Food Pyramid "Upgrade" (iAmCjCutts Style)

When you were back in elementary school you probably learned all about the Food Pyramid.  Somehow though, decades later, the food pyramid remained almost identical to what it was back then.

Grains, consisting of breads, cereal, rice, and pasta formed the base of the food pyramid.  According to the USDA, for a period of nearly 20 years, more than 50% of your diet was supposed to come from carbohydrates.

Bad advice.  FATTENING advice.

Unfortunately, government agencies and the US education system are very slow to accept new research and make the necessary changes to their recommendations.

But today, we applaud them.  You see, the recommendations of the recently released and updated government nutrition guidelines, the "My Plate" system, actually AREN'T absurd.

  
  
Now, the USDA is recommending that 50% of the diet come from fruits and vegetables and a more moderate 30% from grains.

And despite the bone-head "nutritionists" who seem to think that protein is unnecessary, the USDA's My Plate system increases protein from virtually non-existent in their previous recommendations to 20% of the diet.

So, leaps and bounds above the archaic Food Pyramid... but, it still has issues.

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How We'd Make the My Plate System Better
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Although the My Plate system is a dramatic improvement over the old recommendations, it still has quite a few shortcomings.

First, the My Plate system has no real place for healthy fats like nuts, oils, and organic dairy products like butter and cream, etc. Healthy fats are a critical part of any diet, and certainly not "sparingly" as the old pyramid recommended. Make sure you are getting your fair share (about 25% of calories).   

Next, we'd decrease grains down to 15%.  Really, there are only 2 meals a day where we think you should even consider eating grains, and that's your first meal (breakfast) and the meal after your workout as it's these two times of day that research has proven glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity to be at it's highest.

Next, we'd increase protein intake from 20% to at least 35%.  There are SO many benefits to increasing protein intake, such as an increased thermic effect of feeding (i.e. you burn more calories just by eating more protein), better blood sugar control, a decrease in body fat, and an increase in calorie-burning lean muscle.

Simply by decreasing your grain intake while simultaneously increasing your body's ability to process carbohydrates, along with increasing your overall protein consumption, you'll be well on your way to DOUBLING your fat loss results.