Do you often wonder ‘what is the best diet?’

Well … what works for you, won’t work for me because we are unique. We will metabolise macronutrients differently; we are sensitive to different foods; and our gut microbiomes will respond better to some foods than others.

What you eat and drink each day is essential to your energy levels and how you will perform. I come from a background in systems implementation, so I can relate to the analogy ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’.

A rule of thumb that many people use when hosting a dinner party is never to discuss religion, politics or sex. I’d like to add nutrition because it’s become as taboo as sex, politics and religion. There are so many different types of diets including vegetarian, vegan, low carb, paleo, ketogenic and 5:2; there is too much debate on what works and what doesn’t.

Listen to your body during and after you eat because all the information you could need is already there; you just aren’t looking for it. You need to eat what makes you feel great, and if after a meal you don’t feel fantastic and highly energised, there was something in your last meal that you shouldn’t have eaten. If you have eaten something your body doesn’t like, then you are likely to experience bloating in the stomach, brain fog and fatigue.

If before and after you have eaten you record your pulse, it can help you to understand if you have eaten something that you may be sensitive to because your heart rate will increase by more than sixteen beats per minute. It’s best to check your heart rate every 15 minutes.

So, for week one I would like you to pay particular attention to what you are eating and drinking and how you feel after it.  Use the technique to check your heart rate with your Fitbit or Apple Watch and if you don’t have one then you can go to your favourite App Store and download the free Food Detective App from Bulletproof:

• iOS
• Android

You can measure your heart rate after you’ve eaten, and you will know if it’s spiked.

If you want to take this up a level, then look into doing a gut microbiome test with Viome. 

To find your best diet you need to eliminate foods for a month

The following are a list of foods that you should eliminate from your diet for four weeks and assess how you feel each day by journaling. Consuming many of these foods can contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation.

• Sugar
• Grains
• Dairy
• Soy
• Vegetable oils and nut oils
• Artificial sweeteners
• All processed foods

By removing these foods from your diet, you will feel incredible and your energy levels will massively increase. After 3 weeks, reintroduce them one at a time and see how you feel. Whenever I mistakenly re-introduce any of the above foods, it results in inflammation, brain fog and fatigue.

Remember to always eat what makes you feel great.

Eating lots of green vegetables and different coloured vegetables is vital for a well-rounded and healthy diet and consuming this every day is important, primarily to absorb enough polyphenols. It’s far better to consume high-quality foods as the nutrients and vitamins are more bio-available than in supplement form.

I advise you to eat what makes you feel great and notice what foods don’t.

I become inflamed and bloated whenever I eat any fruit and vegetables that are part of the nightshade family. These include ashwagandha, aubergines, tomatoes, peppers (bell peppers, chilli peppers, paprika, tamales, tomatillos, pimentos, cayenne) and potatoes.

Some of the above foods are more commonly known as superfoods, but unfortunately for me, they aren’t.

This is an extract taken from Limitless