Nutrition – Page 3 – Beary Strong

Eat Your Fish

Health benefits, risks and cooking methods.

Austria is a country where eating fish isn’t very popular and I know many people who categorically avoid fish. “No, I don’t eat that! It smells strange.” This makes me sad, as I love fish and I really have a hard time understanding people who don’t. It tastes great, is easy to prepare and it’s incredibly nutritious. Let me explain why.

The Problem Of Ultra-Processed Foods

An ode to real food.

There are so many different diets out there, all of them claiming to be the single best solution. This lead to significant public confusion about nutrition because some of the diets suggest principles that are contrary to each other. What do you have to follow? What to believe? But there is one thing all successful diets implement directly or indirectly and that is avoiding ultra-processed food. And now we have scientific support for this principle!

The Detox Myth

Please, stop it

“Detox”… every time I hear this word my scientific soul dies a little bit. Because I can not believe that we still follow such hocus-pocus. Well, there are people out there telling you that vaccins cause autism or the earth is flat or whatever esoteric crap is the newest sh*t. Ok, sorry for the rant but it drives me crazy when people use other people’s lack of knowledge, as in the case of all this “cleanse” and “detoxes” popping up every year either during Lent season or as summer is approaching. They promise you to clear the body from harmful “toxins”, that prevent you from losing fat or making you feel sleepy or whatsoever. Usually, a restrictive diet in liquid form (juices anyone?) and/or an expensive supplement is prescribed, promising loss of weight and other miracles. Is there any truth behind this stuff?

Protein: Myths and Reality

Everything you need to know about protein.

Whenever I get a new client and they are a few days “in”, eating a healthy diet and experiencing what it feels like having a significant dose of protein with every meal, sooner or later I will get this question: “But isn’t eating so much protein bad?” I’m not sure where this fear stems from, but I blame the crappy fitness and health industry. No, it isn’t bad for you, quite the opposite is the case, it is healthy! Let me explain why.

Setting Up Your Diet

Change your environment and mindset for better results.

Bearystrong (that’s Chantal and me) just has started a new certification, probably the best strength training certification on the planet, and one part of the exam is to go through a bodybuilding competition prep, also known as “the diet”. Therefore I want to share with you the preparation before we start our diet. Because let’s face it, dieting isn’t much fun, but being prepared helps a lot and allows a smooth transition into a new lifestyle. So grab your chicken breast and broccoli and let’s get started.

A Quick Guide To Supplements

Four science-based supplements to help almost everone.

Supplements are a hotly debated field: on one hand you have the supplement industry trying to sell as many of their products to unwary customers all over the world as they can. On the other hand you have people rejecting any form of supplementation, almost considering it “unnatural”, believing you just have to eat healthy to get everything you need. As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Because of this, I want you to show which supplements I consider (almost) mandatory.

About diet variety

Why less variety in your food can help you lose fat.

What? Isn’t variety good for your health? Dieticians and health guidelines tell you that if you are going to eat a large variety of different foods you are going to meet your nutritional needs. Well, that sounds reasonable but has also a dark side: the more variety we have in one meal, the more calories we are going to eat. Before explaining why this is the case and what can we do against it, let’s define some terms.

Artificial Sweeteners: The Not So Bitter Truth

I already see the more evidence-based bodybuilder community rolling their eyes: we all know that sweeteners are not bad! Come on, Chantal: during contest prep we are all eating Skyr, berries and artificial sweeteners as staple food. Sorry guys and girls, this article is not for you, but you can still scroll down to the recipes at the end of the article if you want some variation in your diet 😉 This article is dedicated to all the people who are struggling with their diets and have been told that sweetners are ultra-bad, cause cancer, neurotoxicity and are increasing cravings. But is it true? Let’s have a closer look at what the current research says.

Insulin Sensitivity and Diet Patterns

Has the endless discussion about low-carb vs. low-fat come to an end?

On my way to horseriding I’ve been listening to a great podcast by Danny Lennon with Prof. Christopher Gardner on a recently published paper with the title “Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion” . I would like to give you some insights in the research findings as well as write down some of the thoughts Prof. Gardner expressed in the podcast.

Why I Don’t Like Meal Plans

Implement lifetime strategies for diet success.

Good old meal plans … I’ve almost forgot about them, but whenever I browse a fitness magazine, they catch my attention. Out of curiosity I start reading them and I am always amused about them: if it is a meal plan in a men’s magazine, you feel taken back to the old bro science ages of chicken breast, white rice and steamed brokkoli. If it is a meal plan for women, I see plenty of smoothie bowls, porridge, pasta and woefully low amounts of protein. I mean I get it, meal plans seem to be an easy solution for weight loss, but I think you can do better!