Paleo Questions

Longboard · Feb 15, 2011

My personal belief is that

My personal belief is that our bodies are much more incredible machines than we give them credit for.

For most of us eating enough calories to be healthy is'nt the challange it can be in the third world.

Neither is getting enough protein.

It's pretty well understood that too many calories, too much fat, too many refined carbs, too little fibre, and not enough exercise is harmful to one's health, but the rest is probably needless micro-management unless we are talking about planet sustainability and "green" , religous, or moral issues.

I'm fairly certain that our 2000-3000 KCAL/day diet depending on body weight, BMR, and activity level done following the basic guidelines will keep us all healthy. Whether or not it makes us feel like good custodians of the planet is of course something else.

zapmamak · Feb 15, 2011

if i could still drink beer

if i could still drink beer on this diet i would be all over that, but most beer is made from grain, right? This will have to be a modification i add after my 30 days is up.

Longboard · Feb 15, 2011

Wiki says this:As almost any

Wiki says this:

As almost any substance containing carbohydrates, mainly sugars or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world. The invention of bread and beer has been argued to be responsible for humanity's ability to develop technology and build civilization.

There MUST be a paleo beer!

hmduey · Feb 16, 2011

reading this post made me

reading this post made me want to put in my two cents, for what they are worth (probably not two cents!)...

I am not really "paleo" but after honing my diet and workouts, I found I naturally gravitated toward a more paleo-like diet; lots of veggies and nuts and fish. I've found that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) makes me feel like crap most of the time (and I was a Coke-aholic before!), and anything that has wheat in it does the same thing. I am allergic to wheat (not celiac, but allergic), but I could eat bleached flour. I found that giving that up made me feel tons better, and now when I eat a sandwich I even have this "blah" feeling.

I'm by no means strict about any of it, but just found that as I got into better and better shape, my body naturally craved something closer to a paleo diet, or maybe even vegetarian. But since there's no way I can get enough protein that way (because I'm a picky eater) I have to throw the salmon and some red meat in there once in awhile.

Not really a specified-diet statement so much as an observation as my own body evolved over a period of months.

miker · Feb 16, 2011

plus, I'm thinking that if

plus, I'm thinking that if there had been Girl Scouts around, Mr. Paleo would have included some Thin Mints and/or Samoas in his diet, because his daughter would have had to move her quota of product. ;-)

SaraLord · Feb 16, 2011

Food & FeetI've been

Food & Feet

I've been vegetarian for 20+ years but really appreciate the goals of a paleo diet which I translate (in a loose fashion) to "no procecced junk". Many of our ideas on "the right way to do something" change and evolve over time; global warming, butter, flouride, to name just a few.

Having said that, I came across an interesting bit of news a few weeks ago:

http://uwire.com/2011/01/10/study-shows-neanderthal-diet-not-so-different-from-humans/

http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/neanderthals-ate-a-well-balanced-diet

Short story: Scientist Alison Brooks studies Neanderthal teeth and finds cooked starches caught between them.

This is not an atempt to stir up the pot, because I know that my preferred diet is just that, my preference. If we look at human diets across the globe, it seems that we can survive on quite varied or very unvaried (think Inuit) foods.

Is it that important whether we include or exclude quinoa or is it more important to make a very considered, informed decision on what to fuel ourselves with?

Most of us (except for people like Ken Bob, etc) would at one time have thought running without shoes was absolutely crazy. Those cooking Neanderthals did go barefoot but I bet they also were pretty happy to wrap animal hides on their feet when it was cold out.

Thoughts?

saypay45 · Feb 16, 2011

I get into this argument all

I get into this argument all the time Sara. I've been paleo for a while as well, and my big objection to most arguments about what is, and is not paleo, is that the "paleo argument" doesn't apply well to all the foods that are considered taboo. The core argument is that grains and processed foods are bad because they weren't around in the caveman days, and our bodies therefore can't process them because we haven't adapted to do it.

But when it comes to things like potatoes, dairy, rice, and legumes, the argument isn't that they weren't around back then. It's that they aren't healthy for one reason or another. Usually the argument is that there are "anti-nutrients" in them that make them more harmful than good for you.

I always feel like that's where the paleo argument breaks down. Paleo dieters are the ONLY ones who say these foods aren't healthy. Plenty of dietitians say they are. It's just nonsense to me, because I think the only real conclusion to draw from it is "nobody knows". It's kind of like in the 80s when eggs were bad for you. Then in the 90s eggs were good for you.

We're still learning about what foods are good and bad for us. So I continue to eat mostly the paleo diet because it's really simple for me. But I think the best advice will always be "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants".

zapmamak · Feb 16, 2011

hmduey - Before I started

hmduey - Before I started this paleo experiment I was the same way. I've never dieted, but rather ate according to what I felt like eating. Granted we've never been heavily into the processed foods (I hate fast food), but what I found is that I moderated and balanced my diet pretty well. Even when I ate the crap stuff, I never OVER ate it. I felt pretty balanced. However, I am finding some great new stuff on this paleo diet and I'm starting to crave WAY more vegetables and fish than I did before. So far, it hasn't been too drastic of a change. Robb Wolf's book has been enlightening and inspires me to learn more about how the human body processes and utilizes different fuels. Fascinating stuff.

sara- thanks for the links. Some interesting reads.

SaraLord · Feb 16, 2011

Welcome Saypay & Zapmamak! I

Welcome Saypay & Zapmamak! I almost didn't hit send for fear of rigid backlash. MMMM, eggs, another excellent example of good for you, bad for you then good for you food.

Michael Palin is my hero. I'm going to look up Robb Wolf.

SaraLord · Feb 16, 2011

follow up: ordered Wolf's

follow up: ordered Wolf's book, thanks for the tip Saypay! If Amazon ever goes out of business, it's all over for me.

saypay45 · Feb 16, 2011

I'm always cruising the paleo

I'm always cruising the paleo threads Sara. I prefer blogs to books, so I tend to stalk Mark's Daily Apple, www.marksdailyapple.com

Also, this dude, with a name very similar to mine, also wrote a good intro to paleo blog post on the subject. What was that dude's name again? Right on the tip of my tongue...

peacekaren · Feb 16, 2011

saypay45 wrote:But I think

saypay45 said:
But I think the best advice will always be "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants".

+1 !!! Pollan hit the nail on the head with that advice.

I've been experimenting with the Primal Blueprint variety of paleo for the last month and I've been very pleased with my results. I like Mark Sisson's approach. I find it balanced and not so strict about what is or what is not paleo. Here are a couple of his posts that highlight his balanced approach:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/when-science-trumps-grok/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/8020-principle/

Peace,

Karen

SaraLord · Feb 16, 2011

It's funny you should mention

It's funny you should mention this fellow, I actually check in on his blog every week or two. Didn't want to mention him to you and make you feel like less of a BFR!

Art · Feb 16, 2011

@Longboard: here's a paleo

@Longboard: here's a paleo booze recipe for you:

1) Locate honeybee hive

2) Start a good fire near a large pile of rocks

3) Dig a shallow pit near the fire pit, line with spruce boughs, and fill with water

4) Start heating rocks in the fire and adding them to the water until you bring the water to a boil

5) Grab the hive and run (barefoot, 'natch) to throw it into the boiling water. (Probably need to hack the hive apart a little bit or something. I don't know, haven't tried it.)

7) Wait a few days for wild yeasts to ferment the cooled honey-water

8) Grab your gourd ladle and mugs and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Note that it's kind of a pain in the ass (there's that word again) and doesn't lend itself to having a beer (or six) every night after work.

Longboard · Feb 16, 2011

Art came through, and Paleo

Art came through, and Paleo brew it's gonna be for me.

The LB PWI mobile lounge & and race vehicle hits I-75 southbound after work tomorrow,

so it will have to wait, but at least my feet will be tough again when we return.

Stepping on any of those bees should be no problem by then.

Abide · Feb 16, 2011

Here is my question about the

Here is my question about the Paleo diet. If you believe we were born to run, how come most endurance athletes don't subscribe to this diet? Even the Paleo gurus created a diet that technically cheats.

Zap, the weight you lost was probably weight from water and glycogen stores. That is one of the reasons that so many people lose weight fast with this and any low carb diet. As long as you calories balance you shouldn't lose anymore weight.

Being a vegetarian I even think the paleo diet is probably the healthiest one out there. I would like to see people eat more game than livestock but oh well.

saypay45 · Feb 17, 2011

I know that Shacky has been

I know that Shacky has been pretty successful running with a strict paleo diet Abide. I'm about 80%, since I do dairy and occasional potatoes and rice. But I find I have more than enough energy to run, if not an abundance of it.

But I do enjoy the concept of the "Paleo for Athletes" diet, which says you can eat pretty much anything for a certain window before and after you run. I actually tried it for a while, and found that it made feel just as crappy as not following the diet at all. I don't know many people that actually follow the Paleo for Athletes model.

The paleo diet, in a varied form, is actually more popular with strength athletes. When I did primarily bodybuilding exercises, I ate an almost identical diet to what I eat now. A lot of my friends compete in strongman competitions, and they swear by it.

I think more endurance athletes will go on the diet once they find out that they can perform at a high level of endurance without readily available energy in the form of carbs. You train your body to use your reserves if you're a paleo athlete, and you actually start functioning better in my opinion (that's just anecdotal from my own performance).

zapmamak · Feb 17, 2011

@Longboard: here's a paleo

@Longboard: here's a paleo booze recipe for you:

1) Locate honeybee hive

2) Start a good fire near a large pile of rocks

3) Dig a shallow pit near the fire pit, line with spruce boughs, and fill with water

4) Start heating rocks in the fire and adding them to the water until you bring the water to a boil

5) Grab the hive and run (barefoot, 'natch) to throw it into the boiling water. (Probably need to hack the hive apart a little bit or something. I don't know, haven't tried it.)

7) Wait a few days for wild yeasts to ferment the cooled honey-water

Grab your gourd ladle and mugs and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

. . . . . . . .

Hahahaha! This cracks me up!

Shacky · Feb 20, 2011

I followed the Paleo

I followed the Paleo lifestyle pretty hard core for a bit to see how the body reacted and was pleased with the results. I've since backed off to about 80%. Food I cook for myself is still legit but there are one or two meals a week that Robb Wolf would shake his head at. These are social meals with friends and co-workers.

I don't drink much beer and wine anymore but here's a few Paleo friendly drinks I've found. I've tried them all and have even turned some of my friends onto them.

Robb Wolf's NorCal Margarita

1. 2–3 shots of 100% agave tequila.

2. Juice and pulp from one lime.

3. Shake it all up with some ice.

4. Add soda water to taste.

SoCal Margarita

2 oz of Patron Silver

2 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 serrano chili

cilantro

1/4 oz agave

Directions:

Chop serrano chili and cilantro finely.

Muddle serrano chili, cilantro and agave.

Add ice, then lime juice and tequila

Finish with lime wedge.

But my favorite of Paleo margaritas is a version of the Grapefruit-Habanero Margarita (original recipe calls for simple sugar but I use agave to make it a bit more Paleo friendly):

2 shots of Habanero-infused tequila

2 shots of 100% grapefruit juice

1/4 oz agave

zapmamak · Feb 20, 2011

Shacky wrote:But my favorite

Shacky said:
But my favorite of Paleo margaritas is a version of the Grapefruit-Habanero Margarita (original recipe calls for simple sugar but I use agave to make it a bit more Paleo friendly): 2 shots of Habanero-infused tequila

2 shots of 100% grapefruit juice

1/4 oz agave

Was glad to see Robb Wolf give the "wink wink" to the margarita. Lets face it... life would be no fun without a little happy hour every now and then.

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