[ElJefe]

Inspired by the other thread IF I am going to give a quick progress report on my paleo diet.

Until 1st may I was lifting heavy six times a week, eating everything and packing on fat and muscle.

Then (1st May)

Weight: 210lbs
Height: 5'10''
BF: 21.1% (43.8lbs)

Source: Tanita Body Analyzer

I jumped on the paleo bangwagon around 1st June after going zero-carb for a month (a la chaosandpain.blogspot.com). The zero-carb was a pure disaster for me - I simply didn't have energy for crossfit. I do mostly crossfit and weights and some mornings I do cardio, but that has only been once a week on average. Trying to get that number up. The first week of low carbs I shedded +10lbs. That was mostly water from being bloated with carbs. Since then the loss has almost been strictly fat!

Today (28th July)

Weight: 192lbs
Height: 5'10''
BF: 18% (34.5lbs)

Source: Tanita Body Analyzer

Comments: I follow paleoplan.com and have my food delivered so I save hours every week on shopping - pay a slightly higher margin for the goods and delivery, but my life has been VASTLY simplified. Doing all those dishes is a bitch (no washing machine) but I enjoy the varied meals. I usually eat the entire ration, so probably close to kcal 3,000 a day.

I am full but find it irritating to not be allowed to binge. I miss bread and carbs and crap.

My strength is at the same or slightly better then when I started, so strength-to-body weight has really improved. Crossfit involves a lot of personalized training, so the help on improving squats, presses and deadlift technique has been GOLD. I am looking forward to getting into leans and snatches, too.

I have had a lot of issues with flexibility and I do hardly any cardio which is really stupid. the next couple of months I want to have more focus on both. I hope that'll accelarate fatloss. Goal is to lose 50% of the remaining fat.

[el mechanico]

They send you food in the mail?

[ElJefe]

nah, follow the shopping list and order everything online, get it delivered next day. I don't have to set foot in a grocery store ever again. I used to go three times a week. In addition to the transport time saved I probably save hours of time-wasting from just wondering what I feel like having for dinner. This stuff is great for scatterbrains like myself.

[Roark]

Try and use calipers instead of the Tanita.

Good luck. I've been on the Paleo diet about 8 years and don't want to come off.

If you feel like doing some further reading, get the books by Robb Wolf and Loren Cordain. Also look up Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A Price, which is available for free online because it is no longer under copyright law.

As far as body composition stuff though, the best stuff is by people who are generally negative toward Paleo like Lyle McDonald, ranging to okay with it, like Martin Berkhan.

[Alpha Mind]

Good luck. I tried Paleo, but without a substantial amount of carbs, I literally wither away and look malnourished. A lot of that has to do with my body type, but it works wonders for some people.

Again, good luck.

[el mechanico]

(08-03-2012 12:25 PM)ElJefe Wrote:  

nah, follow the shopping list and order everything online, get it delivered next day. I don't have to set foot in a grocery store ever again. I used to go three times a week. In addition to the transport time saved I probably save hours of time-wasting from just wondering what I feel like having for dinner. This stuff is great for scatterbrains like myself.

So they send you the food in the mail like I asked how does that work? Nuke it? pics?

[kbell]

You can do high carb paleo with starches such as sweet potatoes and rice( if you can handle white rice without issue) and other root vegetables. I have to do this to power deadlift workouts and standing more often. Helps recover glycogen stores from intense workouts and I just run better on carbs now.

[Palo_alto]

(08-03-2012 11:39 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  

The zero-carb was a pure disaster for me - I simply didn't have energy for crossfit.

I do hardcore crossfit 3-4 times a week. I also tried going no carbs and I basically got sick every single time I did crossfit. No energy whatsoever.

I started eating complex carbs 20-30 min. before every workout, results were unbelievable.

Right now I am 5´10...160 pounds....8% body fat. Looking to build another 10-20 pounds of muscle.

Try steel cut outmeal with agave nectar or peanut butter before a workout. Yo will be a f.....machine after eating that.

[RichieP]

(08-03-2012 11:27 PM)Palo_alto Wrote:  

(08-03-2012 11:39 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  

The zero-carb was a pure disaster for me - I simply didn't have energy for crossfit.

I do hardcore crossfit 3-4 times a week. I also tried going no carbs and I basically got sick every single time I did crossfit. No energy whatsoever.

I started eating complex carbs 20-30 min. before every workout, results were unbelievable.

Right now I am 5´10...160 pounds....8% body fat. Looking to build another 10-20 pounds of muscle.

Try steel cut outmeal with agave nectar or peanut butter before a workout. Yo will be a f.....machine after eating that.

Woulda said the same thing before researching paleo/nutrition. Now I've "seen the light" tho (lol), I can tell you that combo isnt too healthy, here's why:

oats = grains
agave nectar = pure fructose, rots your liver (pre-workout or not, fructose has to go thru the liver)
peanut butter = carcinogenic

if you want preworkout carbs, sweet potato is good for you, and rice is at least not bad for you.

Saying that, coconut oil is another good option for energy (physical and mental) on paleo. It's fat but its an MCFA and your body makes it quickly + easily available for burning as fuel.

[ElJefe]

im moving towards a new equilibrium of eating everything and lookin awesome :-D

@ mech. i live in europe, and these guys deliver to your doorstep any time of day for about 10 bucks. they also take a 20 percent margin id say on average compared to other grocers. I still think it's worth it. biz idea for Miami?

use a LOT of coconut oil.

I use dates for sugar, but will look into agave. i love that stuff in my margaritas! Some ingredients here like almond butter are too expensive, so i make my own.

have taken two days off now, but i try to aim at crossjizzin 4 times a week heavy lifts twice a week, and 3-4 short cardio sessions. Tall order!

[ElJefe]

(08-03-2012 04:31 PM)Roark Wrote:  

Try and use calipers instead of the Tanita

i see the advantage, but i will stick to the tanita for tracking progress. dont think changing
measurement technique midway in an experiment is a good idea

[kbell]

I'd stick with maple or honey, rather than agave. Fructose only works well in fruits where there is fiber to slow its absorption.

[Palo_alto]

(08-04-2012 09:35 AM)kbell Wrote:  

I'd stick with maple or honey, rather than agave. Fructose only works well in fruits where there is fiber to slow its absorption.

I will give it a try. Thanks!

[germanico]

(08-07-2012 03:44 PM)Palo_alto Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 09:35 AM)kbell Wrote:  

I'd stick with maple or honey, rather than agave. Fructose only works well in fruits where there is fiber to slow its absorption.

I will give it a try. Thanks!

If you want something sweet, eat something that is naturally sweet like bananas or watermelon.

Otherwise, you are just perpetuating the notion that food needs to be "sweetened" to taste good. (Check ingredient lists on processed foods, almost everything has sugar or some sort of sweetener in it, be it HFCS or stevia or stuff like that.) Fructose is addictive and food manufacturers know that, that is why food that shouldnt even taste sweet has sugar in it, they just balance it out by adding more salt.

Train your palate to enjoy food AS IS. Even "natural" sweeteners like maple or agave syrup are sugar with a different name.

Avoid sugar for a few weeks and then try some. You will be surprised of how disgustingly sweet processed food is.

[Laser]

If you're having energy problems during a low-carb diet, up your fat intake. It'll make a dramatic difference.

Also, remember that the chaos and pain diet includes 1 cheat day (aka "rampage" day) where you carbo load because prolonged ketosis inhibits muscle growth.

Science:

http://chaosandpain.blogspot.co.uk/2012/...2a4f79acce

"The Rampage Day is essential for getting insanely strong and lean, as a day in which you deliberately overeat carbohydrates is utterly necessary for muscular hypertrophy, strength gains, and overall recomposition. Essentially, the Rampage Day confers more benefits than a cattle prod at a school for the mentally retarded- it stimulates your metabolism,(Matsumoto) replenishes your glycogen stores for heavy training,(Bowden) increases your thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormones,(Poehlman) provides sundry mental health benefits through a forced break from clean eating,(Westrate) and helps normalize most, if not all, of the hormones [involved in] metabolic slowdown: leptin, ghrelin, insulin, etc.”(McDonald RFD 46)"

[dulst]

You need carbs after an intense workout or you will get sick, luckily there are lots of paleo carbs that don't fuck you up like grain based carbs. Namely (sweet) potatoes, yams, squashes and bananas.

[BIGINJAPAN]

If you guys need something to sweeten up your meals you can use 2 main things:

1. Stevia ( you can put that shit on anything)

2. Manuka honey.

The honey has many beneficial properties. It will almost instantly get rid of a sore throat if swallowed on its own. It is great for healing zits and blemishes. You can put it on any type of cut or sore and it will heal way faster and leave no mark.

Just be sure to do some research at the organic store before you buy. It has to come from New Zealand and it has to be certified by a official manuka honey governing body. Also the higher the active number on it the better it works. You will see + 16 clearly marked to identify the strength of it. Also it is great for cleaning your teeth. The plaque will fall right off. I have been using it for 11 years. I am 31 and Haven't been to the dentist since I was 18. My teeth are white, no cavities and I have no fillings in mouth.

[Cookie]

1. My grandfather who died long before I ever met him. He was a FOB Polish immigrant who hustled his ass of and got signed to play minor league baseball. Unfortunately his sports career was cut short when WWII broke out and he was shipped off the fight the Nazis (fun fact: while stationed in England, awaiting deployment to the European campaign, he racked up quite a notch count and a few flags). He was in one of the first waves of invaders during D-Day (I don't remember which beach he landed on, but it was one of the less famous ones). During the European Theater he got wounded on two separate occasions (once when he ran over a land mine and once from a grenade), yet continued fighting after both events. Eventually he helped to liberate several concentration camps, and was used as an interpreter for the camp prisoners. According to my dad, he could start conversations with anyone and was great at socializing and being a leader.

2. My Great Uncle. He was in Hells Angels during their heyday (1960's) and somehow managed to piss the gang off. He ended up faking his own death and escaping the country, eventually becoming a successful businessman. He's really cool to hangout with and he's full of interesting knowledge and advice.

3. Indian Jones. As a kid I always wanted to be him and watching Raiders of the Lost Ark really kindled my spirit of adventure.