The world of dieting can be overwhelming, with countless plans promising quick and easy results. Among these, the Code Red Diet has gained considerable attention. This article explores the Code Red Diet, its rules, and other popular diets like the Vertical Diet and Keto, providing a comprehensive overview to help you make informed decisions about your health and weight loss journey.
Understanding the Code Red Diet
The Code Red Diet is a diet plan developed by Cristy Nickel, a workout and health guru. It aligns with the Code Red Lifestyle, emphasizing a return to the basics of health: water, sleep, and powerful food. This approach focuses on dismantling conventional beliefs about health and weight loss, prioritizing fundamental elements for achieving results. The diet promotes consuming only 2-3 meals per day and avoiding mochas. Vegetables are a key component of the Code Red Diet.
Is the Code Red Diet Effective?
While the Code Red Diet emphasizes a beneficial approach towards dieting and health, it is important to consider individual needs. Results often come from the creators themselves, and diets don't work the same for everyone. Certain foods can exacerbate issues. Considering these factors, the Code Red Diet may be a viable option for some, but the final decision rests with the individual.
The Vertical Diet: A Meat and Rice Approach
The Vertical Diet, also known as the meat and rice diet, aims to revolutionize dietary habits by focusing on nutrient-dense, easily digestible foods. This diet is based on the philosophy of consuming foods that the body can easily digest to allow for better nutrient absorption.
Core Principles of the Vertical Diet
The Vertical Diet primarily focuses on red meat and white rice, believed to promote muscle growth and testosterone production. Stan Efferding, a proponent of the diet, emphasizes eating foods that "like" you, acknowledging individual differences in digestion.
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Benefits of the Vertical Diet
- Improved Digestion: The diet emphasizes consuming low-FODMAP foods, which significantly reduces constipation, bloating, and diarrhea.
- Increased Calorie Consumption: By consuming easily digestible foods, athletes can eat more and burn more, addressing the challenge of consuming enough calories from nutrient-dense foods.
- Muscle Growth and Recovery: As a protein-rich diet, the Vertical Diet promotes both muscle growth and recovery.
- Simplicity and Effectiveness: The Vertical Diet is simple yet effective, fulfilling the body's nutrient requirements while minimizing high-sugar, processed, and caffeinated items.
- Easy Monitoring: With limited options, the Vertical Diet allows for easy monitoring of calorie and nutrient consumption.
- Tailorable: The diet can be tailored according to individual caloric requirements.
Drawbacks of the Vertical Diet
- Cost: Red meat, the diet's main component, is more expensive than most protein sources. While white meat can be a cheaper alternative, it's important to ensure adequate intake of iron, zinc, and vitamin B.
- Red Meat Concerns: Despite some studies suggesting that limiting red meat may not be necessary, health professionals often advise against excessive consumption due to potential links to bowel cancer and negative health behaviors.
- Nutritional Imbalance: The Vertical Diet restricts many grains, beans, and veggies, potentially leading to an overall nutritional imbalance. The restriction of high-fiber foods, while reducing bloating, can compromise gut health and healthy digestion.
Vertical Diet and Workout
A Vertical Diet is high in carbs along with being protein-rich, which means that not only does it boost post-workout recovery, it also fuels your body for your workouts.
Is the Vertical Diet Right for You?
The Vertical Diet is designed for those who want to gain muscle mass, improve their nutrition, and boost their athletic performance, especially those aiming for a caloric surplus.
The Keto Code: Unlocking Ketosis
The ketogenic diet works by mitochondrial uncoupling, a biocellular process facilitated through the gut when bacteria manufacture post-biotics. This process builds more mitochondria, which burn more energy and force fat cells to release their calories.
Three Simple Rules of Keto Code
- Consume MCT Oil: Consume some of your calories as medium chain triglycerides, MCT oil for example. Start with a tablespoon per day and try to increase it to three times a day gradually.
- Utilize Time Restricted Eating
- Eat Fermented Foods and Fiber: Feed on fermented foods and fiber including cruciferous vegetables.
Keto Diet: Yes and No Foods
Here's a breakdown of foods to include and avoid on the Keto diet:
- Vegetables & Greens:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, Swiss chard, watercress, spinach, romaine lettuce, endive, fennel, seaweed, artichokes, asparagus, celery, garlic, onions, leeks, mushrooms, radishes, okra, hearts of palm
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, goji berries (unless peeled/deseeded or pressure-cooked)
- Fruits, Nuts & Oils:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Avocado, olives, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pili nuts, coconut, flaxseed, hemp seed, extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, MCT oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, walnut oil
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, processed nut butters, refined vegetable oils (canola, corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, peanut)
- Animal Proteins:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Wild-caught salmon, sardines, anchovies, cod, mahi-mahi, lobster, scallops, grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, venison, pasture-raised chicken, duck, turkey, omega-3 eggs
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Conventional grain-fed meats, farmed fish, processed deli meats, bacon with added sugar, cured meats with nitrates
- Dairy & Alternatives:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Goat cheese, sheep cheese, buffalo mozzarella, grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut yogurt, almond yogurt (unsweetened), plant-based yogurts
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Cow’s milk, cream cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (A1 casein), American cheese, ice cream, frozen yogurt
- Grains & Starches:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): None recommended (focus on non-starchy vegetables)
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Wheat, barley, oats, rye, corn, rice, spelt, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, pasta, bread, cereals, potatoes, chips, tortillas
- Legumes:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): None (unless pressure-cooked & lectins neutralized)
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Beans, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans, tofu, edamame, peas, peanuts
- Sweeteners & Treats:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Allulose, erythritol, monk fruit, stevia, xylitol, yacon syrup, dark chocolate (≥72% cacao, unsweetened)
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Sugar, agave syrup, coconut sugar, maltodextrin, aspartame, sucralose, HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup)
- Condiments & Sauces:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Avocado-based mayonnaise, MCT-based dressings, olive oil vinaigrettes, fermented sauces (miso, coconut aminos)
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Ketchup, soy sauce, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugary dressings, barbecue sauce
- Oils & Fats:
- ✅ Yes Foods (Approved): Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, macadamia oil, perilla oil, MCT oil, walnut oil, sesame oil
- ❌ No Foods (Avoid / Limit): Canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, vegetable oil blends
Intermittent Fasting: A Timed Approach to Eating
Intermittent fasting involves partial or total abstinence of foods for a certain period. Fasting is often associated with spirituality and is considered a means to cleanse one’s soul. Despite the health benefits, it can be a nerve-wracking task.
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Key Principles of Intermittent Fasting
- Setting a Routine: Create a holistic plan based on realistic goals. Avoid starving for unhealthy durations.
- Different Techniques: Common practices include calorie restriction, eating one nutritional meal a day (OMAD), and the warrior diet (eating low-calorie foods during a certain time and a calorie-rich meal in the remaining time).
- Daily Schedule: Prepare meals in advance to avoid unhealthy cravings.
- Right Foods: Consume the "right" kind of foods during eating windows, balancing macronutrients.
- Mindful Consumption: Eat in small portions when breaking the fast to avoid overwhelming your digestive system.
- Goals and Action Plan: Lay out your goals and action plan for fasting.
- Mindset: Be in the right state of mind before starting your fasting journey.
- Workout: Cut down on intense workout sessions during your fast.
- Listen to Your Body: Experiment with different techniques and pay close attention to your bodily changes.
- Track Your Progress: Set realistic goals and track your progress throughout the fasting period.
The Importance of Timing: When NOT to Eat for Weight Loss
- Don’t eat when you’re not hungry. Eating when you’re not hungry is a great way to gain weight. Listen to your body’s natural hunger cues. Hormones can be balanced by eating in a certain way.
- Don’t eat late. Eating late is a problem because it takes two-thirds of your body’s energy to digest food. The body does its best healing when you’re asleep. If you go to bed with a full stomach, your body has fewer resources to repair you and it will start storing that food as fat.
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