Hey,
I was asked to check out two local BBQ restaurants and provide you with some better choices when eating there. Smoking Buns and Whole Hog are both favorite restaurants of mine. However, local restaurants provide a problem due to there being no nutrition guides for individual menu items. So I’m going to provide you the best choice using my modified Whole 30 guidelines to eating.
The Whole 30 much like the paleo link I asked you to read this week is a food process that focuses on providing nutrient dense food and restricting foods that can have a negative impact on health. I would encourage anyone wanting to improve their health through diet to read “It Starts with Food” by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. This program is very restrictive but very effective for individuals with autoimmune diseases. I have modified some of the rules to make it less restrictive because I know many of you will read the first paragraph or two and say forget this.
So what are Jeff’s modified Whole 30 rules.
- Strive to eat food with lots of nutrients (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants)
- Eat plenty of protein: Meat, fish, and eggs.
- Eat lots of vegetables.
- Eat whole fruit.
- Eat oils like olive oil and coconut oil.
- Avoid grains. bread, pasta and rice.
- Avoid processed foods and sugar.
- Avoid alcohol.
So when it comes to BBQ the first thing you must do is ditch the sandwich. Have the pulled pork, ribs, beef brisket, pork loin or chicken with slaw by itself. Be conservative with the sauce because it’s generally loaded with sugar. The loaded baked potato with pork, chicken or beef are great choices. However, stay away from the baked beans and potato salad because they are loaded with sugar. The garden salad is another great choice.
I love catfish as much as the next guy, but if you’re trying to lose weight you must say no. The breading is nothing but refined carbs that send blood sugar through the roof and as a result insulin levels will spike and shut down fat loss. The lower you can maintain insulin levels the more body fat you will lose.
From a protein stand point BBQ restaurants are great, but from a vegetable stand point they are much like all other restaurants and really limit your ability to eat nutrient dense foods that contribute to weight loss. The more vegetables you eat the more weight you will drop. Increasing vitamins and minerals while lowering insulin levels is the key to losing weight short term, long term and over the long haul.
Helping You Make Great Choices,
Jeff