In the fitness industry we talk a lot about fast results. Fast fat loss, fast muscle gain, fast workouts, or even just workouts to get you faster. Fast is cool, sure, but as is the hare, and endurance is the tortoise. In the game of life, longevity is the name of the game. Below I will share with you a diet that I’ve developed for myself and have followed for quite awhile now. There’s hundreds of diets online and it’s hard to sift through the noise to find the truth. And to be honest, a lot of what’s out there is complete crap.

The state of the food industry in the US is complete garbage if you ask me. The US government and Big agriculture companies, with a capital B, are actively working against you in your fight for health and longevity. Junk foods are the largest source of calories in the American diet, as well as some the cheapest foods you can get your hands on. Junk foods are mostly products of seven major crops: corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, milk and meat. These foods alone are not inherently unhealthy (well, some are but that’s a different conversation) but, the issue many are then chemically engineered and processed turning them unhealthy and toxic.

These farm foods and commodity crops are funded and subsidized by the government ensuring their affordability and accessibility. In quoting a NYT article about government funding of junk food, “between 1995 and 2010, the government doled out $170 billion in agricultural subsidies to finance the production of these foods, the latter two in part through subsidies on feed grains.” $170 billion. That’s ridiculous.

Not only that but if we take a look at federal programs like SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, (also called food stamps), you’ll see how they’re not really putting their money where their mouth is. While the SNAP’s mission is to provide “nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency,” a whopping 15 billion dollars of SNAP benefits goes straight to junk foods.

And if this isn’t enough for you, remember that it’s your hard earned tax dollars funding the program. The government spends billions to subsidize the seven major crops while they spend nearly half as much on vegetables.

So while the government is paying out billions of dollars to these companies and big agriculture, they’re also promoting “healthy” dietary guidelines for the American population. Talk about irony. Take a look at the USDA food pyramid (pictured below):

What do you see? Anything look particularly odd to you? The base of this food pyramid is bread, cereal, rice, pasta…When you follow the money, it makes complete sense. If you look at the overwhelming research around health and dietary practices, the vast majority of the research will promote plant based eating. Meaning the vegetable and fruit groups should actually be the base of this pyramid. But, as you know, money talks and the government is simply following the money.

So, what now? What do? Well the truth is you’re going to have to do a lot. Longevity is a lofty goal and lofty goal requires lofty sacrifice. Catch my drift? Sacrifice is necessary. You have to decide which consequences you can live with. Everything has a consequence. YOU decide what consequence you want, and if you want longevity then this diet is for you.

The Longevity Diet

To be clear, do not demonize the word “diet” with modern judgement. Today “diet” is demonized to mean short term adjustments for short term results. Nowadays when you tell someone you’re on a diet, they judge you. The word diet comes from the Greek word diaita, which means, a way of life. All of this other nonsense, 90 day this 30 day that, that’s not a diet. That’s not a way of life.

The Longevity Diet will require a lot of you and since I am a realist and not idealistic, I understand the standards of this diet are rather high. That being said, it is completely up to you how invested you are with these diet standards. Refer to the chart below for the Longevity Diet guidelines and pillars. You’ll see how this diet goes beyond the physical food and includes other methods of attaining physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. All of these are required for longevity.

For further guidance regarding this diet do not hesitate to email me personally! (briana@herperformanceacademy.com)