Don’t Eat For Winter : The Anti-Autumnal Diet With Cian Foley




Enduring Health show

Summary: After a brief hiatus, Dr Shan Hussain returns with a fascinating conversation with Cian Foley, the author of ‘Don’t Eat For Winter’. Cian recently went viral after sharing an incredible time-lapse video showing his weight loss of 90lbs (6.4 stone), which he achieved by using his revolutionary “Anti-Autumnal Diet”. Cian joins Dr Hussain today to discuss this ground-breaking new dietary plan; the choices that led to its creation, and the role that nature itself should play in our year-long food choices. Key Takeaways Cian’s background is not in nutrition or wellbeing but in business and computing. However, the sedentary nature of his lifestyle and career forced him to re-evaluate his health, when it became clear that it was declining. Even though Cian’s lifestyle left him obese at almost 18 stone in weight, he still kept up with keep-fit exercises, such as squash and home exercise. However, it was never enough. It wasn’t until Cian took an interest in nutrition, and not in the “one size fits all” approach of low-calorie dieting, that change began to take effect. Different foods affect the body in different ways. One of the most effective ways that Cian credits with nutritional education, is the socialising and interaction with people who are interested in the same thing. By constantly associating with nutritional-minded people, Cian was able to absorb more of the information and adjust his lifestyle accordingly. Cian is against the demonisation of carbohydrates but feels that they are becoming far too prevalent in today’s food industry. Carbohydrates are created by photosynthesis in nature and do not tend to appear unnaturally out of season, in such things as apples and corn. The growth in refined foods, the importing of foods from various harvests around the world, and the constant need to satisfy our desires for every type of food have led to a condition that Cian calls “Infinite Autumn”, an autumn on steroids; a state in which our bodies are out of time with the natural harvest cycles and seasonal changes. If we look to the animal kingdom, we see that during the autumn months, they naturally take on more fats and carbohydrates, in order to prepare for winter. Nature seems to respond to this by providing more of these food groups. Cian’s approach to eating is to have a diet that sticks to the nutritional guidelines but also avoids the combination of carbohydrates and fats that leads to obesity and avoids insulin issues. Cian’s golden rule is to keep fats as low as possible when eating carbohydrates and keep carbohydrates as low as possible when eating fats. In between this, try to eat high protein, and avoid carbs and fats. We must remember that junk foods are not created to make people healthy. They’re created to make companies wealthy. It’s up to us as individuals to make the decision to not buy into this scheme and to invest instead in making ourselves as healthy as possible. Best Moments ‘I was a chubby kid in school. That was my nickname!’ ‘I just couldn’t out-run, or out-train, the obesity’ ’I was shocked to be losing weight, even though I was eating foods that were high in fat’ ‘Carbohydrates are created in nature through sunshine’ ‘We’re a dynamic species. We’re a seasonal species’ ’The 50-40-10 is the hyperphagic autumnal formula’ ’The world we live in is highly artificial'   ABOUT THE HOST Dr Shan Hussain is an author, general practitioner, health coach, wellness advisor and ambassador to the World Health Innovation Summit. As Founder of The Health Studio and a medical doctor of 18 years, he has a special interest in health promotion and disease prevention. He works with individuals and organisations to help naturally improve health in a sustainable, holistic manner. Dr Hussain has developed several coaching and mentorship programmes designed to help reverse the symptoms of many stress-related health problems. His best-selling book, 'The Big Prescription' serves as a guide for readers to learn about evidence-based holistic health practices that create the foundation of his work.   HOST CONTACT METHOD Dr Shan Hussain • Connect with Dr Shan Hussain through his website at http://www.thehealthstudio.net. • If you would like to support our Podcast, please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/enduringhealth   ABOUT THE GUEST: Cian Foley has had a remarkable turnaround with his health and fitness. At 39 years of age, having lost 90lbs, Cian became a world amateur kettlebell champion. Now, at 43, he is competing in natural bodybuilding competitions.  Cian wrote a book sharing his insight into exercise and nutrition called "Don't Eat for Winter”, which encourages people to eat and live more like our ancestors. In the book, he suggests we should be cognisant of our continuous exposure to an unnatural autumnal food environment, and to be mindful of the foods that drive us to overeat and, as a result, store fat for a winter that never comes. Valuable Resources Don’t Eat For Winter - https://www.donteatforwinter.com Cian Foley Twitter - https://twitter.com/wellboy Cian Foley YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQbvckbT6xPENZD_vz5ZYg Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/enduringhealth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.