Green Faces diet

The Green Faces diet is so simple that even a Neanderthal could do it!

Have you ever heard the saying, "Don't look at what successful people do differently, look at what they have in common?"

A practical example is a diet plan so simple and effective that the world's leading experts such as Alwyn Cosgrove, Charles Poliquin and Christian Thibaudeau use it with a number of their clients.

Summer is in full swing, and you're either ready to get beachy or, at the very least, panicking that you haven't tried hard enough for the last 10 months.

Try the Green Faces diet for the next 4 weeks. It's really used by a lot of trainers and can help you reach your bodybuilding goals too.

It's so simple, even a Neanderthal could do it.

This diet consists of very simple meals, and forces you to choose the most effective foods for holding muscle and maximizing fat burning.

It's not one of those plans where you starve yourself on 800 calories a day. You're going to eat enough food, and it's going to be more about choosing it right. Take a piece of paper and write these principles down:

• If it's a green vegetable (Green), you can eat it.
• If it had a face (Face) or would have a face in adulthood, you can eat it.
• If it's not green and it didn't have a face, don't eat it.

So that's basically it. If you can follow these embarrassingly simple rules, your body fat will fall off faster than a cheerleader's panties at a Justin Bieber concert.

Alwyn Cosgrove explains the benefits of this simplicity. "I first heard it from Charles Poliquin, who said if it grows from the ground, swims, flies or runs, you can eat it. It's a kind of elimination diet."

We eliminate all traditional and potential allergens like wheat and dairy. Then what happens is what Dr. Bryan Walsh said. Symptoms you didn't even know about disappear. People usually lose a few pounds right away, not just because of the low carbohydrate content, but because of food sensitivities they didn't even know about.

Food sensitivities, intolerances and allergies are often undiagnosed and can cause a myriad of symptoms. It starts with inefficient nutrient absorption and ends with acne and chronic bloating. Elimination diets are effective for eliminating potential allergens or stressors (lactose, gluten, caffeine, etc.).

Elimination diets give the digestive system a break from constantly trying to digest food it may not be ready to digest, and their common "side effect" is weight loss and body fat reduction.

If this sounds too hippy-dippy for you, know that bodybuilders have been achieving excellent results on this type of diet for decades.

A common plan for bodybuilders is to dramatically tighten carbs and increase meat and vegetable intake. One of the most famous proponents of this diet was the original bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda. He often removed carbohydrates from his clients' diets and replaced them with eggs and meat.

The super popular Anabolic Diet has the same basis. It does contain frequent sugaring, but you won't need it on our Green Faces Diet. I'll tell you why soon.

Let's take it step by step to avoid misunderstandings.

Green vegetables

Green is the key word. There's basically nothing wrong with yellow peppers, cauliflower and tomatoes, but we're looking for simplicity. The more rules you adapt, especially in a diet, the more likely you are to get something wrong.

Of course, carrots or eggplant won't ruin this plan for you, but stick to the plan, it's only four weeks. You'll be gorging yourself on colorful vegetables when you're done.

If you've ever messed up a diet, you know to avoid compromise. Tortilla's not cool, even though it has plenty of fiber. A little sugar and milk in your coffee isn't okay, even when you're at work. Just because your legs still hurt after yesterday's workout doesn't mean you can add a few calories with a donut. The only reason you have a plan is to stick to it.

It had a face

I'm a little sore, but this is no place for vegetarians! Here we eat good animal meat.

If it had beautiful eyes, a round snout, and equally beautiful parents, it would be for dinner (and breakfast and lunch and snacks).

The ratio of nutrients from such a diet will be high protein, with medium to higher fat, and carbohydrates will be low. This is ideal for weight loss. If the vegetables don't fill you up enough, you'll have to make up for it with meat.

Don't forget the eggs. Those "would have a face if they grew up." Eggs are perfect for bodybuilding. Those myriad trainers could hardly be more wrong. And we're talking about whole eggs. As Charles Poliquin said, egg whites are for morons. On this diet in particular, you'll benefit from the extra protein, fat, and other nutrients that are in the yolk.

So most of your daily calories will be from protein and fat. You'll also get plenty of fiber from all those vegetables. With this combination, you should feel pretty fed after each meal, your metabolism should be running, and you should be holding on to clean muscles.

It's not green and it doesn't have a face

You already know what you can eat. But what are you forbidden to eat? Diet Coke and coffee? If you can handle it, skip them. In fact, try to detox from caffeine for a month.

In terms of nutrients, fruit juices are the same as sugary soda. They definitely need to come out of the fridge. Ditch the milk, too. We want things that were animals, not things squeezed out of them.

Don't eat whole wheat bread either. They're too high in carbohydrates. We'll allow you some fruit under certain circumstances.

If you're relatively chiseled, or at least not obese and new to dieting, you can have a piece or two of fruit with the first meal of the day and in the first meal after your workout.

This will allow you to enjoy your diet a bit and it will be at a time when carbs won't hinder your weight loss. No, the fruit doesn't have to be green. Just try to eat something whole and no more than two servings at a time.

Exception to the rule.

So far I've talked about blind adherence to the rules. But every rule has an exception. For you, that would be the diet around your workout.

Around your workout, you want to eat something that will be a combination of strategic, fast carbs and anabolic nutrients like casein hydrolysate and leucine. This will ensure that your workouts aren't compromised by a low daily carb intake, but will even help you build lean muscle.

Another benefit will be that the carbs will be used straight for the work in your workout, and will help you complete it without feeling flattened, as commonly happens with low carb diets.

That's why you don't need a special day for cramming. Sugar up on training days and in a way that your overall goal doesn't suffer.

What about the nutrient ratio?

Note that I'm not giving you any numbers or portion sizes. Although this is a diet, the structure of the plan prescribes a flexible nutrient distribution.

Cosgrove explains, "When you follow the principles of Green Faces, the calories and nutrients usually fall into place, and clients find it easy to follow."

Of course, if a client is preparing for a competition, portions and nutrients must be watched more carefully. But this isn't a classic case, that's advanced stuff.

Since most beginners, and even some advanced exercisers, prefer the gym effort to the kitchen, Cosgrove reminds us of the basics. "Most of our clients don't follow any recommendations or regularity on the nutrition side.

We teach them a few of these basic rules. And often we don't even have to go any further. I've said it before. Going from having all your meals in a paper box, straight to weighing every serving of vegetables is too difficult, and even unnecessary."

Even if you think you have a good diet, try the green faces diet as a radical protocol aimed at stubborn fat and as a detox.

Take a look at the diet

Here's a smaller list to help you avoid boring repetition. At least you won't fall into a rut where you eat chicken and broccoli all the time.

If you think you're overdoing it because you're eating thousands of grams of protein a day and the same amount of vegetables every day as you ate last October, Cosgrove will bring you back to reality.

"I can't imagine a situation where more vegetables, fruit and a return to natural food could be a bad thing. Regardless of the situation, the things described above should be the foundation of our diet, right?"

Faces

• Bacon
  Chicken Breast/Steak
  Eggs
  Beef
  Lamb
  Pork
  Salmon
  Scallop
  Shrimp
  Tuna
  Turkey

... and these are just a few examples

Green vegetables

• Arugula
  Asparagus
  Broccoli
  Brussels Sprouts
  Celery
  Cucumbers
  Green Beans
  Peas
  Green Peppers
  Kale
  Lettuce (any)
  Okra
  Spinach
  Zucchini

... and those are just a few examples.

What you'll probably eat next Thursday

If you take one from each column, a typical day will look like this:

Breakfast: A proper omelette (whole eggs, green peppers, broccoli)
Snack: Canned tuna, celery
Lunch: Large salad (spinach, romaine lettuce, Boston lettuce, cucumber, peas), grilled chicken
Before and around workout: Protein and carbohydrate shake
Dinner: Lots of beef, grilled zucchini, grilled asparagus
Bedtime meal:Hard boiled eggs, peas

Conclusion

Whether you're attempting the diet for the first time, or it's just a break from your year-long bulking, the Green Faces diet is a great way to get into presentable shape and keep your muscles clean.

At the same time, you'll give your digestive system a break from common dietary allergens (dairy and wheat products). Try to include them gradually after the diet is over and look for symptoms.

Try to stick to the plan, and this diet will take care of itself. Throw away your preconceived notions for a moment and all those things that "you know" and "make you feel" and try to follow this article to the letter.

If you can't manage to stick to a plan this simple for four weeks, you're in really bad shape.