I get asked all the time for resources that cover diet, specifically why I eat the way that I do.
Which that is a good first question to answer? “Hey Charlie, what do you eat?”
Great question, thanks for asking.
In simple terms, the foundation of my diet is animals:
- Steak – We eat bone-in ribeyes like 3-4 times a week
- Hamburgers, ground beef, all beef hotdogs
- Pork – bacon, sausage
- Chicken – bone in breasts, legs, wings, whole chicken, chicken sausage
- Homemade meatballs with ground chicken, ground pork, cheese and breadcrumbs cooked in butter? YUM (we eat these probably once a week)
- Fats – mostly butter, sometimes tallow, occasionally lard
- Whole Milk – specifically cow’s milk, preferred to be organic and grass-fed but I like the Fairlife brand as well.
- LOTS of eggs
- Collagen protein – bone broth (I love the Kettle & Fire brand) and when I don’t want to drink bone broth, I supplement with collagen protein powder. Did I mention I own a supplement company (CB Supplements) that manufactures a multi-sourced collagen protein powder?
The rest of my diet includes:
- Cheese, truckloads of cheese
- Cream Cheese – we make little “cheesecakes” that are cream cheese, butter, little bit if coconut oil, vanilla extract and liquid stevia. Then add whatever flavor – chocolate chips, peanut butter, anything works and they are delicious.
- Some vegetables – I am certainly not anti-vegetable, but also don’t crave them. When we eat them they are covered in butter btw
- Olive, Coconut and Avocado oil
- Some carbs
- Chips (Boulder Canyon brand cooked in avocado oil)
- Sprouted bread
- Potatoes (sweet and purple primarily, but white are fine too)
- Gluten-free wraps (Siete brand)
- Crackers (Hu, Mary’s and Simple Mills brands)
- Peanut butter (I freaking love peanut butter btw, Santa Cruz brand)
- Keto ice cream (Enlightened and Rebel brands)
- Coffee? Like 3-4 cups a day. Coffee = Life
What I stay away from (The Evil 3, in order):
- Vegetable oils – cottonseed, canola, corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean. These fats are absolutely toxic and the main culprit for poor health. And I bet you reading this have never ever heard of them? Worst of all, the American Heart Association recommends them and approves of them! Sad really. These fats are in everything. If you eat out or buy packages food, they are in there, read the label. I will write a blog post about why they are so bad in the future. Go listen to Dr. Cate Shanahan on any podcast and you will hear from her why these oils are pretty much the worst thing ever?
- Sugar (in general) – added sugar is awful obviously, but I limit my total sugar as well and do not eat fruit hardly ever. That being said, if I want a banana with peanut butter on it or a bite of ice cream at a restaurant, I am damn well going to eat it. I am not scared of sugar, however I do not crave it but only a few times a year and when I do, I only need a bit or 2 to satisfy the craving.
- Carbs (again, in general) – I have days where I eat Keto, Paleo, Carnivore, some days I eat nothing but cheese, yogurt and milk. And other days I want Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread with cream cheese. But in general, my TOTAL carb count is less than 50-75 grams per day. I do eat a piece or 2 of pizza 1-2 times a month where I go over 100 grams for the day though. Yes, I cheat too. But I plan for the cheats, more on that below?
The most important thing is meal timing, i.e. intermittent fasting. I am not a religious hardcore zealot about getting my 16 hours of “fasted” state per day. I might only go 12 hours some days, and other days I might only eat once and go 24 hours without food? I kind of do what my body tells me.
And the cheating comment above, if I am going to cheat and eat pizza for example, the gym won’t save you alone? What is most important is the meal timing of how you ate a few days before and a few days after. For example, if I know I am going to have 3 beers and pizza for dinner Friday, I am more strict about my intermittent fasting scheduled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I will be more on the keto/carnivore/no-carb side on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday morning. Or I won’t eat anything Friday until I crush pizza. I also know that because of the pizza and beer, I will wake up Saturday hungry so I plan to have a high fat breakfast that morning, usually bacon and eggs. Then skip lunch Saturday and back on track Saturday night with a normal dinner, meat and veg combo. Sunday is completely back to normal to a version of the 16/8 intermittent fasting schedule. Make sense? Cool.
So here is my view of diet in a few bullet points:
- Prioritize animal protein, like easily 50% of diet if not more.
- Get 8oz of bone broth in your diet daily. Or 2-3 scoops of CB Supplements multi-sourced collagen.
- Lean low-carb, under 50-75 grams of carbs most days.
- Plan for cheat days by going even lower carb, keto or borderline carnivore before and after cheat.
- Stay away from the Evil 3.
- No snacking, practice some form of intermittent fasting.
If you’re interested in doing some of your own research as to why I eat the way that I do (and feed my kids this same way too), below is a small list of documentaries, books, podcasts and YouTube videos to check out.
Documentaries:
Fat: A Documentary Produced by Vinnie Tortorvich (Like $3 on Amazon)
The Magic Pill (Available on Netflix)
YouTube Videos:
Dr Ted Naiman – Protein vs Energy
Dr Tro Kalayjian – The Truth About Nutrition & Obesity
Podcasts:
All these podcasts are fantastic and you should listen to as many episodes as possible. I just link the the episodes when Dr. Cate Shanahan is being interviewed. Enjoy!
(1) Fat Burning Man Show – Hosted by Abel James
(2) Peak Human – Hosted by Brain Sanders
(3) Low Carb MD – Hosted by Dr. Brain Lenzkes, Dr. Tro and Dr. Jason Fung
(4) Bulletproof Podcast – Hosted by Dave Asprey
Books:
- Deep Nutrition by Dr. Cate Shanahan
- P:E Diet by Dr. Ted Naiman
- Eat Dirt by Dr. Josh Axe
- Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung
- WheatBelly by Dr. William Davis
- Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
- Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey
- The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz
- The Wild Diet by Abel James
- The Case Against Sugar and Good Calories/Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
- Why We Get Sick by Ben Bikman
- The Dirt Cure by Maya Shetreat-Klein
