'Gorgeous girls eat meat': New diet book says the secret to staying slim is replacing bread with beef jerky



A new diet book claims that the secret to staying slim is eating like a cave woman by sticking to foods that our ancestors could 'catch, pluck, or dig up'.



In Cavewomen Don't Get Fat: Ancient Secrets to Rapid Weight Loss, author Esther Blum introduces a paleo-based eating plan with a twist - which she calls 'Paleo Chic' - and it's not exactly vegetarian-friendly.



'Gorgeous girls eat meat,' she said on The Today Show, explaining that carnivorous snacks are key to 'raising dopamine and seratonin levels in the brain' and 'getting a lean, healthy body.'



Beef not bread: In Cave Women Don't Get Fat, women are encouraged to eat a lot of protein (posed by model)

Protein power: Author Dr Esther Blum (center) tells Today co-anchors Hoda Kohb (left) and Kathie Lee Gifford (right) why the secret to staying slim is eating lots of grass-fed meat

However, she cautions that 'it has to be meat raised on grass because it contains Omega 3 fatty acids.' In Ms Blum's food plan, all calories are not created equal.

'Here’s a simple fact: unprocessed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish always—and I mean always—contain fewer calories than processed foods,' she wrote.

For example, on the show she paired organic beef with low-sugar, antioxidant rich raspberries, almonds and avocados.



Lunch was a bread-free sandwich that the author made with a salmon cake between two pieces of lettuce, and for dinner she substituted zucchini for regular pasta to get a carbohydrate fix for dinner.



Carnivorous cravings: For breakfast, Dr Blum recommends grass-fed meat served with raspberries, almonds and avocado

Lateral move: Rather than eliminating carbohydrates entirely, the author says we can make substitutions such as zucchini noodles instead of regular pasta

Co-anchor Kathie Lee Gifford looked unimpressed after sniffing the beef jerky, saying 'this is what I feed my dogs in the afternoon.'



But both Ms Gifford and Hoda Kolb were fans of the turkey and avocado combination that Ms Blum recommended to fight the afternoon crash.

The author explains that she went back to the ways of our ancient ancestors after finding that the 'modern' approach was making people unwell.



'Sixty pounds of grain and thirty pounds of sugar—as the typical American does each year—is making us fat, sick, and tired', she writes.



She adds that, since diet is responsible for 80 percent of weight loss - with exercise accounting for 20 percent - it is crucial to get control of this element.



Paleo Chic: In her book Cave Women Don't Get Fat, Dr Esther Blum promises fast results

'Every time one of my clients says, "I eat a healthy diet, but I am not losing weight. Why not?" I know that she is eating the wrong kinds of healthy foods.'

She advises that dieters adapt a plan of 'clean eating' - which means ditching the empty calories found in processed food, and filling up on nutritionally dense, natural foods instead.



Ms Blum promises that eating healthier food means that dieters can actually eat more.



'You’ll be eating in order to ignite your metabolism, not to ramp it down,' she says.



Ms Blum writes that 'our bodies are designed to run on fewer carbohydrates than most of us are accustomed to eating.'



So she advises ditching high-gluten foods - which includes all types of grains including wheat, rye, oats, spelt and others.

Dieters should also avoid 'neocarbs' including enriched flour products, sugar-infused drinks and foods, genetically beefed-up grains and animal products.



'We need to step away from factory-generated food and move, instead, back into the bush,' she poi

Instead, dieters should fill up on naturally-occurring carbohydrates, including fresh fruit and vegetables.



Beefing it up: The Today Show hosts were less impressed with the dried jerky that Dr Blum suggested as a snack

Acceptable protein sources include pastured poultry, grass-fed beef and wild fish.



Nuts are allowed, but should be limited to the 'amount equal to what could be found in nature,' which she says is around 1/4 cup.

Instead, Dr Blum suggests choosing naturally occuring - and fiber-dense -fruits and vegetables.

Dr Blum says that this style of eating provides benefits other than weight loss: Paleo Chic eaters become more protected against harmful food additives, hormones and other chemicals.



'Mother Nature, thank our stars and garters, isn’t a major corporation that puts profits over people, so by eating Paleo Chic, we not only nip those cravings but also get to keep some cold cash in our pockets.'