31 days straight

So Jan is done and for me that is the end of 31 days straight clean eating with no single cheat days. This is something I have done since 2004 and I love it.

So what’s it all about? What do I and what don’t I eat? How does my Jan look?

In essence the brief is really simple. EAT CLEAN FOR JAN!

So whats in?

• Animal protein: Fish, meat, chicken. Grilled, baked or fried in coconut oil
• Vegetables: As much as I can eat. Love greens and sweet potato. The only dressing would be olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and balsamic
• Fruit: Max of 1 piece a day
• Rice: I eat rice because it works well with me. I will have it once or twice a week.
• Nuts: As many as I need but all are unsalted. A great source of fat.
• Water: 3-4 litres per day
• Coffee: Up to 2 per day. Black no sugar
• Supplements: Greens supplement, vit C, vit D, magnesium, fish oil, gabba, zinc, BCAA’s, gluatmine.
• Juice: Carrot and ginger, ginger and lemon.

And what’s out?

Everything else that you can think of. Some examples:

• Dairy
• Potato, pasta, bread
• Sauce of any description
• Soft drink. (Haven’t had one of these in over 3 years)
• Alcohol
• Chocolate. (Love 85% cocoa)

How does this differ from my normal eating? I eat clean and basic anyway and based on this for 5 of the 7 days of the week. On the weekend I will have a couple of treats which could include a bar of chocolate or a cupcake (love cup cakes from Sweet Stuff), a more sophisticated meal, a couple of beers or a couple of glasses of red wine.

I follow a daily intermittent fasting protocol and have done so now for 5 months. In this I fast for 16 hours each and every day, therefore taking in most of my food from 12 noon to 7pm. I like this protocol because it fits in with my daily routine, gives me awesome energy and focus and works with my training.

Two of the biggest discussion points I have with people on my diet are based on “dairy” and “carbs”. Firstly I don’t eat dairy because I have tested it on my body and I do not do well with it. You can dig further into this and just check how many people find they are intolerant, from the people I have spoken to 85%-90% have been clinically tested. Dig further and you will understand the basic fact that as humans we are not designed for dairy past milk during childhood, then take a look at the modification process on dairy, once you have understood that come back to me and tell me if you think it’s a good idea that we take this stuff on board. Then comes the carb question. “Whats your energy like” “How can you possibly go without bread” Blah blah blah. The answer is simple, my energy levels are off the charts, ask anyone that attends my classes or have a look at my training log. And as for bread, I can go without it as it does nothing positive to my body, it in fact only effects me negatively so why on earth would I want to ingest it? Understand that energy does not only come from bread, pasta and potato.

So that’s me and that’s my Jan fast. Is it for everyone? No course not. It works for me and helps me to achieve my goals. I have been testing different things on my body for over 10 years and will continue to experiment based on research and ideas. I encourage you to do the same. We all have different lives and react differently to different things. You have to take the time (and patience) to figure out what works for you…….and when you have found it, keep at it.

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InnerFight founder Marcus Smith is a high performance coach with a wide array of clients on all matters related to performance. For more information how he can help you increase your performance contact him direct at ms@innerfight.com

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