The world of dieting can be a confusing place… Macronutrient %, low carb, high protein, zero fat… the list goes on and on. I’ve always known and advised my clients to follow a simple, clean diet consisting of whole foods for the best body composition results. Eating clean will always be my go-to strategy when attempting to cut some bodyfat, get lean and stay healthy. This diet plan is not rocket science, just a simple, no nonsense approach to sound nutrition for optimal fat loss and health. I give you the ‘Green Faces’ (GF) diet.

What is the ‘Green Faces’ diet?

The foods allowed on this diet are ‘anything that is green and once had/would have had a face’. It has been recently introduced and made famous by world-renown fitness expert Alwyn Cosgrove and possibly adapted from a similar dieting strategy made famous by Strength training legend Charles Poliquin called ‘Run, Fly, Swim’.

Common questions

Q) Can I eat yellow and red peppers or carrots?
A) There is nothing wrong with these foods, but NO they are not green so therefore not allowed.

 

 

  

 

 

Q) Can I eat green jelly, soda drinks and sweets?
A) Seriously? What do you think? NO.

Q) What do you mean by having a face?
A) Any animal meat or fish including their eggs.

Q) Can I eat nuts and dairy products?
A) If you are a vegetarian and want to do the diet, then YES. Otherwise NO dairy products.

 

 

 

 

 

 Who, when and how should you use the diet?

Everyone can use the diet to get into better shape. I find that it works best as a short term challenge, say 21 or 28 days. This should be followed by a re-introduction diet plan of around 4 weeks which gradually brings other foods back into the diet without regaining any of the weight/fat lost.

It is totally down to the user how many times you wish to eat. My personal recommendation would be 4 meal combinations with 1 protein shake, but anything from 3-5 feedings through the day would be ideal.

What to expect?

This is a type of ‘elimination diet’ – which means that it is likely your body will not have to deal with foods it is not designed to process during 21-28 day period. Eliminating ingredients like dairy and wheat for this time will almost always result in ‘accidental’ weight loss, reduction in bloating and removal of body system stressors (lowering cortisol). Think detox with benefits.

The eating options (choose one from the below list to create a meal)

Proteins	Greens
Bacon	Asparagus
Chicken	Broccoli
Whole eggs	Brussels Sprouts
Beef (any kind)	Celery
Pork/Ham	Cucumber
Salmon	Green beans
Scallop	Broad beans
Tuna	Green peas
Turkey	Green peppers
Mackerel (any fish)	Lettuce
Lamb	Cabbage
Duck	Spinach
Shellfish	Kale
Whey Protein Powder	Aubergine

  

Add any fat below to each Protein + Greens combination

Fats
Olive oil	Sesame oil
Peanut oil	Coconut oil
Walnut oil	Flax oil
Almond oil	Fish oil (Capsules)

 

Drinks
Water (2-3L per day minimum)	Green tea

 

Vegetarian Protein options
Eggs (any kind)	Baked beans
Sesame seeds	Cheese (any kind)
Pumpkin seeds	Greek Yoghurt
Sunflower seeds	Tofu
Flax seeds	Chickpeas
Soya milk	Lentils
Soya mince	Nuts
Tempeh	Quinoa

Sample daily menu

1. Large omelette (with broccoli and green peppers)

 2. Tuna with celery

 3. Large salad with smoke salmon and spinach with olive oil

 4. Post workout protein shake

 5. Steak and aubergine/asparagus

 6. Sliced ham with green beans

 3 cups of green tea and 3L water to be drunk throughout the day

 REMEMBER… This is a short term strategy to clean up your nutrition and get your body to burn some unwanted fat. You can start to slowly re-introduce different foods after the initial GF diet period is done.

In Part 2  ‘Advanced eating strategies after the Green Faces diet’ I will show you the best way to re-introduce certain foods through a 4 week eating plan designed to maximize your fat loss results after the GF diet.

To read more from Nathan, visit his blog at www.nathanwilliamstraining.blogspot.com and www.youtube.com/user/Nathanbahrain11