Paleo again faster

[saypay45]

I'm bringing back the Paleo forum because last time I followed it I wasn't too interested in the idea. I'm coming around now because I've been feeling just plain crappy with regards to my diet and I'm looking for a change. My friends from Crossfit are all doing it and having lots of success.

I'm wondering how you Paleo folks are liking the diet, especially those who are doing higher mileage like me. Also, are you making any tweets to it to make it more runner friendly?

 

[rachtenb]

I just read "The Paleo

I just read "The Paleo Diet" book by Loren Cordian. I'm very interested to see who is tweaking it and what are your modifications or deviations to the original diet?

Also curious of how much wild game you have added into your diet?

Anyone doing it 100% by the book?

I'm only doing 80-90% of the diet and failing 10-20%(some grains & cheese, drinking more alcohol than suggested).



Bob

 

[saypay45]

I don't think I'm going to

I don't think I'm going to have trouble with the types of foods I'd be restricted to eating. In law school I was a pretty big weight lifter and followed a really strict high protein, low carb diet. I don't have trouble not eating certain foods.

What I'm really interested in hearing is whether it can keep up with the demands of high mileage training. It just seems like one would need some starchy food just for energy sake. I doubt I will follow it to the letter, in that I'll likely still use energy gels and sports drink during training...just because I think you need that quick energy to avoid the wall in a long run.

My other biggest challenge will be doing the diet if my wife chooses not to partake...which I imagine she will. She loves her carbs, bacon, and cheese. Although the prospect of weight loss without exercise might be attractive to her.

 

[Matt]

I've cut way back on sugar

I've cut way back on sugar and starchy carbs. If your body doesn't have carbs, it will do fine with fat and protein in terms of energy requirements. Your body naturally starts shifting from burning carbs to burning fat as you get past the 1/2 hour mark of a long distance run.

I still want to try experimenting with longer runs where I'm totally carb depleted before I start out.

 

[rachtenb]

I just found the "Going

I just found the "Going Paleo" post and it did answer some of my questions...

Sorry saypay for redirecting your original post from your original question "Long distance running and Paleo Diet"....

IMHO eating complex carbs that are easily digestible for fuel before and while running to keep your energy level up throughout the run...

It is unfortunate that these food/drink supplements (Power bars, Gu, Gatoraide, Redbull) in which these companies have convinced healthy runners/cyclists/swimmers that eating simple carbohydrates(sugar/grains) with a dose of caffeine is what we need for quick energy. Just like Nike has convinced 99.9%(I guess we are the .1%) the runners that they need running shoes. The energy drink/supplement companies have successfully marketed that we all need to use these products to go faster and farther.

Bob

 

[jschwab]

I am Paleo + potatoes +

I am Paleo + potatoes + sausage + sorbet (ie. sugar). No dairy, no grains. I feel great and I weigh about 85 pounds less than I used to.

 

[rachtenb]

Paleo Energy

Paleo Energy foods:

Bananas

Sardines

Almonds

Blueberries

Avocado

Spinach



The problem here is portability I have seen a plastic banana protector and you can carry a can of sardines.

Now if there was a way of creating a tasty energy bar from all of these foods.

 

[Matt]

I think I could live on nuts

I think I could live on nuts and berries.

 

[saypay45]

I'm glad to hear that a

I'm glad to hear that a modified version of Paleo working for you jschwab. I love the idea of keeping more natural startches like potatos, beans, and brown rice in my diet...but maybe in far lesser quantities. Maybe even a little milk?

I know the whole idea behind restricting those foods is that they do more "harm" than good. But I think I'm going to have to go that way to get the family on board.

 

[jschwab]

I fought giving up dairy

I fought giving up dairy tooth and nail (it was embarrassing). I really only gave it up because I started getting horrible stomach cramps. Lots of people are Paleo + X. I would rather eat potatoes than slurp down energy gels like Cordain recommends. I also don't agree with his saturated fat phobia (he's coming around on this).

One super Paleo thing I do every night is eat a teaspoon of raw liver. It's been really amazing for my energy. Another super bad ass Paleo thing I do is I fast all day and eat all my food in one sitting (not that bad ass, really, as you get used to it quickly). This has really freed up time for training (like it would have freed up time for hunting for Paleo man).

 

[Abide]

I've given a go at only

I've given a go at only eating vegetables/fruits, seeds/nuts and eggs for a while. Each time my energy really hasn't been there. So I'm back to my typical diet which is rich in those things but also includes whole grains and beans, all different kinds. I'm a vegetarian and don't eat dairy, but do eat my chickens eggs.

 

[jschwab]

Yeah, you cannot do Paleo

Yeah, you cannot do Paleo without meat. There is just too much missing.

 

[Danjo]

Hmm.. thats a really weird

Hmm.. thats a really weird diet. Not that theres really a right and a wrong way to eat, I guess different things work for different people. But that sound like its just about the opposite of what the Tarahumara and a lot of Ultra-runners do. They get like 60% of their calories from carbs, mostly starches such as rice or in the case of the Tarahumara, roast corn. Then they get their protien moslty from different plant groups. But anyone who read "Born To Run" already knows that...

 

[jschwab]

Danjo wrote:Hmm.. thats a

Hmm.. thats a really weird diet. Not that theres really a right and a wrong way to eat, I guess different things work for different people. But that sound like its just about the opposite of what the Tarahumara and a lot of Ultra-runners do. They get like 60% of their calories from carbs, mostly starches such as rice or in the case of the Tarahumara, roast corn. Then they get their protien moslty from different plant groups. But anyone who read "Born To Run" already knows that...

There is alot in Born to Run that is very skewed from reality or practically made up. Most Americans get 60% of their calories from carbs, too...

 

[saypay45]

jschwab, your diet sounds a

jschwab, your diet sounds a lot like The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler. I used to follow that in college, more for ease of use than anything. The only thing that is off limits on that diet is processed foods. Otherwise, the rules are that you can't eat anything except very small amounts of nuts or berries throughout the day, and you eat one large meal at night.

It actually worked pretty well for me. My problem was that I didn't know much about diet back then and there was no real good guidance on what to do with my big meal to get the proper nutrients. That's been a criticism of the diet in general, but I think combining it with Paleo might largely alleviate those problems.

But I agree with the reasoning behind the diet, and the schedule works for me.

 

[Abide]

jschwab wrote:Yeah, you

Yeah, you cannot do Paleo without meat. There is just too much missing.

Yeah I have accepted that now. I read what is below and thought I could do it, but it just didn't provide the energy I felt I needed. If I didn't excercise as much as I do it would be an awesome diet. But man nothing works quite as well as rice and beans for a pre workout meal.



http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/


The Paleo Diet for Vegetarians
Q: I want to try out the Paleo Diet but I'm a vegetarian. I eat tofu, seitan, tempeh, fish, eggs, and cheese as replacements for meat. I understand I have to leave out the beans, but is it ok to use the other replacements?

A: The Paleo Diet is based on foods similar to what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate during the paleolithic era - 2.6 million year to 10,000 years ago. That means 99.6% of our evolutionary history, hence our genome is perfectly adapted to eat foods similar to what we found during that period of time. This means eating lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The agricultural revolution (10,000 years ago) lead to a dramatic change in human nutrition. Cereal grains, legumes, dairy, vegetable oils, salt, alcohol, and refined sugars comprise 72% of the nutrition in the western society. These last foods contain harmful substances associated to many "diseases of civilization", such as diabetes, celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases, obesity, hypertension, certain cancers, acne, polycistic ovary syndrome, myopia, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, etc.

Tofu and tempeh are sources of soy bean agglutinin (SBA). SBA has harmful properties because they break membranes and this can induce increased intestinal permeability which is associated to certain autoimmune diseases and low-grade inflammation. SBA has also been shown to stimulate the immune system, something we don't want in an inflammatory disease.

Seitan has the worst part of wheat, namely gluten. Gluten is a prolamine peptide associated to many diseases typical of western civilization such as Celiac Disease, Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Ataxia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and others.

So if you want to eat a paleolithic diet without eating meat you should ensure that you're getting adequate protein intake using egg powder protein shakes along with some supplements:
[*]Vitamin B12 (1 mg per day)[*]Taurine (1 gram per day)[*]Carnosine (800 mg per day)[*]Carnitine (400 mg per day)[/list]

 

[Matt]

I just read the following

I just read the following article on Tim Ferriss' blog. It's making me even more determined to give up grains. To sum it up succinctly -- the grains are doing their best to make us sick, so we will stop eating them.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/19/paleo-diet-solution/

 

[jschwab]

All grains was what really

All grains was what really finally did the most for my health. I was fooling around with rice flour and tortilla chips for a long time. When I finally got rid of it all, longstanding health issues diseappeared immediately. I had had to take medication every day for going on five years for a specific problem. Within three days of giving up grains, the problem was gone forever. I think alot of people who feel better giving up gluten can benefit from an all grains free diet. We actually do not allow grains in our house at all, because, as it turns out, in addition to being not so great for us, they attract mice. As soon as we eliminated grains from our kitchen, we never got a mouse again. Mice and rats evolved in coexistence with the rise of agriculture.

 

[startingupagain]

 Hey Saypay,I've been doing

Hey Saypay,

I've been doing paleo for about 7 months now. I love it. My main reason for doing was to get off Lipitor and it has worked. My HDL went up to 62 and my LDL only went up to 127 (from a very low only-achievable-with-Lipitor level). My LDL used to be around 180 (thus the lipitor).

I'm not sure what you've been reading regarding defining what is paleo. My definition is not to eat anything that you couldn't digest, if you had to, raw or unprocessed, and also being somewhat low carb.

That, at least for my version of paleo means



NONE: (Doesn't mean I don't ever cheat, but I'm pretty good and I do know that this is cheating) corn, rice, wheat, oats, all other grains. Also no seed oils (corn oil, soybean oil). I do sometimes have canola oil. No soybeans or any other legumes including peanuts. No sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup. No artificial sweeteners.

AS MUCH AS YOU WANT: Any animal product including eggs and dairy. Olive oil. Nuts. Vegetables. Fruits.

LIMITED: Non-grain starches such as potatoes and sweet potatoes. So, for instance, I had a side of roasted potatoes for lunch today, but had no starches for breakfast and won't for dinner.

I don't run very long distances, but I haven't noticed at all that I have problems with, say, a 90 minute workout or race.

As for working this in with family, it depends. I make my own breakfast (three scrambled eggs with butter along with coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 usually), have lunch at work, and am usually the one who makes dinner. So that means that I make something where the non-paleo stuff is avoidable. So for instance, a meat or fish, some grain and a green vegetable or salad is great because I then just won't eat the grain. The only problem are things like casseroles where everything is mixed up, or a pasta where if you don't eat the pasta, there isn't much to eat.

 

[Abide]

I'm trying to stir the pot

I'm trying to stir the pot here...

There is a lot of so called literarture stating meat and dairy are bad for you, but the paleos choose to ignore this.

On the other hand there is so called literature that says grains and legumes are bad for you, vegetarians and vegans tend to ignore this.

So what do you believe? Should we just eat fruits, vegetables and nuts because everyone agrees that these things are good for you?