LCHF Diet...what is it and why should I follow it?

As you may have read somewhere on the site, my Diet Challenges follow the principles of a LCHF (Lower Carb Higher Fat) Diet. But what is that and who should follow it? I should start by telling you that I didn't always follow this type of diet and neither did my clients. And although any "healthy" dietary plan, that is continuous and properly monitored will most likely be successful...what got me was that more and more I was having to remove food items from my menus, either because I was too scared to eat them (because of all the GMO talk), or too many people were intolerant to them.

As a professional with a few years behind me, I started researching, and with a little nudge from my husband and our personal trainer, Jay Arzadon, began to go the opposite way of what was basically innate to my profession: instead of going more vegan (as I had gone in the past), I started looking more into the benefits of an animal and fat-rich diet. I had dinner with an old colleague who had been a vegan all throughout our schooling, and all of a sudden he ordered steak! I was shocked, but his answer was simple..."I ate it once and I felt great! Never looked back since!" I was definitely not prepared to all of a sudden become an Atkins aficionado (no offense), so again, research.

My passion is making new recipes, altering everyday ones and turning them into healthier versions, so this was my challenge. How to eat well, feel great but still be healthy? As many of you probably have, I ran into the Paleo diet. The Paleo diet was the most popular diet in the USA in 2013. Although it is still controversial (and the discussions around it can get quite heated), some of the theories behind it can't be refuted. Eating all-natural, unprocessed foods while avoiding most foods that are thought to be GMO and to trigger food intolerances, but STILL have such a wide variety to choose from, and most importantly, NOT GO HUNGRY...there had to be something to this.

I actually felt quite stupid for not coming up with this myself years ago! Whether or not you believe that our caveman ancestors were healthier than us, the truth is, most of the preventable illnesses that we now encounter are food-related! Watching your weight cannot be synonymous to eating green salads with no dressing right? I would totally be out of a job if that was the case. But can I, in my right mind, recommend that people consume processed vegetable oils and wholegrain GMO breads when I myself don't feel good about eating them? I think not. I could go on forever, but for now I will leave you with this illustration because "pictures (do) speak louder than words". This is THE REAL FOOD PYRAMID. More on the LCHF diet to come, keep posted.