The Banting Diet has taken the world by storm. It was named after William Banting, who was the first person to do the diet and lose weight quickly and seamlessly. Banting is a low carbohydrate and high fat diet, super high in protein.
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Banting turns all other diets upside down. It was Professor Tim Noakes who came up with his recipe book, The Real Meal Revolution, and the idea of instead of burning carbs for energy your body burns fat for energy.
The Banting diet is not without its controversy. Suddenly people can eat fat. Lots and lots of fat. People can eat protein, large amounts of red meat, chicken and fish. But carbohydrates are almost right off the menu. And sugar is a definite no no.
Follow these simple rules:
- This is not a high protein diet. This is a high fat, medium protein, low carb eating plan
- Choose foods that look like what they are, in other words, no processed foods
- Fat can be enjoyed. Do not be scared of it
- Eat when you are hungry
- Eat until you are satisfied. Do not under eat and do not over eat
- You do not need to snack. Only snack if you are hungry
- You are not to eat any sugar. Sugar is the equivalent of poison
- No grains of any sort
- Very little fruit
- Eat a lot of eggs
- Control your dairy intake
- Eat vegetables with every meal
You may be wondering about the no fruit rule. It is an interesting debate as everything we have learned over the years tells us to eat fruit and to eat lots of it. But fruit has carbs in it. And sugar. And in Banting language, no sugar is good sugar.
Also, what does it mean to control your diary intake? We know that milk, yoghurt and cheese are all good for you, so why limit them? It is because dairy also contains carbs. And carbs are what make you fat.
When you do eat diary, go for the full fat kind. Again, this is against everything we have been doing for the last few years. Dont buy the low fat milk or the skim milk. Full cream or nothing!
You will definitely need to buy a Banting book, or find a good sight online that you can refer to. Getting used to eating the Banting way can take a bit of time and there may be confusion between fats, carbs, fruit and veggies and which are the good and safe ones to eat. There is also a ‘red list’ of Banting foods and these are the foods that you must never eat! Get the list. Memorise it. Red list foods are toxic and will cause weight gain. No bread, no rice and no potatoes. No cakes or biscuits. No legumes. No pasta.
And definitely no fast foods.
It may sound like an impossible diet. It really is not, it is just about learning a new way of eating. Once you’ve got used to it, you won’t remember what your life used to be like. You will feel energetic and thin. People who Bant properly lose a lot of weight.
Shops these days, all over the world, sell Banting food. You can find Banting Bread, Banting pizza bases, Banting lasagna. It may be a little bit more expensive but if you are craving a sandwich, it makes sense to buy the Banting bread.
The good thing is you will soon stop craving the sandwiches. Banting is a way of life. Do your research. Buy one of the Banting recipe books. Eat your vegetables. Eat lots of fresh fish. Exercise while you are dieting, and let this soon become a way of life.
References:
http://realmealrevolution.com/real-food-lists#red
http://www.health24.com/Diet-and-nutrition/Weight-loss/The-golden-rules-of-Banting-20140409