The Paleo Diet

[Rod]

Hey fitness gurus what is your opinion on this diet?

 

[mattstanton]

I just got the book "the paleo solution" I have read on a lot of forums that a lot of guys use and love this diet. From what I have read so far, it seems legit but I think that it will be hard from a convenience standpoint. If one is disaplined, after the first month, it will become habit. Many of the guys that are using it have said that after a month of eating clean, and then eating pasta or another bread product, they feel horrible! Shows how un-natural it is for us to eat processed foods. I plan on giving it a shot. One of the most important parts of this diet is to get the proper fats and oils mixed in with the diet.

 

[quarbles]

paleolithic dietary habits are flat out the solution to modern health problems. obesity, inflammation, autoimmunity, hormones, you name it. the problem is that people 1) eat so many carbohydrates that their bodies are reliant on carbs as fuel as opposed to fats (as they should).... 2) are addicted to grains. seriously, quitting grains is like quitting smoking, been there..... 3) its too easy of a solution. to think eating how our species was designed to eat would correct sooooo many problems! the thought gets discredited before any effort gets invested and fat people stay fat, diabetics stay diabetic, so on and so forth.
honestly, the 'paleo diet' is the real deal. everyone that is compliant gets near instant results -but- its like the saying, you can lead a horse to water......

 

[IrishnId]

I crossfit at Bear River Cross Fit. Last October we had a thirty day strict paleo challenge. No breads, dairy, sugars, full on core cleanse. The biggest problem starting out was finding acceptable foods, almost everything out there has some sort of sweetner or soy additive. I won't make this to long. The first two weeks damn near killed me, I love artficially flavored waters-gatorade, and being from Idaho I gotta have my taters! But after the second week, not dragging butt all day from no carb's throughout the day, the days got better fast! My times on the board at xfit were increasing almost unrealistically. No soreness the next day noticable muscle gains, dropped two pants sizes gained almost two inches in thigh circumfrance and lost 17 lbs in three weeks. It works. That being said easier said than done. Finding foods was a real chore here, we had to mail order almond meal because of the prohibitive cost of it here, and buying tuna from Spanish something or other to get some without soy at 3.50 a can was just to much of an addition to the grocery bill almost doubled my wife's and mine. We fed the kids regular foods because of this. With that being said we have been staying at about 60 to 70 percent paleo foods since. I haven't had a Soda or a potato chip since last august and I feel better. I work out on the road for 4 days a week as well and that was probably the hardest part. Sorry for the rambling! And good luck to those who attempt it.

 

[Rod]

I started this lifestyle change 1 year ago & really like it. I have the Paleo diet book & the Primal Blueprint book. Like the others have already mentioned above I feel certain foods & the typical american diet is the cause of a lot of health issues. I have always worked out but until I changed my diet it was hard to loose weight but now it is easy. I lost 25 lbs. in the first couple months & have kept it off. It is hard when no one else eats this way. Going out to eat it you have to really be disciplined, but it can be done. I love potatoes also & still eat them once in a while. I have mentioned this to a couple of doctor friends of mine but so far I know more about it than they do, but they are looking into it. Thats kinda why I started this thread to hopefully learn more about it & to get more opinions.
So lets keep the comments coming. Les & Robby whats your take on this??

 

[WV Hunter]

I've been wanting to try this diet. I work out 4 - 5 days a week and I eat like crap. When I say crap I pretty much mean a typical American diet. I have been reading the articles at Marks Daily Apple and would really like to give it a go. My problem (I know I know, lots of excuses) is that I'm a picky eater and have a busy life, 3 little kids. Finding time to prepare meals can be a challenge. I'm by no means a good cook and from reading thru some of the recipes it looks time consuming and difficult. If I could get my wife on board it would be a little easier. I would really like to take a huge trash bag and throw away all the junk food (corn dogs, pizza, pop tarts, spagetti O's, etc.) and get the whole family eating better. We do grill some steaks up but the side dishes are always some kind of potato, fried, baked or stuffed and mac n cheese or something similar. I guess what I am saying is, I'm lazy and it looks to much like work

 

[mattstanton]

I am 220 pages into the paleo solution by rob wolf. If the information he presents about grains and gluten are accurate, I can't believe these foods have not been outlawed. He states some pretty good arguements about how these foods make us prone to many diseases including cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disease. I am sold and plan on cleaning out my house of all the junk this weekend whether the wife likes it or not and starting this thing on monday! I highly recommend this book!

"the paleo solution" by robb wolf

 

[quarbles]

robb wolf's work is great..... the podcasts are solid aswell. michael eades 'protein power lifeplan' is full of information from a doctor's point of view. gary taubes 'good calories, bad calories' is incredible, although rather dense and dry.
paleolithic eating isn't too much work. i supposed compared to take out food, but health is rather crucial when it comes to quality of life. there seems to be a mindset of 'get it done' in regards to food (both preperation and consumption) that i'm not too keen on. in reality, it is the ingesting energy to sustain life. it is one of the things that shouldn't be taken as lightly as it does.
as far as children i have 3 myself. although initially the paleo diet was something i undertook for weightloss, i slowly started cutting out gluten at home. then foods with preservatives and sugars. although initially protested, now the kids don't notice and their attitudes and energy levels have changed. the bottoming out energy lulls leading to whinning and poor attitude, i've noticed, are carb related......... when they do eat preservatives they get 'the space madness'.
and peeps here are in a good place for paleolithic eating! you're all hunters, harvesting clean non vaccinated hormone free organic protein.... just add vegetables and utilize sweet potatoes and squash for carbs!

 

[littlebuf]

Funny this thread pops up right when my wife is talking aboit putting our whole family on this diet.one question I have as it pertains to this web site.I've seen it mentioned that reverting back to processed foods and carbs can be tough on your body and make you feel like crap.how does that work when it comes time to hit the back country where we all rely on processed foods to keep our pack weight down.any experiance there? Would you have to ween your way back on to crap food a few weeks ahead of time?

 

[robby denning]

Rod, you asked so I will oblige.

As a 20-year personal trainer & director of some of the best in the business, I'll say this:

-Are the theories presented in the book supported by clinical trials (the gold standard in research)?
-Is the diet easy to follow?
-Does it fall into the 35% or more protein category?

Reading the posts above, It looks like just another book diet (think Atkins, Zone, Carb attics etc which have all peaked then gone away for a reason). I can see it's very hard to follow, and probably requires lots of protien.

While you will lose wieght on it, if you don't keep the weight off for at least a year, and I mean all of it, you're probably wasting your time.

Here's the bottom line: focusing on protein, fat, or carbohydrates serves only to distract you from dealing with the real causes of overweight—too many calories and too little activity. The fad-diet gurus know you don’t want to hear that, and are all too eager to sell you their latest book. Your body weight however is a simple calorie-equation, and there’s just no fooling it.

Dr. Dukan, who wrote the Dukan diet (another fad diet) did get something right when he said, "today we live in a land of plenty and our problem is not finding food, but refusing it." The paleo diet is keeping you from many foods, so you're losing weight (that was Atkins trick, too.) If you can live that way, go for it!

For most of us, if you want to lose weight, my best advise is to start where you are at, and look for "easy changes" to improve the quality of your diet. Cleaning the junk out of your cupboards and fridge is a great start! Forget "going-on-a-diet," instead approach it as a lifestyle change. Take it one day, and one meal, at a time.

Having said that, if you are the purist type, are single, and always eat alone, you will get results on the paleo diet as you won't have the obstacles to overcome us married-with-kids folk do. However, I challenge you to keep all the weight off at least a year before you determine if the diet was succesful for you.

Best of luck!

 

[littlebuf]

The way I understood it (and believe me I've probably gota real vague understanding of it)but is that it is less about weight loss and more abour general health and cleaning out the crap from your diet.am I interpreting it wrong?

 

[WV Hunter]

The way I understood it (and believe me I've probably gota real vague understanding of it)but is that it is less about weight loss and more abour general health and cleaning out the crap from your diet.am I interpreting it wrong?

This is the way I've taken it as well. Getting rid of the crap the drags you down and makes you feel like crap that is also harmful in the long run.

 

[Rod]

Robby, thats why in my last post i tried to show it is a life style change at least for me & it has been a year. I understand with young kids around it would be hard to stick with. Mine are gone now & it is my wife & i at home. She is not as strict with it as i am. What sucks for a family is that it is more expensive to eat heathy! Thanks for the input guys & keep it coming!

 

[quarbles]

weight loss just comes with it. it -is- about eating healthy. it keeps the weight off aswell, and i do so with no caloric defecits. i have no problem sitting down and consuming 2000 calories, have not gained weight and have more energy. i have watched a type 2 diabetic cure herself aswell as a type 1 diabetic severely drop insuline dosages. i have first hand seen people suffering daily from alleries that crush them, joint pains and digestive problems litterally cured. the proof is in the pudding. i was always a heavy kid, and 2 years ago gave paleo a whirl. i saw results literally within 4 days. total body composition changed. after a month i was ecstatic. after six it was like a dream come true.....
some truths that anyone can research with little effort: carbs make people fat. insuline resistance is bad. glutens cause inflammation. preservatives cause a host of problems. these are a few issues that are mitigated with said dietary habits. there is a wealth of knowlege out there these days as this "fad" diet seems to be curing many different problems. from my point of view based on what i've seen, there would be a good argument that this is indeed the intended way of our species to eat as deviation becomes problematic to health. but don't take my word for it, do some research, give it a try. what's a month?

 

[robby denning]

Rod, let me help you put any supposed "extra cost" for healthy eating into perspective:
My father (God bless him) lived on the typical high fat, processed grain, junky American diet- the same diet that is driving overweight and obesity in America and this thread.

Dad had a heart attack when he was 54. He survived, but lost heart function, therefore quality of life. His after insurance out of pocket cost was 20% of $50,000, so $10,000 (that does not include the money he's still spending 8 years later on dr follow ups/pills).

He jokes now that eating healthy would have statistically saved him at least $10,000 the day of his heart attack, and would still be saving him money now.

Also, I'm not convinced if you are truly eating healthy, by scientifically-backed standards-not just diet guru standards, that it's really more expensive.

The "diets" that promote high protien are going to be expensive because protien is the most expensive macronutrient to produce (most labor, most land consumptoin, etc.) However, a plant-based diet (not a vegetarian diet), which I promote as does the good research, is not expensive as you are high in fruits, veggies and unprocessed grains/pastas- foods that are typically cheap to produce and don't require much for packaging.

Finally, if a person cuts out junk food and adds the savings back into the grocery budget, I'd bet eating healthy is cheaper, or at least no more expensive.
What is expensive is sickness...
That's why health care is at the forefront of the presidential battle- its cost is killing this country.

 

[robby denning]

quarbles,
if the diet is that great, it will still be around and growing in 10 years. Please post then.

This challenge was put to the Atkins (and Zone diet, etc) people 10 years ago and they are most all fat again because they couldn't stay on the diet- too restrictive. You'll also notice the Atkins/zone diets are hardly around anymore and Atkins changed their marketing to try and escape the low-carb trap they fell into.

"proof is in the pudding" is not clinical trials.

"carbs make you fat" which carbs? Whole grain, Fruits, Vegetables? Or donuts? Those living around the Mediterranean eat lots of carbs, little meat, and have low body weights (compared to Americans) and low incidences of cancer, heart disease. It's the amount and type (simple vs. complex) of carbs that make people fat, not just eating carbs.

The diabetics typically respond well to any drop in simple carbs, Atkins promoters say the same thing.

New England Journal of Medicine May 2003, showed that the high protien diets are no more effective than controlling for calories after the 6 month period. Why, because most high protien dieters start regaining the weight after 6 months. I don't know if the paleo diet is high protien, I'm only assuming.

Finally, you said to give it a try, "what's a month?"

That is the problem right there. If we can't teach people something they can do for life, then it's a wasted month, even if they lose weight (only to gain it back). Dr Atkins used the same logic to sell his books (the two-week carb elimination which drops tons of water!).

With our clients, we'd rather spend that month trying to teach them a lifestyle change they can stick with. Most people can't stick with the diet suggested above for more than a few months. If you can, great.

Just remember that the American Cancer Society data shows that cancer risks increase for anyone eating more than 3 ozs of meat per day (the conservative side) while the National Institutes of Health say 6 ounces. If the Paleo diet is promoting more than that, the data shows risk for cancer goes up.

 

[quarbles]

..... appologies....
the "give it a month" statement, i feel, has been miscommunicated. i didn't intend to convey the idea that it is only a month and you're done and go back to eating however. i meant to articulate my thoughts that after a month of compliance you wouldn't want to. have you ever tried not eating grains for an extended period of time? the withdraw symptoms are suspect, as are the experiences once it gets reintroduced to the system.....
another detail i'd like to point out is that it isn't a high protein diet. it is high fat.

 

[Rod]

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain Ph.D. is the book I read & it made a lot of sence to me. What I meant by being more expensive to eat healthy is that they promote grass feed beef & seafood which is a little hard to come by in Iowa, but not impossible. Your point is well taken on health care being way more expensive if we do not take care of ourselves. What I have done to make it work for me is I took out all grains & dairy, processed foods gone, from my diet (unless I am on a backpack hunt littlebuf).
Example:
breakfast: 3eggs & 1 banana, sometimes I will have a little bacon also
Lunch: salad & apple
Dinner: meat, more than 3 .oz & more fruit or salad. Then snacks throughout the day would be almonds & cashews.
That's about it pretty boring I know but it works for me. I used to never eat vegetables now I like them no legumes though & I eat more fruit than I used to so I am sure that helps also. I think we will be hearing more about this way of eating in the future & I hope Rokslide is going strong in 10 years so I can post more results then!!
The big thing is we all are trying to give each other advise to become healthier & hit the mountains hard come fall!!!
Rod

 

[robby denning]

Good discussion and it would be great to revisit in 10 years.

On the high fat part. Probably even worse than the high protien. There are a few cultures that can eat high fat (eskimos) see here http://www.livestrong.com/article/450725-eskimo-diet-heart-disease/

but notice the types of fats they are eating are different than most people. To give American's a free pass to eat fat is like giving a baby a bowie knife. When Dr. Atkins died (he fell on the ice), the autopsy showed he had all the signs of heart disease- hardened arteries, blockages. His diet was high fat, too.

I've already seen it posted in this thread how hard it is to follow this diet (hard to find grass fed beef & seafood in Iowa) and is why it won't stick around long, in my opinion.

I eat more than 3 ozs of meat per day, too. After all, I am a hunter.

 

[mattstanton]

The grass fed beef and seafood part is a stretch. One thing I like about rob wolfs book is he realizes these things and says that the most important part is cutting out the grains and processed foods. Keeping the other foods you do eat "organic" is less important than eliminating the ones we should not eat. That part makes it easier. If you start by cleaning all the bad stuff out of your house and then re-stock it with the good stuff, your more than half way there as the hard part is self control around the food you are used to eating. When talking about fat, the good and bad fats are pointed out. Cleaning out the pantry and only buying the right foods is crucial.