The Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating in 2023

I know we all want the magic pill to eat all we want, and still look like a chad. That doesn’t exist. But you can become fit and healthy while still eating somewhat bad food almost every day. But how? And where do you start? Find out in the beginner’s guide to healthy eating.

The wise man is aware that the body and the mind are a symbiont. The mind shall be ill if the body is ill.

Here’s the quick version: Skip breakfast entirely, reduce carbs and sugar a whole lot (but not fully, that’s where the pizza comes in).

Interested in how and why that is?

My personal journey to healthy eating

I’ve been hitting the gym for over 10 years now. I’d say I did it fairly regularly. More so now, because I learned how to set my mind up to never skip the gym. But I still was hitting it enough back then.

But, I never was truly lean in muscle. I still had a bit of a belly, and the muscles on my arms and legs were hidden by a layer of fat. Plus, I still had low energy and low testosterone.

So the gym isn’t really the issue. We keep telling people, they just need to hit the gym. But that alone isn’t gonna cut it. Sure, it’s great mental training, and it’s good for bone density and freeing your mind. That’s all well and good. But if your goal is to lose weight and/or become fitter, the gym alone is not enough.

Here’s a before and after of my body. Gym routine is almost the same (just more deadlifts). Biggest change was the diet. While still eating pizza! Took about 5-ish months (although this depends on genes).

I personally would say, becoming fit and healthy is 80% what you put in your body and 20% what you do with your body.

There is a reason we have the saying, “The best bodies are built in the kitchen.”

If you want to do all this automated, subconsciously, without external pressure, check this out.

What’s actually wrong with your diet

A lot of people have a hard time switching their diet because they are “foodies,” and “just like eating” and all of that nonsense. The first thing you need to realize is this: What you eat is a) just a habit or b) semi-addiction.

Nobody is a foodie. I repeat. Nobody is a foodie. Yes, you might enjoy a great dinner. The environment in a cool restaurant. A nice wine or scotch, talking about the universe and the world while your woman in her beautiful dress is melting away.

I get it. But you can have all that, eat awesome tasting food, while still eating healthy. The issue is that you’ve been eating wrongly for the longest time, and now think that you need so much food. When in reality it’s just because what you eat isn’t satiating enough, and ruins your energy.

How food companies market your brain

This actually isn’t your fault. This society is giving you all the false info. The food pyramid, for example, is complete trash. It’s actually almost exactly backward.

This is what you’ve been told for ages. What is printed on all the cereal packaging and whatnot. Here’s something to think about: The food pyramid wasn’t done by health scientists. It was done by John Harvey Kellogg. Familiar with him? He’s the brother of the guy who founded Kellogg’s.

You know how they constantly said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Well, it’s not. Did you never look at this pyramid and thought, “Damn, isn’t it convenient that the cheapest and best tasting food is also the healthiest?”

Read it again. Notice something?

The issue with the modern diet – insulin insensitivity

The reality is this. Whole grains like bread, pasta, sweets, sugar, etc. contain a lot of carbohydrates. Those are broken down and give us energy. Actually, let’s be more scientific here, so you actually understand what your body does.

When you eat a high carbohydrate food (sugar is massive in carbs), insulin will be released into your bloodstream. Insulin is a hormone, whose main task is to regulate glucose (sugar) in your bloodstream. This is a survival mechanism because elevated blood sugar can literally kill you. Too much sugar in your blood might be deadly!

Now, your body has a ton of insulin receptors, especially in muscle. Why? Because glucose BUILDS muscle. Muscles use glucose to build themselves. So, now you would think, more sugar -> more muscle, right? Not so quickly!

Just like watching a ton of porn makes you desensitized to sexual acts, so does a ton of glucose desensitize your insulin receptors. It is just too much for what you do. Especially if you never exercise and don’t actually need the muscle.

Carbohydrates aren’t bad, sort of

And this is the common misconception. Carbohydrates per se aren’t bad. What is bad is too much of high inflammatory carbs like sugar, which numb your insulin receptors. Eating a ton of highly processed carbs makes your receptors insulin resistant, so the body releases more insulin to compensate and try to get your cells to handle the sugar.

Because high blood sugar “pushes” the fat in the bloodstream into the fat cells.

Another misconception, carbs don’t make you fat. The effect that they are creating is what makes you fat. A high carb intake makes the body store the fat you eat. It doesn’t create fat out of carbs. It just doesn’t use the fat you’re eating, it stores it because it can’t handle the massive amount of carbs and the savage insulin spikes.

So what you want is a body that is sensitive to insulin spikes, so it can actually use it to work with the glucose and not signal the body to store the fat you’re eating.

So the beginner’s guide to eating healthy would be to eat carbs which don’t spike your insulin too much (i.e. low glycemic index carbs, don’t google it, I tell you in a sec), lot’s of healthy fat and proteins.

If you want more info on this, check out the AJAC Diet from which I have most of that info.

A diet according to your lifestyle

So carbohydrates actually build muscle and give energy. Sounds good, right? Except if you don’t need the energy, it has the opposite effect. The body tries to store that energy. With fat in your body as I mentioned above.

And be honest, do you think you need a ton of carbohydrates if you sit in front of your computer all day, typing into spreadsheets? Is your body really in need of energy? Probably not.

And this is a key part: What you eat should heavily depend on what you do.

When you see athletes doing triathlons in the snow or similar sports, they eat 6,000 calories a day. Lots of carbs, but they are still lean as hell. Why? They USE all that energy. Plus they eat proper carbohydrates, not sugar. The body can actually make use of them and doesn’t have crazy insulin spikes.

On top of that, they actually need it to produce the insane power for their sport. And most of us don’t do that. We don’t need that much energy throughout the day. Even if you hit the gym three times a week, you don’t need so many carbs.

So here’s the real food pyramid for today’s society:

But where’s me pizza?

As you can see, there is no pizza or pasta on this pyramid. This is obviously an extreme one. But generally, showing people an extreme version works best because they never fully apply something.

I’ll go into this right away. At the top of this pyramid, you can add pizza, pasta, sometimes sweets, etc. I know this stuff tastes awesome. I am not telling you, to never eat that. Even though I cut sugar out for 30 days, and it felt amazing. I still came back to eating occasional sweets.

Do it in moderation. Look at it like cheat days, or cheat meals. Even Joe Rogan, a great martial artist, shredded as fuck at over 50 years old, eats occasional cheat meals with buckets of ice cream. You still need to live, right?

A wise man is aware that the pleasures of life need to be consumed in moderation.

The conqueror

What is healthy food then?

Generally, the quote applies, “If it is made by man, don’t eat it.” Healthy is everything which was done by nature first and foremost, and then, which fits your lifestyle.

Below, you find a list of good carbs, proteins, and fats. And even further down this post I have a plan of how I eat, and what I would recommend for you. With the help of AJACs dietary plan of course.

Basically, it’s pretty simple though. Reduce sugar as much as possible. Cutting it completely would be the best, but I know your urges. At least make it a minimum. Or only eat sweets every other day, or third day if you need, and only in the evening, or some sort of plan like that.

Eat whole foods. Grass-fed beef, eggs, fish. From proper sources. I know it’s expensive, but look where eating cheaply got you so far.

Avoid soy like the plague. I know a lot of Asian food has soybeans in them. Occasionally eating them is fine. But, my friend, the Starbucks soy latte is probably the worst you can do. Tons of sugar, soy, pasteurized milk. It’s like a cocktail of hell. Why is soy so bad? It binds estrogen. Which is why it’s actually quite helpful for women in their menopause. But really bad for you as a man.

Drink mostly water. Coffee black, skip the milk and sugar. The milk has been pasteurized, which is really bad. If you drink milk, only drink raw milk from a farmer directly. It’s actually a healthy drink, but factory processes ruin all the good stuff. Other than that, stick to water. Just water.

If you drink alcohol, drink lean alcohol in moderation. I drink a glass of whiskey from time to time. You can do Vodka, bourbon, whatever. As long as it’s not some stupid sugary cocktail or beer. Beer bloats like crazy and is another great source of estrogen if you want to build those manboobs.

Eat tons of protein and fat. More fat than protein. Why?

Why are proteins and fats so important?

Our bodies are mostly made out of these two macros. Fat is more energy-dense than protein. So, if our bodies are mostly made out of these things, wouldn’t it make sense to put that in the most?

Think about your body as a factory. Which is actually exactly the case. It spends a certain amount of energy each day for reproducing cells. If your body stops reproducing cells, it dies. Basically, we’re fighting our own decay each day.

So, naturally, you would want to use proper materials to rebuild your body, right? Therefore, the best things to put in, are the materials your body is made of mostly. So it can rebuild the missing parts well. And this is another part of the guide for eating healthy. Just eat what you’re made of.

There is no point in putting metal into our bodies because we can’t make use of it. So why would you put tons of sugar in your body, if it can’t make use of it? Really, diet is actually quite simple.

The simplest things almost always work the best. If someone comes along with a very advanced diet, it’s usually bullshit.

What are good carbohydrates?

I talked about low glycemic foods above, so what exactly is that? If you search in Google, you will find the almost correct answers, except they talk about soybeans, which is the worst you can do if you want to keep your masculinity. So here’s a proper list:

• Vegetables
• Tubers (yams, sweet potatoes, white potatoes)
• Rice, wild rice
• Legumes
• Fruit

Where’s me bread? Well, AJAC says it really depends. Some noticed insane benefits when they switched from bread to rice and potatoes. For others, bread was just fine.

Test it for yourself, and see how you react. Generally, if you decide on bread and pasta, always make it whole food. No cheap pre-baked bread from the supermarket. Fresh, made with whole grains from a proper bakery.

What are good sources of protein?

Protein is a great source of building material for your body. You are probably not even taking in close to enough protein. So here’s a list of protein-heavy foods:

• Eggs
• Fish
• Dairy products if you can digest them well (Greek yogurt is my favorite, cottage cheese, raw milk)
• Chicken
• Beef
• Pork
• Whey Protein
• Legumes

Here’s something to line you up about the amount to eat. I exercise 3 times a week. And I eat 2 hard-boiled eggs each day. A spoon of whey protein each day before I go to sleep, and on training days, a can of fish with olive oil.

You might be thinking, this is a lot. But it really isn’t. Eggs are a superfood, they contain so much great nutrition, you literally can’t eat enough. I know of people who eat up to 10 a day. Cholesterol is not an issue. This has been debunked a million times. I have been eating 2 eggs a day for almost a year, and my readings are superb.

What are good sources of fat?

Fat is absolutely critical for your body. Every cell is made from its acids. However, there are healthy and unhealthy fats. Vegetable oil is absolutely horrible for your health. Like any other fake oils (corn, canola, etc). Here is a list of healthy fat sources:

• Olive oil
• Butter
• Ghee
• Coconut oil
• Fatty meats
• Eggs
• Avocados (!)
• Walnut oil

Eggs again! Also, I know of people who take olive oil shots. Now, you don’t need to go to these extremes, but your diet should have a lot of these things. Here’s an example of a plate I ate recently for lunch.

It consisted of:

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• Chicken cooked in butter
• Fatty beef
• One avocado
• Green salad
• Red pepper

It may not look like much, but this plate kept me satiated for 5 hours, if not more. I was energetic, powerful, and feeling good. As opposed to being hungry 20 minutes later, low energy, tired, and sluggish if I would’ve eaten a standard American diet.

The society of eating wrongly

Generally, we just eat way too much in our current culture. Food is available everywhere, and it’s dirt cheap. At least the bad food. The highly processed, high carb food. Like a McDonalds Cheeseburger. Think about it, $1-$2, depending on where you live for a full-fledged burger. That’s stupidly cheap!

For the majority of human existence, we were starving. Humanoid people existed for about 3 million years. Really human-like figures for about 400,000-ish years. Only in the last 50-60 years, we truly had food constantly available at cheap prices. Our bodies are not made for this. Our body is used to starve, and have itself running on low food.

So your best bet, to be in tune with how your body is designed, is to mimic that lifestyle to some degree.

Starve for fitness

It has a fancy name these days, intermittent fasting. It’s actually just starving for a period of time. It means within a certain window, you don’t eat anything. Only consume water. Not even nuts or anything. Just water.

The benefits are insane. Studies show some crazy benefits like reduced cancer cells and reduced possibility of recurrence if patients fasted for 72 hours before that (study here). This is the extreme version. It is known, that if you fast for 36 to 72 hours, your immune system gets completely reset and replenished. It literally makes you healthier.

But you can’t fast for so long all the time. Hence why people came up with a way to copy your old style of living.

Fancy names, easy work

What intermittent fasting or circadian fasting truly is, is just skipping breakfast. I do it most of the time. Just don’t eat anything in the morning. From the last time you ate in the evening, let’s say 8:00 pm to lunch the next day at about 1:00 pm. That’s 13 hours of not eating. And it’s not that hard. Plus, it leaves the window in which you eat, pretty small, which is another benefit.

The conqueror does live to the standards of his body, not to the standards of his sheep.

The conqueror

Back in hunter-gatherer times, we didn’t wake up, and food was readily available. We had to go hunting first. Our bodies are not used to eat right away. You can also do occasional 24-hour fasts in between. I do that from time to time. They have a great health benefit. But prepare properly.

If you want to learn more about intermittent fasting, check out this blog post about a 72-hour fast my friend Alexander from the foreveralphablog did.

You don’t need to do 72-hour fasts right away, but it will open your eyes to the benefits.

Why veganism is bad – and vegetarianism is kinda fine

This image got a lot of shit, because one is bodybuilding, and the other isn’t. However, this image tells way more than just bodybuilding. Skin color, wrinkles, and obviously, general appearance of a weak man.

If you came across this post by accident, welcome. And maybe you’re furious that I urge people to eat meat, and animal products. So let me get one thing clear: If you don’t want to eat animals due to moral reasons, fine. Your decision, all good. But if you come at me, saying that it is unhealthy to eat meat, I will kick the shit out of you. And I will win, because I am strong, and you’re not.

This argument is so moot, but it keeps coming up. Being vegan is NOT healthy. There, I said it. You just need to look at pictures of these people, compared to meat-eaters. Carnivores are always stronger. Always. Period. If there is someone on a vegan diet, looking somewhat strong, then this is sole because he is supplementing like crazy. And if he were on a carnivore diet, he would be even stronger.

Humans ate meat for millions of years. The ancient Greeks ate it, and they were physically in better shape than 99% of people today. We simply need the proteins and fats from animal meat to keep our flesh factory running properly. There is tons of evidence, science, etc. behind that. This argument is straight bullshit, and veganism is just a movement of people trying to be important.

Again, if you don’t want to do it for moral reasons, fine. And I am actually on your side, the way we process meats is animal cruelty like nothing else. Most meat-eaters won’t argue against that. But the fact of the matter is, that our body needs it. And if you don’t eat it, it is your decision, but be aware that you’re missing much-needed nutrition.

The plan, and how I eat

Alright, so here’s your plan.

• Reduce sugar heavily
• Reduce carbs a lot, and only eat healthy carbs
• Skip breakfast
• Eat lots of Eggs
• Eat meat
• Take a protein shake each day (only water tho, no milk)
• Eat lots of vegetables
• Drink a lot (water only!)
• No coffee after 12 pm. Only black coffee.

That’s it. I do it like the following. And bear in mind, I still work a 9-5, so no excuses, friend:

• I only eat “breakfast” twice or thrice a week, and that contains solely of a very small portion of fish or greek yogurt. Nothing else. Literally, just cooked fish and olive oil or good dairy. You can skip this entirely, I do it on gym-days for the amino-3-acids and fats.
• Lunch is always low-carb, or no carb. Meat and greens + eggs. Occasionally with rice. But always meat. Always 2+ eggs.
• Dinner is a 50/50 mixture of classic food, like pasta, pizza, high-carb food with meat, etc. and sometimes just some meaty food with rice. But it’s always with carbs! But good ones!
• Every Friday evening I go out with the wife, eating normal food you would get at a restaurant. Although I try to not go too crazy on carbs there.
• Same thing on Saturday evenings with friends
• Sundays I eat kinda badly for lunch. High carb. And even some cake for afternoon coffee and cake.
• I never drink sugary beverages.
• Never get shitfaced drunk. Ever. I sometimes drink a glass of whiskey. Sometimes a beer. But keep it in moderation.
• Sometimes I eat some sweets in the evening after dinner. But rarely, and not much. Really, just eat a little bit for the sweet tooth. And it’s even better if you eat fruits instead.

The good life

Notice how I still eat a lot of so-called “tasty food?” But only on the weekend. It’s just two days. If you eat right the other five days, you’re totally fine.

Also, once you reduce that unhealthy bullshit, you’ve been eating, and your taste buds are back to human normality, you will notice how great healthy food actually tastes. Because you don’t need a ton of sugar to taste anything! That plate I posted above is delicious!

Obviously, you get results quicker if you cut the bad stuff out completely or do the 30-day challenge yourself. But this plan is for long-term sustainability and health after you arrived at your desired weight, without dropping too much of the reason to live.

You can do it, too. Live and eat healthy without missing out on the great, tasty food we have available. You just gotta counter those things properly, and you’re set.

–Alexander Graves

Also, if you need more detailed info on diet, how it works, and what is best to eat, check out the AJAC Diet from which I pulled most of the info for this article and my own diet.

What are your tips to eat properly? Any more tips? Any more info? Let me know in the comments!

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Tools to become a physical conqueror

We use Subliminal Messaging a lot on here and YES, you can physically shift your body with the mind.

I’m not kidding. 100% possible.

The best program for this is Legacy of the Spartan.