Gentleman Gamer

I agree with you that foods being billed as super-foods or health food are just good marketing. However, I didn't say health food, I said is the food healthy? If by like, you mean using the same exercise protocols and programs, yes I'll agree with you. However, if by like you mean working out at the same level of intensity, the same length of time, as often as they do, using the same recovery techniques, etc. etc. ...no disrespect intended but that's delusional. The physical strain and needs experienced by your average weekend warrior does not hold a candle to that of an elite athlete that might train 6 hours a day, 6 days a week.

They might be lower in fat, but are they healthy? How highly processed is it? Calories do matter, but it's misleading or simplistic to say they are the only thing that matter. Not all calories are metabolised by the body the same way, food quality can impact on the quantity of food because of greater satiety and the overall micronutrient content. For our purpose here, seeing as the majority, if not all, are not elite level athletes, I disagree about people needing more carbs. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Lyle McDonald, but rather than me trying to explain why, here's a link to one of his articles on the subject. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html

A lot of people try to recreate the sweet things they enjoyed before- because they taste so damn good! - but when you look at the fine print you still end up with something that packs a caloric punch in a very small portion... - Paleo treats are still packed with calories, they just happen to be healthier and less processed. However, Paleo doesn't mean you cannot enjoy a cookie, pancakes or some sort of sweet dessert. You can still prepare something nice for when you have guests or for special occasions or just because you would like to have a small treat every now and then. Just be smart about it and know that polishing off half a tray of paleo cookies or a few slices of paleo cake is almost as bad as their non-paleo equivalent. The biggest thing though, it's harder to create these treats when you're Paleo, mainly because you end up having to substitute a lot of ingredients, which means the result is often not what you thought it would be. It takes time and practice to find desserts that you will enjoy and also be able to serve up for your non-paleo friends. My favourite treat is one whole banana, 2tbs of coconut oil and 2-4tsp of cocoa powder - mush and mix everything together and BAM! Banana Chocolate Ganache. I tend to make treats that are eaten in one sitting because it's a lot easier to stop yourself from making a second serve, than it is to just walk into the kitchen and reach back into the cookie jar...repeatedly.

Bacon and eggs, sunny side up - use the bacon to dip into the egg...almost like toast, but better because it's bacon!!

Experiment with different ways of cooking the veggies. Not everyone likes raw veggies, but throw them into a stir fry or make a spinach omelette for example, and they taste way different.

I get enough protein these days, so that's removed the need for whey protein powder. I have fish oil, MCToil, kefir milk, lots of vitamin D via fresh air, and Creatine regularly. Only Vitamin D is the essential here, the others are just my choice

Hill sprints would be your best friend in this case, or any other sort of HIIT. You might want to get your BF checked, it would give you a better idea of what you should be aiming for with your intake. I personally like to know the numbers and get as accurate as I can, but I realise others are OK with being more relaxed in their approach. Regarding your growling stomach, there could be another explanation... food combinations. There are a few theories with differing views on the subject, but in your case it's possibly the way certain foods interact when eaten together or when eaten in a particular order, such as fruit after a meal, as opposed to fruit before a meal. Check it out and see if it rings any bells or helps you in any way

Going lower on your carbs would help/speed up the process. From that screenshot it doesn't look like you're having too much fruit, seems fine to me. What's your intake on non-workout days?

122 - Azorubine, carmoisine artificial 102 - Tartrazine, yellow #5 artificial133 - Brilliant blue FCF artificial110 - Sunset yellow artificial All known and likely to cause adverse reactions in children and adults. http://fedup.com.au/information/information/complete-lists-of-additives-3 My wife and my son are both highly allergic to quite a few colours and artificial flavours, the above included. You're right, I had misread the statement above, as you mention, my apology. However, you do seem to advocate, or at least are of the opinion, that processed food is fine and healthy. It has your vitamins, minerals and other useful ingredients so there's no reason to avoid it. Unless you're just playing devil's advocate in all this. @Romey - Sorry for the hijacking.

The food colours alone are a nice cocktail of allergens, that's without counting the flavours and some of the synthetic, but useful, additives there. So by your thinking, it would be better to get rid of all the fresh food and produce aisles because we can get all our vitamins, minerals and macronutrients from the packaged stuff...and we'd still be healthy? I mean let's face it, the fresh produce takes up significantly more resources to maintain, transport etc., so lets streamline it!

Narrow-minded bro science... really? How healthy do you think this bar is, and how much processing would have to be done to come up with a protein bar like this? If this was dirt cheap, would you substitute it instead of a more expensive whole food protein source? Let's just call a spade a spade, and not beat around the bush because we want to be all PC, or inclusive, or whatever. Crap like this might be fine in a diet, but I won't fool myself into thinking it'd be a healthy diet. EDIT to the soy response: If I'm busting my ass to get fit, lose fat or build muscle, why would I want to introduce something into my diet that could have an adverse effect? It's all a personal choice I suppose, but I see no reason to have it.

Personally I still wouldn't touch any soy products, unless fermented. The isoflavones found in soy bind to estrogen receptors and they can have similar effects - as a guy I want more testosterone not estrogen, because testosterone is what counts for fat loss and muscle building. They do look a whole lot better than your average protein bars though, so they do have that going for them.

Here you go Loveless - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494 - the short of it; high meal frequency as a way of losing fat is BS. It's not the number of meals, it's the total daily caloric intake. Here's a great summary of a few very well known studies into the subject.http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html#more-1389

Romey, if I could also suggest, dump the protein bars and only use the protein shakes if you're struggling to fit enough whole foods for your daily protein. Think of protein bars like junk food, they are highly processed and filled with crap that you would not want to put into your body. They usually contain filler soy protein, which is very low quality and so highly processed that it's unhealthy. Check the ingredients list, count the numbers and the ingredients you cannot even pronounce...they are not healthy. The shakes are fine, but nothing beats whole food, not to mention that you will feel fuller for longer when you eat whole food as opposed to a shake. Your body expends a lot less effort to break down a shake, compared to whole foods which will sit around in your stomach for longer. Also, protein shakes are not magical, they don't give you big muscles, they are just an easy and convenient alternative to whole food protein like steak, eggs, bacon etc.

Add 1-2tbs of coconut oil or half an avocado to your salad, or some other type of fat into your meal.

As Elastigirl says, you want have something starchy, 50-100gms should see you right, and make sure that part of this is after your workout.

When I went Paleo, it took me almost 9 months of trying out different bread recipes before I finally gave up. I have arrived at this realisation - No matter what the food description says, and what people say about a particular Paleo food... IT NEVER, EVER, EVER! tastes anything like the non-paleo version.

Yes, your BMR numbers are a good starting point, and can be trusted to a degree. There's research and science behind the numbers and how they can be used, trust it. It really comes down to what you judge your activity level to be, and your expenditure during exercise and finally what your actual goal is. You could be doing yourself a disservice if you constantly and regularly eat under your BMR. Eventually your body will go into starvation mode and hold onto every bit of energy you give it, at that point any sort of fat loss will be nonexistent, and if you try to go even further into deficit you will likely end up damaging your metabolism. However, seeing as you mentioned that you only do this occasionally, whereas on the majority of days you binge, you probably have nothing to worry about, but that's not going to get you anywhere either.

Soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, edamame, miso, many veggie burgers, and other products made with soy flour, contain isoflavones which are chemically similar to estrogens. If you are a guy, stay the hell away from soy products, your well being depends a lot on the production of testosterone, and it's greatly impacted by estrogen. For women, the issue is a bit more complicated. There are proven benefits to eating 1-2 portions daily of traditional soy products - tempeh, miso, tamari, natto, tofu, and soy milk -all of which are fermented. However, the fact is that soy is used as a food filler and is one of the most common ingredients in mainstream food, so you are going way beyond 1-2 serves per day without knowing. Also, 90% of the soy produced in the US, is GMO, which is another thing altogether. GMO soybeans are inferior to natural soy beans, their effect on health is still unknown and they tend to carry higher than legal pesticide residue, which you will ingest as a result. Lastly, and I think this is probably the point that applies to your situation more - Frankensoy. There are a lot of products made out of natural and GMO soy, they are the alternatives to dairy and meat products, but the way these products are made is the issue. The soy is so highly processed that you can classify them as soy junk foods, definitely not healthy and they should have no not part of a healthy diet. Soy protein shakes are made this way - so while it might taste nice and keep you full, that's probably the only good thing about it.

Coconut oil, jerky, cans of tuna or salmon, Primal trail mix (nuts, seeds and fruits), nut butter and Primal energy bars, I hope that helps, it's all I can think of.

Indeed, good tip! It's a good idea to start with about 1tsp-1/2tbs of coconut or MCT oil, and work your way up to about 1-2tbs. They can both send you running to the toilet, and MCT oil can actually cause nausea as well if taken on an empty stomach.

If you are going Primal, you can still have your choc milk drink, just switch out the sugar for raw honey -way better for you regardless of whether you're Paleo/Primal or whatever. I found it took significantly more than 1-2 weeks for my body to adjust, 3-4 and probably a bit longer before I started to feel as good as pre-Paleo. A banana is great, 30mins before the run. It's a small enough that it doesn't weigh you down and close enough to your workout that it will make a difference. Alternatively, run in a fasted state, just not when starting Paleo though, let your body adjust first.

If it's berries, I tuck in hard...usually because berries are only available while they are in season, which is the general rule I follow. I know which fruit is in season, and I don't touch anything else because out of season fruit are usually bland and a waste of money. Going Paleo, and quitting sugar is tough...super tough. If it helps you stay sane and keep on the Paleo wagon, then have a few serves per day. Keep in mind that you are still having sugar, even if it's partly counteracted by the fiber in the fruit. Eventually you will be able to start cutting down and you should be able to find your comfortable spot. On the other hand, if you are trying to go into ketosis, fruit are not your best friend.

If by results you mean a steady stream of energy, yes, I find that on the days I have it I generally feel more energized and i don't feel any hunger pangs until late in the afternoon. Eating fat will not make you fat, contrary to what many people say or think. Furthermore, while the conventional wisdom is that saturated fat is bad for you, leads to heart problems and increased cholesterol, let's just say that no research has been able to prove this. This coffee is definitely Paleo in terms of its ingredients, but it doesn't mean you can't have it. It's a great alternative to the usual coffee or a general breakfast, and probably a whole lot healthier. Regarding the weight question, you can look at this coffee as a meal in itself and treat it as such if you are counting calories. If we break it down, this is what you are having: 500ml black coffee - 2-3cal 80gms of butter - 580cal roughly 2tbs of coconut oil - 240calTotal calories - 817cal To put this coffee into perspective, because I can understand people might balk at drinking a 800cal coffee, consider the Starbucks menu or any run of the mill coffee shop where most people would get something like this for a quick breakfast: Low Fat Apricot Blueberry Muffin - 450cal Latte - 289calTotal calories: 739cal Almost all of of this meal is empty calories, in the form of sugar. Sure, you'll get some protein from the milk in the latte, but you are not getting anything that will keep you full until lunch. You'll be lucky to make it 2hrs before you are looking for more food.

I do IF 3 days/week, and work out twice a day on the other 4 days. On the days I work out, I need a steady stream of nutrients, but mainly I need to make sure I'm eating at a surplus, so IFing on these days would make it a bit harder for me. Enter solution: Bulletproof Coffee - google it 500ml of black coffee 50-80gms of grass fed butter, salted or unsalted 2tbs of coconut oil I will add a dash of cinnamon sometimes, if I want to change up the taste ---- Put everything in a blender and mix for about 1 minute or so. The end result is the most amazing and creamy coffee ever, and it easily keeps me firing from 6:AM until after 1PM or so.