I (ideally) follow a Paleo type diet, or caveman diet.
This is the basic idea:
There is no problem with meat, and it should be eaten (with the fat) with pretty much every meal, variety is good, and plenty of fish.
What is absolutely essential though is eating LOTS of vegetables, half of which being green leafy type, and also plenty of red/orange veges.
The other important thing is not to eat grains... at all, especially wheat and corn.
Grains contain phytic acid, which binds up minerals and makes them unavailable for humans to absorb.
Only rodents get any real benefit from grains (they produce phytase which neutralises the phytic acid)
Eating grains prevents you from absorbing not only the minerals in the grain itself but also the food you are eating it with.
The great Wikipedia wrote: Phytic acid (known as inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), or phytate when in salt form), discovered in 1903,[1] is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially bran and seeds.[2] Phytate is not digestible to humans or nonruminant animals, however, so it is not a source of either inositol or phosphate if eaten directly. Moreover, it chelates and thus makes unabsorbable certain important minor minerals such as zinc and iron, and to a lesser extent, also macro minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
Grains also cause inflammation leading to a whole host of other longer term health issues.
A diet with grains tends to be very carbohydrate heavy. The body can easily get the energy it requires from fats (animal fats etc) Fat is more filling and so a diet with plenty of fat and no grains will tend to be much lower in total carbohydrates. Much better for insulin sensitivity and all the health issues associated with that.
For references and further reading i would first suggest articles from http://www.marksdailyapple.com and go from there.
My personal story of the "I need carbs for energy myth":
I have never been much of a runner, but my work signed us up for Tough Mudder, a 20km hardcore obstacle course. I started training about 4 months before, running about once per week. Before the event I was running almost 6km in about 25mins (nothing special I know) and hadn't run further than that.
I had very minimal carbs the whole time and leading up to the even, I just ate as best I could with plenty of meat+fat and veges. I completed the event and ran the whole way, I even felt I could have gone faster.
Ever since I have started the Paleo eating style I have had more energy and I don't get tired after lunch in the afternoon. I also dont get the desire (as much) to indulge in sweet foods in the mid afternoon.
I think if you are going to cut out red meat from your diet you are making life extra hard for yourself in terms of getting the right amount of nutrients, cutting out grains would certainly be beneficial... in all cases.
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In a world seriously suffering with diseases caused by excessive consumption, we need to drop calorific intake.
