This Is What I Eat

Last week, a reader asked me what I eat so I decided to write about it. 

Let's get right into it.

First Some Tenets

1. My diet riffs off Dr. Ted Naiman's PE Diet but I simplify it and personalize it. 

The idea is to have a high protein to carbs and fat ratio. 

I don’t really track this, but I know the foods that have a great ratio and eat mostly those.

It works.

2. Food nourishes the only body we will ever have. What we consume is way more important than most realize.

3. This is only how I do it. I share, in general, because it may be helpful to others. If you have a different way that works for you, great.

4 . I don’t follow this perfectly. Sometimes, I eat ice cream or whatever. Not often, but if we go to Bellevale Farms Creamery, I'm getting involved.

5. That said, cheat days are not my thing. This is not about willpower. This is not a diet. This is a lifestyle and the more I've consistently lived this way the more habitual it has become.

6. A high protein diet does not have to be expensive. Ground beef and eggs are cheap at Costco.

7. I don’t count calories or even think about them. When we eat nutrient rich foods, we don’t need to count calories to stay lean because we're giving our body what it needs. 

We’re less likely to crave or mindlessly snack.

8. I don’t eat from 8 PM to noon and sometimes as late as 6 PM. I will write a post called How To Get Started Intermittent Fasting in the next few weeks for everyone, especially the Meister ;)

9. I'm not that into organic or grass fed whatever that costs a lot more. I enjoy and get great results from less fancy protein sources.

10. I use a lot of dry spices like taco seasoning, dry rubs, and old bay.

This is what I eat

Ground Beef

I eat a lot of it. I make burgers and top it with cheese or avocado or whatever. I make ground beef with taco spices. I mix it with scrambled eggs. I usually buy it from Costco in 7-8lb packages and it's like $2/lb.

Shrimp

I eat a ton of shrimp. I eat it any time with Old Bay and a lime squeeze. These days, I buy it precooked shrimp cocktail style at Stew Leanards for $9.99/lb.

Sometimes, I cook it myself on the grill with cilantro, lime, and peppers.

Eggs

I eat a lot of eggs. I buy the 5 dozen packages at Costco for less than $10.

I'll eat 8 or 10 for a meal with some hot sauce.

Or mix or top with anything from veggies to ground beef to salmon to kimchi.

But they are equally delicious simply scrambled with salt and pepper. They have natural umami and if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it might be eggs.

Salmon

I eat a ton of salmon. I get it for $9/lb from Stew Leonards or canned from Costco or Wegmans.

I eat it mostly with old bay and lime but sometimes pesto or jerk spices. I mix leftover salmon with eggs a lot and love that combo. 

Yogurt and Berries

I mix Nonfat Greek Yogurt with whey protein and top with berries.  I eat this almost every night for dessert and it's delicious. I usually use frozen berries but not always.

Chicken

I grill chicken once or twice/week. My whole family eats a ton of it. I get a huge thing at Costco, grill it and then we have leftovers. I’ll grill breasts, thighs, legs, wings. It’s all good.

Veggies and Fruits

I eat mostly broccoli but also brussel sprouts, green beans, and asparagus 

I love whatever's in season. Tomatoes and watermelon like crazy in the Summer and winter squash in the fall and winter.

These can be a little higher in carbs but are a lot better than Cheetos.  Here’s a jpeg, Dr. Naiman posted to Twitter about relative energy density. Less is better.

Whey Protein Froth

This one is skim milk and a hefty scoop of whey protein powder. I usually do these only on days I work out. I use a latte frother to make it more frothy.

Coffee

I drink a lot of black coffee from 6 AM to about 2 PM.

Stuff I don't eat

I don't eat pasta or rice or most bread. Occasionally, I'll have a piece of good bread with butter but I generally steer clear.

I don’t use vegetable oils and stick with olive or avocado oil and butter.

I don’t eat fritos or doritos and all of that crap. I’ll occasionally eat a cookie or cake if it looks ridiculous or it’s my kid’s birthday. But generally shy away.

I don’t drink alcohol. 

I hope that was helpful. 

If you have questions, you can email by replying to this newsletter or leave them in the comments below.