The Paleo Diet

[leonidas]

I came to a realization last night while mowing/trimming/weeding my lawn. We've gotten so backwards as a society. We spend a ton of time and money on keeping our grass green and trim just to avoid a nasty note from the HOA, while a hundred years ago they spent time and money on thier home gardens growing their own foods. By growing their own foods they avoided much of the procressed foods and icky ingredients (like HFCS) that all of us get on a daily basis. I'd much rather spend time weeding/caring for/growing my own fruits/veggies than keep up with the Jones'.

I wish I could find the article I read a couple years back that showed a strong inverse relationship throughout the past century of how much we spent on food versus health care. As our food got cheaper (processed, crazy chemicals) our health care costs went up. Back prior to the industrialization of the nation, most people grew their own food or ate locally grown food, health care costs were minimal. The article did a way better job of explaining all of this.

It's just something that hit me hard when I realized I could be shooting rather than trimming the lawn.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

It's just something that hit me hard when I realized I could be shooting rather than trimming the lawn.

Well now, it's not like all that weeding/caring for/growing your own fruits/veggies is going to get done by itself.....

 

[Fisherman777]

The FDA and AHA are lying to Americans about their health. It's like cancer... no one is ever going to cure cancer, the money is in the medicine. Not in the cure. People make a lot of money by keeping Americans unhealthy.

You're right. They don't want a cure, they want us to fight a long "expensive" chemo battle that we will lose at the end anyway.

 

[leonidas]

Well now, it's not like all that weeding/caring for/growing your own fruits/veggies is going to get done by itself.....

True! But working in my own garden never really feels like work

 

[ZX9RCAM]

True! But working in my own garden never really feels like work

Understood, just couldn't help myself, lol......

 

[SIG_Fiend]

I'm now down to 242 from 257. That's 15lbs lost since May 1st, and they've stayed off consistently. Keep in mind, I have only exercised like 2 or 3 days since then, so that weight loss is almost entirely from just the nutrition change. I feel friggin great! I was going to start the exercise routine this week, but I let stuff get in the way. I'm gonna try and be consistent about it starting next week, and get done what I can this week.

My exercise is going to center around high intensity interval training, circuit training (like Crossfit), and muscle building. I am so happy to have learned that it is ultimately bad for you, or at least less healthy than interval training, doing the standard BS cardio stuff like jogging, biking, elliptical, etc for prolonged periods of time. It causes so much excess and unneeded stress on the body, and is less effective than interval. That stuff always bored me to death. Interval and circuit training makes it so much more fun, it's all variable and you aren't stuck doing one thing for hours on end.

 

[Clockwork]

I'm now down to 242 from 257. That's 15lbs lost since May 1st, and they've stayed off consistently. Keep in mind, I have only exercised like 2 or 3 days since then, so that weight loss is almost entirely from just the nutrition change. I feel friggin great! I was going to start the exercise routine this week, but I let stuff get in the way. I'm gonna try and be consistent about it starting next week, and get done what I can this week.

My exercise is going to center around high intensity interval training, circuit training (like Crossfit), and muscle building. I am so happy to have learned that it is ultimately bad for you, or at least less healthy than interval training, doing the standard BS cardio stuff like jogging, biking, elliptical, etc for prolonged periods of time. It causes so much excess and unneeded stress on the body, and is less effective than interval. That stuff always bored me to death. Interval and circuit training makes it so much more fun, it's all variable and you aren't stuck doing one thing for hours on end.

That's awesome, Travis! Congratulations! It may be worthwhile for you to look into Tim Ferriss' 4 Hour Body book and read up on workouts that he recommends. What is being found more and more from a fitness perspective is that the time spent resting from a workout is more important than the amount of time put into the workout itself. So rather than killing yourself working at a gym for like four hours a day you can instead work out a few times a week for 20-30 minutes and get more results by using the 80/20 principle (Pareto's Princeiple) and focus your workouts on exercises that work multiple muscle groups. Just a thought.

I did (most) of the "300 Workout" yesterday before going to PT here and that was some killer. I say most because I don't yet own the olympic-style plates or a 24" box for the box jump portions of it, but I did 50 pull ups, 50 push ups, 50 35lb kettlebell arm presses, and 50 squats before going to PT. Still a little sore today, but that's a good feeling. I've been looking at cross training to SERE, so I need to bulk up a bit for special forces indoc if I'm going that route.

 

[Chupacabra Hunter]

http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/adrianfitclub


has anyone tried this? any success?

i just started this diet and i am interested to read other sucess's story

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Just came across this diet ratings listing, see #20.....

Best Weight-Loss Diets

 

[Clockwork]

Whoever put that list together is a moron. Atkins? Really?

Vomit.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/adrianfitclub


has anyone tried this? any success?

i just started this diet and i am interested to read other sucess's story

Shakeology is a complete waste of time and money IMO. I forget the cost, but it's like $120-150 a MONTH or something like that......for a protein shake. I spent a little more than that for a months worth of real food, keeping with the paleo diet, and I lost ~20-21lbs in 22 days with almost no exercise. Keep in mind, I did the strictest version of the Paleo, meaning no dairy products, no grains, no gluten, no peppers, no tomatoes, no table salt, no fruit (cut out for weight loss), no nuts (cut for weight loss), etc. Pretty much it was just meat, good sources of fat (olive oil, avocados, coconut oil), and only a handful of different vegetables like asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, lettuce, etc. I say stick to eating real food. Protein shakes are certainly handy and easy, but I look at them as being for that last 10%, and the other 90% is taken care of with real food. They shouldn't really be a replacement IMO, just sometimes it's much easier after a workout to just down a shake instead of slaving over that damn stove. For a good quality protein mix, I highly recommend the brand Jarrow as it's about as clean, natural, and with a minimal amount of stuff in it. You have to be careful with protein powders because lots have some unhealthy ingredients, some have lots of sugar, etc. Here's one of my favorites from Jarrow:

Whey Protein Chocolate 1 lb

About as natural and healthy as it gets, and that particular one has very little sugar which is nice. Remember, if you're doing the Paleo thing, make sure it is 100% gluten and grain free. Some of these powders are rice based, which of course are gluten/grain. Nice thing about the Jarrow powders is you can find them at most health food stores, and they're only ~$25-30........which will last you awhile. Much better than $120+ a month.

Now I need to get back on Paleo. Past couple weeks I've been bad and eaten some crap food, gained back a couple pounds. Oh well.

 

[Chupacabra Hunter]

Shakeology is a complete waste of time and money IMO. I forget the cost, but it's like $120-150 a MONTH or something like that......for a protein shake. I spent a little more than that for a months worth of real food, keeping with the paleo diet, and I lost ~20-21lbs in 22 days with almost no exercise. Keep in mind, I did the strictest version of the Paleo, meaning no dairy products, no grains, no gluten, no peppers, no tomatoes, no table salt, no fruit (cut out for weight loss), no nuts (cut for weight loss), etc. Pretty much it was just meat, good sources of fat (olive oil, avocados, coconut oil), and only a handful of different vegetables like asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, lettuce, etc. I say stick to eating real food. Protein shakes are certainly handy and easy, but I look at them as being for that last 10%, and the other 90% is taken care of with real food. They shouldn't really be a replacement IMO, just sometimes it's much easier after a workout to just down a shake instead of slaving over that damn stove. For a good quality protein mix, I highly recommend the brand Jarrow as it's about as clean, natural, and with a minimal amount of stuff in it. You have to be careful with protein powders because lots have some unhealthy ingredients, some have lots of sugar, etc. Here's one of my favorites from Jarrow:

Whey Protein Chocolate 1 lb

About as natural and healthy as it gets, and that particular one has very little sugar which is nice. Remember, if you're doing the Paleo thing, make sure it is 100% gluten and grain free. Some of these powders are rice based, which of course are gluten/grain. Nice thing about the Jarrow powders is you can find them at most health food stores, and they're only ~$25-30........which will last you awhile. Much better than $120+ a month.

Now I need to get back on Paleo. Past couple weeks I've been bad and eaten some crap food, gained back a couple pounds. Oh well.

Sig....thanks for the info.... the hardest thing is motivation..... and hunger pains..... and the excericse.... losing sweets..... no after dinner treats......etc..

Did I say I am having a hard time getting motivated? I need to do it for myself and my family..... I will win eventually.....

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Oh I know man. I've lacked the motivation for YEARS. I just reached my breaking point and decided I couldn't let myself go any further, because it would only get worse in the future with health issues, being more disease prone due to poor health, etc. I just don't want to live like that and I don't want that to be my future. Really, it follows the same exact philosophy I teach students when it comes to firearms. It's all a matter of paying attention to detail, repetition to build muscle memory, and doing it right as often as you can. It's really that simple, tough part is staying focused on the task at hand and not getting caught up overwhelming yourself thinking about the big picture all the time, which is probably one of the biggest reasons people quit diets, workouts, or other health related plans. I can tell you from personal experience, it's tough as hell breaking the years worth of "muscle memory" in consuming fast food! If there is one thing I am proficient at, it is downing fast food cheeseburgers! LOL

 

[leonidas]

MMmmmmmm.....cheeseburger...........

Stick with it Sig! It like the law of motion: "objects in motion tend to remain in motion until acted upon by force. Objects at rest, tend to remain at rest until acted upon by force" The more I eat crap, the more I crave it and don't want to exercise (because I feel tired all the time). The more I sit around, the less I want to move.

The good news is the more I exercise the more I want to exercise even though the first few weeks are torture and I'm comletely exhausted. The more I eat healthy, the more my body craves good food.

I was camping recently and the food at the camp was high in carbs, fat, and sugar. In my past life, I would have eaten what was put in front of me because I was hungry and it tastes good. This time, I didn't. In fact I found it disgusting to me and only chose what little fruits, veggies, and high protien foods that were available.

BTW, this post is really a pep talk for me and not you! Even on my best days, soda and fast food are always a temptation!

Also, forgive my ignorance, but what classes do you teach?

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Primarily handgun classes. Typical stuff like Pistol 1 (static), Pistol 2 (dynamic), but also some fun, short, and inexpensive classes like a pure malfunctions class among other things.

Austin Gun Training Classes
Dillo Dynamics - Facebook

The site isn't finished yet, but we'll hopefully have it up soon.

 

[ArielT]

I'm actually eating a mostly gluten free diet. The exception are post-workout shakes contain oatmeal and whey, which seemed like about the best option I could come up with.

 

[Clockwork]

You can get a lot of the protein that you need just from foods. I'd go with a nice scrambled egg meal instead of a whey protein shake. More satisfying, too.

 

[ArielT]

You can get a lot of the protein that you need just from foods. I'd go with a nice scrambled egg meal instead of a whey protein shake. More satisfying, too.

Biggest issue is available carbs there. I love me some eggs with chopped veggies, but unless I want to chug a few bananas (I find a single banana is incredible filling) it gets sort of hard. I dunno, if I don't have those sugars afterwards I feel really drained. Same after bike riding. Is there something obvious I'm missing?

 

[TheDan]

Is there something obvious I'm missing?

Probably animal fat... Try bacon.

 

[Clockwork]

Biggest issue is available carbs there. I love me some eggs with chopped veggies, but unless I want to chug a few bananas (I find a single banana is incredible filling) it gets sort of hard. I dunno, if I don't have those sugars afterwards I feel really drained. Same after bike riding. Is there something obvious I'm missing?

Crap. I just wrote out a long response, hit the wrong button, and lost it all. FML.

Okay, to summarize:

One of the big keys to the paleo lifestyle is macronutrient control. Macronutrients are main sources of where your body gets its fuel that it burns as energy. Complex carbohydrates and sugars are a big no-no for paleo afficionados, which leaves mainly healthy fats as a source of energy for your body. That means healthy meats, eggs, nuts, and seeds. Carbohydrates aren't bad for you in general and I highly encourage a vegetable and fruit based diet where anyone can actually manage it. Five hundred calories worth of salad is a lot more food than 500 calories worth of fats, so it'll fill you up and keep your body fueled. The benefit to cutting out the carbs and the sugars is that it only leaves fats for energy so that forces your body to burn your body's stored fat in addition to the fats that you consume for energy, so that's the reasoning behind the preference in paleo for eating a nice egg scramble rather than a banana (and other fruit) smoothie.