The Paleo Lifestyle and/or Diet

[Billy Paternoster]

Any one out there doing this? If so how hard was it to get started? Where do you shop? etc etc. What else is everyone in here doing if you diet?

[cavemancop]

I picked up the paleo diet a little over a year ago and lost 30 pounds of fat, while keeping my muscle and not losing any strength. The only cardio I did was judo rolling (started 10th P 4 months ago) and that was twice a week tops. I try to keep my diet as paleo as possible, but I do throw a cheat meal/day in once a week and I buy regular meat instead of grass fed because that shit gets expensive. I def recomend giving it a try.

[Eric Schuettenberg]

I have used the paleo off and on. If I could afford it I would eat this way all the time. My results were amazing as far as energy levels go. Im 44 and when Im on it I feel like I'm 24

[Greg W]

check out "is sugar toxic" thread from a few weeks ago. watch the video

[Tom Van]

I've been eating Paleo since October or so of last year. I really cannot recommend it enough. I lost about 20 lbs, and I am as strong as I was then. I feel great.

I did not find it hard to get started, but I am one of those obsessive types that likes to throw himself into something completely.

I buy grass-fed beef in bulk from a California ranch, and eat that pretty much daily. You can check out http://www.eatwild.com to find sources close to you. Aside from that I try to eat a lot of greens, cooked in animal fat. At first I stayed away from fruit, because I was trying to maximize my weight loss, but now I eat a lot of berries. I am lucky to be in LA, where we have abundant access to local meat and produce. You may not have that, but don't fall into what Robb Wolf calls "Hippie Excuse for Failure #1". That is, "I can't get grass-fed beef, so I am going to eat bagels instead."

Avoid all processed food, grains, legumes, dairy, vegetable oils and seed oils, and sugar. If you do not have access to grass-fed meat, just eat the leaner cuts, to avoid the excessive Omega-6 load in the fats of conventionally raised animals. That is pretty much all there is to it. If you actually abide by that, you should have success. I would recommend Robb Wolf's book "The Paleo Solution".

I actually eat pretty low carb, and feel good that way doing jiu jitsu and a strength training program. However, if you feel you need a higher carb intake to support your workload, you can always eat starchy tubers like yams and sweet potatoes. It is about avoiding food toxins, not macronutrient ratios. Starch is just glucose, which seems to be perfectly healthy. Fructose is what you want to avoid.

[Billy Paternoster]

Thanks guys. This is why I love 10th planet so much, every one has such good information. Mr. Tom Van, you seem to know a lot about paleo, do you know if whole foods would be a better place to buy the meat? When you buy leaner cuts of meat what style of cut do you buy if it isn't grass fed. I live in New Orleans so I don't believe that I'll be able to buy grass fed cows as easily.

[Tom Van]

Whole Foods usually does source some grass fed meat, but you will pay a very high price to buy it there. At the Whole Foods around me I see prices of $20+ per lb for grass fed beef. That is compared to the $10/lb I pay when I buy it direct from the ranch. You can get it as low as $7/lb if you buy enough of it at a time (depending on who you are ordering from). Check out that eatwild.com. There may be some Louisiana or Mississippi ranchers that will ship to you. Also, make sure you learn the difference between grass fed and organic. A place could technically be feeding their cows organic doughnuts and be certified organic. And, just because a place is not organic, does not mean it is not quality beef. The important thing is that they are grass fed and grass finished. That is, they do not go to a feed lot.

For the leaner cuts of conventionally raised beef, sirloin and round are pretty lean. You can google lean cuts of beef and figure it out. Don't drive yourself crazy though. If you cut out all processed food and just stick to eating meat, vegetables, and fruit you'll be doing a heck of a lot better than almost everyone else.

Don't you guys have a lot cheap seafood down there? Wild caught seafood is some of the best stuff you can eat. The farm-raised seafood has the same problems that feed lot cattle have: They feed them grains, their Omega-3 goes way down, and their Omega-6 goes way up. And, they lose some other valuable nutrients.

If you are eating a fair amount of seafood you don't need it, but if not, and you are eating conventionally raised beef, it is not a bad idea so supplement with a bit of fish oil; maybe 2g total EPA & DHA a day (Your body can convert between the two so the exact ratio isn't that important).

Finally, along with diet, other commonly overlooked issues are proper sleep, stress management, and getting out in the sun. All of those are important factors in your long-term health.

[Jason Hyatt]

check out "is sugar toxic" thread from a few weeks ago. watch the video

This. A lot.

[Jason Hyatt]

Also, thank you so much for the info Tom! I've made a commitment to eliminate fructose from my diet wherever possible. I'd love to go full-on paleo but I think just like jiu jitsu it's going to take some time to get good at it. I'm working on it. Food and I have a very complicated relationship. I have good access to farmer's markets, two Whole Foods, a Trader Joe's, and every cattle farmer in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and both Dakotas. I have no excuse. Well, still kinda broke for a while yet, but still...

Thanks again; great info brother!

[Tom Van]

Also, thank you so much for the info Tom! I've made a commitment to eliminate fructose from my diet wherever possible. I'd love to go full-on paleo but I think just like jiu jitsu it's going to take some time to get good at it. I'm working on it. Food and I have a very complicated relationship. I have good access to farmer's markets, two Whole Foods, a Trader Joe's, and every cattle farmer in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and both Dakotas. I have no excuse. Well, still kinda broke for a while yet, but still...

Thanks again; great info brother!

Excellent! Glad that I could be of some small help. It was quite a paradigm shift for me to realize how important the food we eat actually is. I always kind of blew that stuff off, but now that I have seen the difference first hand I am sold.