Into the Final Lap!

So here we are - the last week of the 30 day challenge begins. I know some of you have struggled to stick to the plan, but that's okay - at least you've become acquainted with what it means to eat a paleo diet. Maybe you'll be ready to go another time.

For some of you, the experience has been very rewarding. I know from personal correspondence that those of you who jumped in with both feet and held yourself strictly to the plan are seeing amazing results. You know it's a big deal when you're eating healthy foods you enjoy, and eating enough to be satisfied - and yet still losing almost a pound of excess weight PER DAY. That's right - one of our participants lost 18 lbs in the first 20 days, and is feeling better than ever. This is the kind of result that is possible when you fully commit to the plan, and I wholeheartedly congratulate our successful participants on the progress they've made.

What Next?

So what are the next steps? There are several options, but the choice is yours. For those of you who struggled or didn't maintain strict adherence to the plan, there's no reason why you can't take a step back, catch your breath and give it another shot. Now that you know what the paleo plan means, you can try a challenge on your own schedule when you feel ready. Or you can wait until the next group challenge!

For those of you who stayed the course, I would offer the following options:

1. Keep going full steam ahead. If you're seeing good results and feeling good about the diet, there's no reason you have to stop at the end of the 30 day challenge. This is an eating plan your ancestors lived with 24/7 for their entire lives, so you can live with it too if you want to.

2. Keep going at mostly paleo, but allow yourself a cheat meal once or twice a week. Once the first few weeks are done, you've had a chance to adapt to the new way of eating so a little deviation now and then won't hurt. Weekends are a good time for a cheat meal because of social pressures, or you can save the feast for after a particularly heavy workout when your body is looking for extra calories.

3. Keep almost everything paleo, but add ONE non-paleo food back in to see how your body responds. Dairy is one option - maybe you've been really missing cheese during the last month. If you add just one thing back in, you'll be able to tell how much that food affects you - if you add a bunch of stuff back in and feel like crap, you won't know which item is the problem. This is a great way to identify your problem foods, and the 30 days of paleo has cleaned the slate so that you have a starting point for testing. If adding the food makes you feel worse, drop it again and try another. If you tolerate the test food well, by all means enjoy it a few times a week.

I know that milk gives me skin problems, but I never would have been able to identify that without going full paleo and then adding it back in to see the effect. That's part of the charm of the 30 day paleo challenge.

My plan after the 30 days is to start adding in a few cheat meals after going to the gym or on weekends. I'm going to shoot for 80-85% paleo, with most of the week being more strict and generally lower in carbs. Then around the weekend I'll bump up the carb intake for the days when I do my heavy gym work. This kind of "carb cycling" approach has been beneficial for some folks with regards to exercise performance and body composition, so I'm going to give it a try. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes, but my primary measure of success will be how well my lifts are going from week to week.

Good luck everyone, and drop me a line to let me know what you're planning to do after the challenge.

30 Day Paleo Challenge - Week One

Well, the challenge is in full swing now. Day 3 is almost behind us, and if you've been keeping reasonably strict you should soon be noticing the effects. For those of you who normally eat a diet with lots of sugar or refined carbohydrates, this is also the time when you might be feeling the effects of the transition to a different fuel source. As your body weans itself off the sugar, you may feel sluggish, hungry, or light-headed. You may even experience headaches, especially if you're cutting back on the caffeine as well. Unless you were eating a pretty clean diet before the challenge, this is all perfectly normal.

Things to remember

Now I know what you're thinking - it may be normal, but it's not any fun! That's true, but keep in mind that the transition period is relatively short, and once it's over (in a few days) you will feel better than ever. It's also important to understand that you can do things to help minimize the severity of the transition.

1. Eat more meat and fat. One of the biggest causes of issues early on is simply being too skimpy with your protein and fat intake. Remember - a huge part of the average diet is derived from crappy processed carbs. Now that you're not eating those anymore (right?) you need to replace the lost calories with something else in order to keep your energy levels up. You're not supposed to be starving yourself. The only way you're going to meet your caloric and nutritional needs is to eat plenty of meat and fat. Try to get some meat with every meal for both protein and fat, and get some additional fat from nuts, olive oil, coconut and avocados. If you're hungry, eat more!

2. Watch your fruit intake. Yes, fruit is yummy and good for you. But eating lots of fruit can lead to more hunger for some folks. This is especially true if you eat fruit with nothing else. If hunger is a problem for you, try cutting back on the fruit and replace it with lots of green vegetables. When you do eat fruit, try to combine it with a fat or protein to increase satiety. A good choice might be smearing a little almond butter on an apple.

3. Drink water. Sometimes that feeling of hunger is really thirst in disguise, so try drinking a glass of water to see if the feeling subsides. And if it doesn't, just eat some of the nuts and jerky you thoughtfully packed in a ziploc bag for just such occasions. You did remember, right?

4. Limit caffeine and sweeteners. Caffeine and artificial sweeteners can stimulate hunger, so if you're having trouble in this area you might want to cut back or eliminate them entirely. I personally don't have a problem with coffee or diet soda myself, but I am aware of their potential to cause cravings. It's been shown that just tasting something sweet can cause an insulin response in the body, even in the absence of actual sugar. You may want to limit your consumption if annoying hunger is a problem for you.

The most important thing to remember is that it's okay to eat when you're hungry. This eating plan is about choosing QUALITY foods, not worrying about quantity. If you need to bump up the food intake to get through the transitional phase, that's perfectly fine. In a week or two those cravings and hunger sensations will be a thing of the past.

Also keep in mind that the more strictly you follow the plan, the more likely you will notice the transition - but you will also get through it faster than if you drag it out more slowly by straying into cheat meals. But more importantly, strict adherence will bring you quicker results.

Good luck and keep going strong!

Tips and Tricks for the 30 Day Challenge

We're a little over a week away from the start of the 30 day challenge, so I thought I'd put together a few tips to get ready for the first week. It will be a lot easier if you take a little time to prepare - especially if this is your first dip in the paleo pool.

Tip #1: start clearing out any junk food or snacks lurking in your fridge and pantry. If there are any grain or dairy based foods in the house, get rid of them now. Use them up, give them away, whatever. This goes double for cookies, chips and other convenience foods. After a day or two on the paleo plan you may get some cravings, and if those snacks are readily available it's all too easy to slip up. One way to get them out of the house is to take them to work and leave them in the lunch room. If your workplace is anything like mine, they'll vanish quickly.

Tip #2: Plan the first week of meals ahead of time. It's easier to stay on track if you have a plan, and knowing what you're going to eat in advance will eliminate last minute uncertainty. Sit down a few days before Day 1 and jot down 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners. You can repeat meals as much as you like - breakfast is especially amenable to redundancy (I eat variations of the same thing almost every morning). Dinner requires the most planning, but if you just remember to have some meat, vegetables and maybe a piece of fruit each night you'll be fine. Make more than you can eat at dinner, and the leftovers can take care of the next day's lunch. This is a very helpful strategy since it's easy to toss a piece of chicken and some veggies in a container, put it in the fridge, and then pack it up for work the next day.

Sample day:

Breakfast: eggs scrambled in a tablespoon or so of olive oil, with any vegetables that sound good tossed in the mix. I like broccoli and spinach, but there's really no limit to what you can use. Sometimes I cut up a piece of leftover meat from the night before and stir fry it before adding in the veggies and eggs. Garnish with salsa.

Lunch: a colossal mixed green salad with tuna or leftover chicken. I like to add celery, spinach, tomatoes or even a cut up apple to the salad, then toss some drained tuna on top. An avocado will add some healthy fat and make you feel more full after eating. I may eat it just like that, or I might drizzle some olive oil and vinegar/lemon on top. Cracked pepper is good too.

Dinner: grilled steak with steamed carrots and a side salad. A sliced apple with almond butter for dessert.

The basic idea is to pick a good protein source (meat or eggs) for each meal, and load up the rest of your plate with vegetables. If you just do that, you'll be on your way to success.

Tip #3: After planning your meals, you'll have a much better idea of what your shopping list should look like -

Meats: buy 4 or 5 different types of meat that you know you like, enough for a couple of meals each. And load up on eggs for breakfast if you like them - they're cheap.
Good meat choices include chicken breast, chicken tenderloin, whole chicken for baking/roasting, pork loin, pork chops, pork steaks, ground beef, steak, roast, fish (salmon, cod, trout) or canned salmon, sardines, anchovies, and tuna. Tuna is especially useful for quick lunches.

Vegetables: buy a variety of vegetables you know you'll eat, both fresh and frozen. Several bags of salad greens, some carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cabbage, squash, broccoli, turnips, asparagus, spinach. Frozen: mixed veggies, broccoli, greens.

Buy some fruit - apples, bananas, oranges, pears, kiwis. Plenty of berries too, such as strawberries, blueberries or raspberries.

Get some almonds and walnuts for snacking. Sunflower seeds are good too.

Stock up on spices if you don't have enough. Curry, garlic, cayenne, basil...whatever you enjoy.

Make sure you have some olive oil on hand. This is great for cooking and will add healthy fats to your meals. One of the biggest issues people have when starting paleo is not eating enough fat, but it helps to keep you feeling full and happy and it provides essential nutrients. Other good sources of fat are coconut oil, avocados, almond butter, nuts and seeds. Avocados are pretty useful, and I've never met anyone who didn't LOVE almond butter once they tried it.

Salad dressing - make your own from olive oil and vinegar (or lemon/lime juice), plus any herbs and spices you like. You can make a cup or so and keep it in the fridge.

Tomato sauce - try to find it in a can or jar, and make sure it's tomatoes, water and salt. No added sugar. This is very useful in ground beef recipes.

Salsa - find one that's made of vegetables without a lot of added nonsense (sugar, salt, things with lots of syllables). If you're like me, salsa is good at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Take some nuts or jerky to work for snacking - make sure to avoid lots of added salt and sugar in these though. Most varieties of store-bought nuts and jerky are chock full of sugar and salt, so shop around. Trader Joe's may be a good source.

Lara Bars are good for a once-in-a-while snack, but you don't want to rely on packaged snacks too often. And avoid the ones with cashews and peanuts, which are technically not paleo foods.

Tip #4: try not to eat out at restaurants too often. It's a lot easier to make sure you're eating good paleo foods if you know exactly what's in your meal and how it was prepared. That being said, you CAN make wise choices when eating out - at least in most restaurants. Order steak, chicken or fish with a side of vegetables. If it comes with a potato or rice, just request extra vegetables instead. Make sure the meat is grilled, baked or broiled and NOT covered in a sugary sauce or breaded. I was able to eat paleo at Pasta House, so I know it can be done. Fast food is a lot harder, so do your best to stay away from it.

Tip #5: limit or avoid beverages containing caffeine or artificial sweeteners. Sugar is definitely not allowed, but caffeinated and artificially sweetened drinks can cause issues for some people. Both can affect insulin levels, and this can lead to cravings, hunger, and even slow down your fat loss. If you can't do without, at least be aware that these beverages can make you more likely to experience cravings. If you can tolerate that, you'll probably be okay with a coffee or diet soda now and then. Just don't overdo it. Water is the best thing you can drink, and green tea is not too bad either. If you do end up drinking coffee or diet soda, try to drink an equal amount of water.

Tip #6: try to do some form of exercise most days. This will help reinforce the eating plan, both mentally and physically. Don't try to do too much though. In the first week you might experience low energy levels as your body learns to burn fat instead of sugar for fuel. Do some walking and other light activity a few times the first week, and save the more intense exercise for later when your energy levels start to take off. Most people feel a big boost in energy after the second week or so, and you may feel like doing something more strenuous then - even if you normally don't work out much.

Following these tips and tricks should get you through the first week with little difficulty. After that, things start to come more naturally and you'll eventually start doing the right things automatically. Remember, if you run into any questions or concerns just leave a comment here and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Good luck and Happy Foraging!

What has Paleo done for me lately?

Today, instead of putting up links to complicated scientific studies to show the benefits of switching to a paleolithic eating plan, I'm going to get personal and talk about some of the benefits I have seen in my own life.

Keep in mind that I'm not eating 100% paleo 365 days a year, but when I am the following benefits are more pronounced. There is a direct correlation between how close I stick to the plan and the degree to which the benefits are noticeable.

Benefit 1 - Getting Lean

The more paleo I am, the leaner I get. It's a rather dramatic effect. It's also independent of my exercise routine. Earlier this year (following the winter holiday season) I was pretty far from eating a pure paleo diet. I got in the habit of eating more breads, pasta, and baked snacks (e.g. cookies) than I normally eat - and it showed in my midsection. I wasn't really fat by average American standards, and by no means as heavy as I was 10 years ago, but I added a good 10 lbs of fat. Mostly around the waist and belly (typical). During this time I was engaging in a regular program of exercise about 5 days a week, with some intense sessions and some low-level exercise. Still, the fat was accumulating. So during the March/April time frame I switched back to a paleo eating style, and kept it at about 80-90% compliance. That means most of my meals were paleo, but a couple a week were "cheat meals" where I relaxed the rules a bit. Over the next few weeks that added fat melted away at an amazing rate - it was visibly noticeable in the first week. By the end of April I had dropped about 10 lbs without any noticeable loss of lean muscle. It's interesting to note that this all occurred while maintaining the same workout routine. In other words, eating paleo melted off the excess fat without any change in the amount or type of exercise. Even if you don't exercise at all, changing your eating habits to a paleo plan will make you more lean.

Benefit 2 - Feeling Great

This one is harder to quantify since there are no numbers on a scale by which to measure it, but trust me - it's real. What do I mean by feeling great? It means a significant decrease in minor aches and pains - like those annoying feelings you sometimes get upon first waking up once you reach a certain age. It also means a higher energy level throughout the day - the kind where you feel like going for a quick run, climbing a rock wall, doing yard work, or hitting the gym, and really looking forward to it. Or doing inverted hangs on the playground equipment while relaxing with the kids, as illustrated above. Basically less sluggishness and more desire to move and play.

Benefit 3 - Not Being Sick

This one probably ties in closely with #2, but it's pretty important. When I'm on the paleo plan, I seem to have a lot less problems with allergies, sinus infections, gastro-intestinal issues, and skin problems. There's actually a lot of scientific research in these areas that show benefits of a paleolithic diet in reducing or halting various disease processes. For me, it's enough to know that I have better digestion, better skin, and fewer headaches and sniffles when I'm eating right.

Benefit 4 - Better Performance

When I'm chowing on lots of meats, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats I see an improvement in my workouts. I'm stronger, faster, and have more endurance. I also have better recovery after a hard workout - I'm less sore and I feel ready to get right back at it more quickly.

Benefit 5 - Better Sleep

Sleep quality improves on a diet free of refined sugars, grains and dairy. I fall asleep faster, sleep more deeply, and wake up more rested and refreshed when I'm doing paleo. Of course, this makes a difference in the rest of my day too. I'm pretty picky about my sleep and not getting enough or not getting good quality sleep makes the rest of my day a less pleasant experience all around. I know I can avoid all that by sticking to the plan.

Benefit 6 - Less Hunger

Yes, eating quality proteins, fats and vegetables is more satisfying than filling up on refined grains and other carb-overdose foods. After a decent meal I can go a long time before feeling hungry, and I don't get those unpleasant crashes and gnawing sensations. Protein and fat is slower burning and just seems to last longer in the system. People on paleo tend to eat less overall because the cravings and snacking that are part of a high-carb lifestyle go away.

Benefit 7 - Better Moods

Now this may be partially due to all of the above - I mean who wouldn't be in a better mood if they were enjoying the benefits above? But there are also studies that suggest a meat, vegetable, fruit and fat diet with a better omega-3 content can reduce the incidence of depression. From personal experience I can definitely say I feel more "up" when I'm on track food-wise than when I'm eating junk.

Benefit 8 - Looking Good

Given that I'm less fat, more muscular, less sleep-deprived, have better skin and general health, it's really no surprise that I tend to look better and more fit on a paleo diet. I just like the way I look in the mirror when I'm eating right. Maybe it's trivial or superficial, but for most people this one benefit outweighs all the others. And really it's not so superficial when you think about it - the improvement in outward appearance is a direct result of the numerous internal health improvements one enjoys when eating the way our bodies evolved to eat.

What else is there?

So those are a few of the reasons I like following a paleolithic lifestyle. I probably neglected to include a few of the many things I like about being paleo, but really isn't it enough to feel, look and perform better than before? These benefits are more significant to most folks than all the scientific research on how much better off you'll be on a biochemical level, even though they're really just the outward reflection of the improvements within.

Jumping right in...or taking it slow and easy

Okay folks - we're 20 days away from the start of the 30 Day Paleo Challenge. That's almost 3 weeks to get your mind made up and focus on committing to the challenge. It's a lot easier than you might think.

What to do during the next 20 days

Are you the kind of person who likes to rip the band-aid off all at once, or do you prefer to take it slowly and carefully? Do you jump in the pool to get the shock over with right away, or ease in? With paleo eating, I'm a "jump right in" kind of guy. For strict paleo challenges like the one starting in 20 days, I like to just go whole hog and switch entirely to an all meat, veggie, fruit and nut diet with no transitional phase. But to be honest, I'm usually pretty close to paleo even when I'm off the strict plan, so it's not that big a change for me. Maybe you're the same...but maybe not.

If you're currently eating a very non-paleo diet (lots of bread, pasta, milk, cheese, and other neolithic foods), you might consider trying a phased approach. Going from a standard American-style diet full of grains, dairy, soy and sugar straight into a strict paleo plan can be a big transition. You may notice a few days to a couple of weeks where you're not hitting on all cylinders while your body adapts to using the correct fuels rather than the junk fuel it normally gets. After that intro period you should start to notice improvements in the way you feel, the way you look, and the way you perform (at work or in the gym). After about 3 weeks most people are functioning at a better, more efficient level than they were before they started the plan.

If the thought of a week or three of adaptation worries you, there is an option that may help avoid or reduce the impact. Instead of going 100% paleo all at once (like me), you can ease into it gradually.

The Paleo Breakfast Phase-In

The recommended method for easing into a paleo eating program is to start with breakfast. Basically, start your day (every day) with a meat and nuts meal. The meat can be anything from eggs (yes, they count as meat) to some leftover steak or chicken from the night before. Toss a handful of nuts (almond, macadamia or walnuts) into the mix and you're done! This is a simple, inexpensive way to get one paleo meal a day, and it won't jar your system since you're only doing one per day. One thing to note: if you normally don't eat breakfast, you should quickly notice an improvement in how you feel and function during the day. Sometimes just adding this one meal can make a huge difference. Even if you already eat breakfast, switching to a meat and nut meal instead of bagels, toast or cereal will be a big improvement. I usually eat a big breakfast with meat, eggs, and loads of veggies. For those of you new to the idea, a load of vegetables at breakfast may be too much to deal with. It's perfectly cool to start without them.

Ideally, after a week or two on the Paleo Breakfast phase, you would add in a paleo lunch so that 2 of your daily meals now fit the plan. After that, the transition to full-on paleo will be much easier.

I recommend that you try doing the paleo breakfast phase-in as soon as possible. If you feel like you're doing well after a week or two, add in the lunch. By the time the June 30 Day Challenge kicks off, you'll be most of the way there already. And you'll be less likely to notice any major energy issues during the early part of the challenge because your body will already be accustomed to running on a partial paleo fuel mix. Remember - the further you are from paleo eating now, the more a gradual easing-in will help.

Robb Wolf's Paleo Solutions podcast

I have to give a shout out to Robb Wolf, who has a great website and also does a very informative podcast. Robb is a former research biochemist specializing in lipid metabolism, he's a co-founder of one of the earliest Crossfit affiliates, and he's a review editor for the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. He has more academic and street cred than I'll ever have. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes - just search for "Paleo Solutions" - but some of the older podcasts (#1-#12) don't show up there, at least for me. So here's a link to the first podcasts if you're like me and like to start from the beginning. Listening to one of Robb's comments is what made me think about putting in all this info about a phased approach rather than just jumping in with both feet - so thanks Robb!

Workout

I spent all last week digging and planting my new vegetable garden. Now that the plants are in the ground and thriving (so far - thank you rain and sun), I'm back to more normal workouts this week. Yesterday I did a heavy lifting workout of squats, hang power cleans/push presses, and deadlifts. I added a few bench presses at the end for extra fun. Today I'm just greasing the groove a bit with pull ups. Basically every time I walk past my pull up bar, I do a couple or three pull ups to improve neuro-muscular adaptation. Good stuff.

Good luck and happy foraging!

Grocery Shopping - Paleo Style

Before you can commit to something like the 30 day paleo challenge, you must first make sure you have enough of the right kinds of food available in your home. You can get a paleo meal in most restaurants, but for the most part you will be preparing your meals at home.

So here is a guide to help create your paleo shopping list. There are lots of shopping lists on the web that cater to paleo folks, but there are also a few simple things to remember that will make your paleo shopping a bit easier. Here's my list:

* Shop along the perimeter of the store. Most of the good stuff is in the produce and meat departments around the edges - the aisles in the middle are a maze of pre-packaged items you are better off avoiding.

* Try to avoid items that have more than 3 ingredients listed on the label. In fact, most of the really good stuff will have only ONE. Fresh meats and vegetables, for example. Those extra ingredients are usually something you don't want - like salt, sugar or soy.

* When choosing foods in the store, ask yourself whether your ancestors living 10,000 years ago would recognize your choices. Most meats, veggies, fruit and nuts would look like something they would have eaten. If it comes in a box and is rainbow-colored, put it back on the shelf.

* Pick a few staples that you know you like - your favorite lean meats, vegetables and fruits - but don't be afraid to try something new. I got my family to try different types of squash when they did the challenge last time - and they liked them. Another hugely popular discovery - almond butter!

Once you've gotten the hang of paleo eating, shopping for the right foods turns out to be pretty simple and natural. For those of you who don't know where to start, here's a list of paleo foods to get you going. One good strategy starting out is to sit down and make a list of meals for the upcoming week before heading to the store. Just include a serving of meat, a vegetable or two, and a source of healthy fat like avocado or olive oil with each meal and you'll be good to go.

A typical day's menu for me might include the following:

Breakfast - a big glass of water, followed by eggs scrambled in olive oil with whatever vegetables I have available - usually spinach, broccoli or peppers (or all three!)

Lunch - if I'm at work, I may just have a bit of leftover meat, some nuts, and a piece of fruit. If I'm at home, I sometimes have a huge mixed green salad with some tuna and avocado.

Dinner - a good portion of meat, several vegetables, and maybe a bit of fruit. I like to change my meat choices from day to day - beef, chicken, pork and fish in a random rotation. Veggies are usually broccoli, carrots, a salad - whatever sounds good at the time. I may eat a piece of fruit, but mostly I have my fruit earlier in the day.

I may snack on a few nuts during the day, but that's about it for a typical day. Just be sure you eat a good variety of meats and vegetables, and eat enough to feel comfortably full - don't starve yourself. With paleo eating, you should be able to eat plenty without worrying about weight gain since you're avoiding calorically dense but less nutritive snacks and packaged foods.

I'll post a few more meal examples soon, prior to the 30 day challenge. Be sure to ask questions if you're unsure about anything.

Good luck and happy foraging!

30 Day Paleo Challenge - the Countdown begins!

If you're not eating a paleo diet already, I'd like to invite you to join our 30-Day Paleo Challenge. I'm setting the official start date as June 1, which means those who participate will be paleo for the entire month of June.

30 day challenges are quite popular in the paleo/primal community. This is in part because most people can commit to a mere 30 days, and because that gives your body plenty of time to start to notice real changes in weight, body composition and general health. Some folks who have access to medical testing have gone so far as to have blood profiles done before and after the 30 day period to show the improvements a paleo diet can cause in various measures. I would LOVE to see someone do this here, but all I'm really asking is that you give the plan a shot for 30 days.

Typically, a 30 day period lets people see how their normal diet leads to health issues that are normally just under the radar - they impact your life daily, but in ways that it's not always easy to tease out of your normal daily experience. For example, many people are mildly allergic or in some way sensitive to dairy or grains, and they may have sinus issues, generalized aches and pains, sore joints, or digestive problems. During a 30 day paleo diet, many people find that a lot of these ailments fade or disappear entirely because the root cause was dietary. Once the 30 day period is over, you may feel so good you'll want to keep it paleo. On the other hand, once your system is clear of the irritants in your normal diet, you can slowly add certain non-paleo foods back in to see how well you tolerate them. This can help you isolate which non-paleo foods are the biggest problem for you.

I think this is a relatively convenient time to do a challenge like this. It's summer time, and there are plenty of fresh fruits and veggies in season. It's also really easy to do paleo-style cooking if you barbecue or cook out a lot. Heck, it's meat and vegetables - you don't get much more grill-friendly than that! Also, June 1-30 is nestled between the two main summer holidays in the US, so if you plan on partying and eating with wild abandon on Memorial Day weekend or the 4th of July, you can still stick to strict paleo in between.

I'll be posting some helpful bits and pieces leading up to the big kickoff, such as handy shopping lists and meal ideas. Also, I welcome any of your questions as to what is and isn't part of the paleo eating plan so you can be as successful as possible. I expect you will be surprised with the results in weight loss and well-being. Some people also find their grocery bill drops a bit, since you're buying fresh meat and vegetables instead of pre-packaged "food" in expensively designed boxes.

More to come as the countdown progresses.

Good luck and happy foraging!

Go Fish!

Unless you've been living under a rock - and admittedly, that's pretty paleo - you've most likely heard something about the benefits of fish oil. Fish oil has been shown over and over again to provide numerous health benefits, and as I mentioned in a previous post I myself supplement my diet with fish oil.

In case you did just crawl out from under your rock to check the internet, Mark's Daily Apple has a great rundown of what you need to know about fish oil. The many benefits include:

* Improvements in cardiovascular health
* Decreased risk of stroke
* Decreased blood pressure
* Reduction in blood triglyceride levels
* Improvements in mood and cognitive ability
* Reduction in symptoms of depression
* Improved immune function
* Reduced risk of some forms of cancer
* Anti-inflammatory properties, which can reduce the incidence and severity of a number of ailments such as joint pain and asthma


Science Alert!

For those of you who prefer your information in peer-reviewed form, here's an interesting paper that discusses the evolutionary basis for omega-3 requirements, and the kinds of issues one might expect from a diet deficient in them.

Essential fatty acids in health and chronic disease
Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:560S-569S.


Interestingly, much of the benefits of fish oil supplementation probably derive from its capacity to correct the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid imbalance that is a hallmark of the modern agricultural diet. Basically, we are so out of whack from eating the way we do that we are now prone to a host of illnesses that our ancestors rarely encountered. In fact, if you eat a strict paleo diet with a focus on lots of vegetables and grass fed meat, your need for an omega-3 supplement is likely much less or even non-existent. If you're like most folks though, you could probably benefit from some fish oil supplementation.

So how much do you need? Well, opinions vary - but it's probably more than the conventional wisdom would have you believe. For those of you who are interested in a more cutting edge view, there is now a convenient Fish Oil Calculator designed by Robb Wolf and the folks at Whole9Life.

My personal view is that a paleo diet based on grass fed meat, fish, free-range poultry and plenty of vegetables and fruit will provide a human being with the correct ratios of fatty acids and other nutrients. However, few people eat that diet these days - and even if you do there is likely still some residual imbalance remaining from years of eating the standard modern diet. So fish oil supplementation is a good option in my book!


Workout du Jour

Over the last few days I've been putting in a new vegetable garden, so in lieu of hitting the gym I've been stripping sod, shoveling dirt and tilling heavy clay soil. I get a lot of sunshine doing this too. With any luck I'll have some good veggies to show for all the hard work. Oh, and last Saturday I raced my 8 year old son up one of the steepest hills in Cape Girardeau, MO - the infamous Cardiac Hill for those of you who are in the know. Good times!

Why Grass Fed Meat?

Meat is good. Grass fed meat is better...much better. Our ancestors did not eat meat harvested from animals that lived in crowded conditions on an unnatural diet of grain-based feed augmented with the remains of other cattle, and their food sources were not chock-full of artificially administered growth hormones and antibiotics. Our ancestors obtained their meat from wild animals that spent their entire lives subsisting on their natural diets, and thus we evolved to thrive on protein from such animals and the nutritional profile to be found in such meat.

The benefits of 100% grass fed meat are many. Eatwild.com has a lot of great info on these benefits, the basics of which can be found here. I like their summary from that page:

When you choose to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals, helping to put an end to environmental degradation, helping small-scale ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, helping to sustain rural communities, and giving your family the healthiest possible food. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

Nutritional Benefits of Grass Fed Meat

Grass fed meats, when compared to modern feed lot meats, are higher in many vitamins, minerals, beneficial EFAs (essential fatty acids) and lower in fat. Frankly, eating grass fed meat is like taking a nutritional supplement - except instead of coming in the form of a pill it's in a juicy steak or burger. The list of nutritional benefits can hardly be overestimated. Please check out Eat Wild's Health Benefits for a detailed discussion. For those of you with a shorter attention span, here is a 10 point summary from that page:

Score Ten for Grass-Fed Beef

Grass-fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date. The 2009 study was a joint effort between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina. Compared with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef was:

1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

S.K. Duckett et al, Journal of Animal Science, (published online) June 2009, “Effects of winter stocker growth rate and finishing system on: III. Tissue proximate, fatty acid, vitamin and cholesterol content.”

Also mentioned is the fact that grass fed meat is significantly less likely to be contaminated with e. coli, and due to feeding methods is essentially immune to the underlying cause of mad cow disease.

The fatty acid profile in grass fed meat is similar to that of fish. Now I personally use fish oil supplements to augment my omega-3 intake because of the overwhelming research that supports fish/fish oil consumption as a major health benefit. Eating a grain-based diet has pushed the average American's omega-6/omega-3 ratio all out of whack relative to what it should naturally be, and this is thought to contribute to many modern metabolic ailments as well as cancer and heart disease. But eating plenty of grass fed meat can also provide you with a more natural, balanced fatty acid ratio.

Grain fed meat quickly loses any fatty acid benefits that may have been garnered during the short grazing period most cattle go through, but 100% grass fed animals build and maintain the proper fatty acid profile. The meat of grass fed animals also contains significantly higher levels of vitamins that you must otherwise get directly from vegetable sources if you only eat grain fed meat. This helps to explain how some hunter-gatherer cultures appear to do perfectly well on a predominantly meat-based diet. I'm not suggesting you go meat-only - I like veggies too much. But if you do, you'd better make sure it's grass fed!

Seriously - if you are truly concerned about your health and that of your family, do yourself a favor and research the nutritional benefits of grass fed meat. Read the information at Eat Wild.

Workout du Jour

Today's workout was a quick (16 minute) session of intervals on the heavy bag and kettlebell. Basically hitting and lifting in bursts of 60 seconds, with short 20-30 seconds active resting in between. That's good stuff. Now if the weather holds up I'm off to cut the grass and get some sunshine. Too bad I don't have any grazing animals to help me out!

Good luck and happy foraging!

Colbert Paleo-Nation!

Stephen Colbert recently interviewed John Durant regarding the "caveman diet". Here's the clip of this entertaining, humorous and pretty informative interview.

I like what I've seen of this guy. In the short time Colbert talked to him, he hit a lot of the main points of paleo programming. He didn't just limit it to diet either. Good show.

Workout du Jour

Today I am pretty sore from the squats and deadlifts yesterday, but I've had worse. This morning I did a quick 16 minutes of hard intervals on the heavy bag, and then went outside and got some sunshine for 15 minutes. The heavy bag training can be pretty tiring, but it's also a lot of fun. If you have access to a gym with a heavy bag, you should give it a go! Or if you'd rather buy your own for home use - like I did - there are some pretty good deals at Amazon. I got my 80lb bag along with some nice heavy bag gloves for less than $100 - with free shipping it was still delivered within 48 hours. Not too shabby.

If you're interested, go here and look around for something that fits your needs. Hitting a heavy bag is stress-relieving, fat-burning and fun - plus it teaches you how to move correctly while striking. I love using mine.

Heavy Day!

Ok, not all that heavy really. For the past several months I've been sticking to bodyweight exercises, kettlebell work and some training on the heavy bag. It was fun and (I think) beneficial as well, but I miss going to the gym and picking up heavy stuff.

So today I went back to the gym and did squats, hang power cleans and push presses, and deadlifts. I went a bit easy on myself since it had been so long, but I can already tell that my legs are going to be SORE. Squats are like that, unless I do them a couple days a week.

I definitely felt like I could do more weight on the squats, even though it's been months since I last squatted, but I made myself stop at 135 lbs. The HPC&PP were a little tougher, but not too bad. By the time I got to the deadlifts things were feeling heavy. Here's what I did, after a quick warmup on each exercise:

Squats: 135 lbs, 3 sets of 5
Hang power clean & push press: 95 lbs, 3 sets of 5
Deadlifts: 225 lbs, 3 sets of 3

As soon as I got home I whipped up a breakfast scramble of 3 eggs, a little turkey sausage, about half a cup of ground venison, and a heap of broccoli, spinach and collard greens.

SCIENCE!

Ok, as promised I'm going to provide some links to the science behind the paleo program. In this first installment, I'd like you to take a look at this paper published in 2005. It's essentially an introduction to the notion of paleolithic nutrition, and why it's a major improvement over what most of the world currently eats. It's pretty accessible too, for the most part, and well worth a detailed reading. Here's the link:

Origins and evolution of the western diet: Health implications for the 21st century.
Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:341-54.

Abstract:
There is growing awareness that the profound changes in the environment (eg, in diet and other lifestyle conditions) that began with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry 10000 y ago occurred too recently on an evolutionary time scale for the human genome to adjust. In conjunction with this discordance between our ancient, genetically determined biology and the nutritional, cultural, and activity patterns of contemporary Western populations, many of the so-called diseases of civilization have emerged. In particular, food staples and food-processing procedures introduced during the Neolithic and Industrial Periods have fundamentally altered 7 crucial nutritional characteristics of ancestral hominin diets: 1) glycemic load, 2) fatty acid composition, 3) macronutrient composition, 4) micronutrient density, 5) acid-base balance, 6) sodium-potassium ratio, and 7) fiber content. The evolutionary collision of our ancient genome with the nutritional qualities of recently introduced foods may underlie many of the chronic diseases of Western civilization.


When you're finished reading the article, reward yourself by lifting something heavy and eating some meat!

Good luck and happy foraging.

The Paleo Pentad

The Paleo Pentad is a name I just came up with for my list of 5 categories that encompass a well-rounded approach to paleo-fitness. These 5 areas should be a part of any balanced plan designed to improve one's health, performance, body composition and general well-being. I'll list them here with a brief description, and in later posts I will expand on the dirty details.

1. Eat a paleo diet. I already covered this to some degree in an earlier post, but basically it's this: eat plenty of fresh meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts and seeds. No grains, no dairy, no pre-packaged foods. For the most part, do your shopping around the perimeter of the grocery store.

2. Exercise like your ancestors. Lift heavy things for short periods once or twice a week. Run fast occasionally. Jump, bound and climb. When you're not engaged in short, intense activity you should spend plenty of time walking or hiking at a leisurely pace. Avoid prolonged aerobic or "cardio" exercises such as jogging or stair-stepping.

3. Sleep! You need to get plenty of sleep to let your body recover and repair itself, and to maximize the benefits of all the good eating and exercising. Short-changing yourself on sleep will undermine your efforts in a big way, but getting a good night's sleep every night will do wonders.

4. Get outside. Our ancestors spent a LOT of time in the great outdoors, getting plenty of sunshine and fresh air. Sun exposure is a primary source of vitamin D, and most people are deficient in this crucial micronutrient due in part to staying inside under artificial light. Get some sun every day if you can - it's good for your body and your mind.

5. Play. Spend some of your leisure time engaging in fun activities. Play a sport. Go to the park with your kids and do what they do - don't sit on the park benches with the other parents. Learn a new skill that engages your mind and body.


Obviously, each of these 5 categories covers a vast array of individual possibilities. In subsequent posts I hope to expand on these areas and provide details, examples and SCIENCE regarding each.

Good luck and happy foraging!

The Paleo Diet - So Easy Even a Caveman Can Do It

So what is the Paleo diet? Basically, it's the diet our ancestors thrived on for over 99% of our evolutionary history. These are the foods that were available in the environment humans occupied in paleolithic times, and over millions of years evolution honed our bodies and genetics to function optimally while consuming them. In a nutshell, it's the diet we are built to eat.

The paleo diet is also sometimes called the Hunter-Gatherer diet. Our foraging ancestors ate this diet, and hunter-gatherer societies today thrive on it. It consists of pre-agricultural foods, because those foods were introduced very recently in our evolutionary timeline. The processes of evolutionary adaptation can move slowly, and humans have not fully adapted to the consumption of neolithic foodstuffs that only appeared on our plates with the advent of agriculture. Yes, agriculture has been with us for around 10,000 years - and this sounds like a long time. But compared to the entire span of human evolution, it's a drop in the bucket.

This chart, from Dr. Loren Cordain's excellent Paleo Diet site, shows the relative time scales of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle v. the agricultural lifestyle.

As you can see, the 10,000 year history of agriculture is a tiny blip when compared to the 2 million years humans have subsisted on a hunting and gathering lifestyle. What this means to us is that our bodies and genetics have been fine-tuned over a very long time to functionally optimally on a paleolithic diet, and only recently have we made the shift to an agricultural eating pattern. Not coincidentally, this shift in eating patterns was accompanied by decrease in overall health and the introduction of new diseases. There is a growing mountain of research now telling us that many of the so-called "diseases of civilization" - obesity, diabetes, heart disease, various cancers - are part of the price we are paying for the dietary shift to agricultural foods. I will provide links to some of this research for those of you who like that sort of thing.

He Blinded Me With SCIENCE!

At this point I could completely geek-out Thomas Dolby style and bombard you with the science behind all this - and trust me, sooner or later it's going to happen. But for now I'm just going to tell you what following a paleo diet is like, and why you might want to do it.

Why go Paleo?

You mean other than the whole "avoiding disease" reason? Well, for one thing you will become leaner - and who doesn't want that? Following a paleo diet will change your body composition, increasing or maintaining your lean body mass while reducing body fat. Even in the absence of an exercise program, eating paleo will make you leaner. I can attest to this from personal experience - I switched to paleo eating without changing my exercise routine, and I lost fat while at the same time improving my workout performance. And it happened pretty quickly.
The amount of fat you lose and how quickly you lose it is in part dependent upon what your diet was like before you went paleo. If you're a donut, soda and pizza kind of person, switching to paleo will produce relatively rapid changes in the way you look, feel and perform. If you already eat a clean and lean diet, you will see results more slowly.

In addition to looking and performing better, you will likely FEEL better on a paleo program. I know I do. The thing about agricultural foods is that we have not fully adapted to them, so we tend to get a lot of sub-critical inflammation and other disorders from eating them. By sub-critical, I mean it's not going to kill you (right away) but you sure won't be firing on all cylinders on such a diet. Allergies, joint aches, intestinal issues, and a host of other annoying ailments have been linked to non-paleo foods. Oh yeah, and the big ones too - heart disease, diabetes, widespread obesity...the big killers in our society.

But more importantly you'll look good naked.

How Do I Do It?

So now you've seen some of the reasons why you might want to go paleo - now how do you do it? Well, it's not that hard - as the title of this blog entry states, even a caveman could do it. Actually, our ancestors did it because they had little choice in the matter - but those who thrived best on paleo foods left more offspring and gave us the genetic inheritance that will make us thrive on such a diet as well. But the plan is pretty simple.

What to eat:

Meat - beef, chicken, fish, pork. Grass-fed meat or wild game is best, but you can get by with the stuff you find in your neighborhood grocery store. Eggs count as meat.

Vegetables - lots and lots of veggies, of many varieties. Green and leafy is great, and root vegetables like carrots and turnips are good too.

Fruit - apples, oranges, bananas, and so on.

Nuts and berries - walnuts, almonds, pecans, and other tree nuts. Not peanuts, which are a legume rather than a true nut. All sorts of berries are good.

That's it. Meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, and berries - paleo in a nutshell. There's plenty of variety and nutrition available in those few categories, all you really need. The categories above are in order of how much they should contribute to your daily calorie intake, more or less. You should have a huge mound of veggies on your plate, but the calorie content of even a massive pile of veggies will typically be lower than that of a normal portion of meat.

What NOT to eat:

Grains - these are neolithic foods introduced with the advent of agriculture, and as such are not among the foods the human species is well-adapted to consume. They are nutritionally weak and are poor substitutes for meat and veggies. They are also associated with various diseases of civilization. More on this later.

Sugar - refined sugars and especially new frankenfoods like high fructose corn syrup. Our ancestors never ate that stuff, and now it's in the majority of packaged foods. Steer clear of packaged foods.

Dairy - milk, cheese and the various products made from them. Neolithic foods again, and ones which many people can't even digest properly. They can also be pretty potent allergens.

Legumes - beans, peas and peanuts. These neolithic foods are typically not even digestible, and occasionally toxic, unless processed in some way. Avoid them as much as possible.

Excess salt - yeah, it's bad for you. Surprise.


Now this is a radical departure from the Standard American Diet (SAD), but that's a GOOD thing. In reality, no one should be eating the SAD - it's no coincidence that obesity and diabetes have skyrocketed over the last few decades. The paleo diet is also pretty intuitive and flexible. I will post my meals in subsequent entries to give an idea of how it can be done. There are also a lot of great websites out there - just do a Google search for paleo recipes.

That's enough for now on the dietary aspects of the paleo plan. Good luck and happy foraging!

Welcome!

I started this blog to discuss my interests in paleo eating, Crossfit, exercise in general, and various other (mostly) related topics that strike my fancy.

I'll spend most of the time here discussing why I am doing the paleo thing, and offering suggestions as to how to get the most out of a paleo-style diet and exercise program. I'm not a medical professional, or a biochemist, or in any way an "expert" in the field. Any suggestions I may make are based on what I've read from those who really know what they're talking about, and are not meant to be taken as medical advice.

I do know that following the paleo lifestyle has had a huge positive impact on my fitness, performance, and general well-being. You may benefit from what I've already experienced, or you may be way ahead of me on the journey. Either way I welcome your input.

Thanks!
Win