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Paleo Diet 101: How and why you should eat like a Caveman

Dash27

Member
I really have to try the coffee and coconut oil thing. Although I dont much like coffee... I still need to try it. Does it work with Tea?
 

DJ_Lae

Member
Just tried coffee with a tea spoon of coconut oil for the first time. Jesus, why didn't I know about this before!

My wife has been drinking this for the past couple of weeks - coconut oil and a bit of honey. She loves it.

It's not really for me, I find the oil doesn't mix in that well and you get a bit of an oily film on the top.
 
I really have to try the coffee and coconut oil thing. Although I dont much like coffee... I still need to try it. Does it work with Tea?

Apparently indeed it does.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4998741_use-coconut-oil-coffee.html

Can't guarantee how well it tastes with tea, but its alright with coffee. Im not sure about adding honey, I'm worried how it will affect my sugar intake. I stick to fruits for my sugarish/sweet nutrient fix.
 
Guys...I bought an eggplant the other day. What do I do with this thing?

I'd suggest you'd add it to a stew/dish with mushrooms, onion, chili, celery, red pepper and cook it with coconut oil. Add some oregano/basilicum, pepper and perhaps paprika seasoning.

You could put some molded ground beefsteaks on top of it if you'd like, and let them absorb the aromas and steam from the vegetables. Add fresh spinach to it as salad on the plate.

I have a similiar question. I just bought a mango and starfruit. Any good ideas/recipes what I can do with those?
 

Dash27

Member
For eggplant I love it grilled. Slice it up, drizzle some olive oil on there, a bit of salt, throw it on the grill. Delicious.

I'll also cube it, put it with some ground beef, tomato sauce, onions, salt and pepper to taste and cook that up so the eggplant is nice and tender. It's really good, a nice staple meal for me. That and some broccoli on the side and I'm set.
 

Fonz72

Member
My wife has been drinking this for the past couple of weeks - coconut oil and a bit of honey. She loves it.

It's not really for me, I find the oil doesn't mix in that well and you get a bit of an oily film on the top.

Blend it in a magic bullet or something similar.
 

despire

Member
What do you guys think about soy lecithin? As in one of the ingredients of whey isolate. Yay or nay?

I'm guessing nay but have to ask :p
 

Ryck

Member
it's truly delicious, especially in juicing.
A smoothie place opened up next to my office and they have a juicer... man it has kinda changed my world. Definitely going to be my next purchase.

Also hit the big "Five Zero" this week.
50 pounds (lost) not years >:O
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
What do you guys think about soy lecithin? As in one of the ingredients of whey isolate. Yay or nay?

I'm guessing nay but have to ask :p

There should be plenty of other options of whey isolate that don't have any soy product in them.
 

despire

Member
I live in Finland so the american stuff isn't really available here.

And it's not like I can't live without whey since I've been avoiding the stuff lately with success. Luckly it's not important, even if you train.
 

FryHole

Member
anybody have some links to peer-reviewed studies showing that saturated fats are not bad for you?

Review papers

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD002137.pub2/abstract (no effect on total mortality in this one, though small CVD effect seen)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8688759/ (failure to find a strong association between SFA and CVD)


Correlation only, but protective effect on incidence of strokes, and no link to CVD. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20685950/

Plus there's a whole body of data showing saturated fat is protective against fatty liver, RCTs showing low carb (and so high saturated fat) diets bring improvements in lipid profile as well as weight loss.
 

Pyrokai

Member
About to start exercising and strength training. Any modifications I should make to the Paleo diet? Like some kind of supplements or anything? I figured that if I'm eating Paleo, I probably don't need to do much, but I'm just making sure. Any recommendations? Increase/decrease something in the diet? Any advice helps.

Currently, I pretty much eat 2-3 Paleo meals a day and try to keep them as well-rounded as I can with a healthy fat, protein, and veggie. Fruits and nuts for snacks and desserts.
 
Whilst looking for a shop that sells unprocessed macadamia nuts I found this neat chinese grocery shop in the city center of CPH. Turns out danish distrubutors of macadmias are hard to find in Denmark. However I did discover Coconut oil 500 ml for 35 DKK (6,16 US $), which is cheaper than the regular place I buy it from ( 250 ml, 18 DKK ~ 3,17 US $). Also, discovered they sell 1 kilo of juicey, big gingerroots for 70 DKK (12,31 US $), which saves me the cost of a regular super market (200 gr. for 20 DKK ~ 3,52 US $).

I strongly suggest/urge you guys to be on the look out for small exotic grocery shops around your cities; be it thai, phillipene, chinese, arabian/middleeastern etc. Most health concious stores sell overpriced brands/products that could possibly be found at a significantly lower prices at smaller exotic retail shop than your usuall super market.
 

despire

Member
About to start exercising and strength training. Any modifications I should make to the Paleo diet? Like some kind of supplements or anything? I figured that if I'm eating Paleo, I probably don't need to do much, but I'm just making sure. Any recommendations? Increase/decrease something in the diet? Any advice helps.

Currently, I pretty much eat 2-3 Paleo meals a day and try to keep them as well-rounded as I can with a healthy fat, protein, and veggie. Fruits and nuts for snacks and desserts.

You are probably going to need to up your carb intake. And I mean starchy carbs. I'd suggest looking into Carb Back Loading and then modifying it to fit paleo (ie. no crap with gluten). That's what I'm planning on doing starting next saturday.
 
About to start exercising and strength training. Any modifications I should make to the Paleo diet? Like some kind of supplements or anything? I figured that if I'm eating Paleo, I probably don't need to do much, but I'm just making sure. Any recommendations? Increase/decrease something in the diet? Any advice helps.

Currently, I pretty much eat 2-3 Paleo meals a day and try to keep them as well-rounded as I can with a healthy fat, protein, and veggie. Fruits and nuts for snacks and desserts.

You are probably going to need to up your carb intake. And I mean starchy carbs. I'd suggest looking into Carb Back Loading and then modifying it to fit paleo (ie. no crap with gluten). That's what I'm planning on doing starting next saturday.

Depends on how intense the training is going to be. I am doing bodyweight exercises i.e. push-ups, bodyweight squats etc and am just eating normally without stressing about extra carbs and I'm going great on it. However, if you're going to start lifting really heavy weights then you'll probably want to increase your starchy carb intake e.g. sweet potato, as despire says. Your diet is better than mine too so you might be okay just with that.
 

despire

Member
I'm doing heavy resistance training and been trying to go low carb these past few months but it's just not working for me anymore. I'm just getting weaker instead of stronger. I think I need the powerful anabolic signal from carbs after workout so I'm looking in to CBL like I said.
 

Ixion

Member
I haven't been following this thread, so excuse me if this has already been brought up, but I stumbled upon this book:

51uHe2jGyCL._AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-47,22_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg


http://180degreehealth.com/2013/02/12-paleo-myths


Does it have legitimate points against the Paleo diet, or no? I'm on something similar to the Paleo diet for my Lyme disease, so I'm curious.
 

FryHole

Member
I haven't been following this thread, so excuse me if this has already been brought up, but I stumbled upon this book:

51uHe2jGyCL._AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-47,22_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg


http://180degreehealth.com/2013/02/12-paleo-myths


Does it have legitimate points against the Paleo diet, or no? I'm on something similar to the Paleo diet for my Lyme disease, so I'm curious.

Can't speak directly to the contents of the book, but I've been aware of Matt Stone for years now. He changes his mind constantly (low carb yay! Low carb boo! Paleo yay! Paleo boo! etc etc) and goes round touting his latest cure all diet which often directly contradicts his previous cure all diet. He's the perfect example of the type that endlessly adopts the contrary position to make it seem like he's got the inside track, or to keep people anxious as to whether they're "doing it right". There's plenty of valid critiques of paleo out there, but I'd be amazed if this was one.
 

FryHole

Member
Lol Matt Stone... isn't that the guy who says to eat 30 bananas a day or whatever?

He's not the original 30 bananas a day guy, but it wouldn't surprise if he'd recommended it at some point. I do remember him constantly spamming blogs about some 'high everything' bollocks wherein you gorged on junk food because it would, like, totally boost your metabolism.
 

Pyrokai

Member
You are probably going to need to up your carb intake. And I mean starchy carbs. I'd suggest looking into Carb Back Loading and then modifying it to fit paleo (ie. no crap with gluten). That's what I'm planning on doing starting next saturday.


Depends on how intense the training is going to be. I am doing bodyweight exercises i.e. push-ups, bodyweight squats etc and am just eating normally without stressing about extra carbs and I'm going great on it. However, if you're going to start lifting really heavy weights then you'll probably want to increase your starchy carb intake e.g. sweet potato, as despire says. Your diet is better than mine too so you might be okay just with that.


So this might turn my Paleo world upside down and change everything I thought I knew.....but if people who eat Paleo run on fat rather than carbs/sugar, wouldn't I want to increase my fat intake instead of my carbs while maintaining a healthy protein intake? I honestly don't think I understand fully now....
 
So this might turn my Paleo world upside down and change everything I thought I knew.....but if people who eat Paleo run on fat rather than carbs/sugar, wouldn't I want to increase my fat intake instead of my carbs while maintaining a healthy protein intake? I honestly don't think I understand fully now....

Carbs aren't the problem so much but refined carbs. That's my understanding anyway. However, I'm not strictly Paleo, I merely use its principles for an improvement to my lifestyle and diet, so someone more knowledgeable than I should probably address this matter for you.
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
Does anyone else feel like saturated fat actually is bad (in large amounts) in a typical high carb diet? I feel like the body just doesn't behave the same when it's not regularly using ketones.
 

FryHole

Member
Does anyone else feel like saturated fat actually is bad (in large amounts) in a typical high carb diet? I feel like the body just doesn't behave the same when it's not regularly using ketones.

I do, although not necessarily just saturated fat and personally I'd phrase it to blame the carbs rather than the fat. High carb intake requires higher levels of insulin, which in turn prevents fat being metabolised. Result can be high levels of triglycerides in the blood, which is one of the stronger risk factors for heart disease. Low carb high fat results in low triglycerides as the fat is quickly and efficiently metabolised.

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/37202414/VOLEK_Lipids-II_2009.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2974193/
http://rdfeinman.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/saturated-fat-on-your-plate-or-in-your-blood/
 
Is there a book or site that has good paleo snacks that are a bit more complicated than avocado + spoon or nuts? Recently I've just been putting cheese in roasted red piquillo peppers since it's easy and delicious.
 

despire

Member
So this might turn my Paleo world upside down and change everything I thought I knew.....but if people who eat Paleo run on fat rather than carbs/sugar, wouldn't I want to increase my fat intake instead of my carbs while maintaining a healthy protein intake? I honestly don't think I understand fully now....

Honestly it depends on your own goals and how you feel. If you can lift heavy with low carb then good for you. Most people can lift heavy but muscle gains can be much harder I'd suspect. The body get's a huge anabolic signal from carbs so you could argue that they are important for lifters who want to improve muscle mass and strength.

Also one thing I've learned lately is that never be a zealot. Things just aren't that black and white as most people make them out to be. The normal Paleo for example is basically written for everyday folk who don't do anything special fitness-wise. If we are going to train hard in the gym or do some other "hardcore activity", we need to modify the original plan to fit our goals.

Like I said I've been very low carb since January. I haven't really been able to make any gains though and my bodyweight has been pretty much the same. This is lead to me study on Carb Back Loading (CBL) which I'm now starting to implement. The basic gist is to eat carbs only after your training when your body is metabolically ready to use them for muscle mass instead of fat mass. Rest days are basically zero carb and so are your workout days up to that point after training in which you can eat your carbs.
 

Pyrokai

Member
Honestly it depends on your own goals and how you feel. If you can lift heavy with low carb then good for you. Most people can lift heavy but muscle gains can be much harder I'd suspect. The body get's a huge anabolic signal from carbs so you could argue that they are important for lifters who want to improve muscle mass and strength.

Also one thing I've learned lately is that never be a zealot. Things just aren't that black and white as most people make them out to be. The normal Paleo for example is basically written for everyday folk who don't do anything special fitness-wise. If we are going to train hard in the gym or do some other "hardcore activity", we need to modify the original plan to fit our goals.

Like I said I've been very low carb since January. I haven't really been able to make any gains though and my bodyweight has been pretty much the same. This is lead to me study on Carb Back Loading (CBL) which I'm now starting to implement. The basic gist is to eat carbs only after your training when your body is metabolically ready to use them for muscle mass instead of fat mass. Rest days are basically zero carb and so are your workout days up to that point after training in which you can eat your carbs.

This makes a lot of sense and explains why after workouts you get so hungry for carb-heavy foods. Or at least I do in regards to running :p . I'm assuming you're not eating refined carbs? Would white rice and potatoes be okay carbs to ingest? I'm assuming you guys aren't eating veggies out the wazoo....but maybe I'm wrong. Rice and potatoes, I feel, are safe starches. I'd probably have a lot of sweet potatoes, too.

I honestly feel that currently, while not being active, I'm eating more fat than I can even use
and might explain my bathroom issues....my body is just getting rid of the excess, I feel
. I eat some form of saturated fat or monounsaturated fat with nearly every meal, with an animal protein, and try to get veggies with each meal. If I just maintain this and eat more carbs during CBL, I think I'll be okay. But like I said, when I think carbs, I think rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies, and fruit as acceptable ones to use for CBL. Agree/disagree?
 

despire

Member
Not everyone is going to agree with me on this in Paleoland but yes, with something like CBL you need those potatoes and/or rice. The idea is to eat carbs that are high on the glycemic index so they are in and out quick. You still get that important boost from them but we also want them out quickly. Hence the need for white and not brown rice etc.

I believe that 95% of paleo is just staying away from gluten and grains. Eaten the way I prescribed in my last post (CBL), white rice and potatoes should be safe unless you are very fat in which case zero carb is perhaps the only way to go. At least I don't know anything inherently wrong in white rice for example other than it's such a dense source of carbs with little else. But I also think that's just what a serious lifter needs after a heavy resistance training session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_eU_HPxAE8

Also:
Dic7gdZ.png
 

Pyrokai

Member
Very interesting....

So hypothetically, let's say I'm someone who just CAN'T eat rice or potatoes. Or refuses to or whatever (I'm not)....THEN what would you eat or eat more of right after a workout? Vegetables? SatFat?
 

despire

Member
Very interesting....

So hypothetically, let's say I'm someone who just CAN'T eat rice or potatoes. Or refuses to or whatever (I'm not)....THEN what would you eat or eat more of right after a workout? Vegetables? SatFat?

I'm not an expert but I think fat is the only option left to fuel your energy needs. Veggies are of course great but they don't really give that much energy.
 

FryHole

Member
Very interesting....

So hypothetically, let's say I'm someone who just CAN'T eat rice or potatoes. Or refuses to or whatever (I'm not)....THEN what would you eat or eat more of right after a workout? Vegetables? SatFat?

I'd go with protein. Your liver can manufacture glucose from protein through a process called gluconeogenesis. I don't know for certain but I assume this could then be used to replenish glycogen stores after an intense workout.
 

BeEatNU

WORLDSTAAAAAAR
A smoothie place opened up next to my office and they have a juicer... man it has kinda changed my world. Definitely going to be my next purchase.

Also hit the big "Five Zero" this week.
50 pounds (lost) not years >:O

good job, I really need to get the ball rolling
 

Krowley

Member
I've been doing a sort of "paleoish" kind of diet: not as strict about natural foods, more low carb, and mixing in portioning ideas from the Zone diet. I've lost a shit-ton of weight. i'm 6'4, and was always prone to being fat anyway. Then when I quit smoking i just exploded up to about 415 LBS.

Now I'm down into the 320s. I got stuck in the mid 330s for about 6 months, and I had almost resigned myself to the idea that I would never get past it. I tried all sorts of things: exercise, watching my calories, avoiding certain foods, adding certain foods in... Some of the things showed early promise, but it was like my body was hell-bent on keeping me in the 330s.

I recently broke the plateau by mixing in ideas from this diet which is apparently a big fad in the UK right now. It's basically a form of intermittent fasting, and they call it the 5/2 diet. You pick two days during each week, and on those days, you only allow yourself to eat about 650 calories. The rest of the week, you do what you want. For myself, I'm still eating fairly low-carb on most of the other days, but I'm allowing myself to splurge more often. I usually have one day a week where I just go crazy and eat a bunch of ice-cream and pizza and shit. The constant switching around between feasting, and starving, and eating moderately, seems to be tricking my body out, and I'm losing really fast again. Almost as fast as I was in the beginning.

I just thought I would mention it in case there is anybody else on here who's stuck on a killer plateau. I've had some luck with intermittent fasting before this, but I was doing the kind where you skip breakfast and stop eating at about 8 or so in the evening. It worked for a while, but it stopped helping. This is more hardcore in a way because your overall calorie intake for the 24 hour period seems to be lessened more. It is a little harder to do, but it seems to be very effective.
 

blackflag

Member
Does anyone else feel like saturated fat actually is bad (in large amounts) in a typical high carb diet? I feel like the body just doesn't behave the same when it's not regularly using ketones.

I think it is possible but I just don't know and I'm not sure if there are studies with high carb and high saturated fat. My cholesterol went from

>200

To

98 total
56 HDL

With high saturated fat low carb. So I'm a belieber in that for sure.
 

Timedog

good credit (by proxy)
I'm just not losing weight at all the past week. My calorie intake is well below bmr, I usually don't eat before 4-8pm and I usually have one decent sized meal and maybe some snacks, then some wine or spirits mixed with diet soda. Probably average about 1500-1700 calories a day. I'm 245lbs and I think my bmr is something like 2700 calories.

Now, the diet soda and or wine probably isn't good, but it makes no sense that I'm not losing weight when my calories are so low.
 
I really gotta say this diet is doing wonders for me. Im shedding weight crazy fast and I've learned to listen to my body and it's signals. It's a really strange sensation once you begin to "feel" or "understand" what your body wants. :)

People have also been giving me compliments and noticed my weight loss. It really adds to my positive mood.

I'm just not losing weight at all the past week. My calorie intake is well below bmr, I usually don't eat before 4-8pm and I usually have one decent sized meal and maybe some snacks, then some wine or spirits mixed with diet soda. Probably average about 1500-1700 calories a day. I'm 245lbs and I think my bmr is something like 2700 calories.

Now, the diet soda and or wine probably isn't good, but it makes no sense that I'm not losing weight when my calories are so low.

Alcohol may reduce your metabolism down by 70~75% if you're very unlucky. I'd suggest you cut alcohol/soda entirely from your diet for maximum results. Genetically our bodies aren't even engineered to digest/absorb/accept alcohol. The chemicals in soda probably fucks up your digestive system too. Overall it's just better to resist temptation.

I tried different diets before - even allowed myself to have cheat days - and I haven't had great results like this before. I don't even recall what processed sugar tastes like.

Processed sugar. Never again.
 
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