I've been exploring Art De Vany's principles on health and fitness and enjoy his evolutionary fitness approach to exercise and nutrition.  Foods consisting of meats, fruits, veggies, nuts and berries have been the staples of my diet and I've leaned out tremendously without losing any strength or muscularity. 

Although the biggest benefit seems to by my increased level of energy.  It seems that I am lighter on my feet than ever and even my clients have noticed my extra spunk.  They sometimes ask me where I get all my energy from and  I just tell them it comes from within; from my own body rather than carbohydrates.

Anyways, I'd like you to read "Super Mike's" story because he is (like many of us) a real person with a real life and real obligations of family and work, yet living a bodybuilder lifestyle in attempts to get lean and muscular.  

He was eating the typical five or six meals a day, lots of carbs., and  overwhelming his system with protein and excess sugars and calories.  All his work at the gym and in the kitchen preparing foods was not paying off as he'd hoped.  He got muscular but never lean, that is until he followed a better, more realistic, approach to nutrition. 

To get you started, I've pasted his first letter to Art below.  Read the rest of his story here;

http://www.arthurdevany.com/?p=766

http://www.arthurdevany.com/?p=767

http://www.arthurdevany.com/?p=770 it is invaluable.

It’s been a little over a year since I seriously started following your evolutionary advice. I wanted to write you earlier, but I thought I would give it an entire year before I did. Plus I wanted to get the results from my annual physical.

Before I started reading your website, I was in pretty good shape. Good strength… but soft looking. Especially for as much as I worked out. 4 days of weights a week with 2 days of cardio. But, I just didn’t feel good. I was tired a lot. Not as sharp mentally as I felt I should be. And I couldn’t seem to get lean and be strong at the same time.

After following your writings, I see why.

I used to eat 5-6 meals a day. Always a protein with a carb. Oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast. (Even though I’ve never really been hungry in the morning.) The other meals would be chicken, tuna, salmon, steak, always with rice, baked potato, sweet potato or whole wheat bread, brown rice, plus spinach, asparagus, or broccoli.

I would drink a Gatorade when I worked out. And a protein shake after.

I didn’t have much fruit. Too much sugar, I thought.

My energy would rise and plummet. So I would eat more. And it would rise and plummet more. At times I thought I might be diabetic.

I never ever thought of working out on an empty stomach. Or even after fasting all morning. Plus, I thought to get lean, I needed to do more and longer cardio.

And I never thought of occasionally going to sleep hungry.

Wow, was I wrong.

I am having the best workouts ever. Getting stronger and leaner every week. I keep my workouts short and sweet, (But I do make sure I spend plenty of time warming up before I go heavy.) usually about a 45 minute total workout. I vary the rest days in between.

I do something different each workout. Always throwing my body a curve. Sometimes low reps, sometimes high reps. Long rests, short rests, no rest. Sprints occasionally.

I eat lots and lots of colored vegetables and a variety of fruits and nuts. And of course, salmon, steak, chicken, pork tenderloin, shrimp and scallops.

I enjoy intermittent fasting. I have a teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil every day.
(Of course, some days, none.) And I take a multivitamin

I walked into a party at Christmas and a friend’s wife said everybody was getting older, but me, that I seemed to be getting younger.

I am rarely sick. And if I get sick, it never gets full blown, and it’s over very fast. When everyone else is getting colds for 10 days, I might get an itchy throat for a day or two. And at my last eye exam, one of my eyes had actually improved.

I have never felt better. I’ve never been as strong as I am now.
My skin is looking healthier. I don’t have sleepy times in the afternoon.
I am harder, leaner looking. More alert. Creative. I even seem to have to shave more often than I used to. (Once a day instead of every couple days.)

The attached photo was taken on my 54th birthday.
To celebrate my 54th birthday, I did a set of 30 chins. Beating my old record of 26.

I’m 5’ 11” and weigh 175. A year ago I weighed 196. My resting heart rate is 46.

Total cholesterol: 147 (162 in 2006)
DHDL 63.0 (52 in 2006)
LDL 78.0
Triglycerides 32.0 (65 in 2006)
C/H ratio 2.3

There is so much bad information out there that I’m very grateful to find a site filled with common sense and things that actually work.

Keep writing.

Mike