Today’s guest post comes courtesy of San Antonio based personal trainer, Jonathan Acosta. Some of you may remember a previous post Jonathan wrote for this site – Carbohydrate Rotation Revamped – which was big hit.
Today he covers gluten. But not in a way that’s going to wave his uppity, yoga class going, Prius driving, Whole Foods shopping, I-made-these-delish-gluten-free-chocolate-peanut-butter-brownies-sprinkled -with-fat-free-fairy-dust-that-you-just-have-to-try finger at us.
He understands that Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance does exists, and that for some, avoiding gluten at all costs is kind of important.
However, he also recognizes that for most people, like 99% of us, gluten is not the evil stepchild it’s made out to be…and that there are other, more incendiary culprits in play when it comes to our growing waistlines.
In short: just a little tough love. Enjoy!
Glutton Free
Have you seen the movie This Is the End? You know the one with all the funny comedians and the end of the world.
If you haven’t, there’s a part in the beginning where Seth Rogan is explaining to Jay Baruchel about how he’s eating better and they can’t go to Carl’s Jr because he’s staying away from gluten. Jay then proceeds to make fun of him because of how ill informed he is of gluten and they end up at Carls Jr.
Why am I telling you this?
Because,
1 – EVERYONE needs to see that movie.
2 – Most people are ill informed about gluten and automatically assume they are allergic to gluten and think its clean eating. Even most docs are ill informed about it.
People going on a “health kick” assume that this is it. This is the magic piece they’ve been missing in order to reach their goals.
Eureka! Its gluten!
Im gonna go gluten free and get so (ripped, toned, sexy, insert any diet-related adjective here) because Dr. Oz said so.
The problem is most people don’t even know what gluten is. I really don’t want to go too in depth with gluten because its not the main topic of this post, and a simple google search can explain it better than I can.
In a nutshell a gluten is a protein that’s naturally found in wheat and other grains. Not every grain has it (quinoa and rice are the first two that come to mind).
People with Celiac disease are the main population that should be avoiding these as they cause a whole heap of health problems including low immune system, pain and bloating, fatigue ect. I’ll admit that some people who don’t have celiac disease can also benefit with removing gluten from their diet as well.
But those are few and far in between.
Note from TG: For those interested in reading more about gluten – what it is, what it isn’t, who should avoid it, what effects it may have, etc – I’d encourage you to read THIS article from Precision Nutrition.
Disclaimer: Im not a doctor nor do I pretend to be. But in my opinion, unless you have legit, genuine, and aggressive celiac disease, I see no need to be anal (A friend dared me $5 that I couldn’t use this word in a post, cha ching!) and go through the trouble of removing gluten from their diet.
Will it help a bit if you feel bloated and have some G.I. issues? Maybe. Will it help you get amazing fat loss or muscle building results? Not likely. You see gluten isn’t the really the culprit.
Even gluten free foods can be “bad”.
Contrary to popular belief many food items that are “gluten free” are still processed and refined.
Not to mention that gluten free doesn’t automatically mean healthy for you. Just the other day my wife and I were at a restaurant when I overheard the table next to us tell the waitress “let me get the gluten free pizza, I’m eating healthy and that’s the only gluten free item on the menu”.
I glanced at the menu and saw tons of lean protein and veggie options that would’ve been a better replacement for her goals.
Here’s the thing and my point of all this: Gluten isn’t the problem. The problem is it’s homonym. The problem is glutton.
Glutton – To over indulge, over eat, over drink, or too much wealth to the point of extravagance or waste.
Maybe we got it wrong. Maybe when the nutrition gods sent down the Seven Deadly Nutrition Sins we misinterpreted them.
Maybe we were like “What does that say? Gluten? Oh I get it, thou shall not eat gluten duh!”
I’m no expert, but maybe you shouldn’t be getting on a gluten free diet and get on a glutton free diet instead.
Maybe the real problem is the over indulging.
Food portions have become so crazy and well, disproportionate, that what was once considered one serving in any typical restaurant can now, technically, feed two (sometimes more) people.
Without realizing it, you’ve doubled your serving size every time you eat out. Pay attention to what you’re eating. Be mindful of the portion size you’re eating. You don’t have to eat like a baby bird, but you don’t have to eat like a gluttonous T-rex either.
This is why one of my favorite go to tips to revamp results with my clients is to have them weigh and measure their food.
I get it, its all the rage right now to revolt against weighing and measuring and counting macros and calories. It sucks, and it sucks the enjoyment out of eating food. But the truth is…even if you don’t weigh or measure food, your body does.
Here’s what I propose: For 99% of people, 99% of the time, including YOU, all you really need to do is pay more attention to what and how much you’re eating vs. if it has gluten.
What would be a better choice for your fat loss or muscle building goals? A steak, jasmine rice, and veggies? Or a gluten free pizza?
Yeah, yeah, yeah….calories in vs. calories out (and portion sizes) matter – so you technically could make a case for both – but lets cut through the BS and act like adults here.
Change gluten free to glutton free and watch things change.
