Going Primal

First, a word about the challenges this week.  I would say I have been eating about 50% Paleo as opposed to my 80% last week.  The main reason?   Poor planning.  This weekend my meal planning was a little half-hearted and rushed.  I messed up some recipes and didn’t focus on what I was doing and now I have food that I’d rather not eat.  I’m still an expert on salads, so keep an eye out for a post 100% about being a salad maestro!  But…dinners and breakfasts have been pretty weak.  Snacks have remained easy.  My plan for the future is to research recipes and get better at meal planning.  The next two weeks are going to be rough on that front since I’ll be out of town for the next two weekends.  So…looking to make that the goal for February. 

Another topic I want to address before I get to the meat of this post: measurements.  I said my trainer and I would take measurements, but we got a little sidetracked.  I’m working on a time to do that with her because I’ve decided it’s really important given that my purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness and differences of living a primal lifestyle.  Also…I need to know them. I’m no longer afraid to face the numbers and the mistakes I may have made in the past two months because I  know the numbers are already changing.  Honestly.  My clothes look fantastic!  For about a month I’ve been struggling when I get ready for the day cause my clothes have started to look awful again, but it has only been two weeks, and things are hanging on me quite well.  It helps to elevate the mood, but to be honest…the increase in macro and micro nutrients is what has really kept my disposition happy and even. So,  my mood continues to ride an upward trajectory, along with my energy level.  Metabolic syndrome from all the grains and sugar we consume has made zombies of us all!  It’s seriously amazing what you can accomplish in a day when you quit eating that crap.  Not only are you more productive, but you can do it all with a smile on your face and without feeling stressed over anything. 

Now to the meat of this episode: Paleo for athletes.  I was sharing some of my challenges getting all the protein in with my trainer, and she recommended I don’t give up the protein powder and that I keep the Greek yoghurt in my diet.  Because I am training regularly for high endurance activities (a triathlon), I need to keep my recovery meals in place.  And for all the athletes out there, you know that the protein shake is the ultimate way to get a 2:1 protein to carb ratio to your body quickly.  The carbohydrates don’t come from grains, though.  They come from fruits.  I want to take the time to note that because there is a misconception that Paleo is really all about being low carb.  The truth is I don’t really watch carbs at all.  It’s quite simple to manage because I don’t have to think about counting anything.  If my carbohydrates are coming from fruits and vegetables they will be naturally lower than the typical American diet.  And again…the concern is not simply eating carbohydrates.  What matters is the type and amount of carbohydrates you consume and what it does to your insulin levels.  The problem with grains that we eat is their role in perpetuating metabolic syndrome.  If you want to read more about that see the link below to “What’s Wrong With Grains” from Paleo Diet Paleo Lifestyle.

Some think this is insane for endurance athletes to go Paleo because typically athletes (especially distance runners) fuel up on carbs to maintain their energy.  An article by Amby Burfoot for Runner’s World explores the Paleo diet for athletes.  I’ve added a link to the article, but here are some interesting take-aways. For one thing 72% of all foods we consume today were just plain unavailable to our evolutionary ancestors, according to Loren Cordain.  In fact, “throughout 99.6% of our evolutionary history we ate no grains.”  That doesn’t give even a fraction of enough time for the human digestive system to adapt to healthfully processing grains.  And what of endurance running during the Paleolithic era? Cordain explains that men consumed 55% of their calories from meat and had no problem running 10 miles a day to hunt.   And many athletes will attest that it increases their training capacity as described in the article from Appetite for Health. 

And honestly…the most serious athletes out there are CrossFitters.  If you have experienced a CrossFit workout you know that not only does it require endurance; it is also high intensity.  It will push your muscles to places you never thought they could go.  Which means that by the end, you are screaming for energy and recovery.  But those CrossFitters don’t respond to that cry from the body with an enormous heap of pasta and a side of garlic bread.  And they are the leanest, fiercest machines out there! 

Well, really the week started Monday.  I spent the weekend moving and not having a functioning kitchen which proved to be too much of a challenge for me to eat 100% Paleo over the weekend.

So far it hasn’t really been a challenge.  I have a wide variety of veggies and fruit and nuts in the fridge and a roasted turkey breast—not processed deli counter meat, but an actual turkey breast.  Putting meals together has been easy.  I baked some mini frittatas with baby portabellos and red peppers.  Those have been easy for a breakfast on the go.  

I’ve become sort of an expert at throwing together random salads over the past year.  I prep all different veggies on Sunday and then I can throw together whatever I feel  like for lunch before I leave in the morning.  This week I made my favorite salad to date with spring mix greens, red cabbage, celery, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries, roast turkey breast, and slivered almonds.  Awesome.  Try it—soon.  :)

I’ve had a couple cheats.  Some pieces of chocolate, and some fresh baked arab bread and hummus.  My friend brought me the bread and hummus from a local Mediterranean market and I couldn’t resist.  It’s one of my favorite things on the planet. Also I still have about a tbsp of half and half in my coffee.  I’ll never give that up—-ever.  :)   So…all in all it’s been pretty good.  As far as cravings go—I don’t really have any unless I skip the protein at a meal or snack.  Protein is key.  Next week I’ll have to prepare a wider variety of protein options and I may have to go back to drinking whey protein.  I’m gonna avoid the whey protein for awhile though and see if I can’t get what I need from real food.

Results?  Well, my mood is much better.  I have a lot of extra energy.  My pants fit better.

I’m going to catalog some statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of the Paleo diet.  I’ll post my weekly blood pressure Wednesday mornings and I’m going to take some baseline measurements with my trainer this weekend.  

BP this morning?  122/94   I’d like to get that diastolic into the 70’s where it was this time last year.  

Yes.  A long time.  I’d say I’ve been circling around it for about a year and a half now.  I’ve spent less time considering far more drastic life changes, so I figured it’s time to go ahead and dive in.  The interesting thing is…rather than feeling uncertain and trepidatious about the change, I’m feeling pretty excited.  I have no sense of sadness attached to the foods I’m going to eliminate.  Honestly, based on the experience I have already had greatly reducing them from my diet, I’m kind of excited!  I am so excited about what lies ahead that I came to the conclusion I should blog it.  Who would be interested in reading this?  I have no idea.  It’s going to be my story about how my diet changes my life—whether it turns out to be good or bad.  I’m pretty optimistic though, based on what I’ve already been through.

So how did I get here?  Well, I think it’s important to note that I’m not exactly going cold turkey from my former eating habits.  But it’s also of note that I have very specific health reasons for doing this.  I have struggled with my weight my whole life.  Seriously.  My.  Whole.  Life.  Even as a child I was overweight and always felt it plagued me.  I tried to be healthy, and I was very active and fit in high school, but still I was overweight.  My lowest point came when I gained 50 lbs. over the course of three years that I spent in a pretty terrible relationship.  When that ended I didn’t like who I had become, and I wanted to change it.  I knew part of that process included going from 250 lbs to 170 lbs—an ideal weight for my frame. 

I didn’t know how to do that. 

Things I’d tried in the past were not helping me lose weight.  Things that scientifically should result in weight loss, weren’t working.  Clearly there was something wrong with my body.  After a year of trying on my own, I joined a gym and a weight loss class because I knew I needed expertise I didn’t have.  I walked in at a whopping 231 pounds.  Shortly afterward I discovered that I had stage II hypertension.  When my doctor ordered an echocardiogram for me at age 30 I knew I couldn’t go on like this.  I began to take my lifestyle very seriously. 

I was learning a lot about nutrition from my trainer and really from all the trainers at my gym.  My doctor was also giving me the same run-down.  I needed to eat more protein.  A lot more protein.  And I needed to drastically reduce my intake of starches (not carbohydrates, but starches) and dairy.  As I began to do that and I was learning about the smartest ways to exercise, I began to see drastic changes in my body.  My lowest weight was 208 but even as I increased my activity, I had plateaued and I wasn’t budging.  In the meantime my diet was slowly becoming more starch heavy.  Now I’m sure I’ve gained back almost 10 lbs.  But I don’t really want to get on the scale to see. 

Throughout all of this I was hearing a lot about the Paleolithic diet from my newfound CrossFit friends.  (CrossFit is a great workout BTW.  If you haven’t tried it…you should!   Talk about primal!)  My interest in Paleo grew and grew.  The more I read about it, the more it made sense, and the more I wanted to throw away the last of my strongholds.  Generally, for the past year I have been practically free of grains and dairy with the following exceptions:  Greek yoghurt, occasional cheese, half and half in my coffee, occasional ice cream, Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas, oatmeal, Ezekiel English muffins, buckwheat waffles, and occasional cheats of pasta, bread/rolls, cakes/cookies.  I could easily say that most of the time (until the most recent holiday season ;) ) I was eating grains and dairy only once or twice a day and always very small portions.  So…I’m not making a terribly drastic change to let go of the rest.  And honestly, even with that change I noticed a lot of improvements in my health.  I never had any stomach issues anymore.  I no longer experienced the depression I’ve struggled with my whole life.  The endometriosis I have suffered from since puberty no longer plagues me.  My dentist has noticed a difference in my teeth.  My blood pressure is lower.

At the beginning of November I got really busy and my priorities shifted and I went back to my old, typical American diet.  In the past couple months I have a nearly constant stomachache.  I have had a couple of bouts of depression.  My teeth have deteriorated again.  And my blood pressure is back up.  This is when I began to feel like I was ready to go for Paleo all the way.  I purchased Loren Cordain’s book right before Christmas and have been reading it to understand what I’m doing and why before I begin.  This week I have been mostly Paleo with the exception of one Italian meal and all the oatmeal, cheese, Greek Yoghurt, and black bean soup I’m trying to finish.  So far, in only four days I already feel happier and my stomach no longer hurts.  This only makes me more excited to jump in. 

My favorite for the week?  Paleo cereal!  I mean, can you say Ahhh-mazing?!  For real.  Throw any combination of nuts and berries and seeds in a bowl with some almond milk and you won’t even want to eat any type of grain cereal again.  Truthfully, the best thing about my plain oatmeal was the nuts and fruit and almond milk I put in there anyway.  My choice?  A handful of walnuts, a handful of trail mix (dried cranberries, dried blueberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds), and some fresh raspberries.  I think I’m going to have another bowl after dinner.  And what’s for dinner?  A salad of red cabbage, arugula, frisee, red chard, radicchio, celery, grape tomatoes, and grilled pork loin with an olive oil vinaigrette.  Yum.  Is it time to eat yet?

If you’ve managed to make your way through this long introduction, thank you!  And not to worry.  This will be the longest post in here.  I hope the journey will inspire you, at the very least, to try some of the recipes I’ll be posting.  I promise they will be delicious.