SANE is an acronym used by author Jonathan Bailor in his book The Secret Science of Slim. It refers to the four ways to measure the "quality" of calorie: satiety, aggressiveness, nutrition, and efficiency. To put it simply, Bailor says a calorie is NOT a calorie. For example, more aggressive calories (such as those that come from grains and sugar) are more likely to be made into fat calories than less aggressive calories (such as those that come from spinach).
So, what does this mean? It means that you can't lose weight long term by simply reducing your calories or exercising more. In fact, this approach often has the opposite effect. These facts go against everything we've been taught about nutrition. Trust me. I was incredulous, too. If you don't believe me, I suggest you pick up his book and read the studies for yourself. There's a reason that doctors from Harvard are endorsing it.
Anyway, a SANE diet focuses on eating things the way a hunter-gatherer would. That means eating lots, and I mean LOTS of low-starch veggies (sorry, corn), lean meat, fruit (especially citrus and berries), nuts, and certain protein-packed dairy products (Greek yogurt - my favorite!). These foods "unclog" your metabolism and lower your weight "set-point" by fixing the imbalance of hormones caused by bad foods. From there, your body largely regulates itself.
The best thing about following this healthy eating pattern is that I never have to go hungry. I can eat as much of the approved foods as I like, without having to worry. Yes, that means no more counting calories!
These are some of the foods I bought yesterday:
- Spinach
- Kale
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Snap Peas
- Grapefruit
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Avocados
- Peaches
- Mango salsa
- Chicken
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Herbs/Spices
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Pistachios
- All-natural peanut butter (with no added sugars)
- Milled flax seed
- Green tea
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Stevia Sweetener
I'll admit, I'm going to miss chocolate, bread, pasta, and Dr. Pepper; however, a SANE diet does not require that I eat only SANE foods. In fact, the author recommends having a cheat day once a week or once a month if you are not able to maintain the diet without them. I'm hoping my food preferences will adjust over time, though.
What I'm most nervous about is the exercise. The studies in the book suggest that we only need about 20 minutes of exercise a week, but the exercise needs to work the muscles deeply. These short exercises will probably leave me sore for days afterwards. I'll give you some more detail on that tomorrow.
Until then, stay SANE.
*All the information presented here was obtained from The Smarter Science of Slim by Jonathan Bailor.
What I ate today
Late breakfast: 1 full egg and 3 egg whites, scrambled with a cup of spinach. A whole grapefruit broiled with 1/2 packet of Stevia. A cup of water with 1/8 cup of milled flax seed (Ew. I need a blender).
Late lunch/early dinner: Spinach Salad (3 servings) with green peas (1 serving), chicken (1 can), walnuts (1 serving), a squirt of lemon juice, and fresh mango salsa (OMG DELICIOUS).
Snacks: 1.5 cups of Greek yogurt with about a serving of rasperries/blackberries and 1/8 cup of flax seed. Two strawberries. Banana Mush Ice cream (Basically a banana smashed up and then frozen). Spoonful of peanut butter.
The rest of the day was all kind of screwed up because I worked a 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. without a break. I brought strawberries, almonds, green tea, and snap peas to munch on, but didn't really keep track of how much I ate. All I know is that I was FULL.
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