WHAT THE FUCK IS A NUTRITARIAN?!
Updated: Aug 21, 2019
So if you’ve found me via social media or just stumbled across this website randomly you’ve probably noticed this word “Nutritarian” used a lot - and it sounds like a word that someone made up. Well, they did - but all words are made up - so take that smart-ass. This particular word was made up by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. That’s him below - look how fucking happy he is!
Here’s the gist in simple-as-fuck terms: a nutritarian is someone who eats loads of food that naturally makes your body feel super full without making you gain a ton of weight.
Okay, have you got that? Now here’s a more official and technical way to describe it: a nutritarian is someone who eats high-nutrient, whole plant foods that give you an ass-load of micronutrients. This way of eating helps your body heal, gets you to an ideal body weight, and can even slow down the aging process. Holy shit - sign me up for that!
What the hell is a micronutrient?
Here’s the simple-as-fuck way to understand it. A macronutrient is what your calories are made up from. Macronutrients come from protein, carbs, and fat - the stuff that’s in all foods.
Micronutrients don’t have any calories and they come from vitamins, minerals, and phytochemical - sadly stuff that’s not in all foods. Generally speaking most people eat way too many fucking macronutrients and not enough micronutrients. The good news is that high-nutrient dense foods that are full of micronutrients can make you feel way more full than macronutrient foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients. And that, friends, is how you get your ass to a healthy weight and stay there. Focus on the good stuff and forget about all that shit that’s bad for you - that's the real gist of it.
I don’t want to be a fucking vegan!
Well, geez, you don’t have to be an ass about it. Also - you don’t have to be a fucking vegan to be a Nutritarian. While it certainly asks you to limit your intake of animal products, it doesn’t demand that you to cut them out completely. I still eat eggs, fish, and ice cream from time to time. If you wanna dine on cow every now and then you totally can. So calm the fuck down. No one’s taking your goddamn meat completely away from you! We’re just trying to suggest that it shouldn’t be the main focus of any of your meals.
How do I get started?
Well, I would strongly recommend you read at least one of Dr. Fuhrman’s books. Go to the use section of this site to find links to buy some.
If you’re looking to lose a shitload of weight then go big and go for EAT TO LIVE. It's full of great information on the Nutritarian lifestyle, but also recipes, success stories, you name it.
If you’re already at a fairly decent weight - or just don’t want to go on a rigorous diet then check out his book THE END OF DIETING - both of these are great and deserve shelf space in your home. You can likely get them from the library, but they’re cheap as hell and if you’re like me you’re probably going to want to highlight and make notes in ‘em.
Ugh. I don’t want to read a book. Just give me the gist.
I get it. Reading is hard and takes time. Here’s a little more info to let you know what you’re potentially in store for should you decide to take this way of eating for a whirl.
Eat G-BOMBS.
Greens - Beans - Onions - Mushrooms - Berries - Seeds
These are the healthiest most nutrient dense foods on the planet. Include them in your diet daily (or do your goddamn best). Why these things?
GREENS - Raw leafy greens are the most nutrient dense of all foods and packed with stuff that’s amazing for you. You can literally eat as much of this as you want.
BEANS - This includes all legumes too. They’re the most nutrient-dense carbohydrate source and are high in fibre and resistant starch - which means they make you feel fucking full. Also they help prevent ass-cancer.
ONIONS - Onions, along with leeks, garlic, chives, shallots, and scallions. Full to the brim with anti-cancer shit. And they make things tasty.
MUSHROOMS - Really! This is a super high anti-cancer food. Eat ‘em every day. But you gotta cook ‘em first. Even just a light steam for a few minutes. Apparently they have some toxins that ain’t so good for you if you eat ‘em raw.
BERRIES - Blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries are low in sugar and high in nutrients, antioxidants, and good brain food.
SEEDS - Include nuts here. These are the only foods here that you have to limit a bit - but these are full of good fats - particularly make sure you’re eating either flax, chia, or hemp seeds daily.
You can call yourself a nutritarian if you do the following daily:
Eat a large-ass salad as a main dish. Put as many different vegetables in as possible. Use a nut and/or seed based dressing (not oil based!).
Eat at least a half or whole cup of beans. Soups, bean burgers, topping on your salad. It ain’t rocket science. Throw ‘em on stuff.
Eat a large-ass serving of lightly-steamed veggies. Just don’t over-cook ‘em. These should be the non-starchy kind (aka not potatoes).
Eat an ounce or so of nuts and seeds. Not as snacks. You get the most out of ‘em when you eat ‘em with veggies. Again - these are calorie dense so unless you’re super active keep your intake to under two ounces a day. Avoid ones cooked in oil.
Eat mushrooms and onions. They’re just so goddamn good for you. It ain’t hard to work ‘em into stuff.
Eat three fresh fruits. Fruit is fucking good for you. Yes, it has sugar in it - but the nutrients outweigh that by and large. If you’re active you can eat more than three - as much as you want. Just make sure one portion is berries and that they’re fresh or frozen. Dried fruit is okay in small doses. Fruit juice is not fruit.
That’s it! Do that and you can say “I’m a fucking nutritarian!” (more-or-less)
Okay. That stuff sounds easy enough - what else do I need to keep in mind?
If you want to earn more gold stars on your Nutritarian badge (and just be way goddamn healthier) than also me mindful of the following:
Eat Only When You’re Hungry
What a crazy idea! This means don’t fucking snack. Seriously. Your body needs time to digest between meals. Eat when you’re hungry (learn the difference between real hunger and toxic hunger - Fuhrman has lots to say about this), and stop when you’re feeling full. That’s it. After your last meal of the day try to go at least 12-13 hours before you have breakfast the next day. I know what you’re thinking - I always get hungry for a late-night snack! Here’s a dirty little secret: you’re not hungry. That feeling is your body entering into the catabolic stage of digestion. It means you’re burning fucking fat. And that’s what you want, isn’t it?! You don’t need that late night snack, you want it. Be a fucking adult and get over that shit - you'll get used to not eating after dinner quicker than you think. In fact, it feels so fucking weird for me to have an after dinner snack now - I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Again - my brain has been rewired and, for me, it's a good thing. Drink a litre of water, go for a walk, occupy your mind. If you had supper you’re not going to fucking starve before you have breakfast.
Don’t Eat Shit You Know is Junk
We have a rule in our house now. If we’re going to eat junk we eat only the best junk. So it doesn’t mean we don’t eat chips, or cake, or treats. It means that when we do we make sure it’s of the highest quality - and I don’t just mean flavour (though that matters to). It means that the treats we eat don’t have processed sugar or other sweeteners (there are so many fucking ways to sweeten food naturally), we don’t add oil or salt. We don’t eat processed baked goods or anything made with white flour. White flour just turns to sugar. It makes everything cake. When you eat pizza that’s fucking cake with tomato sauce on it. I know this is the hardest part of all of this - but this is the kind of food that’s killing most people. It leads to disease, it’s addictive, and that shit causes depression. Cut it out of your life. And trust me - there’s plenty of good junk food out there.
Anything Else?
Well yeah, there’s loads - but that’ll get you started. Dive through this website to get more info on pretty much every aspect. There’s loads of recipes and also tools to help you figure out how to stock your kitchen for success and recommendations for books to read and other websites to check out. I also have some articles about my own journey and battles with getting healthy and changing over to this lifestyle.
Also - because I haven’t said it yet - good fucking on you for even coming here. It means that you’re considering a change in your life and let me tell you, this is a positive one. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made for my health. It looks hard, but I honestly didn’t find it that way. But you’ve got to want to do it. If you’re not ready then you’re not ready. When the mind shows up the body will follow.
Enjoy - and eat good fucking food!
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