Context
I’ve been making adjustments to my nutrition over the past few weeks. I’ve put on weight since my sesamoiditis injury in late 2020 sidelined my running for a year, and subsequent injuries have consistently hampered my running ever since. I should say I’ve increased my waist size, because I don’t actually care about a number on a scale, but I do care about being comfortable in my clothes.
I’m up to running 6 days and ~20 miles per week, around half of my running volume in early 2020. I added strength training in February in part with the goal of increasing lean muscle mass and consequently increasing my metabolism. Seven months in and I’m stronger, but my pants are still tight. I’m over 40, so that’s working against me as well.
Nutrition is the other part of the weight (waist size) equation. I didn’t want to focus on reducing my intake, because I still care about running well and increasing muscle mass, both dependent on eating enough. Enter Alton Brown’s diet, as introduced on his Live and Let Diet episode of Good Eats (s13e14, currently available on Max).
Alton Brown’s “Diet”
I’ve been aware of Alton’s diet since his weight loss way back when (the episode aired in 2010), and I liked his approach. He emphasizes that it’s a diet in the sense of “the food he eats” versus one in the sense of “a caloric restriction.” As he explains in the episode, his goal was to replace calorie-dense, nutrition-sparse foods with nutrition-dense, calorie-sparse foods, and he did this with four lists: foods to eat daily, foods to eat at list three times a week, foods to eat no more than once a week, and foods to never eat. These lists are easily available over the internet, but here they are from the episode:
Daily foods
- Fruit
- Whole grains
- Leafy greens
- Nuts
- Carrots
- Green tea
3+/week foods
- Oily fish
- Yogurt
- Broccoli
- Sweet potatoes
- Avocado
1-/week foods
- Red meat
- Pasta
- Dessert
- Alcohol
Never foods
- Fast food
- Soda
- Processed meals
- Canned soups
- “Diet” anything
What I like about this approach and why I think it suits my circumstances is that there’s no general restriction of food. Specific foods are restricted and specific foods are required. If I’m hungry, I eat.
How It’s Going
I made some adjustments for myself. I’m sure Alton researched and decided on each of these items with intention, but he doesn’t explain all of it, and I think it’s wise to view his lists as an individual starting point instead of a one-size-fits-all regimen.
In the episode, he mentions that he has also given up milk, though it’s not included on the list, because it makes him do bad things (like eat cookies). Crackers occupy a similar weak point for me. If they’re available, I will eat them, and I will eat too many of them, and I will eat them regardless if I’m hungry. Additionally, the “pasta” is sometimes replaced with “white starch” in internet reproductions of the lists. I’m not sure if that’s an Alton revision or not, but I’m restricting my white starch consumption to once a week. I enjoy rice way too much. I’m not replacing that with anything else, just ignoring it altogether.
I decided against adopting the four lists all at once. Instead I’m committing to one item per week. Going into it, I was already eating fruit daily and yogurt 3+ times/week. Four weeks in and I’ve also committed to whole grains, nuts, carrots, and green tea so far. If work on getting in the required items first, I expect the restricted items will be much easier, essentially nudged out of my diet by the required items.
Four weeks of gradual adjustment is too early for results, but it appears I’ve lost a couple of pounds. Though I haven’t noticed my clothes fitting better yet. I’m hopeful that this approach will help me trim up a bit while continuing to support my running and strength training.