LenDentonThrive Letter #19

Eating SAD

Author

Len Denton
September 09, 2023

Reading time: approx: 9 minutes

LenDentonThrive Letter #19

Eating SAD

The mission of the LenDentonThrive Letter is to help Over-50 Guys lose weight, get fit, and stay fit for life! We do that by sharing proven tips and strategies that help guys to build their own, custom-tuned ThriveLives.

In this week’s edition, we will tackle the #1 health threat to Over-50 Guys - The Standard American Diet (SAD).

But first, here’s a quick preview of what’s in the LenDentonThrive Letter #19:

  • The Big Idea - This week, we’ll explore the health risks associated with eating the Standard American Diet, or SAD.

  • Tip of the Week - A quick tip or strategy to help you improve your health, fitness, and life.

  • News You Can Use - I’ll share two or three useful items from my reading stack for you to check out later.

I’m glad that you’re here! We have a lot to cover in ten minutes or less, so let’s get started!

1. The Big Idea - Eating SAD

Food is Medicine…Food is Poison.

Which of these statements is true? Unfortunately, both statements are true. Therefore, we must choose what we eat wisely.

However, based on the evidence all around us, making the right decision is difficult to do.

We are living in a time when obesity is the norm.

Look around you. Doesn’t it seem like nearly everyone you see is carrying around some extra weight? And most Over-50 Guys seem to be carrying around a lot of extra weight. The numbers support this:

  • 74% of American adults are overweight or obese. (1)

  • The rate of obesity in the USA has tripled since 1960. (2)

  • Today, the average American eats 700 more calories per day than in 1961. (3)

This explosion in obesity has led to a not-so-surprising rise in diet-related illnesses. Today, 60% of Americans have 1 or more diet-related chronic diseases (such as heart disease, diabetes, etc.). (4)

For the typical American, food has become more poison than medicine. And, the underlying cause of this dietary disaster is the Standard American Diet, or SAD.

Food is Medicine…Food is Poison?

What is the Standard American Diet?

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is the dietary pattern the majority of Americans follow. (It’s also known as the Western Diet.) It’s packed with processed foods, fast foods, sugary drinks, added (hidden) sugars, preservatives, and sodium.

For simplicity, I’ve targeted six specific foods from the SAD that I recommend that all Over-50 Guys eliminate from their daily diets forever:

  • Sugar

  • White Flour

  • White Rice

  • White Potatoes

  • Corn

  • High Fructose Corn Syrup

Collectively, I call these Red Zone Foods. (More on that later.)

Why is the SAD so bad?

Long-time consumption of the Standard American Diet leads to Standard American Diseases like heart disease and type-2 diabetes.

Once we consume these sugars and highly processed carbohydrates (like white flour), they are quickly metabolized into glucose, spiking our blood glucose levels. Our bodies respond to these glucose spikes by creating extra insulin, which signals our cells to store the glucose as energy. Over time, the spiking process causes our bodies to accumulate excess fat. Our endocrine systems are being systematically overdriven to compensate for all of the excess glucose we’re consuming.

It’s estimated that as many as 88% of Americans have some form of metabolic dysfunction. (5) The culprit is the Standard American Diet.

Eating Smarter is the Antidote to the SAD

It should be clear that the Standard American Diet is slowly poisoning us and leading to increasing rates of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and ultimately, higher rates of death. So, the question is - what should we do instead?

The answer is - Eat Smarter!

Ten years ago, I made a decision to stop eating the SAD. I initially did this in order to lose weight. And, it worked! I lost 70 pounds in 7 months, and I’ve managed to keep the weight off for 10 years! But, there were lots of benefits to my new way of eating that went beyond the weight loss. For one, my metabolism improved, with my cholesterol dropping around 60 points. And, my energy levels took off once I eliminated my daily overdosing on sugars.

There was one more benefit that really surprised me. Once I started making smarter food choices, I found that I could actually eat more food and still lose weight!

So, how do you eat smarter?

Eating smarter simply means making better food choices. I’ve written extensively about the Eating Smarter system in a previous edition. It’s worth a quick look to give you the underlying reasons that it works so well.

For now, here’s a quick-start plan to help you go from being a Food Zero to an Eat Smart Hero in 30 days or less.

The Eat Smart Hero 30-Day Plan

Here’s a 6-step roadmap to eating smarter in the next 30 days:

Step 1 - Take charge. You are the CEO of your health and fitness. Take action! Decide to stop eating the Standard American Diet. (Time required: 10 seconds.)

Step 2 - Learn the 3 Eat Smarter Food Zones shown below. (Time required: 5 minutes)

Eat Smarter Food Zones


Step 3 - Exit the Red Zone - systematically identify and eliminate all Red Zone foods from your diet. This will include:

  • Sugar

  • White flour

  • White rice

  • White potatoes

  • Corn

  • High-fructose corn syrup

(Time required: 1-2 weeks)

Step 4 - Load up on Green Zone foods - Replace Red Zone foods with Green Zone foods that you enjoy. Do this to avoid hunger. This also replaces bad, low-nutrition calories with good, high-nutrition calories. Expect your energy to go up as you do this. (Time required: 1-2 weeks. Do Steps 3, 4, and 5 together.)

Step 5 - Start Moving - Begin a daily walking routine. Start wherever you are, then build up to a 30-minute walk daily. Try for 7,000-12,000 total steps per day. Walk after meals if possible. (Time required: 30 minutes a day.)

Step 6 - Measure Your Progress - Weigh yourself every morning before meals or coffee. Record and track your progress. Consider buying a step tracker to count your total daily steps. (Time required: 2 minutes a day.)

After 30 days, you should be experiencing weight loss, better energy, and an overall improvement in your general feeling of well-being. The number of compliments tossed your way should also increase!

The most important thing is that you will have managed to reset your diet to make your food work for you instead of against you.

And, you will have transformed your food from being your poison to becoming your medicine!

Thrive and Prosper!

Footnotes:

Want to Go Deeper?

Do you want to dive deeper into ThriveAge and what it can do in your life? If that sounds like a smart move for you, then consider subscribing to the LenDentonThrive Letter. It’s totally free!

As a bonus, new subscribers will receive a free .pdf version of Chapter 1 of my upcoming new book, The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life).

ThriveAge is the roadmap to your custom-built ThriveLife!

2. Tip of the Week: Food Zone Swapping

One of the key principles of Eating Smarter is replacing bad calories (Red Zone) with good calories (Green Zone). We do this to avoid calorie reduction and hunger. It also revs up your metabolism because your system burns more calories digesting Green Zone foods than when digesting Red Zone foods.

Here are two examples of swapping Red Zone Foods with Green Zone foods:

Example 1 - White Rice (Sticky Rice): Normal sticky rice has a glycemic index of 90, making it a Red Zone Food. Replace it with Basmati Rice (glycemic index of 55), making it a good Green Zone alternative.

Example 2 - White bread: Store-bought white bread (glycemic index of 100) is a Red Zone food. Stoneground wheat bread (glycemic index of 55) is a great Green Zone replacement.

3. News You Can Use

Here is some “news you can use” from my research and socials:

  1. These popular prescription antacids have been linked to a 33% higher risk of dementia (Prevacid, Prilosec, and Nexium)

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/08/10/acid-reflux-heartburn-medication-dementia/

  2. Here’s a time-saving weight loss tip that I use every day:

Follow me on the socials for daily tips and strategies for living your ThriveLife:

I’m Writing A Book!

I’m a busy Over-50 Guy who has spent the past ten years building a practice of personal health and fitness that relies on real food and smart exercise instead of crazy diets and killer workouts. This process, called ThriveAge, helped me to lose 70 pounds and keep it off for going on ten years. Now, I want to share what I have learned with other Over-50 Guys. So, I wrote the book!

In The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life), I share everything I’ve learned about the principles and practices necessary to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle. I call it my ThriveLife.

New subscribers to the LenDentonThrive Letter will receive Chapter 1 of my new book for free. To get your free copy of Chapter 1, just subscribe to the LenDentonThrive Letter.

Thanks for your time and attention. Have a great weekend. See you next Saturday!

Thrive & Prosper,

Len

Hey, Before You Go…

First, are you a subscriber to the LenDentonThrive Letter? Please share this with someone you know who might benefit from it. I’d appreciate that! And, I bet the guy you forward it to will too!

Second, did someone forward you this copy of the LenDentonThrive Letter?

You can get your own free copy by subscribing today. And, I’ll throw in Chapter 1 of my upcoming new book as a bonus.

Thanks for visiting!

See you next weekend!

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