The Paleo Diet Unleashed.
It’s been slighly longer than one month since I started the Paleo Challenge. I’m by no means an expert but here are my thoughts so far:
1. This way of eating requires FAR less mental energy compared to Zone eating. No weighing, measuring, or eyeballing Zone blocks when I go out to eat. No math. Eating is fun again. I see food as food and not as macronutrients, grams, or blocks.
2. I can use the additional mental energy (toughness) other places – such as in a WOD. Think about it, if you’re always freaking out about how many blocks, what kind of carbs, what ratio, how much fat, how many grams, and when to have your snack – how much mental energy do you have to commit to kicking ass in the daily WOD? My goal is better performance, improved health, and PRs so why would I want to eat in a way that takes away from one vital aspect of getting through a WOD – mental energy.
3. Prior to the Challenge I was strict zone (3x fat). For some ridiculous reason, I thought the non Paleo foods that I ate were the ones that weren’t that bad – such as legumes and buckwheat. Legumes grow from the ground, they are a product of the earth, how could they be bad? I thought that by avoiding the really bad non Paleo foods such as milk, butter, cheese, and ice cream (most of the time) that was good enough and that I was getting most (if not all) of the benefits the Paleo diet claimed to deliver. Apparently, this was my way of justifying that what I was eating was OK.
Going strict Paleo made a huge difference. I gained mental sharpness. I sleep better. My performance is improving. I am less irritated. I don’t crave foods. I’m not hungry for hours after I eat. I eat a meal and then move on with my day, rather than obsessing about the next time I will eat. Instead of focusing on what I can’t eat, I am excited about the healthy meals I can create.
This past weekend I had some ice cream – Boulder Ice Cream Sweet Cream. I was a little sad to break my Paleo streak but decided I would see what affect it might have. I was mostly curious to see what kind of cravings it might stir up. While I still liked the taste of ice cream I didn’t have the desire or craving for more. I’m back at Paleo as of today.
I want to thank Rochelle Hagnas of CrossFit Portland for her help and tips in getting me started on the right track for my Paleo Challenge. Rochelle passed on some great tips to get me started.
Her recommendations were:
1. Keep it simple. Eat Paleo. Don’t try and combine it with the Zone.
2. Eat a pound of vegetables a day, make sure you get your required amount of protein each day, and then add some fat.
3. When you get a craving eat some nuts, or nut butter, or a salad with some olive oil.
My recommendations after my month are:
1. Keep a food log. At least for the first week. Track the food you eat (what kind of food, not how much), cravings, moods, and length of time until you are again hungry. Look at your log after one week and see what information you can pull from the data collected. Are you satisfied for longer periods of time? Are your cravings diminishing?
2. Eat. Sounds silly, but EAT. Eat whatever quantities you heart desires for now – just make sure it is ALL paleo foods. It’s too difficult to dial in a complete overhaul of your diet, overcome cravings, make good choices, AND be worried about quantity. Once you’re dialed in on what to eat after a month, then go back and think about eating a little less, if you think you need to. Many people follow Paleo without any weighing or measuring and perform at a level with which they are content.
3. Try to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces (150lb person should drink 75 ounces) of water per day. Altitude dries us our up here in Boulder. Stay hydrated.
4. Great reference on what to eat/not eat: Paleo Diet Foods. If people have others, please let me know!
