The Blue Belt Diet
Having just returned from the United States I feel compelled to address something that is completely out of control. My country is diseased physiologically, so it is only natural that psychological degradation will follow. The topic of diet has been beaten to death in recent years with the emergence of the paleo/primal/ancestral dietary theories. For whatever reason, people in the rich Western world just recently have developed an intense interest in diet. One can only hope that this translates into positive actions across the population.
My dietary journey began in early 2013 just as I made the final decision to leave the life of security. I knew that in making such a change, I would have to change other parts of my life, especially for cost control purposes – with limited income, there would be no more outsourcing of meal preparation to others. The time also marked a step up in my devotion to the Ashtanga practice, shifting from a home practice to my teacher’s studio. Part of the purification process of Ashtanga is a deep inspection into the things we are feeding our bodies. This inspection has taken me further in that short 15 months than I could have imagined at the time.
For a few weeks I attempted a vegetarian diet, which is in keeping with the tenets of Ashtanga. But then I found Mark’s Daily Apple via frugality guru Mr. Money Mustache, and his writings struck a chord with me. He has done yeoman’s work in breaking down all the food types, from macro groups of grains, meats, fats, etc. to specific foods in each category, to specific nutrients. Eating what our ancestors ate – that is, foods similar to those we ate during the majority of our evolution as a species – made intuitive sense to me.
I switched to a “Primal” diet (Mark’s expanded version of the Paleo diet) of animals, plants, dairy, lots of fat, and rice – cutting out processed foods and most carbs. Combined with a daily Ashtanga practice, the results were dramatic. I dropped from 80 to 70kg before levelling off around 72kg within six months.1
In addition to MDA, other sites I appreciate for their insight on paleo/ancestral approaches to diets are Chris Kresser, Weston A. Price Foundation, and the Bullet Proof Diet.
These were my starting point, but my search for a diet that provides me with optimal energy at minimal input cost in money and time continues. In the last week alone, major realizations have led me to transition to a fully plant-based diet. I will go into that decision and process later, but let’s take a top-down approach with this. First, let’s discuss food filters:
The Blue Belt Diet, Part 1: Filters
1 I have since managed to get back to 75kg with the help of brown rice