Posted on 01/20/2020 5:47:17 PM PST by rebuildus
As I get older, I’m finding out there’s less and less room for error in how I eat… and my tolerance for animal fat has shrunk.
I’ve discussed meat eating and veganism HERE and HERE, and even Kosher Bodybuilding, which holds much promise for eating meat successfully (without blood and with lower fat).
I’ve eaten red meat my whole life, starting when I was young when my dad would take us to Sizzler on many a Sunday evening. This is back when they had sawdust on the floor, so you know I’m talking old school!
My favorite meal was always a hamburger with lots of ketchup, cut in half; or a big plate of spaghetti with meat sauce at Mike’s Pizza, my favorite local Italian restaurant in town. By the way, my mother was Italian too, so I ate a ton of spaghetti, rigatoni, pizza, and American dishes too.
My appetite was legendary, and I suppose you could say, it still is (though I admit I’ve lost a step or two).
The Florida Trip
Up until recently, I was still eating cheeseburgers fairly regularly. That was before the Florida trip…
We took a weekend trip to the Gulf Coast in August, and on the way I was eating big chunks of salami and cheese in the car (you know, for testosterone!).
And while we were there, we stopped two days in a row at Whataburger. I remembered this fast food place with fondness from the time we “discovered” it in the heart of Texas when my family took a three-day road trip there from Southern California to see my sister’s newborn son.
The recent Florida trip was also ridiculously hot and humid, which I hear is pretty much a given down there in the Summer. I know I didn’t drink enough water.
So soon after we got home I passed a kidney stone—no, saying “passed” a kidney stone doesn’t do it justice—I survived a kidney stone! That was the third time, if I’m counting right. The stone indicated a uric acid origin (from meat).
And more recently, I felt a strong pain in my lower abdominal area, right side (appendix), after waking up in the morning following a high-saturated fat evening meal.
Clearly I’ve arrived in new territory, and the wake up call has arrived too.
So I’ve really begun to ponder the effect of animal fat on my digestive system.
I went back and looked at my Cronometer entries for about a month’s period, and saw that I was routinely eating over the recommended limit for saturated fat in a day—sometimes double or more!
Now I understand that not all saturated fat is animal fat, and I will distinguish even further to say that when I speak of the animal fat that I believe is causing me issues, I’m speaking more of meat that of milk products, or eggs.
Digesting Animal Fat
As I said, I’ve been a big fan of meat. I know it contains nutrients that are powerful, and that you don’t get in fowl or fish. But I also know that there can be a great amount of fat on that meat! In fact, one reason I may have liked hamburgers so much, is that my dad used to like steak, but when I ate it and tried to digest any fat, it just would not go down. I’m still like that with meat.
What I’ve been coming to in a hurry, is that I have a very low threshold for animal (meat) fat consumption—I cannot eat much of it at all. I’m beginning to replace some of this fat with monounsaturated fats (MUFAs), such as that which comes from avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, etc.
The jury’s still out for me regarding milk fat and egg yolk. The small amount of recent personal research I’m getting back on that is that it may be okay. It’s hard to tell because I traditionally have reactions against dairy, though at the same time I tend to crave it!
Due to inflammation in my shoulder from a slow-healing injury (not exactly rare among strength athletes), I am carefully watching everything I eat to see if it is a net positive or negative. What I’m doing right now is reducing my animal fat while replacing it with vegetarian sources, and at the same time keeping my protein up, because I know that protein (or the amino acids that make it up) is helping to restore injured tissue.
And of the fat that I am replacing, I am eating a higher percentage of omega-3 fat, which is contained in food like salmon, walnuts, and chia seeds. These omega fats are reported to help reduce inflammation. I tried adding red wine to that mix, but find that I just don’t wake up as refreshed after consuming red wine the evening before.
So far, I AM finding reduced inflammation from this protocol, and will let you know how it goes from this point onward. Promising, for sure.
If you’d like to see me ruminate about this topic, just check out my recent video on this same topic.
Digestion and Older People
Let me know if you are dealing with digestion issues, and what your age range is. I know that older people tend to lose enzymes, and organs do not always work as efficiently as when they (we!) were young.
I do have to say that the aches and pains of advancing age—while kind of a pain themselves (!)—are interesting in that they are teaching me so much about how my body works, and what is the most efficient and effective food or protocol to handle a particular challenge.
It’s one thing to look at studies, which is great, and which so many health and fitness professionals and “regular folks” read too, but it’ s another thing to actually see and feel issues working in your own body!
Anyway, I’d appreciate your input on this.
And if you’d like me to help you navigate through perhaps being a bit older, weaker, or “broken down” as you train—to minimize negative issues, or better yet, to overcome some of these issues, then contact me or consider letting me coach you to success.
If you want to read a great introduction to gaining the “Greek Physique”—all for less than your cup of morning Espresso—then check out my just-updated eBook.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
To your Health and Fitness,
Patrick
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. Its focus is natural health and independent living. Patrick is the author of GREEK PHYSIQUE: The Simple, Satisfying Way to Sculpt Your Body—Even if You’re Old, Weak, or Broken Down; and is also the creator of Greek Yoga™ and the Greek Yoga for Beginners video. He offers health and fitness consulting in-person in Middle Tennessee and worldwide via phone, Zoom, and Skype. To reach Patrick, email him at info@oldschoolus.com.
If fat means flavor then I must be frikkin' delicious.
NO.........
Living life is killing us but I hear no complaints about that.
Check for a gall stone...also your liver functions.
If you eat right, don’t drink, don’t smoke, get plenty of exercise and rest, you will get eight more years in an old folks home. The Spanish say,
“Bebe bebe por que la vida es breve”
No. Next question.
Its this breathing thing.
“My favorite meal was always a hamburger with lots of ketchup, cut in half; or a big plate of spaghetti with meat sauce at Mike’s Pizza”
Sounds like he had no shortage of carbohydrates with his fat. And put that together with the now-discredited idea that fat is bad for people...then yes, I can see him getting it wrong.
Nope - just the opposite ... gone carnivore. Digestive issues are gone (think IBS-like symptoms), allergies all but gone, skin cleared up, good energy, 65lbs lighter. Physical quality of life is really, really good - better than it’s been in decades.
Good nutrition is essential for health and happiness.
No, you should not get 90% of your protein from red meat...especially hamburger. 25-30% of your protein should come from red meat and an occasional splurge is OK. The rest from eggs, chicken, fish, dairy in about equal measure.
A one pound steak weekly probably meets the requirement. Or 8 oz twice.
And yes, you have to eat your rabbit food. I try to have a big salad every day. And nuts.
Don’t even keep seed oils in your house. Nothing but EVOO.
Yeah, some folks have a sensitive digestive system.
Adjust as needed.
we’re all born to die...
some of us make the best and most of it while we can...
some of us wallow in misery trying to drag everyone else down with them while they can...
No one gets out alive.
I’m a type 1 diabetic. After years of this, I’m now becoming insulin resistant. My endocrinologist says this is natural. Type 1’s can get Type 2 and therefore become a “Type 3”.
So I really have to limit my carbs.
Now I am having very low eGFRs in my kidneys. So now my nephrologist says I need to limit my protein intake.
Fats is all that’s left!
Next I’ll only have to eat rocks and soil to eat.
“you will get eight more years in an old folks home”
If you do the things you mention, you’re very unlikely to go to one of those places.
You’ll die on the toilet or something else glamorous on your 96th birthday.
While the coffee is brewing in your own damn house.
Nothing wrong with meat. The problem is the processed food industry and anti-meat fanatics preferring everyone eat something other than animals. Nope, give me my bacon, steaks, fish, and so forth. Cholesterol is fine, health is fine.
BTW, too much junk science. Think about all of the fads over the years. Omega-3 and anti-oxidants. Guess what, apparently not so helpful or maybe simply wrong. No one hypes these nowadays. So many things get their 15 minutes then disappear as the value is not real, sometimes even harmful. Consider the 80 mg aspirin for heart health. Not anymore, some reports suggest more harm than good.
I did so love the noodles, bread and desserts of every kind but I like living without heart palpitations, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis more. BTW - I was not overweight when I had those problems. (5'7", 130lbs)
I’m back on my meat diet. No carbs. Lost 47 lbs in two months on it.
My Grandpa was a heavy meat eater and only lived to be 102.
I will be 80 in a couple of months. No health issues any more. No pains, no aches. Medicare is ripping me off...I pay monthly deductions, they are now what $142 or something, and I do not get to collect 1 single shiny dime because I have zero medical bills. Actually my Humana Medicare advantage plan PAYS ME $55 every month for staying on their plan.
So if any one is curious what is the secret of my good health? My health was terrible during mid-50’s age. Fainting spells, panic attacks, high blood pressure and border line diabetic, high LDL, irregular heart beats, hip joint pain, etc was my life. I worked hard and had no exercise. I retired early at 57, and took up walking 24 miles every week on the golf course (4 rounds of 18). Amazing all my above problems slowly disappeared, even the hip joint got better!
(1)I got down to my ideal weight. It has multiple benefits. Such as less chance of heart attacks and strokes. Excess fat in body encourages cancer cells because those cells are voracious eaters and love fat and sugar floating in your blood stream to grow on. Cancer cells are your own cells who want to grow faster than normal.
(2) After age 75, I gave up playing 18 holes 4 times every week at private golf club. It is now too hard on my back. So now I walk 30 minutes on a treadmill set 3 deg up slope EVERY OTHER DAY. That is now my savior. After the treadmill I lift 10 lb weights 30 times to help maintain upper body muscles.
(3) I never smoked but have done my share of all you can drink office retirement parties in Chicago. Either Surma’s or Rosewood Inn is where we always had those parties. But I now limit myself to 1 drink per week, usually while dining out.
(4) Diet & eating...I try my best to consume calories only between 9 am and 6 pm. That gives me 15 hour fasting period which keeps my insulin resistance down and avoids going diabetic. It has also burned up belly fat, shrinking my waist size from 36 to 33. My Breakfast is a big bowl of whole wheat cereal+Cheerios+sliced banana+dried apricots+dried figs, topped off with half and half. I do not use milk. I usually skip lunch but snack on peanuts, dates, cashews and apple before dinner. Dinner is either shrimp or chicken tenders or a small piece of fish cooked with butter in a foil on a hot gas plate. And a bowl of whatever frozen veggie is in the fridge, cooked in butter. I must have a desert with dinner, usually either carrot cake or a small slice of southern pecan pie. No caloric intake after 6 pm, so only tea with lemon or coffee with splenda.
I inherited bad genes. All my 4 uncles and father died of heart attacks between 55 & 72 age. But the 2 grand fathers on both side made it to late 90’s. I am aiming for that, hopefully with no pain issues.
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