different and our bodies are constantly changing as we age. Experiment, and find the most optimal formula for you.