Doomsday Diets

Recently I found myself watching a show on National Geographic called Doomsday Preppers. It was entertaining...

I'm not a huge TV guy but when I do watch, I usually only watch two stations-National Geographic and the History Channel. (Sorry Matt Alford, no Jersey Shore)

Anyway I was watching this show and I was amazed at the amount of time these folks spend prepping for the end of the world. Some believe it will come as a result of financial meltdown, solar storms, power grid failure, Mayan calendar etc. So, to prepare for each respective possible end of days scenario they have designed several survival strategies. The most common strategy it seems, is to stock up on as much crappy food as possible.

Now don't get me wrong here, everyone should have some food in case of an emergency. A few days food, water etc. That is common sense. I get it, you need food to live and only crappy food will survive on a shelf. However stocking up on 3 tons of dog crap because it has a shelf life of 20 years doesn't make a ton of sense to me. In fact, I would argue said dog crap will kill you before the reversing polar caps will.

I don't know about you but I live in a world of probability not possibility. So, I respect their desire to be prepared for the worst case but in all practicality the odds are slim that any one of these scenarios will ever happen. So lets say we wake up on December 22nd and all is well... and you still have a pantry full of dog crap that could survive a nuclear winter and global cockroach infestation.

So how do I not eat like a wack-job? Here are a few tips:

1. Shop only on the outside of the supermarket. Avoid the aisles. Eat fresh stuff. All the stuff you need is on the outside. The butcher, fruits and vegetables, wine etc.

2. Pay attention to your macro-nutrient composition. Are you eating enough protein, fat and carbohydrate? You need some of each at every meal and snack. An easy way to think of this would be to take your dinner plate and divide it into thirds. Make a fist, that's about how much protein you need. Turn your hand over into a cup shape, that's how much good fat you should have. The rest of your plate should be full of good carbs like vegetables. The choices for each group are virtually limit-less.

3. Allow yourself a free meal every now and then. It's only common sense. You want the cookie, eat the cookie. Should you eat a box of cookies? Uh, no. If you eat right 90%-95% of the time, you'll be just fine. The better you eat, the more those crappy foods that used to taste good will taste like the aforementioned dog crap.

4. Avoid Gluten. Go ahead, debate me on the comment thread. I'm ready.

5. Make sure you are eating enough! That's right I said, enough. Too many of us are still stuck in this calorie counting, fat-is-bad way of thinking that usually cuts into our overall energy demands. YOU NEED FOOD. Especially if you are Crossfitting and/or strength training. You need to think of food as fuel. What kind of fuel would you put into your body? If you were about to drive to Boise, you wouldn't put a half a tank in and expect to make it very far. The same is true with the body, it needs enough good fuel in order to thrive.

6. Make good choices. This is where the discipline part comes in. The world around you is set up to bombard you with as many crappy food options as possible. You have to want to eat right. I'm sure all of you have noticed how challenging it can be, especially if your on the road for work a bunch or go out to dinner often.

7. Avoid Sugar.