#FBF: The Agnostic Diet

What diet are you on? Lately, this question has become as common as "What church do you go to?" Well me, I was a Catholic School dropout, but I do have my own set of beliefs. I feel like I am a good person, but that is not a result of what church I go to.

This is the basis of the agnostic diet. I first read about this in this month's Triathlete magazine, and immediately was attracted to it. There was a statistic that it had, the exact numbers of which I can't recall, which said that a lot of age-groupers are on a diet with a name (eg. Paleo diet, Vegan diet, Zone Diet) where as next to no professionals are on a diet. What's up with that??

Granted, the demands of a professional allow for a little more freedom with eating. It would simply not do to train 25+ hours a week and be on a low-carb diet... (People often say, "you can eat whatever you want and still look good, can't you??" Well, yeah, but do you wanna do what I do in a given week??) On the other hand though, there is a lot less difference in 1st place and 10th place at a pro race, so the guys with the tiniest edge come out on top. That's where good nutrition comes in.

Now, this "diet" is to most diets as agnosticism is to most religions...  in that its not a diet at all! Just like how an agnostic person would say they know how to be a good person without going to church, most of us know pretty well what to eat without following a diet. Being on a diet does not absolve you of all your sins of bad eating... that triple almond milk sugar-free vanilla latte is still bad for you, even though loosely translated its "on the Paleo Diet". Like Jack Johnson says, "Singin' on Sunday won't save your soul/now that Saturday's gone"

Here are a few guidelines to follow. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Here are some foods you should eat: (Start at the top for most quality and work your way down)

Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts and Seeds
Lean Proteins
Whole Grains
Healthy Oils (Avocado, fish oil, olive oil)
Dairy

Here are some foods you should avoid: (Again, the least bad are at the top)

Refined grains
Fatty meats
Sweets (Including artificial sweeteners! That shit causes cancer yo!)
Fried Foods
Donuts (Aww, man! Last place?? Seriously??)

As far as macronutrient breakdown, a good guideline to start with is the 1-2-3 rule. 1 part fats (go for unsaturated as much as possible!) to 2 parts lean proteins to 3 parts carbohydrates (try and get as many of these as possible from fruits and vegetables!)
      -Side note: during intense training, it is OK to go as much as 4 or 5 parts carbohydrates... eat that pasta, friends!

Now, all that seems pretty simple right? Like I said, you already know all of this stuff, you just have to take responsibility and follow it. You don't need a diet to tell you what to do, just eat right, go FAST, take CHANCES, and FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!