The paleo thread

FiannaGym.com

Hi,

I thought I would post a link to what I think is the most comprehensive paleo site. http://www.paleodiet.com/
I think the paleo book is great but that link was the first site that plugged me into paleo a couple of years ago. Some of the stuff is a bit militant but taken with a pinch of salt I think its all pretty good.

Any other links you guys have to paleo stuff, please post!

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/
http://paleofood.com/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roberthodgen/paleo.htm



Peace
P.S. For those of you who think this should be moved to the fitness board, I disagree, not only will this defend your health better than most other human endevours but it also helps you perform better and repair quicker.

Dragan

Nice one bro,

you've really got me interested in this, thanks for the links.

mikeruurds

Ordered it after reading this thread... and I wouldn't be mad into fad diets or anything.

Sounds interesting...

dlofnep

Will this diet turn me from the walking man blob I am into a not walking man blob?

Cabelo

Well Dolf... I can't guarantee but I will say this.

I guarantee* it'll work.


Caution: Not a guarantee

dlofnep

Great.

soiaf

dlofnep wrote:

Will this diet turn me from the walking man blob I am into a not walking man blob?

I started on the paleo diet at the end of December and since then I've lost a stone and three quarters. Apart from that I feel a lot better, far more energy etc.
I don't eat quite as much meat as the diet suggests (I have meat twice a day) but I found it very easy to get used to (only thing I missed was having porridge in the morning).
Its great compared to other diets you see in that you're not calorie counting, nor are you hungry all the time or anything like that.

Dragan

I only started Paleo two weeks ago after checking up on it on Pearse's recomendation.

I felt a little bit tired from days 7 to 10 but man i've started to feel good. And i would have eaten "healthy" before that, with maybe one cheat meal a week, but with lots of grains and dairy which are now out the window.

It hasn't effected how much i train or how intensely i can train in a negative sense at all and i train a lot.

Each day is at least one "cardio" session of anywhere from 25 mins of wind sprints to 50 min run plus a good hour of very intense weight work. Somedays then you can mix in skipping session and sparring and i come in at about 12 hours of training a week roughly and i feel great man.

The only time i eat carbs of a non fruit veg kind now is just after my workout, to aid recovery and thats it.

All that said, in four weeks time i might crash and burn but for now i'm liking it.

padraigcarroll

Yo Dragan,
would you mind posting the changes you made to your diet while transitioning to paleo, maybe sample days what you eat etc?
Any difference you notice in yourself, re: your training/energy levels etc?
cheers!

Pádraig

MaxBax

dragan where do you train? and in what?

Dragan

MaxBax wrote:

dragan where do you train? and in what?

Ah, i'm just a casual trainer right now dude, sparring with some proper guys down in my gym , just to keep my foot in. ( One of them is my weight training partner, he's a pretty decent kick boxer so he keeps me on my toes , though i would compare my striking style and ability to a drunk Tim Sylva, i'm just too big for this ****!! )

At the moment my primary training is weights, and i find it too hard to hold mass with all the added calorie requirement of MA, so right now, i'm afraid the weights need to take precedence. That will change in about 12 months though, when i'm done what i want to do weights wise and will hopefully get to learn MMA somewhere, which i really want to do.

And Padraigh, thats the joy of it. There was not really any transition at all. I just read up as much as i could on Paleo and said, right on Monday i start it. Did the relevant shopping over the weekend and stocked up on lots of beef, chicken ( which my freezer would be full of anyway!! ) fruit and veg, nuts and berries.

I completely cut out dairy, the only time i will eat a grain based carb is the meal after my weight training, just to support muscle glycogen levels and no bad stuff whatsoever ( sweets, coke, crisps, though this was pretty easy for me as i would rarely if ever eat them anyway! ).I will also have a recovery shake right after my workouts to speed recovery.

I really thought i would miss dairy but i don't at all, and i really thought my energy levels would be seriously down but they are not, and i'm a little more alert and energetic outside of the gym as well. Add to that i seem to be losing a bit of adipose tissue and it's all good!

On any given day i will eat

Breakfast : 3 whole eggs, banana, half a grapefruit.
Meal 1 : 100 grams mixed veg, 100 grams brocolli, one a half chicken fillets
Meal 2 : same as meal 1
Meal 3 : (pre workout) apple , banana, whey shake
Meal 4 : (post workout) recovery shake, whey shake
Meal 5 : mushrooms, peppers, stir-fried beef ( in olive oil, will be changing to Pumpkin Seed oil ) and egg noodles ( after workout meal and all that ). I will also have a salad with this, of lettuce, tomatoes etc
Meal 6 : ( just before bed ) another whey shake.

All in all, i'm eating roughly every 2.5 to three hours.

Paleo for Athletes just arrived in the post for me this week, so i will be reading that and making any changes i need to make based of the book and how i feel. For now though, i only went through a mild crasha round day seven, now i'm fine.

For example, i was doing Back last night and worked my way up to singles. Normally i would be doing my 1RM and finish that up with few FTL's and then shake my way out of there, but last night i had energy to spare, and i was hauling a Personnal Best so i was well happy.

FiannaGym.com

I've got to say man that is a huge amount of shakes for a human being, never mind one that wants to eat paleo.

I used to lift weights 3 or 4 times a week, and take various suppliments including whey protein. When I stopped and then did paleo I put on muscle and became stronger. Same goes for Drummo. Especially in the strenght department.

Also The Paleo Diet for athletes basically boils down to this "if you are gonna cheat do it after exercise" Which is hardly big news to anyone. I think THe Paleo Diet is a better book.

I think the biggest revolation for me was that the notion of slow release carbs, post work out meals, refueling and all that jass was just nonsense. Once I ditched all that I had more time, a much easier lifestyle and felt a zillion times better!

In any event the great thing about paleo is that there are various degrees, include mine and zen's favourite Chocopaleo haha. You should try going completely plaeo for a couple of days and see what that does for you, usually it the first day of pure plaeo that motivates people in the future. Its like rocket fuel. hahah

Anyone thinking of doing paleo.... good luck with it!!
Peace

Oh yeah besides paleo

Dragan

FiannaGym.com wrote:

I've got to say man that is a huge amount of shakes for a human being, never min done that wants to eat paleo.

Yeah i know, but add trying to do Paleo to trying to add muscle and trying to maintain a insulin balance due to hypoglycemia and you get a need for some shakes!!!

FiannaGym.com

I'm sure if you research the paleo sites you'll find alot of people ditch hypoglycemia when on 80% paleo. Also like I said, I put on more muscle doing paleo than I did doing whey and weight training.

Peace

Dragan

FiannaGym.com wrote:

I'm sure if you research the paleo sites you'll find alot of people ditch hypoglycemia when on 80% paleo. Also like I said, I put on more muscle doing paleo than I did doing whey and weight training.

**** it, you've talked me into it.

I'll need to wait a month though as i gotta do some product testing for a mate of mine!!! ( hope i don't end up glowing in the dark! ) but then i'll drop all supps from the diet. Hey, gives me an excuse to eat more beef....my butcher is gonna love me!

I'll let you know how it goes!

So thats Paleo and Petrochemicalaccelorator you've got me on now.

padraigcarroll

Pearce, nice one for the links/info etc
Nice one for the info Dragan, glad to hear it is working well for you.

I'm gonna do a bit of research and give it a go in the next 2 weeks.

I remember when i was cutting weight for a fight, I dropped all breads from my diet, and crashed within a week, but was fine after a day or so, so Im prepared for that.Eating meat again will be weird though!

Dragan, let us know any effects on your muscle mass from the changeover!!

MaxBax

Dragan, let us know any effects on your muscle mass from the changeover

Post pics!

crokester

Dragan can i ask what whey u use? Im using nutrisport cause its cheap. Waisting my money? Cant say i do a whole lot of reading up on supplementation. Also do you not find taking it before u go to sleep gives u f***ked up dreams!? I had to stop because of it! I was waking up in sweats!

Musashi

I've got both Paleo books and I like the ideas as they mesh with what works for me, from experience. I like to eat meat, lots of meat, was never a lover of carbs, mainly wholegrain and wild rice (which isn't really rice at all but.......) and I love apples. I used to find the only time I'd get a six-pack was cutting weight for competition and dropping nearly all carbs in favour of Beef, Tuna, Chicken and protein shakes. I used to leave Sunday for a cheat day and have something I thought I wanted as a cheat meal. Generally it was all in my head and once I had the Kebab or whatever a mouthful was enough, I never really wanted it, more the idea of having it? I've been half doing Paleo with a month odd, not strict really, just a general shift towards a more Paleo diet. Couple folks in the last week have asked if I've lost weight, I didn't think I had. I do feel better, sleep well but am rested after four to six hours and generally am performing better. Must knock up a big meaty pot of Chilli this weekend, maybe make it tomorrow for eating Saturday and Sunday

padraigcarroll

Are any of you paleo practicioners worried/concerned at all about diseases from eating farmed meat? such as cjd, parasitic infections, etc etc? do ya's give thought to such things?

Musashi

As to CJD it's pretty much a lottery, but the odds are better eating actual cuts of meat as opposed to "Quarter-Pounders". I know my butcher and he knows his suppliers, I love real hand reared farm beef! Ask Jamie Oliver about knowing who supplies your food. I think the main parasitic infection would be trichinosis from Pork and the worms that can live in Pork. Cook it well and there's no bother. I don't think Pork is affected by the "Cut the horns off and wipe its' hole" eating habits Beef has acquired. That said I do like my Beef rare..........
A lot of the meat I would eat has never had anti biotics, or artificial feed or been anything but free range. When I sneak up and shoot it in the head there is none of the stress of the abbatoir to trigger the release of foul tasting adrenal response in the animal, it's just grazing, bang, dead and butchered. You want the best meat available, get a rifle licence and go get it, seriously. Even so called "Free-Range" isn't really, what could be better than an animal that has never known captivity, foraged for it's food, only eating what it likes, not whatever is made available, and never had any drugs put into it? I am a self confessed carnivore, and I know and appreciate meat, often having killed and butchered my own. Until wild boar and Highland breeds of Cattle are fair game the finest meat you can get would be either Rabbit (I swear it tastes like Chicken, only better!) or wild reared Venison! The absolute finest meat I ever tasted was a Deer shot one morning, brought home and butchered and I took the Fillet Steak from it and cooked it for Lunch. This sounds a bit Hannibal Lecter but it is the best tasting steak you cannot buy for any money. You have to go earn it.

padraigcarroll

no no, it doesnt sound hannibal lecter,
you're the first person I've heard or read i should say, that has really hunted his own meat, say.
anyways, reason i asked what i asked was the paleo diet being what it is, basically imo is to try and revert to man's diet pre-farming which includes any meat more or less in your supermarkets.

But you seem to have managed to tap into they way out of that.

Now I'm not gonna go buy a few hens/some cattle in the morning, so i can chow down or meat i know isnt full of hormones etc etc, but the whole hunting your own meat thang... well....its food for thought no pun intended!

Drummo

Man, I am SO happy to see so many of you guys giving Paleo a shot. It's the shizness......just like PetroChemical Accelerator! :cool:

Musashi

Top quality protein is only a shot away lads! Shotguns are easier to licence than rifles, .22 rifle is easier than .270 Deer Hunting Guns (what I have).
Wild game are the best tasting and most un-adulterated meat you can get. If you don't hunt make friends with a guy who does! A pigeon shooter will have more Pigeon Breasts than he can get rid if! Offer a few quid and let him know you will actually eat them, you're made up! Pigeon is a great meat, baked, used like Chicken, Minced like Turkey...whatever. Get into game meat and reared seems like Cardboard!
Any of ye can't get wild game please meet your local Gun Club members, they don't bite and Rabbit is delicious!

MaxBax

After taking a course in Parsitiology in college, I'd be very vary personally of eating the flesh of pigeons.

FiannaGym.com

QUality of all ingredients is a factor. But of course eating paleo with poor quality meats is better than throwing in the towel and eating a bad diet with poor quality meats.

Generally I just look to eat as much organic food as possible. Second to that, freerange, after that, well I pretty much wont eat any meats that aint either freerange or organic.

On top of that I do try and look for a varied diet of meats (when I say meats I just mean animals). If any of you live in South Dublin there is a butchers in Terenure that sells great selection of Ostrech, Wild Boar, Bision, Aligator, Kangaroo etc.

THe bottom line as far as paleo is concerned for me are:
Eat as much and as varied meat, fish, fruit and vegtables.
Always strive for the hihest quality.
THe Gastronomic Scale. This is something me and Drummo came up with last summer (i think) where basically you assign a point for each level of human intervention. So picking an apple off a tree and eating it would be 1 point. Buying a burger from McDonalds would be about 750 haha. The lower the level the better.
CHeating, if you are going to cheat always go for the highest quality option with the fewest ingredients, an example would be "green and Blacks" chocolate over Cadburys dairy milk. I hope that helps.

Paleo.. WHUT!

Peace

MaxBax

FiannaGym.com wrote:

QUality of all ingredients is a factor. But of course eating paleo with poor quality meats is better than throwing in the towel and eating a bad diet with poor quality meats.

Generally I just look to eat as much organic food as possible. Second to that, freerange, after that, well I pretty much wont eat any meats that aint either freerange or organic.

On top of that I do try and look for a varied diet of meats (when I say meats I just mean animals). If any of you live in South Dublin there is a butchers in Terenure that sells great selection of Ostrech, Wild Boar, Bision, Aligator, Kangaroo etc.

THe bottom line as far as paleo is concerned for me are:
Eat as much and as varied meat, fish, fruit and vegtables.
Always strive for the hihest quality.
THe Gastronomic Scale. This is something me and Drummo came up with last summer (i think) where basically you assign a point for each level of human intervention. So picking an apple off a tree and eating it would be 1 point. Buying a burger from McDonalds would be about 750 haha. The lower the level the better.
CHeating, if you are going to cheat always go for the highest quality option with the fewest ingredients, an example would be "green and Blacks" chocolate over Cadburys dairy milk. I hope that helps.

Paleo.. WHUT!

Peace

I personally wouldn't eat any non-domestic animal and certainly not an animal that wasn't in need of culling.

FiannaGym.com

MaxBax wrote:

I personally wouldn't eat any non-domestic animal and certainly not an animal that wasn't in need of culling.

What do you mean "non-domestic"?

Peace

Roper

Anything not a cat or a dog?

MaxBax

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_animal

FiannaGym.com

Oh I see, when you said "non-domestic animals" you meant "non-domesticATED animals". I didnt know if you meant non-domesticated animals or animals from non-domestic markets.

I couldnt disagree more.

Peace

MaxBax

Sorry Pearse that was inaccurate of me to say the least.

I couldnt disagree more.

Oh really? i give a fook like :-). Well done eating alligator steak like our ansestors did. Why don't you find a t-rex carcas in an iceberg and eat that too, i'm sure our "paleo" cousins did so too. Excellent logic.

Colm_OReilly

Are cows, sheep and pigs native to Ireland? Or where they introduced by Norman or Celtic settlers?

FiannaGym.com

MaxBax wrote:

Sorry Pearse that was inaccurate of me to say the least.


Oh really? i give a fook like :-). Well done eating alligator steak like our ansestors did. Why don't you find a t-rex carcas in an iceberg and eat that too, i'm sure our "paleo" cousins did so too. Excellent logic.

I actually dont know where all that came from. What do you mean "Well done eating aligator steak like our ansestors did." If the next question is real I would say, well why would paleo man go out to sea, getan iceberg, which has a t-rex in it and eat that? my logic?

My logic is is simply this. Paleo puts you back into the food chain. As such your diet depends largely on the diet of the food you eat. By eating game meats you get far higher quality and healthier meat. The next element came about as a result of talks with people and the "ethics" of paleo, usually discussed with vegans or vegitarians.

Basically paleo is, as I said "the food chain" diet. I beleive rather than try and wrestle with moral issues and individual opinions I would let all powerful mother nature make those discissions for me. So I attempt to eat wild meat over domesticated meat where ever possible. Domesticated meat has more saturated fat, a poor omega oil balance, less nutrients and minerals that game meats. And you have the added benifit of eating an animal that lived the way it was meant to, not some poor cow or chicken that was farmed.

Peace

Musashi

I've seen Croc., Ostrich etc. in the local Superquinn, but who wants to pay that kind of money :eek:
One of the best places I've shopped for game meat is that open market stall place in Cork City, the "English Market" I think it's called? All sorts of fresh locally caught fish, rabbit and pheasant, good cuts of Beef, and they will haggle with you for price Also, I think the organ meats are sadly underused here these days. I know growing up we ate every thing going from the Deer we shot. After Chernobyl there was a warning against eating Liver, Kidneys etc. as they tended to accumulate the toxins? I do know that Deer we shot in the Kerry mountains for years after you could see the poor condition of the beast, and the internal organs often had ulcers and tumours attached.
However, I do eat Liver at least once a week, Kidneys are good but need plenty soaking, Beef Tongue is great for flavour and Cheap! I avoid brain after the CJD thing, but stuffed Heart is good eating. A lot of the "cheaper" cuts like Pork Belly and stuff are good value and an easy way to get more protein into your Paleo diet.

mikeruurds

The amazon fairy delivered the following books today:

Neanderthin by Ray Audette
The Paleo Diet for Athletes + The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain

Now I just hope that they aren't like the usual diet books with recipes requiring crazy ingredients that only Gillian McKeith knows how to locate

Mike

mikeruurds

The verdict is in...

Me: "Check out this new diet love"
Wife: "hmmm... let me see... so, things you can't eat = pretty much everything... things you can = feckall"
Me: "You'll warm to it love"

Musashi

Weirdest for me over the last few weeks is having like a Chicken leg or a Pork Chop cold from the fridge with a banana for my Breakfast I love meat but gawddam! Best was the feed of Mussels and Prawns I had with baby veggies tonight! Must get some Flaxseed oil though, some stuff is just too dry without a drizzle of dressing.

mikeruurds

FiannaGym.com wrote:

If any of you live in South Dublin there is a butchers in Terenure that sells great selection of Ostrech, Wild Boar, Bision, Aligator, Kangaroo etc.

Any chance that a fellow hunter-gatherer could set me up with directions to the aforementioned purveyor of fine meats?

I'm going shopping tomorrow with plans to kick off with the paleo diet at Saturday dinner.

I'd also appreciate any tips regarding the location of any shops selling nuts and berries as well as a source for good organic veg

Please excuse all my questions... generally I just go down to Dunnes, but I want to do this thing right from the start. Also I'm a damn foreigner with little knowledge of good local butchers and the like

Thanks

Mike

FiannaGym.com

One really useful idea that people who endorse paleo is this:
In supermarkets just stick to the outside isles, food is perishable so if it has a long shelf life leave it out. Basically I find Superquinn to be really good and workable inot everyday living. One Isle for Fruit and Vegtables and another for meat and fish. With the exception of Dairy all the big "no-nos" are in the inner isles.

Next the butchers in terenure is on the road from Dartry. So if you entered Terenure from the north (town) side you would take a left at the main junction, it is on the right hand side.

Because of my commuting I get my vegtables and fruit from Roy Fox's in Donnybrook whenever possible. However generally I just buy the best stuff I can in the nearest shop, the only thing I avoid are goods of Israeli/America and sometimes Dutch origin. HOwever I think the best place to buy fruit and veg is down at the buyers market, the prices are amazingly low and the food is at its freshest, I find tescos are the worst for freshness with fruit and veg going off really quickly!

Most health food shops are good for nuts and seeds. Particularly good is "The Food Doctor's Seed Mix" its quite tasty.

If anybody else has any tips they find useful I would love to hear them!!!!

Peace

Colm_OReilly

Holland & Barrett for all your nuts and dried fruit needs. A bit pricey but how much is your long term health worth.

The organic market, Saturdays in Temple bar can sometimes deliver some gems in terms of nuts and dried fruit.

Neanderthin is The Star to The Paleo Diet's Independent. Right idea, just more sensational.

If nothing else people, give up dairy!

FiannaGym.com

Yeah Dairy is a real sin. Have you seen that The Departement of Health now recomends 3 servings of Dairy everyday!!!

I'll have to check out that market Zen thanks for the tip.

A note on Nuts. Firslty peanuts and cashews ain't nuts, lets get that out of the way. But when you are buying nuts make sure that they aint salted, or have little salt on them.
A note on Dried Fruits. While these are better than eating sweets and do suit cinema eating, remember just like sweets you sometimes tend to eat tonnes. So eat Dried Fruits for their taste and never as a supplement to "meals". I have done this tonnes of times and you feel crap. haha

Peace

Colm_OReilly

Dried Mango is a gift from God!

Some thoughts on dairy:

Think about it. Baby cows drink cow's milk. Adult cows
don't drink cows milk. Baby monkeys drink monkey milk.
Adult monkeys don't. Baby pigs drink pig milk. Adult pigs
don't.

Baby humans drink cow's milk?

Adult humans drink cow's milk?

Doesn't make much sense, does it?

(Side Note: A study was done recently and an embarrassingly
high percent of young people today don't even know where
their milk comes from! They just know it comes in a
plastic jug. Well youngin's... it comes from cows.)

The average American gets 807 milligrams of calcium daily
from milk. The average Spaniard gets 308 mg a day from
milk; the Brazilian gets 250 mg; the Taiwanese gets 13 mg.

These non-Americans are neither toothless nor are they
lying around immobilized because of repeated bone fractures.

Lots of Americans are, though.

Do you know what country's population suffers from the
most bone fractures due to osteoporosis?

Right! Americans.

Do you also know the population that consumes more milk
and calcium supplements than any other country?

Right again. Americans.

Truth is, the structure of cow's milk blocks the
absorption of most calcium in it as well as a great number
of other vital nutrients.

When I was in the hearing field, I used to test the
hearing of a lot of kids. Whenever their parents would
tell me that their child would get frequent ear infections,
every single time, milk, butter and cheese were among the
most commonly consumed items. 'A glass of milk at every
meal.'

I'd always suggest to take the kid off dairy and let me
know what happened.

And in the many cases where they followed the advice, the
ear infections either stopped completely or they diminished
in frequency and severity so incredibly, that the parents
were stunned.

Smoking in the house also contributed to ear infections
and colds in their kids, but that is another story.

The bottom line is this...

In order to enjoy the best of health, you've got to be
informed.

If you want your family to enjoy great health, something
has to give.

You can't 'have your cake' and be healthy, too.

When it comes to the food you eat, ignorance isn't bliss,
it's disease. It's needless pain and suffering.

And that love of milk you have is deadly.

It's implicated in dozens of maladies and diseases
including arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, diarrhea,
obesity, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, decreased immune
response, horrible allergies, digestive problems, chronic
fatigue, Chrohn's Disease, Cancer and so many more.

Milk is bad for you.

Have you ever wondered why Americans are outlived by the
populations of about 20 other countries even though we're
the richest, have more drugs, have more surgeons, more
cancer treatment facilities and overall have the 'most
advanced' hospital systems in the world?

Yeah. The things we choose to put into our mouths.

We have better advertisers in the U.S. including the
National Dairy Council.

It's pathetic.

Go 10 days without poisoning yourself with dairy products
and I know you'll have more enërgy, you'll breathe better,
you'll get well faster, blah, blah. Too many more benefits
to list.

Time for you to stop being a victim of ignorance.

Here's a great site that should help to open your eyes to
the horrors associated with milk consumption.
http://www.notmilk.com

Dragan

May be wrong Pearse, but if your based in Sandyford or there abouts there is a fruit and veg market in the Lep Racecourse on Fridays me thinks.

Roper

Then again, my Granda was raised on bread and dripping (dripping is essentially just the renderings of animal fat during cooking) ate dairy, drank a pint of milk every day, cycled at a very competitive level in his youth and drank a lot of whiskey. He lived until he was 92, and was in excellent health until the last year of his life. About 18 months before he died I drove by his house and saw him up on his roof fixing the lead around his chimney! I nearly killed myself going up to help him.

Yes that's mere anecdotal evidence and possibly akin to "my da smoked all his life and is in great health" type of story. But while I've read a lot about paleo, and see the logic, I think that the average person can gain far more by adopting a varied, moderate diet, avoiding processed foods and not smoking, rather than adopting a diet that's likely to be very hard to stick to. Fine for the dedicated athlete who has plenty of motivation. But for the average Joe? I don't think so.

I agree though, less dairy is good. Once you hit your twenties you can suffer from bladder stones... ewww.. from having too much milk in your diet.

mikeruurds

I've heard good things being said about the Coco market (spelling?)... it's in Marley park on a Saturday and Dun Laoghrie on Sunday.

Anyone every been to this one? I'm definitely going to check out Superquinn in Walkinstown tomorrow.

I've committed to cooking all the food at home this week to help get my wife Liezl into the habit. I'm hoping that changing the diet is not going to be that much more expensive. Cutting out sauces, cheese etc. and replacing it with decent meat paired with eliminating the weekly takeout should hopefully even-out our monthly food costs.

I've had terrible IBS for the last 3 years which has tended to make me struggle with concentration and feel depressed (not to mention my buggered up gut!). I'm hoping that Paleo will clear all of this up and help me loose a few %'s of body fat:D

Thanks for the directions and tips Fianna! Thanks for all the info guys!

Cheers

Mike

mikeruurds

Just another quick question... do you supplement with calcium on the diet?

I know that the book talks about balancing the alkaline state of your body by eating non-starchy vegetables to minimise calcium being urinated out of your body (or something like that... still reading:D ). According to the book more calcium is not necessarily the answer to a calcium deficiency if you are getting that calcium from dairy that is high in the bad-fats.

I think that's what I've picked up so far... so do I need to pick up calcium supplements or do I trust the good doctor?

Thanks!

Mike

To play devil's advocate, here's a site advocating the Paleo diet but also giving a few counterpoints... I'd appreciate your comments http://altmed.creighton.edu/paleodiet/Disagreements.html

Colm_OReilly

Caveat, I'm not a dietician, although I have studied Sports Nutrition during my BSc.

Point One: I'm not concerned with the population, I'm concerned with me first. Plus, I don't think everyone will adopt the Paleo Diet, so I needn't worry about farming concerns.

Point Two: You need exercise and a decent diet. How many people actually follow a well balanced diet anyway? Continuing on from this, why settle for an average diet when you can have an optimum diet?

Point Three: It's a straw man argument comparing The Zone to Paleo. Also, in the book, iirc, he advocates the maximum percentage of your diet that should be protein.

Point Four: When we eat anything we consume the chemicals it has been exposed to/treated with. How much crap do you think is sprayed on our fruit, vegetables, pumped into cows for dairy, our livestock, wheat etc. It's not a problem exclusive to Paleo.

Point Five: I've no knowledge on those diseases, causes or treatments so I can't comment.

As for your IBS, Paleo for me increased the frequency of my bowel movements. It will take your body a while to adapt, so keep this is mind.

Colm

mikeruurds

Thanks for that Colm

For me it's more than just weight loss... my wife and I are concerned about bowel cancer etc. I just have to get my body back in balance... and I'll do anything to reach that target.

If all of you reckon that the diet is a winner then I'll give it a bash.

Mike

Roper

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Point One: I'm not concerned with the population, I'm concerned with me first. Plus, I don't think everyone will adopt the Paleo Diet, so I needn't worry about farming concerns.

Point Two: You need exercise and a decent diet. How many people actually follow a well balanced diet anyway? Continuing on from this, why settle for an average diet when you can have an optimum diet?

Well maybe its that I'm not convinced its the optimum diet. However, maybe I'll give it a shot and see for myself. It sounds plausible. About 3 years ago I went on a v-high protein buzz, which included beans and nuts mind, and I dropped in body fat and gained in muscle mass without any increase in my training programme per se. So I'm not denying it, I'm just healthily sceptical.

Dragan

Roper wrote:

It sounds plausible. About 3 years ago I went on a v-high protein buzz, which included beans and nuts mind, and I dropped in body fat and gained in muscle mass without any increase in my training programme per se.

The majority or people don't really eat even close to enough protein to support muscle gain even from mild training. They might be taking in enough to repair, but thats about it!

As such, a big increase in dietary protein means a greater and more constant availabilty of amino acid in the blood. All in all, this will lead to faster and greater states of muscular repair.

Basically what you saying makes perfect sense.