My experience with the Paleo Diet

[AZRickD]

Oopsy. Looks like Rick needs some peer review.

I was doing some clever cutting and pasting in my iPhone and left out something that should have read, "1,700" calories, not "700" calories.

Sooo, I would add another 1,000 (for the mythical 180 pound male). These extra calories would mostly come from veggies, and starch (and possibly more fat if the cuts of meat are very lean). I usually go with a well-marbled ribeye or oily fish.

Lastly, 16 ounces of beef (128 grams of protein) provides way more protein than the typical male needs and is closer to what a top athlete would require (or a growing child or someone trying to build muscle mass).

[Jakobi]

Originally Posted by WA.GG

And since this guy is from AU I am sure Jakobi will have some great comments about the guy..... ;-)

First I've heard of it however I just watched the shorts.

Juice is just a really quick and easy way to smash down a large serving of fruit/vegies, and we all know they are good for you. As for liquid diets (juice fast/shakes/etc) I'm not a fan. I like to eat and I like to sit down and enjoy the smells, flavours, and textures. I enjoy cooking as much as I enjoy eating too. So personally blending a heap of yummy stuff up into a pulp and gulping it down doesn't do a whole lot for me and isn't what I would call sustainable regime. As a suppliment or addition to an already balanced diet. FOR SURE! Especially if you struggle to intake enough fresh fruit and veg.

Its truly amazing just how well the human body adapts and copes with whatever you do to it. The bigger battles are those that are psychological. Basically I never tell myself I can/can't eat anything. I eat what I want when I want. I know what happens when I eat too much junk, so its easy to control. Whats harder to control is the serving size the missus puts on the plate! Lucky we share the cooking. Hahah!

[AZRickD]

Yeah, it has to be enjoyable -- makes it easier giving up cupcakes at work.

"Um, nice cupcakes, but I have a hunk of ribeye to warm up..."

I'm out the door in a few minutes to head to my club's Competition Committee meeting. I googled Bennigans wondering what the heck kind of bar food they had in store for me. Turns out they make a nice, "pan-fried steak salad."

I'll go for that. Probably some beer, too.

[tm_enduro]

In all honesty, once you adjust to eating whole foods (as opposed to processed), you will enjoy your meals more and will have less cravings. Anything premade tastes salty, sweet, or greasy.

[GMP]

Very true. Years ago, spending a lot of time on a dive boat, I ate a lot of that stuff, seemed fine. Now I can't stomach it. A big salad,with a slab of chicken, steak, or fish on top is a major part of my diet, although rarely steak lately.

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[AZRickD]

This weekend's race in Globe, Arizona marks 3.5 months since I started this paleo thing. My weight is still stable around 197-ish (I haven't weighed myself in a week or so). I am fitting into some of my 33-inch pants and most of my 34-inch pants are downright baggy.

My only deviations from fairly strict paleo eating is that I eat more fruit and nuts than paleo dudes consider Kosher -- At least, up until a couple weeks ago, since I ran out of nuts and don't particularly feel a need to buy more. The best way not to eat stuff is to keep it out of one's vicinity. My other quasi paleo transgressions: pastuerized milk with coffee, yogurt every now and again, and the rare beer per week.

I did the same dietary prep for Globe as before -- ie, nothing. I just ate as per normal. The morning of the race I ate a fairly light breakfast of three thick strip of bacon and one egg and fried up a few yam slices. I finished a few cups of coffee and hopped on the bike which was filled with about 3 gallons of pre-mix which I figured would last me five laps (assuming I got lapped twice by a speedy AA guy) with at least a half gallon to spare. That meant I wouldn't have to pit, and I didn't, so I didn't.

Since the weather was around 40F I had just a quart of water in my hydration pack with the proscribed paleo pinch of salt & squeeze of lime to keep me going. Through the race I remained pretty strong until the sleet turned some sections a bit slippery. After lap 4 my stomach started gurgling which meant I was "hungry" but my blood sugar, while probably dropping, was in no way crashing. I shoulda eaten another egg or something.

The paleo endurance athletes say that they burn fat well up to about 2 hours or so, then need to go to carbs. My fifth and final lap started at the 2-hour mark and I suppose I would've benefited from some liquified carbs of some source.

I finished the race at five laps (leaders did six) and I was ready to do another one had I not been saddled with the emotional burden of a crazy-cool finisher medallion. I putt-putted off to my camper to scarf down some more bacon and yam with a Fosters chaser before packing up for home.

The next race in two weeks is at San Manuel, Arizona (between Globe and Tucson). This is going to be a fairly quick (for our usually technical courses) 78-mile hare scramble (3 26-mile loops).

That's about 4 hours for me, so I'll have no choice but to put a little bit of carbo in my hydration pack and probably schlurp down some yam, nanner and a bit of OJ or something at every lap.

[tm_enduro]

AZRick
I am not a Paleo, more of a whole food type guy. As well as a bike rider (former racer), I am a competative masters runner (over 40). I have found that when do long races (10K and over), I can build up my reserves with sushi (tuna, salmon, and white rice) the night before the race. For shorter races I just have a kale/spinach shake, but for longer runs I will eat 3 or 4 eggs with the shake. But, I often find that a protein (prefer vegan) shake with 20+ gm of protein is manditory, immediately upon finishing, then head to the local mexican restaurant for carne asada (and fried eggs, if they will endulge you).

[AZRickD]

It's a plan.

[AZRickD]

I just got back from my annual physical. I had a full blood panel done. Results in a week or two. Even an EKG !!

My blood pressure is down 10pts on both sides (111/70). It's usually not that low unless I'm in good aerobic shape - and I'm not. My weight is down 40 pounds since November 7th (191, without trying). Another ten or fifteen to go.

Maybe I should start exercizing or something?

[AZRickD]

I got my results back to me last week. It contained the same admonition that I have gotten every year for the last twenty -- "Your cholesterol is high." It was been waivering from 220 to 255 (sometimes higher) every year, with this year having it admittedly on the high side of that range. Same deal for trigycerides.

I suppose that having lost over 40 pounds of fat (with cholesterol stored in adipose tissue), with another 20 to go, there should be lots of lipids and transport lipoproteins floating around.