Abel James is the best-selling author of The Wild Diet. He’s currently starring on ABC’s reality TV show, My Diet Is Better Than Yours. On the show, celebrity trainers are paired with average Americans who need to lose weight. The pairs compete against each other to test which expert’s weight loss plan is most effective. Here, he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how he’s helped contestant Kurt lose 37 pounds so far. The opinions expressed below are his own.
Everyone knows that you can lose weight by eating nothing but chicken breast and broccoli for months on end.
But that’s just not very much fun, is it?
With The Wild Diet, I wanted to show America that you can eat indulgent, rich, luxurious foods, drop an impressive amount of fat and enjoy yourself in the process. After all, I’m not a trainer, I’m a foodie. And I’m going to prove that you really can be happy and healthy at the same time.
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Here’s What The Wild Diet Looks Like
On ABC’s My Diet is Better Than Yours, while other competitors are eating like rabbits, Kurt and I are enjoying gooey cheese, chocolate, grilled steak, bacon, butter, full-fat cream, eggs, cheesecake and even ice cream!
How does that work, you ask? Over hundreds of thousands of years, nature tweaked and perfected our physiology to function optimally on a diet consisting mainly of wild plants and animals — vegetables, meat, and occasional fruits, nuts and seeds — which are naturally high in fat, protein, and fiber and low in carbohydrates. The Wild Diet features fresh, simple, nutrient-dense foods that will help program your body to burn fat instead of sugar.
Kurt is also a good candidate for “fasting and feasting” on The Wild Diet, especially considering his options for exercise are extremely limited (due to his car accident). Since he’s often not hungry in the morning, he enjoys coffee and usually eats his “breakfast” around noon. He loves bacon and pastured eggs.
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You Can Lose Fat with Minimal Exercise
Many people spend hours on the treadmill hopelessly trying to lose their love handles. But every nutritionist, bodybuilder, and athlete worth his or her salt knows that “six packs are made in the kitchen.” Exercise is great for overall well-being, but if you want to drop fat, the vast majority of your results will come from eating the right foods.
Given Kurt’s past injuries to his spine from his car accident, high-impact activities like running simply aren’t good for him. And it’s also not necessary to lose fat.
For the sake of his health and happiness, I encourage Kurt to walk briskly outside every day.
To make sure that he loses fat and retains or even builds muscle, I’m also having Kurt lift objects and complete limited strength-based, functional workouts at home. Gaining muscle will sacrifice his progress in the “weight loss” competition, but I promised him that his health will ALWAYS come first.
With The Wild Diet, Kurt is losing fat, not muscle. That’s exactly what we want.
Kurt lost 21 pounds in the first two weeks, winning 1st place in the weigh-in and also finishing #1 in the fitness competition! After four weeks eating Wild, Kurt has dropped 37 pounds and is in 1st place overall!
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Here’s How to Get Started with The Wild Diet
Eat as many green and colorful veggies as you’d like – they should make up more than half of your plate. Eat a palm-sized portion of protein from pasture-raised meats or wild seafood, and round out meals with high-quality fats like grass-fed butter, hard cheese, nuts or avocado. If you’re physically active, enjoy a bit of starch from sweet potatoes or rice post-workout. Ditch added sugars, breads, and gluten grains. For breakfast, bacon and eggs are back on the menu! Eat when you’re hungry and don’t be afraid of skipping a meal every once in awhile.
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When you reduce your consumption of processed grains, sugars and other simple carbohydrates in favor of healthy plants and animals, you will be shocked by how quickly you can reverse the damage of decades of poor eating.
One final tip: Don’t forget to carry yummy snacks, meals, and dark chocolate everywhere you go to beat hunger and cravings. You know, for chocolate emergencies!
For more weight loss tips and healthy recipes, visit Abel at FatBurningMan.com.