Friday, June 8, 2012

Paleo, Primal or What?






Paleo or Primal, what’s up?
I have been thinking about changing my diet a bit, now is the time to experiment. I don’t have any competitions and if something fails miserably, no worries.
I don't eat a lot of starches, it varies depending on my lifting schedule, but on the days I lift with Roy after work, I am eating starch at two meals a day. On the days I do not lift with Roy, I eat starch at one meal.  That’s not much is it?
There are many varying reasons why people may want to do this and many thoughts on how your body will react and exactly what foods should and should not be eaten. We are not machines; we are all very unique (thank goodness) so we will all react differently.
Some who eat “Paleo” say you should not eat potatoes, some say its OK. I really don’t give a damn what “the list” says, I want to try to eat what will allow my body to function at its best and look its best.
Right now it wouldn’t be difficult at all for me to eliminate my brown rice; heck I only eat it once a day! I can replace it with more vegetables.
I am not sure if I will be as strict as many people are - no beets, no peas, no wine….I really am not certain at all about what I shall do, but I will first try to eliminate grains and potatoes and see how that goes. It means I need to start recording my food again. I used to do this for years, and I stopped as I no longer needed to, I had the diet down like clockwork. But If I choose to embark on this, I will want to see how my body reacts to various foods, especially when I veer from the norm.
I do not plan to be a food Nazi, I am reporting only to me (but I am a tough boss, believe me!), and any deviation will be up to me entirely.
My blood work is already excellent, my body fat low, I have a healthy weight and my muscles look full (a little too full actually) so I don’t think that eliminating the starches will make me “deflate” all of a sudden, but I’m not sure exactly what will happen.
I am sure you have heard that right? “Eliminate starch and you lose all your muscle!!!” Well I know some people who don’t eat starch and they look like crap (no muscle) but I also know some who look great. I think it all depends on the rest of the food you eat and your general health and lifestyle.
I suppose my biggest question will be is it grains I am eliminating or starch???
I may not even feel differently or look different, as I said I eat so little starch as it is, it may not make a dramatic difference as it may in a person who was struggling with their metabolism.  
Will I drink wine? You are not supposed to if you are adhering to a Paleo diet, but I am not doing this so I can say “I Eat Paleo” I am doing this to see how I can optimize nutrition for my body, so yes, once in a while I shall drink wine!
Will I give up my beloved peanut butter? Not sure, peanuts are not nuts they are legumes, and almond butter is good but not the same….
So I really am not quite sure how I shall structure all of this, I suppose I am taking it slow, one foot in front of the other. I think I need some help for you all! Once I hear back, I can start giving this more thought....
I would love advise from anyone who has done something like this - Should I try it? Have you eliminated all starches or just grains? Did you have to for health reasons or just because you wanted to? What were your struggles? Did you enjoy it? And were you actually able to see changes, positive changes in your body? Tell me about it!

7 comments:

  1. So, what exactly is this Paleo diet -- I mean, what's the philosophy about it, what are its alleged benefits, and is it somehow specificly apt for weight trainers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Derek, there have been so many books written about this that I really cannot explain all of it, and there are also many varying beliefs, but basically paleo is eating seasonal food that is what the earth has given us. Nothing that needs to be grown, fermented, processed, etc.

      So it means eating fruit (when its in season), eating meats, all kinds, eating vegetables and nuts (in season).

      Rice, bread, alcohol, any grain is not really approved.

      The thought is that our bodies have not evolved enough to thrive on the man made convenience foods we have all started to subsist on, and it has caused a host of diseases and ailments.

      Some say its OK to eat all the fatty meats and crap you want, but that is not holding true to the philosophy, as I mentioned, there are several "camps" about what is OK and what is not.

      Its like a very strict version of no processed foods.....

      Delete
    2. It sounds like it shares some traits with a macrobiotic diet, at least in terms of philosophy -- but a macrobiotic diet certainly includes grains, so that's a big difference.

      Delete
  2. I say ditch the grains, eat the red potatoes and try sun flower seed butter. :)

    p.s. I've been having headaches since Tuesday. I went pretty hard with squats and legs in general and had a baaaad headache the rest of the day. Since then, my neck had been somewhat sore. I did DLs two days ago so maybe that contributed. I figured I just pushed too hard but somehow I'm wondering if it's just lack of carbs? I've been eating consistently the same kinds of meals everyday. I'll start with 3 eggs (1 whole) scrambled with either turkey or a little bacon and maybe 1/2 cup spinach (cooked) and 1/2 avocado. Then a protein shake blended with 1/2c strawberries after my run. Lunch has been what's on FB (shrimp, asparagus, avocado...etc). Protein shake after lifting. Then dinner like lunch.

    The day after the bad head ache I had oatmeal for breakfast with just eggs. It helped some but I still had headaches come and go. I've been taking some ibuprofen and have been drinking around 3 to 4 quarts of water and a cup of coffee a day.

    Hmmmm. help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sakura- I will try the sun flower seed butter. And I rarely eat potatoes...they are usually french fries when I do! ha ha!!!

      You have done the whole Paleo diet before and you never got headaches so I doubt that is what is causing it. Could be the shakes. Or, you mentioned your neck, if you turned your head when squatting heavy you could have tweaked a muscle in the neck area which could easily cause a headache....

      Don't know what to say but a strained muscle can travel and cause so many other issues. Can you get the hubby to give you a good neck and back massage? If not, go to one of the $20.00 foot spas, they actually massage everything anyway and just tell them to concentrate on the upper back.

      Keep me posted!!

      Delete
    2. Must've been a tweaked muscle. Headaches are gone and so is the sore neck. :)

      Delete
  3. Sakura, I am very happy to hear that!!! Now go get em!

    ReplyDelete