Paleo Diet

[Steve]

Who's on it? What do you think of it? Have you even heard of it?

It's been around for a while, and many of the guys I train with swear by it. I'm getting back to where I can train consistently again, I've put on a few pounds and am looking to tighten up my diet a little. I'm curious what you guys think of it, whether or not you have any experience with it, etc.

Just a quick summary, as I understand it, if this is completely new. It's essentially a caveman diet. The idea is that we are genetically made to eat certain things, and when we moved away from hunter/gatherer, we started eating things that weren't as good for us. So, things that are in: meats, vegetables, saturated fats, coconut and avocado oils, low sugar/high antioxidant fruits (ie blueberries), some nuts that are high in omega 3 oils. Things that are out: sugars, processed foods, canola/olive oils, unsaturated fats, high sugar fruits, legumes, most nuts, all grains.

Here's a quick primer: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-101/

 

[Xue Sheng]

Paleolithic diet

That is pretty much all I know other than I am not a fan of it. I tend more towards Macrobiotics myself... and I am not all that strict there either.

Balanced Diet is what I look for and the Paleo diet just does not seem balanced to me... but then I'm not a nutritionist either so what do I know

 

[elder999]

Paleolithic diet

That is pretty much all I know other than I am not a fan of it. I tend more towards Macrobiotics myself... and I am not all that strict there either.

Balanced Diet is what I look for and the Paleo diet just does not seem balanced to me... but then I'm not a nutritionist either so what do I know

My only objection to it is the name. It's not a bad diet, and not too different from the way I eat, though I'm not a big fan of most organs, and tripe is out of the question, as are brains-especially with elk.

It's not "paleo" anything, though. The people who came up with it haven't thought their rationale through at all......it's not bad, though-very enjoyable.

 

[Xue Sheng]

My only objection to it is the name. It's not a bad diet, and not too different from the way I eat, though I'm not a big fan of most organs, and tripe is out of the question, as are brains-especially with elk.

It's not "paleo" anything, though. The people who came up with it haven't thought their rationale through at all......it's not bad, though-very enjoyable.

Thanks, I am not against it, I just have my doubts... I should probably research it a bit more

But I will admit that My first thought when I first saw it was... how exactly do they know what humans ate in the Paleolithic and what makes them think that in the time since we would have not evolved or changed a bit as far as diet goes.

Besides they likely ate bugs then too and I don't care WHAT you say...I'm not going there just because some guy did in the Paleolithic... even if I CAN find them on the menu in the night market in Bejiing

 

[Steve]

Thanks, I am not against it, I just have my doubts... I should probably research it a bit more

But I will admit that My first thought when I first saw it was... how exactly do they know what humans ate in the Paleolithic and what makes them think that in the time since we would have not evolved or changed a bit as far as diet goes.

Ultimately, I don't know the answer to your questions. All I know is that this is a very popular diet among MMA'ists, cross fit junkies and in BJJ. Just curious what you guys know.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ultimately, I don't know the answer to your questions. All I know is that this is a very popular diet among MMA'ists, cross fit junkies and in BJJ. Just curious what you guys know.

Oh you mean the wannabe old school Jiujitsu types

Sorry, couldn't resist

There is a book or two out there that might help

 

[elder999]

Ultimately, I don't know the answer to your questions. All I know is that this is a very popular diet among MMA'ists, cross fit junkies and in BJJ. Just curious what you guys know.

Our paleo ancestors hunted long before they invented spears. THey did it by running game to exhaustion-it's called a "persistence hunt," and it requires large amounts of carbs: root vegetables, vegetables and mushrooms, for sure. In between hunts, they lived the other half of their lifestyle, and gathered these things, as well as, most likely, the grasses they observed the birds and the very mammals they hunted eating. Grasses that became the grains some of us eat today. Amaranth is a common weed. Corn is descended from a combining of two common grasses. I think the paleo crowds real issue with grains isn't celiac disease, or grain itself, but the modern versions of those grains.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Eat less, exercise more, you lose weight. That's all. Diets are bunk.

 

[elder999]

Eat less, exercise more, you lose weight.

Funny. Sounds like a diet to me. :lol:

Diets like the "paleo" diet aren't about losing weight; they're about lifestyle.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Funny. Sounds like a diet to me. :lol:

OK, but it doesn't have a name, a corporate sponsor, or sell millions of copies when written down.

Diets like the "paleo" diet aren't about losing weight; they're about lifestyle.

Even more reason to steer clear of 'em.

 

[Steve]

Bill, aren't you the "pry my steak from my cold, dead hands" guy? Seems like this is right up your alley!

Edit, more to the point, eating healthier is less about weight than about general health. I remember you posting about your various ailments, and your insistence at the time that you'd eat what you want, cost to your health be damned. That, whether you like it or not, is a "lifestyle."

 

[Archangel M]

I have never tried it but I don't think you can go wrong giving it a shot. The whole red meat=BAD thing has been revisited. Now they are saying that charring/over grilling is worse for you than anything in the meat itself. Same thing with salt. I believe that the current data shows that high blood pressure has little to do with salt intake. I have seen so many dietary contradictions over the years I don't know what to believe anymore. Eat in balance, don't eat to excess, enjoy what you eat (better dead a few years sooner but happy than a few years latter choking down stuff you detest I say).

 

[Omar B]

I'm on paleo. I was pretty close to it last year but then a friend mailed me a copy of the book he got. Turns out I was doing paleo for the most part, except I was still eating dairy. Seems fine so far, I can't talk about huge changes in myself considering the only thing really changed is dairy.

My step sister though lost nearly 50 pounds since Feb on it as recommended by her nutritionist or doctor or some crap like that. I've only seen her twice since then but she looks great.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Bill, aren't you the "pry my steak from my cold, dead hands" guy? Seems like this is right up your alley!

I don't really care for steak, but I do like me some beef. Hamburgers, for example.

Edit, more to the point, eating healthier is less about weight than about general health. I remember you posting about your various ailments, and your insistence at the time that you'd eat what you want, cost to your health be damned. That, whether you like it or not, is a "lifestyle."

Not entirely. I avoid sugar because it's like poison to me now that I'm diabetic; I've also given up beer for the same reason. But other than that, yes, I eat pretty much what I want. And it's not 'health be damned', it's more that I don't think my body knows the difference between a 'good' calorie and a bad one. If you get the calories your body needs, and the nutrients, it doesn't matter if it's in raw meat, candy bars, or iceberg lettuce.

A 'lifestyle'? I doubt you could sell it on Oprah.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I have never tried it but I don't think you can go wrong giving it a shot. The whole red meat=BAD thing has been revisited. Now they are saying that charring/over grilling is worse for you than anything in the meat itself. Same thing with salt. I believe that the current data shows that high blood pressure has little to do with salt intake. I have seen so many dietary contradictions over the years I don't know what to believe anymore. Eat in balance, don't eat to excess, enjoy what you eat (better dead a few years sooner but happy than a few years latter choking down stuff you detest I say).

There you have it. +1 to you.

By the way, the latest "used to be good for you, now we think it will kill you" is antioxidants. Apparently.

http://www.slate.com/id/2300578/

As it turns out, we have no evidence that antioxidants are beneficial in humans. (Though if you're a Sprague-Dawley rat, there's hope.) In fact, as Emily Anthes wrote last year in Slate, the best available data demonstrate that antioxidants are bad for you—so long as you count an increased risk of death as "bad."

Yeah, I have to laugh at the guys who run from one magic elixir to the next, only to have it turned around on them in a few years. I ate eggs when they were bad, when they were good again, when they were bad again, when they were good but just if you only ate the whites, when they were bad again and now I think they're back to being good - and I don't care! Eggs taste good and I'm going to keep eating them. Note to Steve; not 'health be damned' but "I'll be damned if I'll believe all the hype about eggs."

 

[Omar B]

Couldn't edit my previous post so here is a link to that book my bud had sent me. http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Diet-Weight-Healthy-Designed/dp/0471413909

 

[Carol]

I know a couple of people doing crossfit that are really in to it. They basically say that paleo plus heavy workouts is fitness nirvana.

Drawbacks, on the surface it looks to be an expensive way of eating to maintain, and also difficult to maintain day after day. It seems to be more suited to a person that doesn't travel, always brown bags their lunch and rarely goes to restaurants.

 

[clfsean]

I'm about to start it... or something very close to it to help with arthritis found in my right hip this week. It was recommended by a nutritionalist (not "the paleo" but a plan close enough to it to use) for helping the joint itself & in muscle building since I've joined a gym to get a more directed workout for hips.

 

[CanuckMA]

. And it's not 'health be damned', it's more that I don't think my body knows the difference between a 'good' calorie and a bad one. If you get the calories your body needs, and the nutrients, it doesn't matter if it's in raw meat, candy bars, or iceberg lettuce.

.

QFT.

I have a friend who is a vegan. She is severely overweight because she eats too much starches. It's not about what you eat as much as how much.

calories in=calories out. Change that balance and you either gain or lose weight.

 

[Carol]

Here is a link to a blog by a couple in NH that are big in to crossfit as well as the Paleo diet, in case it is of interest.

http://www.whole9life.com/