What You’ll Read In This 3-Part Article

This is PART 2 of a 3-Part Article.

This 3-Part article helps you understand why food choice is so important, and introduces you to the AdapNation nutrition approach that we call IIFYM+ Thrive. You’ll learn the foundations behind this approach, the accompanying Food Pyramid, the #BeYourBest WOE Framework, and our 10 Daily Principles we use to help our family Thrive.

PART 1 – Reflect & Level Set…

FOOD THROUGH THE DECADES, THRIVING WITH FOOD & DIETS THAT ARE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL

• Evolution Of Modern Food Consumption – Through The Eyes of an 80’s Baby
• My Relationship With Food Now – Confessions & Realisations on the Power of Food
• No Such Thing As A Perfect Diet – Reflecting on Today’s Popular Diets
• IIFYM – All of it’s Good Points & Where it Falls Short on Wellness
• Paleo – The Superiority of This Diet & What’s Lacking

PART 2 – IIFYM+ Thrive – What & How?

THE HIGH LEVEL FOUNDATIONS & TOP DAILY PRINCIPLES

• IIFYM+ THRIVE High Level – Our Foundations & Food Pyramid
• #BeYourBest Way Of Eating (WOE) Framework – Easy to Remember Visual
• IIFYM+ THRIVE 10 Daily Principles – Our Daily Food Guidance to Optimal Nutrition (1-6)

PART 3 – IIFYM+ Thrive – What & How?

CONTINUED TOP DAILY PRINCIPLES, TIPS & FURTHER PROOF

• IIFYM+ THRIVE 10 Daily Principles – Our Daily Food Guidance to Optimal Nutrition (7-10)
• Other Aspects of Our Diet – Five Real-World Important Practices & Tools
• Further Proof That Food Can Change Your Life – Other Great Resources & Leaders

PART 2

IIFYM+ THRIVE – The High Level

Considering all from Part 1, it’s no surprise to hear that we at AdapNation lead a permanent diet that is centred around similar approaches to IIFYM and Paleo.

I want maximum flexibility for my family, whilst taking care to lead the very best life possible for my kids, wife and I.

The idea is to embrace all food has to offer – flavours, social experience, nutrient density, emotions, calmness and vitality, whilst distancing ourselves from foods that take more than they give. We want to use food to maximise our mental and physical state, but not get orthorexic about it. That means making the best choices 90%+ of the time, but not beating ourselves up when we take a less optimal choice for the benefit of the experience.

IIFYM+ Thrive is the next generation of IIFYM. Effectively, it’s IIFYM but with some guidelines to both get the body you want whilst THRIVING

And just like Paleo and LCHF diets, Our IIFYM+ Thrive approach turns the traditional Food Guide Pyramid on it’s head. Check out the graphic below.

Tier 1 – A Foundation of Meats and Healthy Fats

The Foundation is Meats and Healthy Fats, as opposed to wheat-based produce, with wheat-based foods relegated to Gluten-Free alternatives consumed very infrequently. It’s a bit of a paradigm shift for most people, but it’s what our bodies were designed to do.

Animal-based nutrition, inclusive of the Saturated Fat, Cholesterol, Omega 3’s (EPA & DHA). and Organ Meats is 10-1000x more nutrient dense than plants, and as such is the centrepiece of our diet. For great hormone health, metabolic health, immune health, and high-functioning cognition and mood regulation… it’s all about the nutrient-rich animal fats.

If you’re worried about high cholesterol, your mind should be put to rest by reading the article Cholesterol: The Good Guy Falsely Incarcerated for 50+ Years.

Tier 2 – Second, in volume, is Vegetables

Similar to the traditional pyramid, but with a bias towards certain types of vegetables, and the avoidance/reduction of a seed-based veggies or associated products that do more harm than good. We also favour a disproportionate ratio of veggies to fruits, as fruit really is natures dessert and is loaded with sugar.

Tier 3 – Occasional Fresh Fruit

Fruits are seasonal and location dependant, but we have the opportunity now to have all fruits all year round and in every supermarket. Whilst you have to marvel at our achievement, we must pay respect that fruit was not often consumed, and it’s purpose was to offer us a hit of instant energy in the form of fructose and glucose.

Fruit is something we enjoy and is nutritious, but we consume fruit in our household as an infrequent dessert treat due to its sugar content, versus trying to make it a key part of our daily nutrient intake.

IIFYM+ THRIVE – WOE Framework & The 10 Daily Principles

Ok, so let’s get into the specifics of our diet and how we think about our food choices. The below is the highest level #BeYourBest Way Of Eating (WOE) framework that guides our overarching decisions on food purchasing, cooking and eating.

The WOE framework has a firm position on the avoidance of Seed Oils, Grains and added Sugar. The reality is, it’s more about the decisions you make 90% of the time.

With that in mind, our IIFYM+ Thrive approach and daily principles are a little softer, to prevent being overly dogmatic and restrictive. The below infographic gives some basic food choice concepts we live by under the four categories of Meats & Healthy Fats, Veggies, Fruit, and Gluten-Free Grains. It also outlines the The 10 Daily Principles we choose to live by the super majority of the time.

(1) Work Within Calorie & Protein Targets

To manage our body composition of body fat and muscle, we simply stick to this key principle of managing calorie and protein intake. The Losing Body Fat For Good Part 2 Article helps you work your numbers. This is the single-most important aspect to body composition. Every other principle builds on from this.

(2) 90%+ of Calories From Whole Foods

We’ve thrown away almost all of the pre-made meals and the processed goods. Instead, we cook from scratch using fresh sustainably sourced ingredients. We cut ourselves some slack on sauces, healthy condiments, prepared veggies and the odd frozen single-ingrdient meats for convenience.

(3) Build & Replenish With Protein

The most important Macro. It’s essential to repair, restore and build new cells and tissues in your body. Every cell, organ, tissue and muscle needs protein for optimal health and daily function. Not just for bodybuilders – everyone needs adequate protein. EVERYONE. This Article lays out a bit more detail as well as how we set our individual targets.

We prioritise Red Meats, Eggs, Fish, Poultry, Pork and Nuts – pretty much in that order based on nutritional value. You are what you eat ate – so we get our protein and meats from organic, grass-finished, grass-fed or wild caught sources. It makes a difference.

(4) Fuel Energy & Mood With Healthy Fats

Healthy Fats are literally the backbone to our hormone production and cell membranes. Out of whack hormones create so many problems mentally and physically, and therefore is critical to optimise. Also, your body, including your brain, likes to run off of fatty acids and ketones. My mood and mental sharpness is greatly improved when I decided to exchange sugary-gluten foods for healthy fats. An absolute game changer for productivity!

Think Eggs, Animal Fats, Butter, Avocados, Salmon, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Nuts and even Bone Broth!

(5) Diversify With Prebiotic Veggies

We are quickly piecing together through bleeding-edge science that our health and wellbeing is directly correlated to the health of our gut. The connection is so strong and previously misunderstood, that literally all diseases, autoimmune diseases, ailments, fatigue, mental disorders, cancers and obesity are being linked to a gut in disarray. The science and real-world health turnarounds are truly compelling!

So, we respect and care for our Microbiome – the diverse collection of trillions of bacteria that live in your gut. We feed them, diversify the colonies and help them thrive by eating some  Prebiotic Veg – i.e. Vegetables with indigestible fibre. No need to go crazy on fibre mind you.

Think Mushrooms, Onions, Leeks, Garlic and Asparagus and many other fibrous veggies. Our guts thank us with optimal health and wellbeing!

(6) Limit Frequency of Starchy Carbs

I cannot give up my starchy carbs, nor is it necessary if you choose clean sources and can limit the frequency and volume. Starch converts to sugar in the bloodstream, and further adds a glucose and glycating burden on the body, so is best to be limited. Personally, I opt for starches in one meal only – that typically being dinner, and say a max weight of 400g.

Our kids and my wife has different strategies, which all come down to preference, but the goal is to manage our overall consumption of Starchy foods to a hedonistic needs-must basis. We opt for Rice, Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes – cooked in Butter, Beef Dripping or Avocado Oil. Absolutely no Seed Oils!

For (7) to (10) – click on the link below

Continue Reading 👉 IIFYM+ THRIVE : Our Approach to Nutritional Wellness (part 3)