Observations and questions on a mostly-paleo setup

[MrHyde]

Last week I re-designed my diet to be mostly-paleo (with exceptions such as the ocassional soybean sprouts) and all sorts of interesting things have happened, and now I really want to find out just how deep the rabbit hole really is, so to speak. Most of what's in the "observations" section below is on-going and getting better by the day.

Observations

• I fall asleep more easily and upon waking up my brain is actually turned on (I'm usually a zombie before noon). This is accompanied with a general sense of well-restedness and a generally relaxed musculature.
• My energy levels are freakishly high and constant all day long (no sugar crashes).
• I would appear to be recovering from exercise much more quickly (I went for an 8 hour trekk with a nasty steep climb yesterday and today my legs appear to have fully recovered, whereas I would ordinarily expect some form of pain and notable muscular fatigue for the next 2-3 days).
• I no longer feel sluggish after a large-ish meal.
• My runs are getting more enjoyable, with fatigue not ocurring until at least the 15+ Km.
• As the days pass, I'm finding I need to sleep less (that is, I wake up on my own, fully rested and wide awake at about the 6-7 hour mark).
• Weight loss is starting to show (as planned), but I'm not really hungry 99% of the time, and I'm keeping my calories at 1400 kCal + exercise-derived compensation).
• Even after streneous exercise, my energy levels appear to be constant (ordinarily, after a day trekking under the sun I would come home, shower, and crash; but yesterday it was nothing like that; sure, I was tired, but I was wide awake and didn't really felt like sleeping until my usual bed-time).
• Yesterday I forgot to take my sunscreen with me, which basically resulted in some really bad sunburns (neck, face, arms); it was basically all gone this morning (the skin is still a bit sensible, but still).
• Carb cravings have mostly subsided.

Questions

• It would appear there is a tendency towards weight training vs long aerobic workouts in the paleo/nf e-world. However, I really enjoy going out for a 21 Km long run on a Sunday morning and the week just doesn't feel right if I run less than 50 Km. What would be so bad about keeping my running training program intact and adding some weight training?
• I'm VERY fond of properly-made pastry, along with Italian (pasta...) and Spanish (paella...) cuisine. I don't have to have any of these on a regular basis, but I would like to make myself a lemon pie/ricotta pie/something a couple times a month and have a reasonable large portion (friends and family can have the rest). Or a shrimp and calamari paella. Or some sorrentinos with some cheese-based sauce. Do any of you have any experience on doing this kind of thing? If so, have you noticed any kind of side effects (such as feeling sluggish the next day, or not sleeping properly)?
• What about reasonable amounts of bread? That is, squid rings (rabas fritas), empanadas, and a bunch of other meals are pretty much paleo+some bread, and they are devilishly good.
• Much like bread, what about corn? I like to make some corn-based local meals from time to time (humitas, tamales), and you can eat the stuff raw.
• When I'm done losing the extra weight I'll want to gain some muscle mass, but by the looks of it I would have to eat a ridiculous amount of food there is just no way I can eat. So, how on earth do you bulk up on a paleo diet? And please, don't say GOMAD (a GALLON a day, really?).
• Have you noticed any of the items in my observations list when switching to a similar nutritional setup?

Sorry for the text wall, and thanks for reading.

Martín.

[spezzy]

Questions

1. It would appear there is a tendency towards weight training vs long aerobic workouts in the paleo/nf e-world. However, I really enjoy going out for a 21 Km long run on a Sunday morning and the week just doesn't feel right if I run less than 50 Km. What would be so bad about keeping my running training program intact and adding some weight training?
   if you enjoy running, run. seriously. do the workout you enjoy. add in the weights because its good for you.

2. I'm VERY fond of properly-made pastry, along with Italian (pasta...) and Spanish (paella...) cuisine. I don't have to have any of these on a regular basis, but I would like to make myself a lemon pie/ricotta pie/something a couple times a month and have a reasonable large portion (friends and family can have the rest). Or a shrimp and calamari paella. Or some sorrentinos with some cheese-based sauce. Do any of you have any experience on doing this kind of thing? If so, have you noticed any kind of side effects (such as feeling sluggish the next day, or not sleeping properly)?

I feel like crap when I cheat now, and I get sick when I eat cheese. And I cant lift nearly as well the next day. The longer you go without, the easier it is. Though I know a lot of people do one full cheat day a week and have their off day from lifting the next day.

What about reasonable amounts of bread? That is, squid rings (rabas fritas), empanadas, and a bunch of other meals are pretty much paleo+some bread, and they are devilishly good.

paleo + bread doesn't really exist. but you can do like, 80% paleo or something like that. but you wont get all fo the benefits.

Much like bread, what about corn? I like to make some corn-based local meals from time to time (humitas, tamales), and you can eat the stuff raw.

Corn is the same as any other grain

When I'm done losing the extra weight I'll want to gain some muscle mass, but by the looks of it I would have to eat a ridiculous amount of food there is just no way I can eat. So, how on earth do you bulk up on a paleo diet? And please, don't say GOMAD (a GALLON a day, really?).

Eat more than you expend. I gained 25lbs after I went paleo, mostly muscle. Buy meat in bulk. Eat all day long.

Have you noticed any of the items in my observations list when switching to a similar nutritional setup?

Yes to all of them, except for the running being enjoyable one, because theres no possible way ill ever find running enjoyable

[Josh_C]

It would appear there is a tendency towards weight training vs long aerobic workouts in the paleo/nf e-world. However, I really enjoy going out for a 21 Km long run on a Sunday morning and the week just doesn't feel right if I run less than 50 Km. What would be so bad about keeping my running training program intact and adding some weight training?

I agree that most of the NF community is focused on weight training, with some people adding running for the cardio benefits. I'm a runner as well, although my weekly mileage hasn't gotten back up to more than 12 miles a week since my marathon/injury. I've been adding the weight training to my running routine. It means that exercising takes up a BIG portion of your day, but I think it's worth it.

I usually only do the leg workouts one or two days a week, since I don't enjoy running the day after a leg workout. I've been doing my long runs on Sunday, and the Rebel Strength workout Monday/Wednesday/Friday (or sometimes just Monday and Friday). I'm only three weeks into it and I'm really enjoying it. If I do a long run on Sunday, I will still lift Monday, but usually not my legs. Then I will add in the legs on Wednesday. Once I move my long run to Saturdays I'm hoping to lift legs Monday and Wednesday, depending on when I squeeze in a hill workout.

As for the diet aspect, I have very little to add. Spezzy would know way more about this than me. I've been trying the paleo thing, but I've been cheating way too much. During the week I'm great, but I've been falling down on the weekends. But even doing it 5/7 days a week I've seen a lot of the benefits you describe above.

Yesterday I forgot to take my sunscreen with me, which basically resulted in some really bad sunburns (neck, face, arms); it was basically all gone this morning (the skin is still a bit sensible, but still).

I have yet to develop any Wolverine-like superpowers.

[MrHyde]

I feel like crap when I cheat now, and I get sick when I eat cheese. And I cant lift nearly as well the next day. The longer you go without, the easier it is. Though I know a lot of people do one full cheat day a week and have their off day from lifting the next day.

paleo + bread doesn't really exist. but you can do like, 80% paleo or something like that. but you wont get all fo the benefits.

Corn is the same as any other grain

That sucks. Not being able to eat another cheesecake, or sandwich, ever. Oh well, it's just another cost-benefit balance; if it the paleo thing turns out to improve my general quality of life, can keep me healthy for longer, and my blood work (late July/early August) comes back better than the last one (decent in general but edgy lipid profile on a grain heavy, vegetable heavy, low-fat, fairly low-protein diet) I'll go all in with no regrets.

Eat more than you expend. I gained 25lbs after I went paleo, mostly muscle. Buy meat in bulk. Eat all day long.

Well, I suppose I could be talked into making some bacon/jerky/egg muffin snacks...

Yes to all of them, except for the running being enjoyable one, because theres no possible way ill ever find running enjoyable

Ahahahah, to each his own, I suppose. That's too bad though, running is awesome.

I agree that most of the NF community is focused on weight training, with some people adding running for the cardio benefits. I'm a runner as well, although my weekly mileage hasn't gotten back up to more than 12 miles a week since my marathon/injury. I've been adding the weight training to my running routine. It means that exercising takes up a BIG portion of your day, but I think it's worth it.

Of course it's worth it, my days are simply better if I run, though I couldn't really say how .

I usually only do the leg workouts one or two days a week, since I don't enjoy running the day after a leg workout. I've been doing my long runs on Sunday, and the Rebel Strength workout Monday/Wednesday/Friday (or sometimes just Monday and Friday). I'm only three weeks into it and I'm really enjoying it. If I do a long run on Sunday, I will still lift Monday, but usually not my legs. Then I will add in the legs on Wednesday. Once I move my long run to Saturdays I'm hoping to lift legs Monday and Wednesday, depending on when I squeeze in a hill workout.

I'll keep that in mind.

---------------------------

On a related note, I started reading Robb Wolf's book yesterday and among his anecdotal examples, he basically described an aunt of mine who passed away in 2009 (gall bladder stones, soon followed by a host of GI problems, eventually leading to a Celiac diagnosis) and my mother (arthrosis, lowering bone density, chronically elevated cortisol, abdominal fat retention, leptin and insuline resistance, sugar crashes, need for a downer to sleep, an upper to rise, fairly-bad lipid profile, hypothyroidism, etc). My aunt's diet was very heavy on grains, legumes, and very light on protein, fat, and vegetables in general.

I'm not saying these are necessarily causal relationships. Far from it, really; my position is one of strong skepticism at the moment. However, Robb does make a good point saying "try it for 30 days, and see for yourself" and I really can't see much will be lost in such a trial even if it fails horribly whereas the potential gain is simply too big to ignore.

So last night I sat down with my mother and gave her a rundown on the whole paleo thing using a rational argument and some papers I had printed before hands. She being a chemist, and me being her son, she believed me and agreed it was something worth testing. I will have to cook everything (she is insanely busy at the moment) and probably take her on some of my weekend light treks for exercise though.

I expect this to be a very interesting experiment, as the effects of the paleo diet should, in principle, be much more profound on her than they are/will be on me, there by giving me much stronger evidence the changes I'm seeing personally are specific to the paleo diet, rather than a more general dietary change (like the low-carb bit). After all, I'm in my twenties and suffer no real illnesses (yet), but she has a fairly extensive medical history by now, and most/all of it should be reversible (that is, IF Robb isn't talking smack).

Martín.

[Crooked]

That sucks. Not being able to eat another cheesecake, or sandwich, ever. Oh well, it's just another cost-benefit balance; if it the paleo thing turns out to improve my general quality of life, can keep me healthy for longer, and my blood work (late July/early August) comes back better than the last one (decent in general but edgy lipid profile on a grain heavy, vegetable heavy, low-fat, fairly low-protein diet) I'll go all in with no regrets.

It's not that you CAN'T ever eat another cheesecake or sandwich or anything. It just means you have to be prepared for consequences and that you should go into cheats/eating those kinds of foods knowing how crappy you will feel and willing to experience the outcome.

I'm not saying these are necessarily causal relationships. Far from it, really; my position is one of strong skepticism at the moment. However, Robb does make a good point saying "try it for 30 days, and see for yourself" and I really can't see much will be lost in such a trial even if it fails horribly whereas the potential gain is simply too big to ignore.

That was exactly my thinking going into eating paleo: The possible benefits outweighed my skepticism that he was just peddling another miracle cure/diet. I basically decided that even if I decided to switch back after the month, I wouldn't be harmed by skipping bread for a month and I might possibly drastically improve my quality of life. I was very compelled by Robb's simple try-it pitch. And I have no plans to go back.

I also think it's wonderful that you and your mom are taking on this experiment together!

[MrHyde]

It's not that you CAN'T ever eat another cheesecake or sandwich or anything. It just means you have to be prepared for consequences and that you should go into cheats/eating those kinds of foods knowing how crappy you will feel and willing to experience the outcome.

Of course not; but in practice, I'm far too rational to eat something I know will make me feel like crap.

That was exactly my thinking going into eating paleo: The possible benefits outweighed my skepticism that he was just peddling another miracle cure/diet. I basically decided that even if I decided to switch back after the month, I wouldn't be harmed by skipping bread for a month and I might possibly drastically improve my quality of life. I was very compelled by Robb's simple try-it pitch. And I have no plans to go back.

I also think it's wonderful that you and your mom are taking on this experiment together!

I got curious and decided to have some bread today (I have been basically grain-free for a week, after all). I feel gassy, bloated, lethargic, sleepy, have acid reflux, and my belly is making funny noises. Just like I was feeling two weeks ago, before the paleo madness...

Oh well, I guess I'm really doing a paleo trial. I'll start cooking Robb's 30-day meal plan on Sunday.

Martín.