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The worst macro combination for fat loss

This is a great short video from two people I highly respect. Marty Kendall from Optimising Nutrition and Ted Naiman, creator of the P:E diet.

In this video, they describe the worst macro combination for fat loss and why it makes us hyperphagic (tendency to gorge).

Ted give’s Don’t Eat for Winter a huge plug during the video, which I very much appreciate.

“A huge shout out to Foley, and his book, Don’t Eat for Winter. I mean nobody has done a better job describing this than he has. He needs a lot more credit than he gets for sure!” – Ted Naiman

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Top 200 Most Fattening Foods (most autumnal)

The foods below are a list of generic foods (non-branded) taken from the USDA Food Database.

The are scored based on their distance from the Squirrel Formula of 53% fat 41% carb and 6% protein, which is the signature of nature’s most autumnal food.  The Acorn.

The Acorn, is therefore, listed no 1.  As you can see there is a large quantity of junk foods matching this formula very specifically.

Though not all of the foods below are ultra-processed, a recent, which backs up this concept, showing that eating ultra processed foods cause us to eat 500 more calories per day.

Interestingly, in this study, the extra calories were made up of more high energy fat and carb type foods, with very little protein sought.

I believe foods, such as these, cause us to want to eat more of the same and traditionally helped us prepare for winter. Nowadays, we eat them everyday so we prepare our bodies for a winter that never comes.

Position Food Item Proximity to Squirrel Formula
1 Nuts, acorns, raw 1
2 Ice creams, regular, low carbohydrate, vanilla 0.99
3 Candies, carob, unsweetened 0.99
4 Snacks, potato chips, barbecue-flavor 0.99
5 Candies, milk chocolate coated coffee beans 0.98
6 Danish pastry, nut (includes almond, raisin nut, cinnamon nut) 0.98
7 Pie crust, standard-type, dry mix, prepared, baked 0.98
8 Nuts, acorn flour, full fat 0.98
9 Pie crust, standard-type, dry mix 0.98
10 Noodles, chinese, chow mein 0.98
11 Milk, human, mature, fluid 0.98
12 Candies, crispy bar with peanut butter filling 0.98
13 Whipped topping, frozen, low fat 0.98
14 Popcorn, microwave, regular (butter) flavor, made with palm oil 0.98
15 Snacks, popcorn, microwave, regular (butter) flavor, made with partially hydrogenated oil 0.98
16 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, barbecue-flavor 0.98
17 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, barbecue-flavor, made with enriched masa flour 0.98
18 Cookies, brownies, prepared from recipe 0.98
19 Granola bar, soft, milk chocolate coated, peanut butter 0.98
20 Restaurant, Latino, bunuelos (fried yeast bread) 0.98
21 Snacks, potato chips, sour-cream-and-onion-flavor 0.98
22 Candies, milk chocolate, with almonds 0.97
23 Spices, mace, ground 0.97
24 Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched 0.97
25 Ice creams, french vanilla, soft-serve 0.97
26 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, glazed, unenriched (includes honey buns) 0.97
27 Frozen novelties, ice cream type, chocolate or caramel covered, with nuts 0.97
28 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, cones, nacho-flavor 0.97
29 Snacks, popcorn, cheese-flavor 0.97
30 Pie crust, deep dish, frozen, unbaked, made with enriched flour 0.97
31 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, unsalted 0.97
32 Soup, cream of celery, canned, prepared with equal volume water 0.97
33 Fast foods, nachos, with cinnamon and sugar 0.97
34 Snacks, potato sticks 0.97
35 Soup, cream of celery, canned, condensed 0.97
36 Pie crust, deep dish, frozen, baked, made with enriched flour 0.97
37 Nuts, almond paste 0.97
38 Snacks, potato chips, plain, made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salted 0.97
39 Snacks, potato chips, plain, made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil, unsalted 0.97
40 Snacks, potato chips, plain, unsalted 0.97
41 Pinon Nuts, roasted (Navajo) 0.97
42 Doughnuts, cake-type, plain (includes unsugared, old-fashioned) 0.97
43 Snacks, granola bars, soft, coated, milk chocolate coating, peanut butter 0.97
44 Coffeecake, cinnamon with crumb topping, commercially prepared, enriched 0.96
45 Coffeecake, cinnamon with crumb topping, commercially prepared, unenriched 0.96
46 Noodles, flat, crunchy, Chinese restaurant 0.96
47 Pie, chocolate mousse, prepared from mix, no-bake type 0.96
48 Candies, milk chocolate 0.96
49 Danish pastry, cinnamon, enriched 0.96
50 Danish pastry, cinnamon, unenriched 0.96
51 Candies, dark chocolate coated coffee beans 0.96
52 Candies, white chocolate 0.96
53 Candies, milk chocolate, with rice cereal 0.96
54 Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched, baked 0.96
55 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, puffs or twists, cheese-flavor, unenriched 0.96
56 Onion rings, breaded, par fried, frozen, prepared, heated in oven 0.96
57 Potatoes, processed, frozen, prepared 0.96
58 Cookies, peanut butter sandwich, special dietary 0.96
59 Snacks, popcorn, oil-popped, white popcorn 0.96
60 Fast foods, onion rings, breaded and fried 0.95
61 Ice creams, vanilla, rich 0.95
62 Ice creams, regular, low carbohydrate, chocolate 0.95
63 Pie, coconut cream, prepared from mix, no-bake type 0.95
64 Snacks, popcorn, home-prepared, oil-popped, unsalted 0.95
65 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, with jelly filling 0.95
66 Keikitos (muffins), Latino bakery item 0.95
67 Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, chocolate wafer, chilled 0.95
68 Snacks, granola bar, with coconut, chocolate coated 0.95
69 Snacks, potato chips, cheese-flavor 0.95
70 Cookies, peanut butter, refrigerated dough 0.95
71 Cookies, peanut butter, refrigerated dough, baked 0.95
72 Tomatoes, sun-dried, packed in oil, drained 0.95
73 Danish pastry, cheese 0.95
74 Snacks, potato chips, plain, salted 0.95
75 Snacks, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, cheese-flavor 0.95
76 Snacks, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, sour-cream and onion-flavor 0.95
77 Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, unbaked 0.95
78 Ice creams, vanilla 0.95
79 Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, baked 0.95
80 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, puffs or twists, cheese-flavor 0.94
81 Whipped cream substitute, dietetic, made from powdered mix 0.94
82 Cookies, shortbread, commercially prepared, pecan 0.94
83 Potatoes, mashed, dehydrated, prepared from flakes without milk, whole milk and butter added 0.94
84 Candies, sesame crunch 0.94
85 Potatoes, frozen, french fried, par fried, extruded, unprepared 0.94
86 Fast foods, potato, baked and topped with sour cream and chives 0.94
87 Doughnuts, cake-type, plain, chocolate-coated or frosted 0.94
88 Soup, cream of vegetable, dry, powder 0.94
89 Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, unenriched 0.94
90 Cookies, chocolate chip, prepared from recipe, made with butter 0.94
91 Cream substitute, powdered 0.94
92 Chocolate, dark, 45- 59% cacao solids 0.94
93 Candies, truffles, prepared-from-recipe 0.94
94 Cookies, chocolate chip, prepared from recipe, made with margarine 0.94
95 Chocolate, dark, 60-69% cacao solids 0.94
96 Alcoholic beverage, liqueur, coffee with cream, 34 proof 0.94
97 Doughnuts, cake-type, wheat, sugared or glazed 0.94
98 Spices, nutmeg, ground 0.94
99 Potato pancakes 0.94
100 Cheese, gjetost 0.94
101 Pie, chocolate creme, commercially prepared 0.94
102 Fast foods, potatoes, hashed brown 0.93
103 Onion rings, breaded, par fried, frozen, unprepared 0.93
104 Pie, vanilla cream, prepared from recipe 0.93
105 Side dishes, potato salad 0.93
106 Chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread 0.93
107 Dessert topping, powdered, 1.5 ounce prepared with 1/2 cup milk 0.93
108 Potatoes, frozen, french fried, par fried, extruded, prepared, heated in oven, without salt 0.93
109 Doughnuts, cake-type, plain, sugared or glazed 0.93
110 Snacks, tortilla chips, nacho cheese 0.93
111 Croissants, butter 0.93
112 Snack, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, plain 0.93
113 Fast foods, french toast sticks 0.93
114 Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, vanilla wafer, chilled 0.93
115 Creamy dressing, made with sour cream and/or buttermilk and oil, reduced calorie, cholesterol-free 0.93
116 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, plain 0.93
117 Candies, sweet chocolate 0.92
118 Dessert topping, powdered 0.92
119 Salad dressing, mayonnaise, imitation, milk cream 0.92
120 Puff pastry, frozen, ready-to-bake, baked 0.92
121 Crackers, standard snack-type, regular, low salt 0.92
122 Snacks, granola bars, hard, almond 0.92
123 Snacks, tortilla chips, nacho-flavor, made with enriched masa flour 0.92
124 Puff pastry, frozen, ready-to-bake 0.92
125 Pie, banana cream, prepared from recipe 0.92
126 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, flaked, packaged 0.92
127 Pie crust, refrigerated, regular, unbaked 0.92
128 Pie crust, refrigerated, regular, baked 0.92
129 Candies, milk chocolate coated peanuts 0.92
130 Gravy, mushroom, canned 0.92
131 Potato salad, home-prepared 0.92
132 Fast foods, coleslaw 0.92
133 Crackers, standard snack-type, regular 0.92
134 Salad dressing, buttermilk, lite 0.92
135 Salad dressing, ranch dressing, reduced fat 0.92
136 Eclairs, custard-filled with chocolate glaze, prepared from recipe 0.92
137 Candies, semisweet chocolate 0.92
138 Candies, semisweet chocolate, made with butter 0.92
139 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, flaked, canned 0.92
140 Soup, broccoli cheese, canned, condensed, commercial 0.92
141 Potatoes, hashed brown, frozen, plain, prepared 0.92
142 Bread stuffing, cornbread, dry mix, prepared 0.92
143 Crackers, cheese, low sodium 0.92
144 Crackers, cheese, regular 0.92
145 Cake, pound, commercially prepared, butter 0.92
146 Crackers, wheat, sandwich, with cheese filling 0.92
147 Crackers, cheese, sandwich-type with cheese filling 0.92
148 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, shredded 0.92
149 Soup, mushroom, dry, mix, prepared with water 0.91
150 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, with creme filling 0.91
151 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, cones, plain 0.91
152 Soup, cream of chicken, dry, mix, prepared with water 0.91
153 Pie, pecan, prepared from recipe 0.91
154 Fast foods, potato, french fried in vegetable oil 0.91
155 Pie, banana cream, prepared from mix, no-bake type 0.91
156 Cookies, peanut butter, commercially prepared, soft-type 0.91
157 Croissants, cheese 0.91
158 Candies, confectioner’s coating, yogurt 0.91
159 Sweet rolls, cheese 0.91
160 Soup, cream of mushroom, low sodium, ready-to-serve, canned 0.91
161 Fast foods, danish pastry, cheese 0.91
162 Snacks, sesame sticks, wheat-based, salted 0.91
163 Snacks, sesame sticks, wheat-based, unsalted 0.91
164 Snacks, tortilla chips, ranch-flavor 0.91
165 Fast foods, nachos, with cheese 0.91
166 Snacks, tortilla chips, taco-flavor 0.91
167 Ice creams, chocolate, rich 0.91
168 Pie, coconut custard, commercially prepared 0.91
169 Pastry, Pastelitos de Guava (guava pastries) 0.91
170 Ice creams, chocolate 0.91
171 Cookies, peanut butter, prepared from recipe 0.91
172 Danish pastry, fruit, enriched (includes apple, cinnamon, raisin, lemon, raspberry, strawberry) 0.91
173 Danish pastry, fruit, unenriched (includes apple, cinnamon, raisin, strawberry) 0.91
174 Danish pastry, lemon, unenriched 0.91
175 Danish pastry, raspberry, unenriched 0.91
176 Chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids 0.91
177 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, glazed, enriched (includes honey buns) 0.91
178 Bread stuffing, bread, dry mix, prepared 0.91
179 Pie, egg custard, commercially prepared 0.91
180 Restaurant, family style, French fries 0.9
181 Crackers, wheat, sandwich, with peanut butter filling 0.9
182 Muffins, blueberry, commercially prepared (Includes mini-muffins) 0.9
183 Salad dressing, home recipe, cooked 0.9
184 Pie, coconut creme, commercially prepared 0.9
185 Fast foods, griddle cake sandwich, sausage 0.9
186 Soup, chicken vegetable with potato and cheese, chunky, ready-to-serve 0.9
187 Cream puffs, prepared from recipe, shell, with custard filling 0.9
188 Cheesecake commercially prepared 0.9
189 Snacks, banana chips 0.9
190 Cookies, sugar, prepared from recipe, made with margarine 0.9
191 Crackers, cheese, sandwich-type with peanut butter filling 0.9
192 Potatoes, mashed, prepared from flakes, without milk, whole milk and margarine 0.9
193 Cookies, peanut butter, commercially prepared, regular 0.9
194 Snacks, plantain chips, salted 0.9
195 Salad dressing, thousand island dressing, reduced fat 0.9
196 Candies, praline, prepared-from-recipe 0.9
197 Snacks, granola bars, soft, coated, milk chocolate coating, chocolate chip 0.9
198 Coffee, dry, powder, with whitener, reduced calorie 0.9
199 Snacks, popcorn, oil-popped, microwave, regular flavor 0.9
200 Crackers, standard snack-type, sandwich, with peanut butter filling 0.9
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Is there such a thing as The Perfect Diet?

TL;DR answer is: No.

After many years of being hyper-focussed on nutrition for various purposes including:

  • tackling my own obesity (I tried everything)
  • supplying energy for international kettlebell sport competitions (I learned a lot)
  • and for body composition goals in natural bodybuilding competitions (not sustainable)

I’ve found out there are many ways to skin a cat, some better than others.

My own book ‘Don’t Eat for Winter’ makes the case for avoiding carb+fat combinations, separating them so that you avoid autumnal eating. I believe this combination drives susceptible humans hyperphagic (once you start you can’t stop).

Is it perfect, no. It is a compromise, because we live in a world where all of these foods are available, which is both a blessing and a curse.  We have to figure out how to navigate our environment and be able to eat these foods without becoming obese and unhealthy, so I do suggest eating both carbs and fats, just separate them where possible, because the evidence shows that carbs+fats together are the most valuable to humans (which has to be instinctual). You only need to look at what is served at the front of shops to realise we are addicted to high carb+fat junk (cakes, chocolate, ice creams, crisps/chips and so on).

So what is the perfect diet?  Is it Keto, Carnivore, Vegan, Atkins, Low Fat, High Protein etc., or any of the other plethora of diets out there?  I mean, like religion they can’t all be right can they (lol, not going there!!!)?

Here is a fundamental fact:

Nature is dynamic.

In some parts of the world, you cannot get carbs in spring, unless you dig under ice and snow for roots, which aren’t exceptionally tasty.  In other parts of the world, there are magnificent crops of fruit and grain multiple times a year, but typically meat from livestock isn’t that fatty there.  Even in these places, there are wet/dry seasons.

Why then do all of these diets recommend a static way of eating 24/7/365?

The standard food pyramid is carb heavy. Where I am from (Ireland), you cannot grow sugar or starch in winter.  You can store it, but how long would that have lasted in the past, when hunger set in and with their natural shelf life it wouldn’t have lasted and we would have resorted to hunting (unless extremely organised and safe).

The perfect diet, in my opinion, is one that shifts, is dynamic, and is in tune with nature and that matches an individuals heritage.  For someone like me, perhaps winter is carb light/fat heavy, and summer is carb heavy/fat light. In between we simply adjust the levers appropriately.

Food for thought!

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The Carb+Fat Combo: Podcast with Ivor Cummins

I had a fantastic chat about Don’t Eat for Winter with Ivor Cummins in his studio in Dublin, Ireland.  Be sure and subscribe to Ivor’s podcast: The Fat Emperor

You can find Ivor on twitter @fatemperor and myself @wellboy

We cover a lot of ground in this podcast and really delve into the concept and discuss why it is so difficult for people to get into shape, living in the hyperphagic, obesogenic “infinite autumn” we are exposed to today.

I give some background on the subject and tips on nutrition and training, which hopefully will help people who find it difficult to break through the noise of the nutrition sphere.

For further listening/viewing here are some other Podcasts I have been a guest on that you may be interested in:

Next up is with Dr. Bill Schindler, host of National Geographic’s The Great Human Race.  This interview will take place on November 10th 2019 and you can sign up for free to get access using this link: https://www.donteatforwinter.com/modern-stone-age-diet-series-interview-with-dr-bill-schindler/

Previous Podcasts

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Modern Stone-Age Diet Series interview with Dr. Bill Schindler

I’m so excited to be a part of the line up of amazing speakers for the Modern Stone-age Diet summit with Dr. Bill Schindler, food anthropologist, chef, and host of National Geographic’s television series, “The Great Human Race,” (Find out more about Dr. Schindler).

All of the different nutritional advice out there can be overwhelming and the resulting confusion is a real problem. The guests on this summit have one thing in common – they all use the past as a basis for their philosophy of food, diet, and health.

If you’re thinking about adopting an ancestral diet approach but have no idea where to begin, this online web series is definitely for you! Dr. Schindler has assembled an amazing line up of speakers to help to you to start eating more like our ancestors. Each interview highlights various natural approaches including keto (ketogenic), carnivore, plant based vs animal based diets, and more!  

My discussion focusses on Palaeolithic style nutrition with a seasonal twist i.e. avoid autumnal eating to prevent your body from piling on weight for a winter that never comes and is scheduled for November 10th with Dr. Gary Shlifer and myself (Cian Foley).

Check out all the other amazing speakers and schedule below.

To get all of this information in one place is invaluable resource so make you you grab your FREE ticket NOW!

Keep in touch with me @wellboy on twitter or facebook/donteatforwinter to be reminded closer to the day also and for regular tips on diet and training.

Modern Stone Age Diet Summit Speaker Schedule

  • Day 1: October 28th: Robb Wolf and Brian Sanders
  • Day 2: October 29th: Dr. Richard Wrangham and Dr. Briana Pobiner
  • Day 3: October 30th: Mark Sisson and Caitlin Weeks
  • Day 4: October 31st: Nora Gedgaudas and Pete Evans
  • Day 5: November 1st: Sally Fallon-Morrell and Ann Gibbons
  • Day 6: November 2nd: Lierre Kieth and Sally Norton
  • Day 7: November 3rd: Thosh Collins and Chelsey Luger
  • Day 8: November 4th: Dr. Jack Wolfson and Dr. Stephen Hussey
  • Day 9: November 5th: Dr. Gary Fettke and Marty Kendall
  • Day 10: November 6th: Gabor Erdosi and Michael Rose
  • Day 11: November 7th: Dr. Shawn Baker and Dr. Dominic D’Agostino
  • Day 12: November 8th: Ivor Cummins and Carol Laurie
  • Day 13: November 9th: Danny Vega and Tara Couture
  • Day 14: November 10th: Cian Foley and Dr. Gary Shlifer
  • Day 15: November 11th: Katie Kimball and Genevieve White
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What Causes Overeating? Is Hyperphagia an Autumnal Human Instinct?

What is hyperphagia anyway?

Well, according to Lexico.com (powered by Oxford), hyperphagia is: 

“An abnormally great desire for food; excessive eating.”

Hyperphagia is a medical term, and of course, for some, this is a disorder that requires treatment.  If you believe you suffer from a compulsion to over-eat in an abnormal way, as always, consult with your physician.

I believe hyperphagia is commonplace among humans. Some are affected by it more than others. I suggest that this is why we see so many people battling with weight through exercise, supplements, fad diets and so on over the course of their lives. 

It is just as difficult for us to out-run as it is for a squirrel to out-scurry in autumn.

I believe hyperphagia among humans is exploited and it is why we now have 24-hour drive-through doughnut joints, fast food chains, and shops decorated like Christmas trees with all sorts of sparkly niceties in our faces no matter where we go.  We have nowhere to hide in this hyper-processed junk food gauntlet.

Excessive consumption of junk food is commonplace. We are junk food junkies. So, let’s explore my ideas regarding why this is the case.

Hyperphagia in the Animal Kingdom

Many animals instinctively bulk up in autumn time to survive winter.  Some animals store food externally as a strategy, but many store it internally in the form of body-fat, which can act as both an insulation layer and/or energy buffer to survive the cold until winter ends and spring comes.  Different animals use different strategies.

Examples include:

There are many other animals that gain weight using different food combination available in their environment in autumn. These are just an obvious selection. One of the most common foods these animals use during this fattening period is acorns.  The interesting thing about acorns is the macro-nutrient ratio is unique in a single food in nature at 53% fat, 41% carb and 6% protein (more on that later). 

The animals have different survival strategies, but the net effect is the same.  They become uncontrollably hyperphagic first, and so instinctively eat and eat and eat, adding bodyweight to survive winter using their respective strategies. Some remain active, some rest more, some enter full hibernation.

Are humans seasonal creatures too?

Recently, we are learning a lot about our circadian biology (24 hour cycle).  Many of our biological functions are locked into this daily cycle, and many things like sleep and insulin sensitivity work better when we respect this rhythm.  But do we also have a yearly biological rhythm that follows the seasons like these animals that instinctively store fat for winter?

It can be shown that humans are seasonally adapted in many ways.  Not all of us are the same, but across the species, we have varying seasonal abilities. E.g. we can develop a tan, which is essentially a regulator for the synthesis of vitamin D3.  We tan under strong sunlight, to reduce the amount of sunlight that is absorbed and this regulates the production of D3 from cholesterol as a result.

It was also recently discovered that we can develop and activate brown adipose tissue, or BAT, a layer around our necks and shoulders, which facilitates non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) and allows us to remain warm, in cold environments, so that we do not fall victim to hypothermia so easily.  This becomes more active the more we are exposed to cold.  BAT is an internal heater and thermal insulation layer that humans are born with, but that reduces as we age, perhaps because of non-activation due to warm homes and clothing.

The interesting thing about BAT is that it responds and activates not only by cold, but also by diet (Saito M. et al), and I believe the dietary conditions for this are just right in autumn.

According to a study by Dodd et. al “leptin or insulin ICV infusion alone had little effect on browning, respectively, whereas the co-infusion of insulin and leptin strikingly enhanced browning. In contrast to WAT browning, we found that BAT activity was enhanced by 2–3 fold in response to leptin.”

If you think about the circannual (yearly) harvest cycle, insulin (a hormonal response induced by blood sugar levels) and leptin (fat level hormonal response) should be highest in autumn when carbs are at their maximum in the form of fruit, grains; and nuts also as they harvest alongside the presence of fatter meats (like the pigs and deer mentioned above who fatten during this period).  Not long into winter, carbs perish so the insulin response would be less chronic and lower in amplitude, but leptin would be left high due to higher body fat levels and continued consumption of fatty meats. This means through diet, browning of WAT may occur in autumn as carb+fat combinations are available, and subsequently fired up by cold and leptin levels when dietary carbohydrates wane. I think it’s not a stretch to suggest that this is exactly what happens naturally during the transition from autumn into winter.

“Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly, should proceed thus: in the first place to consider the seasons of the year, and what effects each of them produces, for they are not at all alike…” – Hippocrates

What’s so Special about Acorns?

Acorns are a signature of autumn, the harvest of the lofty oak tree, which is prolific across many continents and vast areas of the Earth. It has the perfect combination of fat:carb:protein to provide the nutrition required to fatten various species.  After the ice age, these magnificent trees spread across the earth over thousands of years and provided shelter and food for a vast array of creatures including human beings. It must have been and incredible environment.

I believe the circannual rhythm also acts as a driver for hyperphagia in animals, among other food combinations that occur in autumn.  Animals do not choose to eat more. Instinct compels them to.  They do not consciously know that winter is coming, However, they are evolutionarily adapted to obey the signals in their environment. 

While we like to think that we are not animals and we are in conscious control of our actions, anyone who has tried to lose weight and keep it off will tell you that we are anything but in conscious control of our eating behaviour.  In the long term, our survival instincts win out over our conscious mind. 

I believe that this signature drives humans into a hyperphagic mode also. Humans are creatures too and are driven by instinct when it comes to mating, eating and pretty much everything relating to survival. 

We like salt, sugar, fat etc., but we value carb+fat more than any other combination This study from Yale, by Dana Small et al.) have shown that it is the most valued combination by humans, but you only need to think about it to realise it is true. Pizza, chocolate, ice-cream, cheese+crackers, fries, deep-fried breaded chicken, doughnuts, pastries, fried rice etc. all sell like hotcakes, which incidentally are a carb+fat combo too).

Humans don’t eat acorns anymore as we need to process acorns to make them palatable (remove tannic acid through boiling/soaking), and they are expensive to harvest. However, they were used by Native Americans for over 4000 years (https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/acorn) and are still used in traditional recipes today. Celts ate them too when Ireland was 100% forested, and the Oak tree was revered. Interestingly, from the book, ‘The Celts: A History’ by Daithi O Hogain, it suggests that the Celtic warriors had to be very careful not to get fat or risk being fined! The battle of the bulge is not a new thing, and perhaps all the acorns caused them these weight gain issues.

It is not just acorns that cause hyperphagia in the animal kingdom, but rather the macronutrient signature.  Interestingly, it matches just one other natural food in the USDA food composition database in an uncanny way, and that is human breast milk, a food that is vital to the survival of humans during a harsh period (moving from fluids to solids during infancy).  Babies gorge and refeed on milk regularly.  Instinct has them hyperphagic in order to grow at a dramatic rate during the first few months of life in the outside world.

Autumn may have required humans to bulk too in order to create an energy buffer and also as a thermal insulation layer and fuel source for energy-hungry brown adipose tissue.

The signature macronutrient profile of acorns is 53% fat, 41% carbohydrate and 6% protein. One of the observations of Don’t Eat for Winter (find out more about the book here) is that many junk foods match this signature in an uncanny way.

The above image is from a tool I created called D.A.D.A.R (DEFoW Autumnal Diet Avoidance Radar) that is being developed (you can check out the beta release at of D.A.D.A.R on www.defowdiet.com).  This shows how close a is to the autumnal macro-nutrient signature of an Acorn.  In the book Don’t Eat for Winter, I term this ‘The Squirrel Formula’.

After developing the tool and searching for and ordering foods closest in proximity to the signature it yielded an abundance of junk food, which I believe has strengthened the autumnal macronutrient ratio hyperphagia hypothesis (see list of top 200 foods below and judge for yourself).

Using the tool, it is very easy to determine how autumnal a particular food is, and I suggest that eating for seasons other than autumn (i.e. winter (low carb / keto), summer (low fat) or spring (high protein), leads to more satiety and as a result less fat gain or fat loss. 

There are many hormonal responses when we eat this combination driving insulin, leptin up, causing ghrelin rebound, releasing dopamine among other responses. We value with by sight, smell, taste and we are affected hormonally.  All of this can be described simply as instinct.

For further reading, Marty Kendal of Optimising Nutrition  has an excellent article here on the subject. Marty also believes that carbs+fats should be watched in the diet and the focus should be on nutrient density.

Dr Ted Naiman also has an excellent tool called the Protein to Energy Ratio, which again prefers lowering carb+fat intake, while increasing protein.  The net effect is carbs+fats should be watched in the diet.

Top 200 Most Autumnal Foods according to DEFoW Squirrel Formula

Following is a list of the 200 most autumnal foods in the USDA Food Composition Database according to distance from Don’t Eat for Winter’s ‘Squirrel formula’ (precisely 53% fat, 41% carb and 6% protein from a calorie point of view).

The USDA Food Composition Database is a database of thousands of foods with their composition data, i.e. macro and micronutrient breakdowns.

This list searches are items from the standard reference (i.e. general foods without specific manufacturer products listed) and compares them to the macronutrient signature of acorns. You can use the tool to insert macros manually from nutritional labels to discover it’s the distance from this macronutrient ratio.

These are single food items, and it does not compare mixtures or recipes (as yet).  It simply scores them and orders them in terms of proximity to the formula.

The list shows foods that are extremely attractive to humans and should strengthen the case that foods high in both carbs+fat causes a similar reaction in human beings. We are drawn to such foods just as bears, pigs, squirrels deer and other creatures are to acorns and other combinations of fruits and nuts in autumn time.

Perhaps eating autumnally causes hyperphagia in us too…

So maybe the best advice is simply to be careful foods with the autumnal signature of high carb+fat together if they may cause you to overeat.  If you can’t stop, don’t start (especially not with junk foods and definitely not every day).

Don’t Eat for Winter!

Position Food Item Proximity to Squirrel Formula
1 Nuts, acorns, raw 1
2 Ice creams, regular, low carbohydrate, vanilla 0.99
3 Candies, carob, unsweetened 0.99
4 Snacks, potato chips, barbecue-flavor 0.99
5 Candies, milk chocolate coated coffee beans 0.98
6 Danish pastry, nut (includes almond, raisin nut, cinnamon nut) 0.98
7 Pie crust, standard-type, dry mix, prepared, baked 0.98
8 Nuts, acorn flour, full fat 0.98
9 Pie crust, standard-type, dry mix 0.98
10 Noodles, chinese, chow mein 0.98
11 Milk, human, mature, fluid 0.98
12 Candies, crispy bar with peanut butter filling 0.98
13 Whipped topping, frozen, low fat 0.98
14 Popcorn, microwave, regular (butter) flavor, made with palm oil 0.98
15 Snacks, popcorn, microwave, regular (butter) flavor, made with partially hydrogenated oil 0.98
16 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, barbecue-flavor 0.98
17 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, barbecue-flavor, made with enriched masa flour 0.98
18 Cookies, brownies, prepared from recipe 0.98
19 Granola bar, soft, milk chocolate coated, peanut butter 0.98
20 Restaurant, Latino, bunuelos (fried yeast bread) 0.98
21 Snacks, potato chips, sour-cream-and-onion-flavor 0.98
22 Candies, milk chocolate, with almonds 0.97
23 Spices, mace, ground 0.97
24 Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched 0.97
25 Ice creams, french vanilla, soft-serve 0.97
26 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, glazed, unenriched (includes honey buns) 0.97
27 Frozen novelties, ice cream type, chocolate or caramel covered, with nuts 0.97
28 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, cones, nacho-flavor 0.97
29 Snacks, popcorn, cheese-flavor 0.97
30 Pie crust, deep dish, frozen, unbaked, made with enriched flour 0.97
31 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, unsalted 0.97
32 Soup, cream of celery, canned, prepared with equal volume water 0.97
33 Fast foods, nachos, with cinnamon and sugar 0.97
34 Snacks, potato sticks 0.97
35 Soup, cream of celery, canned, condensed 0.97
36 Pie crust, deep dish, frozen, baked, made with enriched flour 0.97
37 Nuts, almond paste 0.97
38 Snacks, potato chips, plain, made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salted 0.97
39 Snacks, potato chips, plain, made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil, unsalted 0.97
40 Snacks, potato chips, plain, unsalted 0.97
41 Pinon Nuts, roasted (Navajo) 0.97
42 Doughnuts, cake-type, plain (includes unsugared, old-fashioned) 0.97
43 Snacks, granola bars, soft, coated, milk chocolate coating, peanut butter 0.97
44 Coffeecake, cinnamon with crumb topping, commercially prepared, enriched 0.96
45 Coffeecake, cinnamon with crumb topping, commercially prepared, unenriched 0.96
46 Noodles, flat, crunchy, Chinese restaurant 0.96
47 Pie, chocolate mousse, prepared from mix, no-bake type 0.96
48 Candies, milk chocolate 0.96
49 Danish pastry, cinnamon, enriched 0.96
50 Danish pastry, cinnamon, unenriched 0.96
51 Candies, dark chocolate coated coffee beans 0.96
52 Candies, white chocolate 0.96
53 Candies, milk chocolate, with rice cereal 0.96
54 Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched, baked 0.96
55 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, puffs or twists, cheese-flavor, unenriched 0.96
56 Onion rings, breaded, par fried, frozen, prepared, heated in oven 0.96
57 Potatoes, o’brien, frozen, prepared 0.96
58 Cookies, peanut butter sandwich, special dietary 0.96
59 Snacks, popcorn, oil-popped, white popcorn 0.96
60 Fast foods, onion rings, breaded and fried 0.95
61 Ice creams, vanilla, rich 0.95
62 Ice creams, regular, low carbohydrate, chocolate 0.95
63 Pie, coconut cream, prepared from mix, no-bake type 0.95
64 Snacks, popcorn, home-prepared, oil-popped, unsalted 0.95
65 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, with jelly filling 0.95
66 Keikitos (muffins), Latino bakery item 0.95
67 Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, chocolate wafer, chilled 0.95
68 Snacks, granola bar, with coconut, chocolate coated 0.95
69 Snacks, potato chips, cheese-flavor 0.95
70 Cookies, peanut butter, refrigerated dough 0.95
71 Cookies, peanut butter, refrigerated dough, baked 0.95
72 Tomatoes, sun-dried, packed in oil, drained 0.95
73 Danish pastry, cheese 0.95
74 Snacks, potato chips, plain, salted 0.95
75 Snacks, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, cheese-flavor 0.95
76 Snacks, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, sour-cream and onion-flavor 0.95
77 Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, unbaked 0.95
78 Ice creams, vanilla 0.95
79 Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, baked 0.95
80 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, puffs or twists, cheese-flavor 0.94
81 Whipped cream substitute, dietetic, made from powdered mix 0.94
82 Cookies, shortbread, commercially prepared, pecan 0.94
83 Potatoes, mashed, dehydrated, prepared from flakes without milk, whole milk and butter added 0.94
84 Candies, sesame crunch 0.94
85 Potatoes, frozen, french fried, par fried, extruded, unprepared 0.94
86 Fast foods, potato, baked and topped with sour cream and chives 0.94
87 Doughnuts, cake-type, plain, chocolate-coated or frosted 0.94
88 Soup, cream of vegetable, dry, powder 0.94
89 Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, unenriched 0.94
90 Cookies, chocolate chip, prepared from recipe, made with butter 0.94
91 Cream substitute, powdered 0.94
92 Chocolate, dark, 45- 59% cacao solids 0.94
93 Candies, truffles, prepared-from-recipe 0.94
94 Cookies, chocolate chip, prepared from recipe, made with margarine 0.94
95 Chocolate, dark, 60-69% cacao solids 0.94
96 Alcoholic beverage, liqueur, coffee with cream, 34 proof 0.94
97 Doughnuts, cake-type, wheat, sugared or glazed 0.94
98 Spices, nutmeg, ground 0.94
99 Potato pancakes 0.94
100 Cheese, gjetost 0.94
101 Pie, chocolate creme, commercially prepared 0.94
102 Fast foods, potatoes, hashed brown 0.93
103 Onion rings, breaded, par fried, frozen, unprepared 0.93
104 Pie, vanilla cream, prepared from recipe 0.93
105 Side dishes, potato salad 0.93
106 Chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread 0.93
107 Dessert topping, powdered, 1.5 ounce prepared with 1/2 cup milk 0.93
108 Potatoes, frozen, french fried, par fried, extruded, prepared, heated in oven, without salt 0.93
109 Doughnuts, cake-type, plain, sugared or glazed 0.93
110 Snacks, tortilla chips, nacho cheese 0.93
111 Croissants, butter 0.93
112 Snack, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, plain 0.93
113 Fast foods, french toast sticks 0.93
114 Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, vanilla wafer, chilled 0.93
115 Creamy dressing, made with sour cream and/or buttermilk and oil, reduced calorie, cholesterol-free 0.93
116 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, plain 0.93
117 Candies, sweet chocolate 0.92
118 Dessert topping, powdered 0.92
119 Salad dressing, mayonnaise, imitation, milk cream 0.92
120 Puff pastry, frozen, ready-to-bake, baked 0.92
121 Crackers, standard snack-type, regular, low salt 0.92
122 Snacks, granola bars, hard, almond 0.92
123 Snacks, tortilla chips, nacho-flavor, made with enriched masa flour 0.92
124 Puff pastry, frozen, ready-to-bake 0.92
125 Pie, banana cream, prepared from recipe 0.92
126 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, flaked, packaged 0.92
127 Pie crust, refrigerated, regular, unbaked 0.92
128 Pie crust, refrigerated, regular, baked 0.92
129 Candies, milk chocolate coated peanuts 0.92
130 Gravy, mushroom, canned 0.92
131 Potato salad, home-prepared 0.92
132 Fast foods, coleslaw 0.92
133 Crackers, standard snack-type, regular 0.92
134 Salad dressing, buttermilk, lite 0.92
135 Salad dressing, ranch dressing, reduced fat 0.92
136 Eclairs, custard-filled with chocolate glaze, prepared from recipe 0.92
137 Candies, semisweet chocolate 0.92
138 Candies, semisweet chocolate, made with butter 0.92
139 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, flaked, canned 0.92
140 Soup, broccoli cheese, canned, condensed, commercial 0.92
141 Potatoes, hashed brown, frozen, plain, prepared 0.92
142 Bread stuffing, cornbread, dry mix, prepared 0.92
143 Crackers, cheese, low sodium 0.92
144 Crackers, cheese, regular 0.92
145 Cake, pound, commercially prepared, butter 0.92
146 Crackers, wheat, sandwich, with cheese filling 0.92
147 Crackers, cheese, sandwich-type with cheese filling 0.92
148 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, shredded 0.92
149 Soup, mushroom, dry, mix, prepared with water 0.91
150 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, with creme filling 0.91
151 Snacks, corn-based, extruded, cones, plain 0.91
152 Soup, cream of chicken, dry, mix, prepared with water 0.91
153 Pie, pecan, prepared from recipe 0.91
154 Fast foods, potato, french fried in vegetable oil 0.91
155 Pie, banana cream, prepared from mix, no-bake type 0.91
156 Cookies, peanut butter, commercially prepared, soft-type 0.91
157 Croissants, cheese 0.91
158 Candies, confectioner’s coating, yogurt 0.91
159 Sweet rolls, cheese 0.91
160 Soup, cream of mushroom, low sodium, ready-to-serve, canned 0.91
161 Fast foods, danish pastry, cheese 0.91
162 Snacks, sesame sticks, wheat-based, salted 0.91
163 Snacks, sesame sticks, wheat-based, unsalted 0.91
164 Snacks, tortilla chips, ranch-flavor 0.91
165 Fast foods, nachos, with cheese 0.91
166 Snacks, tortilla chips, taco-flavor 0.91
167 Ice creams, chocolate, rich 0.91
168 Pie, coconut custard, commercially prepared 0.91
169 Pastry, Pastelitos de Guava (guava pastries) 0.91
170 Ice creams, chocolate 0.91
171 Cookies, peanut butter, prepared from recipe 0.91
172 Danish pastry, fruit, enriched (includes apple, cinnamon, raisin, lemon, raspberry, strawberry) 0.91
173 Danish pastry, fruit, unenriched (includes apple, cinnamon, raisin, strawberry) 0.91
174 Danish pastry, lemon, unenriched 0.91
175 Danish pastry, raspberry, unenriched 0.91
176 Chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids 0.91
177 Doughnuts, yeast-leavened, glazed, enriched (includes honey buns) 0.91
178 Bread stuffing, bread, dry mix, prepared 0.91
179 Pie, egg custard, commercially prepared 0.91
180 Restaurant, family style, French fries 0.9
181 Crackers, wheat, sandwich, with peanut butter filling 0.9
182 Muffins, blueberry, commercially prepared (Includes mini-muffins) 0.9
183 Salad dressing, home recipe, cooked 0.9
184 Pie, coconut creme, commercially prepared 0.9
185 Fast foods, griddle cake sandwich, sausage 0.9
186 Soup, chicken vegetable with potato and cheese, chunky, ready-to-serve 0.9
187 Cream puffs, prepared from recipe, shell, with custard filling 0.9
188 Cheesecake commercially prepared 0.9
189 Snacks, banana chips 0.9
190 Cookies, sugar, prepared from recipe, made with margarine 0.9
191 Crackers, cheese, sandwich-type with peanut butter filling 0.9
192 Potatoes, mashed, prepared from flakes, without milk, whole milk and margarine 0.9
193 Cookies, peanut butter, commercially prepared, regular 0.9
194 Snacks, plantain chips, salted 0.9
195 Salad dressing, thousand island dressing, reduced fat 0.9
196 Candies, praline, prepared-from-recipe 0.9
197 Snacks, granola bars, soft, coated, milk chocolate coating, chocolate chip 0.9
198 Coffee, dry, powder, with whitener, reduced calorie 0.9
199 Snacks, popcorn, oil-popped, microwave, regular flavor 0.9
200 Crackers, standard snack-type, sandwich, with peanut butter filling 0.9
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DEFoW makes Best Sellers List for Weight Loss Diet Books (Amazon US)

Don’t Eat for Winter was in the top 50 best sellers list on Amazon Kindle US List for Weight Loss Diets (position 49th at time of writing) 17th September 2019, 11am

Irish Author, Cian Foley, from Waterford City, works as a software developer for a successful high tech company, NearForm, based out of Tramore. At 35 years of age he was obese weighing 256lbs. 8 years later, at 43, he weighs 166lbs (90lb loss) and has been competing in bodybuilding competitions for the past 2 years.  Last year he won bronze in the Men’s Physique category of the NBFI national championships and this year was runner up in the masters bodybuilding category, which was held on 1st September at Firkin Crane theatre in Cork.

Cian published Don’t Eat for Winter in 2017 and has been tweeting about his concept regarding weight loss since then, but more than talking the talk he walks the walk.

“I’m a natural bodybuilder these days (never thought I’d say that). Being natural means I’m smaller than a lot of bodybuilders you’d see on Instagram, but this is the best I could achieve without taking any performance enhancing drugs or testosterone of any nature ever.  Every little bit of muscle I have is from modest weight training sessions after work, and applying my anti-autumnal nutrition concept. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved given I have struggled with weight my entire life.”

The Don’t Eat for Winter concept is simple.  The world today is an infinite autumn and so anyone that has the ability to gain weight piles on pounds and pounds over years and years preparing their bodies for a winter that never comes.  Through eating anti-autumnally, a person can reverse this and spring back into their summer body.

The concept sounds simple but Cian believes that it is combinations of carbs and fats together that are the crux of the problem for many reasons.

“We love this combination, think pizza, chocolate, donuts, pastries, crisps, ice-cream and various natural combinations, sweet and savoury, like buttery potatoes (sorry Ireland), apple tart and trail mix.  A recent study by Dana Small of Yale University showed we value this combination more than any other. I believe this is because it is an autumnal combination and it drives us hyperphagic the same as many other mammals that are seasonal.  Just look at where these foods are placed in garages, supermarkets, cafes etc., our impulses are driven nuts (pardon the autumnal pun)”

Cian believes this is a specific formula we’ve hit on through market feedback and what sells best, and suggests that junk foods match the signature of autumn in an uncanny way.

“Given my software background I’m pretty good with data etc.  I used the acorn, the signature of autumn, as a starting point: a food used to fatten bears, squirrels and iberian pigs. Celts and Native Americans used to store and eat them too.  I searched for other foods matching this combination closely in the USDA food composition database. It turns that it matches a list as long as your arm of junk foods in an absolutely uncanny way.”

 

Can you tell the above 3 charts apart? The 3 axis represent calorie % from protein at the top, fat on the right, and carbs on the left. It depicts the macros of acorns,  donuts and ice-cream respectively.

“If you think about it, we are designed to put on a little fat to survive the cold and as a back-up energy supply to survive food shortages of winter. It goes a lot deeper than that but this is the basics.  In autumn carbs harvest heavily in the form of fruit and grain and we also see nuts appear, it’s not difficult to combine these to achieve what I term ‘the squirrel formula’. It makes us hyperphagic (insatiable) and put on weight, but we no longer need the insulation or the back up energy insurance policy because we never experience winter nowadays, with modern heating and endless food supply, and so never lose weight, unless of course we simulate it, through diet”

The diet is about keeping these combinations to a minimum, but it allows for eating fat, protein, carbohydrates and fibre within mainstream nutritional guidelines.

“I’m not an extremist when it comes to diet, there are many beliefs out there about what’s best, including low carb, low fat, carnivore, keto, plant based and so on.  Diets that work best seem to weigh heavily towards one energy source, either carbs or fats e.g. the traditional recommendations were low fat, and atkins/keto/low carb is the opposite, the truth may be that both styles work because the lowest common denominator is that they implicitly avoid carb+fat together, that’s my observation.”

Cian suggests eating a healthy fat focussed breakfast which is low carb, and a carb focussed evening meal which is low fat, separated by a fibre focussed lunch is a good method.  He states that all meals should contain a suitable protein source, and low GI fibrous veg can be eaten with all meals.

“I vary my diet a lot but an example day for me might be something like scrambled eggs and rashers for breakfast (without the toast), fish, poultry, or meat with lots of salad for lunch, and then a lean protein and carb dinner in the evening e.g. potatoes/rice, vegetables and lean fish/meat/poultry.  It’s not difficult, it’s varied and I’m never hungry. Vegetarians and vegans can also apply it using suitable protein sources.”

Fat shaming has become a major topic recently with celebrities like James Corden hitting out recently at comments made by Bill Maher.

Cian has had experience of this during his life too.

“My nickname in school was Chubby, I’ve fought weight as long as I can remember, it’s not helpful to tell someone they are fat. That won’t make them thin, it will only make them sad and depressed. I know what it’s like and only escaped through knowledge. It was a long road back to for me but thankfully I did and have sustained the weight loss for many years.”

“All I can say to people suffering is that it’s not your fault, you’re not lazy. You are a victim of an obesogenic environment, that’s treacherous to navigate without knowledge.  You cannot out-run this environment with exercise, believe me I tried. It all centres around smart nutrition and I had discover my own approach because nothing every worked for me.”

Cian competing in the NBFI Championships in Cork City, 2019 where he was runner up in the Masters Category (over 40s). Photo Credit: Kest

“In terms of exercise I believe resistance training is a must if you want to effect change. Cardio is important too but you don’t need to punish yourself.  Getting out into nature is also very important. I train 5x a week weights for 1 hr sessions but that’s to compete, most people would get in really good shape with 3x resistance sessions and some cardio every other day like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking, spinning etc. To get results from it, the diet is the key to unlocking your ideal phenotype.”

Don’t Eat for Winter is available on Amazon Kindle and has made it to the top 100 in weight loss diet books on Amazon Us and has received some great reviews.

“I’m really chuffed to be honest, so many experts on Twitter and elsewhere have given me encouragement from my own doctor, Dr. Mark Rowe, who wrote the foreword in the book, to Dr. Ted Naiman, a US doctor with an incredible natural physique on Twitter,  who said it’s ‘Very Smart’ and that ‘The hyperphagia of carbs and fats together is brilliantly described in this book. Well worth a read. A fantastic approach.’ in his Amazon review”

“More than this though are the reviews and message I’ve received regularly from readers, one lady told me she has her husband and the father of her children back after losing 5 and a half stone. I was emotional reading the message, and it has made the effort of putting it out there worthwhile for me.”

You can follow Cian on twitter @wellboy or on facebook.com/donteatforwinter

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The Rise of Obesity and How to Make It Stop

Obesity is on the rise across the world almost universally and it doesn’t show signs of stopping.  There are 10 times more kids obese now than there was 40 years ago and if we don’t do something, and quick, we are just going to become sicker and sicker as a race.

It is easy to blame carbs for the obesity crisis and lots of people do, especially if they’ve had success losing weight on a high fat diet.  It is also easy to blame fat for the obesity crisis and lots of people do especially if they’ve had success on a low fat diet (and this has been the recommended advice for decades).  Then there’s the calories in calories out (CICO) argument, where some believe it is purely energy balance (and perhaps it is), but often the subtlety of the metabolism changes caused by foods are not considered, or the satiety or lack thereof induced by certain food combos.

My own person belief has been that both approaches work for a very simple reason i.e. carbs+fat combos are autumnal, and by avoiding foods with this signature, you avoid hyperphagia (uncontrolled urge to eat), calorie input and maximise the time you have oxidising fat.  I’ve written previous articles on hormones impacted by carb+fat combos and on adult brown adipose tissue (BAT) etc. to make the case that human beings are seasonally adapted creatures.

I’ve been seeking proof of this concept for some time and over time more and more emerges.  Marty Kendall of Optimising Nutrition shows how analysis of a half million days worth of myfitnesspal data which highlights the fact that the people who ate most calories were those who ate carbs+fat in an almost equal ratio.  I sent Marty a message about the autumnal squirrel formula of 50% fat 40% carb and 10% protein and showed him how many junk foods match the signature of acorns (a major autumnal food for hyperphagic bears and squirrels), and human breast milk (a food designed to make human infants as fat as possible in as short a space of time as possible to aid early survival, which is a universal formula among humans) and how various junk foods like donuts and ice-cream match this signature perfectly.  He expanded this list using his nutrient optimiser tool and found a list of 30+ junk foods that match the signature and only 2 natural foods were shown on this list… you guessed it: acorns and breastmilk!

Read this fascinating article on optimising nutrition https://optimisingnutrition.com/2018/06/23/dont-eat-for-winter/

Recently, I had a hunch that if I compared macronutrients eaten by nations across the globe (without considering calories) and compared this with obesity rankings I would find a trend whereby as fat and carbs converge, obesity would rise accordingly.

So I searched for the data and found 2 individual sets of data that would allow me to correlate the information.

a) WHO data on prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30kg/m2) (2016)  ref: https://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/ 

Tabular data obtained from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass_index#cite_note-3

b) FAO Statistics Division 2010, Food Balance Sheets, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy http://faostat.fao.org/

Tabular data obtained from http://chartsbin.com/view/1160

I whittled down the common countries so that I would have the headings and ranked the countries from lowest levels of obesity to highest and converted that to a percentage value.

Country, Obesity Rank, Carbs, Fats, Protein

Then it was simply a matter of plotting that data against the carb, fat and protein percentages (click to enlarge).

I think the graph says it all really but let me explain what my interpretation and conclusion is:

  • As carbs and fats converge, obesity levels rise, this trend is clear from the graph
  • Protein remains the same, the reason the patterns of carbs and fat mirror is because they make up 100% so as carbs increase fat decreases and vice versa
  • This is without consideration of calories, I am not denying that there is a relationship between carb+fat macros and calories (there is), but this is clearly showing a trend based on macronutrient selection.   The relationship I believe here is that carb+fat combos like fatty meat and bread, donuts, syrupy coffees etc. drive hyperphagia, a hunger that can never be satisfied for a creature that is hardwired to understand winter is coming.
  • It is important to note that this is % calories from fat and not grams (1g of fat is 9 cals, but when we’re talking percentages we are looking at it from an energy point of view).

The following graph looks at female BMI as % vs macros, the relationship may even be clearer here (the gaps are wider when obesity is lower).

My conclusion therefore is that it seems evident that obesity rises as carbs and fats converge, globally, without considering calorie intake.

This is potentially driven by a hyperphagic survival response in humans due to macronutrient ratios (e.g. autumn = carb+fat).

There are no diets recorded with higher levels of fat than carbs, though it is obvious that this would be the case in countries further from the equator in winter, as photosynthesis is required to create sugars and starches, therefore in non farming communities in times past, they would have had very little access to carbohydrates in winter as opposed to late summer during the harvest.  I believe this is the key to why high fat low carb diets are effective.  The simulate winter and spring.

The following images is a hypothetical graph showing the circannual changes in fat, protein and carb levels available during our early history, and the hormonal responses of our bodies.

BAT Fat Natural Annual Cycle - Don't Eat for Winter

Counties where there are many crops of fruit per year (closer to the equator), tend to be high carb low fat, however, people from these countries are not immune to carb+fat combos and seem just as programmed to gorge on this type of food.  I’m not sure the implications of this but it stands to reason if our species dates back to the beginning of time where an uncountable number of migrations may have occurred during various climate change events.

The bottom line is that eating autumnally in every meal and snack, as per diets in many countries now, which are all tending towards more carb+fat combos in every meal, snack and beverages (milkshakes, syrupy coffees etc)., means autumnal hyperphagia and resulting weight gain.

Problems: in the graph above you can see the clear trend but some of the carb+fat data varies quite wildly from country to country.  This could be for various reasons including but not limited to:

  • Levels of manual labour vs sedentary lifestyles
  • Types of carbs and fats e.g. fibrous wholefood sources vs refined starches, sugars and fats
  • Longevity (typically weight gain increases with age, a younger population should correlate with less obesity)
  • Levels of sunlight available
  • Ethnicity factors (ability to deal with sugars and fats based on geographic latitude and ancestral diets).

A recent study by Dana Small et al showed that humans value carbs+fat more by sight alone, and this is evident in shops as they are front loaded with high carb+fat junk foods.  Fauxtom foods?

https://news.yale.edu/2018/06/14/fat-and-carb-combo-creates-stronger-food-craving

Another recent study found that mice got fat on diets made up of up to 60% fats but then became less obese as fat percentages went higher.  Finding out this figure in human beings would be useful.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413118303929?via%3Dihub

I predict that it is approximately 50% fat, 40% carb and 10% protein that causes the most damage (the signature of acorns and human breast milk) and it would be useful to run trials to discover this once and for all.

Time will tell.

If you want to find out more about this hypothesis, and discover a sustainable anti-autumal eating strategy/pattern that includes carbs and fats in daily diet, check out my book ‘Don’t Eat for Winter’ on Amazon or explore the other blogs on this site.

 

 

 

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Introducing ‘The Carb Pyramid’

The Carb Pyramid

I have always been a little frustrated with the food pyramid in terms of how carbohydrate heavy it is with all the harvest foods at the lower levels.  It got me thinking about how it could potentially be improved to help people lower the amounts of sugar and starch in their diets holistically.

Governments and health organisations seem to be in denial that starch converts readily into sugar (a quick search for the top item on the glycemic index is quite shocking, have a look yourself when you’re finished reading this).

This seems  obvious, but lots of people are missing this point:

Carbs  harvest in a circannual cycle (as they rely on the sun) and so only exist in abundance in autumn. 

There’s no starch in March.

As a result, I believe that starch and sugar are part of the formula that causes animals to gorge in preparation for winter.

Recently, the food pyramid was altered, and now vegetables and fruit appear on the bottom rung, which was a welcome move, however there are things like bananas and orange juice on that level which I think do not belong there as they have significant amounts of sugar/starch in them.

So, for what it’s worth, here is my own version of a food pyramid but rather than including staples like protein and fat in the pyramid itself (which are just as important as carbs in the diet if not more so), I’ve created the main pyramid to consider what types of carbs should be prioritised in the diet.

The Carb Pyramid
Click here to download The Carb Pyramid PDF

The Carb Pyramid Explained

The Levels:

  1. Junk appears at the top as normal and should be limited to occasional treats.
  2. Semi-processed foods where wholefoods have their skin removed, or there’s been sugar added.
  3. Typical carbs like potatoes and whole grains, where both the fibre (e.g. bran) is eaten with the food
  4. Fruit and Veg that have a high GI but a low glycemic load (i.e. you’d have to eat a lot more to get the same amount of carb as level 3)
  5. Finally, we have low GI fruit and veg which can be eaten in much larger quantities because there’s low amounts of sugar/starch

Fat and Protein Vectors:

The double arrow on the left means protein should be eaten with all levels (especially 3-5).

The fading arrow on the right means fats should be eaten with lower gi foods

Why avoid Carbs+Fat?

The key reason behind avoiding high carbs+fat is satiety.  Recent studies have shown this combination is more valued by humans and can cause hormonal responses that drive greater reward signals to the brain and potentially addictive like behaviour. They also affect other hormones like ghrelin, leptin and insulin. For this, and various other reasons explained in Don’t Eat for Winter and on this website, this autumnal combination of simultaneous carbs+fat is limited in order to control appetite and retard potential fat storage.

The premise of DEFoW is that the spike of carbs in autumn, combined with fats, causes hyperphagia in the animal kingdom (we observe this with bears and squirrels and pigs fattening from things like acorns, which are the only wholefood in nature with a high carb+fat signature), and that this phenomenon could still be active in human beings. We are seasonally adapted creatures as we can develop a winter thermal layer of fat called brown adipose tissue that uses regular white fat as a fuel source. It therefore stands to reason that we would need to also store fat during autumn to survive winter, just like other animals in order to give us our best chance at making it through to the following spring.

Unfortunately in today’s world, we eat this autumnal combo in every single meal and snack (junk foods match acorns in an uncanny way), all year round, and so we are putting on weight indefinitely in anticipation of a winter that never happens.

Spring into your Summer Body with Don’t Eat for Winter…

…the Anti-Autumnal Diet

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Human Hyperphagia – How to control binge eating!

Do you often just keep snacking uncontrollably? “I’ll just have one more biscuit” or when eating a takeaway eat more than you thought you would? Often it’s even stronger after a crash diet.

Don’t worry, it’s a normal part of being a creature from planet earth, especially if your ancestors adapted to seasonal climates.

This week is fat bear week and they can put on an incredible 4lbs a day before hibernation. This is so they can survive a cruel winter and sleep for up to 6 months. They undergo hyperphagia, an uncontrollable instinctual desire to eat  in order that they can survive winter.

Though we humans do not hibernate, we are seasonal creatures too to varying degrees. It was recently discovered that adult humans can develop brown adipose tissue or BAT FAT, a special type of fat that has thermic properties that assist winter survival.  There two ways to develop this are via autumnal triggers from diet (high insulin and leptin levels, pointing to autumnal carbs+fat) and exposure to cold (also autumnal).

We don’t need to develop BAT any more (modern heating, and food availability) and typically we never do as the conditions for it do not ever happen in the modern world. However, we can develop the precursor to brown fat in abundance i.e. white adipose tissue (WAT, the stuff that jiggles), which is necessary in order for brown fat to develop.

I propose we suffer from hyperphagia collectively because of our modern food environment, and I believe many of us trigger it daily because of the hormonal and chemical impact of the foods available to us.  Essentially, we trigger ancient autumnal instincts that encourage us to develop fat because our bodies believe winter is coming, just like bears instincts are telling them this week.

The main food available to bears at the moment is ACORNS… a fun acronym for acorns is Autumnal Causing Rapid Obesity in Nature.  Check out the chart from  on the Wise About Bears website, courtesy of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources…

A Bears Quest for Food

From the chart you can see that the main food bears are eating during Fat Bear Week (#fatbearweek), is acorns, and it seems this food from the great oak tree protects these vulnerable creatures through fat storage for winter survival. The profile of acorns has been discussed often on this site and in  ‘Don’t Eat for Winter’.  It matches just one other natural food in an uncanny way: Human Breast Milk! A food designed to help human infants become hardy and survive a vulnerable period (a perfectly healthy food for vulnerable infants of course).  The only other foods matching this signature from the USDA food composition database is a list of junk foods.  Energy dense and hyper-palatable triggering fat storage instincts.

This food macro ratio is good for bears and babies through natural foods like acorns and breast milk, which have other nutrients they need too, but for adults who are no longer vulnerable in winter time, perhaps not so much.  I suggest that this is why junk makes us gorge and become fat. They trigger these instincts within us and you simply cannot outwit instinct with willpower. It is therefore ridiculous to blame obesity on lack of willpower or laziness.  Squirrels and bears are anything but lazy as they gorge in autumn to survive the winter, if anything they’re more active than ever before they begin resting up.  If they cannot out run autumn, how can we, when we have sedentary jobs which compounds the issue.

Although humans don’t eat acorns (some tribes did over winter like celts and native americans), we do eat combos with the exact same signature, and these are the foods that do the damage to out waistlines.

E.g. popcorn on it’s own is meh, butter on it’s own is yuck, but together (carbs+fat) and you’d eat a whole bucket of it and we pay through the nose for the privelege for something that costs close to nothing to make. A recent scientific paper shows how we value such foods more, and other papers show cafeteria diets cause excessive eating in rodents.  Yet another paper shows how fats increase the dopamine effects of carbs through endocannibanoids.

Others notable combos include…

Donuts (carbs+fat)
Chocolate (carbs+fat)
Pastries (carbs+fat)
Buttery popcorn (carbs+fat)
Crisps (carbs+fat)
Syrupy coffees (carbs+fat)
Pizza, burgers and fries (carbs+fat)
Biscuits (carbs+fat)
Ice cream (carbs+fat)

There are also more natural, nutritious combos too that hit this formula like fruit and nuts, apple tart, potatoes and fatty meat etc. that we should be careful of too if management of bodyfat levels is sought.

These sort of foods set me off into a gorge frenzy because they prime my instincts, my pupils dilate and it doesn’t matter how much willpower i have, I’ll make excuses to get more of it into me… a little demon on my shoulder having a dialog with me whispering, “one more will do no harm” until I get to the last one and then it’s “sure you might aswell eat the last one, what difference will it make?”

I don’t feel guilt when this happens anymore, I know it’s not because I’m weak, it’s because millions of years of evolution lead to me liking foods like this more than others because they assisted my ancestors survival and I inherited the gift to be able to survive times that were less plentiful.

High carb+fat foods and food combinations can only exist in nature in autumn and so what is happening is the earth itself becomes a protective mother for her inhabitants and we gorge and get hardy for winter. Nowadays, foods that traditionally would only appear in autumn are now available all day every day, all year round.  I believe this is a major factor in, if not the fundamental cause of, the obesity and the world’s ongoing battle with weight.  Most of us find it difficult to get into really good shape and it is the environment, not us that is to blame.

This is what DEFoW is about more than anything else. Avoiding hyperphagia, and controlling appetite, so that we’re not continually snacking for the sake of it. This is what I mean by anti-autumnal eating and why it’s the lowest common denominator of many diets that people swear by like low carb and low fat (which are at loggerheads for this obvious reason – they both avoid simultaneous carbs+fat).

DEFoW is the first method of eating that consciously removes the formula that causes this gorges by avoiding the autumnal combo of carbs+fats in the same sitting.  It doesn’t avoid either carbs or fat just the combo (which you can then choose to savour from time to time in moderation, we all need to cut loose now and again).

The data, the science, the deceptions, the commercialism, the law changes, the diets and the problems we face with weight globally all point to this highly palatable combo as being the key to the problem we need to solve.

Knowledge means avoidance is possible and you can choose when to indulge and when to stop through preventing triggering of instinct on your terms.  As stated in Don’t Eat for Winter, we cannot fight instinct with willpower alone and things can be a lot easier once we stop triggering these instincts buried within our programming.

I hope this helps people out there. Eating anti-autumnally has freed many from the infinite autumn we are subjected to daily and continues to receive positive feedback, which is hugely encouraging.