Paleo Diet! (Page 2)

I was looking in the oil section, like everyone said.  I went to Giant and Safeway (two local chains) and Trader Joe's - I finally found it today at Whole Foods.

I'm excited to try it - sounds interesting

Just out of curiosity, I've been tracking my calories for the last few days.

I'm surprised at how high my fat intake is (35-45% of my daily calories) and how low my protein is (25-35%).

I feel like I'm close, but not quite getting this.  So I come on here hoping you can help me critique my meals.

A typical day:

Breakfast:
- 2 egg whites, 1 egg, lean protein (beef, turkey, chicken), veggies, olive oil - scrambled
- coffee (weaning myself off cream and sugar - down to just cream, and only a little at that!)

Snack 1:
- piece of fruit
- veggie sticks w/ ff sour cream/ranch dip (not Paleo, but only 20 cal!)

Lunch:
- left overs from night before (see below) - or salad w/ lean protein (same as above - or salmon)

Snack 2:
- almonds (12-20 usually - yes, I count)

Dinner:
- lean protein cooked w/ veggies, olive oil - with whole grains if directly after workout

Post-workout snack (varies based on intensity of workout):
- orange juice
- banana
- protein (usually dinner)

From my understanding, this should be a fairly good menu - and I am still losing weight, which is encouragining, however just seeing 45% of my daily calories came from fat one day earlier this week makes me nervous.  True, they are mostly good fats, but still - that just doesn't seem to be healthy to me (I don't mind closer to 30, but 45?!?)

If you have any feedback, please share!  I'm still learning

Most of what I've read - closer to 75% of your calories should be coming from fat, so you probably need to eat less of the 'low fat' things, actually.

The first thing I noticed was the egg whites - eat the whole egg, the good stuff is in the yolk!

really?!?  Maybe I just need to get over my "diet mindset"...

I don't remember seeing a range for fat/protein in the book (but I've just skimmed) - I do remember seeing a carb limit. 

The book also said something about trying to keep eggs to below like 6/week or something - that's why I've been doing  2/3 whites...but I could be wrong...

I think your plan looks really good.  It's so hard to get over the mindset that FAT IS BAD!  Of course, bad fat is actually bad but good fats are great.  I also eat a maximum of one egg per day and then egg whites after that.  That is one point of contention between Paleo (PDFA) and Primal (Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint for example) people.  Paleo means a lot of different things to different people.  PDFA focuses on lean meats and produce, whereas people who eat Primal, in general, eat much more fat.

One suggestion: maybe instead of whole grains after a workout, you could try yams.  They're super yummy and are great for recovery.

Yeah, what nerdjock said.  It's VERY hard to let go of the idea that fat is bad!  Even good fats!

The PDFA is lower fat (as is the original Paleo Diet) but since both were published, some changes have been made to the theories put forth by both Loren Cordain (the original author) and Robb Wolfe (his disciple, for lack of a better word!).  Robb wrote 'The Paleo Diet Solution' which further expands on the most current research about the healthiest way of eating using the Paleo diet as a basis (he studied under Loren Cordain).  I've been digging into his website while I await my copy of his book, but I think the general idea is to use the way our ancestors ate as a guideline, knowing that we don't actually live in the paleolithic era and that it's ok to accept some modern interpretations.

That said, I just cannot eat that much fat.  Maybe my body could eventually adjust to it, but it certainly doesn't like it right now (it grosses me out!).  I've only been following this again since last Saturday and I haven't keyed in any days yet, but my guess is that I'm in the 45-50% fat range, 35-40% protein and 20-25% carbs (all veggies, fruit and some yams).

I am eating grass-fed, organic, raw, goat's milk in my coffee and in my smoothies, so I'm not dairy free.  I also think the egg limit in the original paleo diet and the PDFA stems from the cholesterol fear and the idea that cavemen wouldn't have had access to unlimited eggs.  We do, and if ours are free-range, they are perfectly healthy and I don't think we need to limit them.  I can only eat about 8-10 a week (in total), so it's not like I'm living on them anyway.  I get sick of too much of the same thing!

My latest dip craving is guacamole.  I think I am currently addicted to guac with carrots...

hehe - I was just thinking - I plan on making some guacamole for dip, but I'm still using up stuff I have at home.

Yes, it would probably be better to throw everything away, but I just can't do that - so once my ff sour cream dip is gone (only have about 2 servings left), then I'll make guac instead for my next go-round

I miss hummus, though

Also, for the whole grains - when I say whole grains with dinner, I usually mean brown rice.  DH is chinese, and a WONDERFUL cook - and chinese food without rice is just a bit off.  So I'm cutting down, and cutting back - and will only have 1/2 a cup after a hard workout, but I dont' think I'll every fully be able to cut it out

not doing it for tummy issues - I'm as healthy as can be, except that I'm 25 lbs overweight.

Doing it 1) because I do think it's the healthiest diet out there, so for general long-term health, and 2) for weightloss.  I'm more in weightloss mode than tri mode riight now, I put on 35lbs while I was engaged (stress eater!), I rollercoastered for a while after getting married - WW, calorie counting, trying to eat "clean" - but I couldnt' stick with anything so the weight stayed about the same.  So far, 3 weeks in on Paleo, and 8lbs down!  I feel like I can stick with this one.

DH and I plan on starting our family soon (by soon I mean "next year or two" not like next month), and I really want to be healthy and fit before I take on the responsibility of another life (also, I want to be comfortable in my diet, so I don't gain a bajillion pounds whenever I am pregnant)

The 100 calorie Wholly Guacamole packs have to be the greatest invention EVER.

I just saw these at Sam's Club last night and I think I did a happy dance right there in the aisle.  

They are a bit expensive, but LESS expensive than throwing away guac because it turned brown!  As a single person guac and avocados are CONSTANTLY going south on me.

I COULD eat a whole package of their regular size guac, but I really shouldn't (good fat or not, sometimes fat is still fat!).  It's nice to have portion control with guac!  And not feel like you are wasting it!

A friend of mine had 100 calorie almond packs the other day.  Seems a silly concept when you realize how much cheaper buying the big bag is.  However, we both have the same issue.  When you buy the big bag you might start by eating 12-13 almonds at a time.  But then a week later your 12-13 almonds has creeped to 20.  Next thing you know you could eat the whole bag in a sitting.

So, enforced portion control can be good.

All the references mentioned are good.  Don't forget about Nell Stephenson - she follows a very strict Paleo program but she is also an Ironman triathlete, so I feel she is a great reference for training and she does nutrition coaching as well.  I follow her blog and she's got great information there and good recipes.

I follow a pretty strict Paleo plan also.  Nell's recommendations are for fairly even balance of protein/fat/carbs.  Right now I'm trying to limit nuts and add more veg.  She also recommends a protein and veg at every meal.  I used to have an apple and 1/2-1oz nuts for a snack, now I will have sliced turkey (Columbus at Costco - no preservatives and low sodium and inexpensive!) rolled around spinach and bell peppers and avo when I have it.  I also throw spinach in my smoothies (you can't taste it, but sometimes it isn't pretty).

I eat a lot of sweet potatoes! :-)

a little paleo help please.  I'm 2 weeks into Whole 30.  I'm feeling great and plan to continue with paleo or primal well past the initial 30 days. 

My problem is that I've been very slow to recovery from training.  Basically my legs are sore and fatigued all of the time. 

Generally, my diet has looked like this:  Usually 2 maybe 3 eggs at breakfast with a piece of fruit.  10-13 almonds with fruit as a snack.  Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner which is usually chicken, pork, or steak with lots of veggies and salad.  The first 7-10 days I ate several sweet potatos and I'm regularly eating salmon, tuna, and sardines.

I've stepped up my training a little bit the past two weeks but not significantly and my legs are more sore and fatigued than usual.  I'd like a solution b/c I'd like to start ramping up for a HM in 2 months.

thanks

Sluggo - check out Paleo Diet for Athletes, pages 55 and 58 for recovery drinks and homebrew recipes.  Basically, they are a mixture of fruit juice, fruit, glucose, protein and sodium.  I really like egg white protein - NOW makes a plain one with no additives.

Make sure you're eating enough, hydrating A LOT and getting a good amount of rest.  It sounds like your training load has increased (or is increasing) and, no way around it, there are going to be some rougher days, but if you do your best to get all the above elements in, your recovery times may improve.

I found the recovery windows shortened the longer I've been on Paleo.