Food Food Paleo-Food Everywhere!

Before I get into the meat of today's entry, I'd like to give you some background in case you aren't terribly familiar with what I do. I happen to be terribly interested in nutrition and while I am of course interested in the truth I am also fascinated by food propaganda, food culture, and the emotional and psychological attachments we have to foods. Very interesting stuff! So in the name of science I have tried various diets to see why it is that they are popular. I have never tried Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or anything like that because they focus primarily on calorie limitation, I'll call it. What I get interested in is things like Raw Food, Detox Diets, Vegeterian, Zone...diet methodologies that are almost religious in their nature and have vast followings. Their followers swear that these diets not only assist weight loss but enrich their lives, make them better athletes, cleanse their souls and some even say they cure cancer and many of the big scary diseases plaguing our nation today. Each one has solid scientific data to support it. So I have tried all the methodologies I just listed. I wanted to know what it felt like to do each of these for myself. I wanted to know what each one would do to my spirit, energy, body and performance? I wanted to be 'in their shoes' to see for myself.

Well, I am trying a new one now. I have been on the Caveman or Paleo Diet now for two weeks. I should, maybe, have planned a little better because I allowed Easter to fall on my very first Paleo weekend. Oops.

Now, to give a quick lesson in Paleo without too much detail let's start with what it is. The idea here is to eat like human beings 10,000 years ago ate. The theory is that our bodies have not evolved as quickly as our food and science has, so our digestive systems, not matter how adaptable, are not able to digest foods that only became available due to agriculture and animal husbandry. The 'non-paleo' foods include all grains (wheat, oats, barley)and grain based foods (bread etc), corn and corn by-products (corn starch, corn syrup), all beans, legumes (inlcuding peas and peanuts), sugar, alcohol, coffee, and dairy products of all kinds. What I found is that if you look at this list of can't-haves and you panic wondering 'what will I eat?' than you need this diet badly. If you panic it means that you can't imagine your day without bagels, bready sandwiches, cookies, and pasta and that means you CLEARLY do not eat enough fruits and vegetables to start off with!

After doing alot of reading about going Paleo, it doesn't seem that there were many negative side-effects to start off with. If you don't have many vegetables in your diet already, I could see how it may take a couple weeks to adjust fully to the influx of fibrous food sources. The other side effect was a sensation of weakness or lethargy in the first or second week as the body apparently adjusts to fueling itself using more complicated carbohydrate sources as well as healthy fats. No more sugar rushes to fuel you through your afternoon, but supporters state that there is no need for that because once you free yourself from the bloodsugar spike/fall roller coaster you will have a much steadier sense of alertness and energy (similar to the Zone).

So how is it going thus far? Of all the diets I have experimented with I like this one the best! I am currently feeling a slight weakness, I have been able to continue my regular personal workout schedule that includes at least 3 runs a week (including a 6-miler a couple days ago) and CrossFit workouts. To be honest, it's just this week when I felt a little wimpier (instead of strict presses I had to do push presses in order to keep the weight). So I am experimenting more with quantity and focusing much more on nutrient timing (ie banana comes AFTER the workout as opposed to it being a mid-morning snack).

I haven't in recent memory remembered getting a sugar rush. I have to admit that I don't very often recognize the effects of a blood-sugar spike, but I don't too often eat extremely sugary/simple carb foods. I have certainly felt nauseas post-dessert before but I always attributed it to being too full rather than to blood sugar. WELL, I will tell you this. My mother sent me home from Easter dinner with a canister of kosher chocoloate chip macaroons...which I love. So Monday night, against my better judgement I had four of them after dinner. About 10 minutes after finishing the fourth little yummy thing, I could feel my heart rate increase. I could feel my heart pounding when I put my hand on my chest and I started feeling a little bit pukey too be honest! Even when I had my cheat day on the Zone I did not feel this bad! [To be completely fair I may not have done the Zone 100% correctly because of the calculating and measuring I may have goofed a couple recipes, meals, or days up. So I am totally aware that I may have done the Zone incorrectly and therefore cannot completely compare it accurately. I can only report my own personal experience, slanted or not.]

So, to confess I do still drink coffee in the morning...and I do put a tablespoon of milk in it. I do mix a tablespoon of chocolate chips into my blueberries with coconut milk for dessert, but I'm finding I like them less and less. So while I'm not 100% paleo here, I am making strides in the right direction and am satisfied with what I've experienced thus far. Check back because I'll be keeping you posted! But don't be too surprised if future recipes are grain/bean/dairy free!