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19/10/2011 23:26:20
gymnag_Rob
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Posts: 105
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The Paleo diet is becoming more and more popular these days and I’ve noticed that many sports people who have to make weight seem to follow something similar, whether intentionally or not. It's something I’ve found useful myself. To lose weight I’ll tend to eat mainly lean meats, fish and bucket loads of vegetables and salads, fruit and some eggs and nuts. I'd also have the occasional bowl of porridge with berries and honey, pasta, potatoes or rice, which are not part of the Paleo diet.
From what I understand of the Paleo diet, it is more of an approach to a consistent, healthy way of eating, which fits in with our natural genetic makeup. The weight loss is something that happens as a by-product of eating food that our bodies are designed to eat. (This concept also fits in nicely with the theory behind natural and functional training, such as running, climbing, swimming, functional strength exercises such as pull-ups, dips, deadlifts etc., preferably done outdoors).
The concept of the Paleo diet is that humans have been evolving for millions of years and it is only recently that agricultural practices have changed our diets significantly. This has been accelerated by the industrial revolution which has introduced artificial and processed foods, as well as vastly increasing the amount of food available for many societies, due to the ability to store foods for great lengths of time. The Paleo diet maintains that grains, processed and artificial foods were not part of the prehistoric human diet and these changes have created a detrimental effect on our health and are responsible for many of the diseases of modern civilization.
It is suggested that humans are best adapted to the diet of our human ancestors, prior to the introduction of agriculture and therefore should be based on eating foods that would have been available in the absence of modern technology.
Therefore it is necessary that certain foods are excluded for the reason that that they were not available to our prehistoric ancestors. These would include all processed foods,sugar, grains, legumes, dairy products, (try milking a woolly mammoth!), salt and alcohol. Potatoes are also restricted due to genetic modification increasing the amount of starch compared to the tough, tuberous versions that would have been eaten as part of a prehistoric diet.
Eliminating grains and refined carbohydrates means that most of your carbohydrate on this diet would come from vegetables and fruit.
Recommended foods would be lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, most vegetables, mushrooms, fruit and nuts. Organic grass fed meat and wild fish would be best, as it would be less fatty than grain fed animals and have a healthier ratio of good fats. Honey, dried fruit and certain natural oils are permitted in very small portions.
There are three levels of Paleo that are recommended. Level one is the 85-15 rule. This allows 15% of your meals to be open. This way you get the overall benefits but can cheat occasionally - but don't abuse it! Level 2 is a 90/10 split that allows two open meals a week and level 3 is a 95/5split that allows one open meal per week. With the open meals, this allows a few potatoes or slice of toast but doesn't mean you can polish of a tub of ice cream!
As an experiment, I decided to do a 12 day trial of the Paleo diet. My diet had been fairly average for a few weeks. I'd been staying at about 12st 10 to 12st 12lbs and eating fairly broadly. Plenty of fruit, veg and meat but also eating grains and the odd cake, biscuit and chocolate bar.
Here is a breakdown of what I ate, how I felt and what happened with my weight. (My body fat was measured on a fairly cheap set of home scales so I can't make any great claims to its accuracy!). I also drank lots of green tea as I usually do. My exercise regimen was a bit less than usual during the middle of the trial due to work commitments.
DAY 1
Weight 12st 12lb fat percentage 17%. (Calories eaten @2100 and @1200 calories burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; two plums, 1 Avocado, 3 strawberries, 1 nectarine.
Snack; Two handfuls of mixed nuts.
Lunch; two Mackerel fillets, 1 large handful of mixed nuts.
Snack; one banana, 3 dates, 1 plum.
Dinner; Beef and salad of peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, Strawberries and melon.
Exercise - 12 mile run.
DAY 2
Weight 12st 10lbs (Calories eaten @2000 and @100 calories burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; one egg, 1 handful of mixed nuts, one nectarine.
Lunch; two eggs, sardines and salad of radishes, spring onions, beetroot and tomatoes.
Snack; one handful of mixed nuts, one plum, handful of grapes and one nectarine.
Dinner; Roast chicken, carrots and broccoli. Fruit salad of half a banana, half a nectarine, pineapple, 1 kiwi, 2 large handfuls of blackberries and strawberries.
Exercise - 2 mile walk.
DAY 3
Weight 12st 9lbs (Calories eaten @2100 and @600 cals burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; two eggs, one handful of walnuts, handful of blackberries.
Snack; one banana, handful of cashew nuts.
Lunch; Chicken and salad of beetroot, tomato, spring onion and radish.
Snack; handful of blackberries and grapes, 1 nectarine.
Dinner; three egg omelette and fruit salad of one kiwi, 1 Satsuma, grapes, blackberries and one plum.
Exercise - one and half hours of Muay Thai.
DAY 4
Weight 12st 7lbs (Calories eaten @2600 and @150 cals burnt through exercise).
Breakfast; Scrambled egg (3 eggs), one apple, one avocado, handful of blackberries.
Lunch; Chicken, salad.
Snack; handful of mixed nuts and dried fruit, one banana.
Dinner; Chicken, mushrooms, garlic, broccoli, bowl of blackberries.
Exercise - 3mile walk.
DAY 5
Weight 12st 6lbs (Calories eaten @ 2000 and @300 cals burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; Chicken, avocado, watercress, beetroot, spring onion and radish salad.
Snack; Handful of blackberries, handful of nuts.
Lunch; five fish fillets, peas.
Snack; one Peach, handful of nuts and dried fruit.
Dinner; Salmon fillet, green beans and carrots. Blackberries and one banana.
Exercise - 5m walk and 10 minutes weights.
DAY 6
Weight 12st 6lbs (Calories eaten @2200 and @100 cals burnt through exercise.
Breakfast; Chicken, watercress, two peppers, radish and tomato salad with dash of olive oil.
Snack; one Apple and handful of blackberries.
Lunch; two Chicken fillets, beetroot, 1 banana, pineapple.
Dinner; Pork, green beans, mushrooms garlic, bowl of blackberries.
Exercise - 10 minutes of conditioning exercises.
DAY 7
Weight 12st 6lbs fat percentage 16%. (Calories eaten @2000and @250 burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; Scrambled eggs (3 eggs)
Lunch; one Avocado, chicken, beetroot, watercress and radish.
Snack; Watercress soup.
Dinner; Chicken and peas, blackberries and melon.
Exercise - 10 minutes of weights and 20 minutes of circuits.
DAY 8
Weight 12st 6lbs (Calories eaten @1500 and @700 burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; two boiled eggs.
Lunch; Prawns, broccoli, carrots, green beans.
Snack; Handful of nuts, handful of grapes, one apple.
Dinner; Chicken, pepper, tomato, celery and radish salad.
Exercise - 5mile run, 1 hr of BJJ.
DAY 9
Weight 12st 6lbs (Calories eaten @2200 and @150 burnt through exercise.)
Breakfast; Scrambled eggs (4 eggs)
Snack; Handful of nuts.
Lunch; Chicken, avocado, lettuce, watercress, radish, celery, beetroot salad.
Snack; one Apple, 1 small orange.
Dinner; Salmon fillet, broccoli.
Exercise - 20 minutes swimming.
DAY 10
Weight 12st 6lbs. (Calories eaten @1500 and @500 calories burnt through exercise).
Breakfast; three egg omelette.
Snack; apple.
Lunch; Venison, garlic, mushrooms and green beans.
Snack; orange
Dinner; Sardines, broccoli.
DAY 11
Weight 12st 5lbs. (Calories eaten @2000 and @550 calories burnt through exercise).
Breakfast; Turkey, handful of walnuts.
Snack; one Banana, handful of grapes, 1 kiwi fruit.
Lunch; Turkey, purple sprouting.
Dinner; Minced beef and broccoli. One Kiwi fruit.
Exercise - weight training 30 minutes and 4 mile fartlek run.
DAY 12
Weight 12st 3lbs. (Calories eaten @1500 and @700 calories burnt through exercise).
Breakfast; Sardines, cherry tomatoes, 1 small orange, small handful of walnuts.
Snack; Handful of dates.
Lunch; Tuna
Dinner; Chicken, leeks, carrots. Fruit salad of one banana, one kiwi fruit, handful of raspberries.
Exercise - 75 minutes of yoga, 3 miles of cycling. 1hr crossfit.
Final weight 12st 2lbs, body fat 16%. (Not convinced about accuracy of the fat percentage as I can visibly see I’ve lost a lot more fat than this whilst retaining muscle).
Conclusions; I think the initial loss of 2lb in the first day would partly have been due to loss of excess water and the reasons for the weight loss overall possibly due to the following;
1. By cutting out processed foods and grains and replacing them with meat, vegetables etc., the amount of calories you eat are going to drop. I know I can polish off several bowls of breakfast cereal or pieces of cake without feeling full, but couldn't eat the same amount of calories in chicken breasts. It was very hard to over-eat on natural foods.
2. The balancing of blood glucose and other hormones.
3. The reduction of carbohydrate cravings.
3. Higher intakes of protein make you feel full.
4. The foods eaten demand more energy to be broken down and digested than processed foods (especially protein) and tend to be lower glycaemic.
After the initial weight loss in the first few days it seemed to stop, even though I still had some weight to lose before reaching what I believe would be my ideal weight. Although I felt healthier and fitter with less cravings for sweet food, to lose more weight I tried cutting the calories back a little whilst staying "Paleo" and also redirecting my consumption of fruit to around exercise periods, when the carbs are needed and won't interfere with fat burning. The weight seemed to start to come off again. One thing I noticed was that I’d wake up naturally after about eight hours sleep feeling refreshed, whereas before I’d often sleep for ten hours when I had the opportunity and feel lethargic. I noticed that a couple of days into the diet I had a strange sensation of feeling calm and composed emotionally, like a calm energy had come over me. Overall, I thoroughly recommend the Paleo diet, especially the level one as I did miss the odd piece of toast with my scrambled eggs and also the occasional bowl of porridge.
Due to being a poor cook a lot of what I ate could be made a lot more interesting and I did eat more eggs than recommended by the Paleo diet due to lack of imagination on my part.
I had my cholesterol levels measured before and after and both readings came back as normal.
Remember too that everyone is different so results can vary from person to person.
edited by gymnag_Rob on 19/10/2011
edited by gymnag_Rob on 20/10/2011
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21/10/2011 21:28:45
corso
Posts: 17
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This is really interesting. Is there any theory behind following the paleo diet but eating with the seasons. So only what is in season is eaten. I wonder if our body is more adapted around this with the more juicy fruit available in the summer when you need the hydration, and the harder veg and fruit/nuts that can be stored and consumed over the winter giving more calories when we need them to cope with the colder climate.
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23/10/2011 22:52:14
gymnag_Rob
Moderator
Posts: 105
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Could well be, that would make sense! I'll have a relook at the book and see what it says about seasonal eating, but i should think it's something that would fit in with it's philosophy!
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25/10/2011 05:13:09
gymnag_Rob
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Posts: 105
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Nothing mentioned in the Paleo diet but it would seem to make sense to me to eat as seasonally as possible. Food more likely to be local and less nutrient loss.
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30/10/2011 12:50:00
gymnag_Rob
Moderator
Posts: 105
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I've been reading "The Paleo Solution" by Robb WOLF which is an excellent book. In this he recommends seasonal eating. However could be a problem in the depths of winter in countries like the UK, but worth following as much as possible.
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17/01/2012 14:19:16
sab_attiqu
Posts: 7
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I shall try paleo diet too and no doubt natural foods cant be overeaten... aLthough i have not eaten wheat products and dairy too and reduced my weight and my face shrunk too ...Iam enjoying but when people say that my face is no longer fresh then it really upsets me .....
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18/01/2012 10:12:49
gymnag_Rob
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Posts: 105
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When you cut out wheat and diary before, were you also eating lots of fruit, vegetables and protein? Also did you cut out other unhealthy foods, especially those high in sugar?
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18/01/2012 14:28:10
sab_attiqu
Posts: 7
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Yes I started eating fruits and vegies and I do not take food@ high in sugar..
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20/01/2012 10:03:28
gymnag_Rob
Moderator
Posts: 105
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Unfortunately we'll lose fat on our faces as well as bodies too which can do this i suppose, although a good diet with lots of vegetables, good fats and proteins, exercise (but don't overdo it), water and sleep can negate this somewhat depending on your face shape. Make sure you have plenty of good foods too so that you don't lose to much weight too quickly.
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21/01/2012 17:12:58
Briggsy
Posts: 4
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I know to well of losing fat from my face as i go very gaunt looking close to fight day before even cutting water.....Skelator look a like haha
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12/04/2012 18:32:30
gymnag_Paul
Administrator
Posts: 92
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Saw this on the news today about how traditional fruits and vegetables are healthier and contains more nutrients than the modern types and it made me think of the Paleo principles:
http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2012-04-12/traditional-fruit-and-veg-more-nutritious-than-modern-ones/
--
Paul
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