Fit for Life: I Was Wrong – The Food Millonline

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Matt Espeut, Health & Lifestyle Contributor

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PHOTO: file

After an old bodybuilding picture from 1998 resurfaced last week, I began discussing the details of contest preparation to a friend and told him of all the hard work and dedication it took to get there.

All the heavy workouts, and the craziest, most restrictive diet you can ever imagine.

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He asked me if I could do it again.

I told him I could and could do it even better than I did in those days, because I know more and have evolved a lot since then. I told him I wouldn’t because I would have to restructure my whole training routine and dedicate a ton of time to prepare for something like that.

Then I started to think of all the changes I have made since then, and all the mistakes I made during those days, and how I was misled into thinking I was a picture of health.

Let’s rewind 24 years, and list what I thought was healthy and the reasons why I was wrong.

I owned a microwave back then, and now I won’t eat or consume anything that has been heated or thawed in one.

Anything cooked in a microwave taste horrible. Parts are still cold, while others are scorching hot, and everything tastes like rubber.

This is due to the electromagnetic radiation used to provide heat. This also denatures and kills most live nutrients in your food, so you are eating food as nutritious as cardboard, and if you reheat in plastic this causes the xenoestrogen from the plastic to leach into your food, so now you are eating nutrient deficient food loaded with toxic estrogens.

Not a good thing!!

I now use the stovetop and stainless cookware. It takes about the same time as a microwave and will taste and be better for you.

Two more mistakes I was making: eating cheap tuna from a can and using artificial sweeteners.

See, the mentality was high protein / minimizing extra calories.

I never thought about the BPAs in the can, or the high levels of mercury in the tuna, or the toxic nature of the sweeteners. Now, I never consume any canned goods, artificial sweeteners, or tuna.

Buying fresh foods is more beneficial because the food is live, and so are the nutrients and enzymes that our bodies need for growth and repair, and to keep our immune systems strong. I also only eat wild-caught fish, such as salmon, striper, sea bass, halibut, and cod.

Larger fish such as tuna, sword, and mako shark carry a higher concentration of toxins (mercury) due to their position on the food chain, which has been proven to cause neurological disorders and problems with cognitive function, so it is better to eat smaller fish. Sardines, mackerel, and anchovies are the healthiest but not on everyone’s pallet as tasty.

As far as the sweeteners, not too many people DON’T know the health risks, so I won’t be repetitive on this topic.

Another big mistake was buying meats and other foods from big discount stores.

You know the ones that sell tires and food in the same store.

When you pay discount prices, you get inferior goods, period. The larger the scale, the lower the quality.

Think about it. Can a small organic farmer give the same care to 100 animals as it gives to 1500 animals?? Absolutely not. Is the food on a cruise ship with 2500 people on board as good as a small local restaurant that seats 30?

Again, the answer is no. I have learned over the years that it is rare to find a discount on quality items, from food to tools.

Therefore, I only purchase my food from quality markets, and only eat free-range and grass-fed meats and poultry. It is better for you, for the small farmer, and the environment.

I also subscribed to the fat free craze, eating fruity fat free yogurt, ice cream, snack well cookies, and baked potato chips.

Now I know that anything with a label that states: fat free/ no sugar/ vitamin enriched/low calorie/high fiber, is a bunch of processed over marketed garbage.

When you eat something packaged, the less ingredients the better, and if you can’t read the label- don’t eat it.

Fat is better than the cheap fillers and chemicals they put in its place, and fat lowers the glycemic index on foods, making them more sustainable, and available to be broken down in the body as nutrients.

So, when they process yogurt by removing the fat, and add fruit with high fructose corn syrup, it makes it a high glycemic food, making the consumer fatter and fatter, and more and more insulin resistant, and closer to obesity, and diabetes.

Not an ideal place for you to be.

Eat snacks with ingredients you can read like peanuts/dates/and salt (Lara & Rx bar) or potatoes/salt/oil (real organic chips).

Less is better, and you will see and feel the difference.

Back then, obesity and other diseases were less than half as prevalent as it is today.

I made these changes as soon as I learned the difference, and here I am 24 years later, healthier and fitter with more endurance than I have ever had.

My blood labs have been ideal, which leads me to believe that I am correct on these matters.

Remember people, knowledge is power, and it took me a lot of education and research to find this stuff out.

Now I am giving it to you firsthand, in concentrated form so you can apply it to your daily routine.

Hope you find this info helpful.

To your health and wellness,

Coach Matt