Paleo diet?

Supposedly, if you've been doing Paleo long enough, your body adapts to doing endurance exercise on limited carbs, running strictly on fat.

Not me! My body never adapted well. I had epic bonks an hour into any ride. That horrible feeling of wanting to yak half-way up a climb. Having to lean over the handlebars and breathe heavily for five minutes while the stars swirling around my head subside.

I had better results with carbing up near the ride and going strict the rest of the time:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Paleo-Diet.../dp/1594860890
http://www.trainingbible.com/pdf/Pal...liff_Notes.pdf

-- gnat! (Gotta really like sweet potatoes, tho!)

Yesterday, I had no carbs before a hard, hot ride. Right before I left, I started craving bread really badly. I wolfed down a piece of Ezekial bread with soy nut butter as I was going out the door. I had a high protein breakfast, otherwise. I tried to just eat the walnuts I brought during the ride, but I started feeling increasingly out of it; I had to eat almost all of a Luna Bar and a Shot Block to make it home.

So bacon is considered a healthy food on this diet?

I'm a little confused. A Paleo diet isn't carb free, just grain free, right? For instance, some of the fruit that GLC lists in the "what did you eat today thread," e.g., apples and bananas, have just as many carbs as a packet of instant oatmeal. So, if I eat a banana before a morning ride (as I often do), then my body isn't going to use fat as a fuel source any more readily than if I'd had that packet of oatmeal. Or am I missing something?

Paleo is grain free (among other things) but considered to be low-carb. Not very-low-carb, but definitely the idea is to limit your carbs and when eating them, choose carbs that are low-glycemic index and are vegetable or fruit based (not gluten-free substitutions for processed foods). The fruits that are encouraged are meant to be eaten in small quantities - berries are considered best for their antioxidant properties. I used to eat fruit ALL the time, but have cut waaaaay back since going paleo. Just a handful of blueberries, blackberries or raspberries for breakfast, and maybe some for dessert too.

Bananas are really great because they are full of vitamins and minerals - but they are a huge carb bomb when you compare them to other fruits. Same with apples. However, they are still healthier than a lot of the processed things you could be choosing instead and the sugars are all natural.

Ny Biker - yes bacon is considered healthy. It's a great source of saturated animal fat. You probably still shouldn't have it at every meal, but it's definitely not considered sinful like on the standard american diet. You just have to be careful that you choose uncured, all-natural bacon, because the cured stuff is full of nitrites and sugar and preservatives. I'd say that when I first went Paleo I spent a TON of time learning to read labels and I really shopped around to find the best brands. Now it's easy and I have my go to favorites that I know are clean and safe to eat.

Uncured bacon seems to be easy enough to find around here, but I'm struggling to locate bacon (or sausage for that matter) without any added sugar. Why is there sugar in my meat? :eek:

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

solobiker - I'd bump the eggs to three (a serving size is how many you can hold in one hand!), bump the chicken thighs to two (and definitely eat the skin) and make sure to dump a big scoop of quac on the taco salad. ;) I would also drizzle some olive oil on the veggies.

Everything is better with guacamole, by the way. Or bacon. :p

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Wow..I am trying to eat more but I am just not hungry. It is pretty tough to do. Maybe it is because I am used to eating "smaller" amounts. People at work always pick on me for eating like a bird. :)

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Originally Posted by solobiker

Wow..I am trying to eat more but I am just not hungry. It is pretty tough to do. Maybe it is because I am used to eating "smaller" amounts. People at work always pick on me for eating like a bird. :)

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I have this problem as well, my body adapted to eating so little for so long that it no longer complained at the lack of calories (probably just gave up) and I became accustomed to eating a certain volume of food. It makes it challenging when we try to start eating more. After just a couple of days or easing into this new way of fueling my body, I've realized that I dealt with the need to increase my calories by 40% earlier this year by simply adding grains, some oil and nuts but mainly grains :o I've been told the answer is to consume more nutritionally dense foods - which we both are - but we need more of them ;)

Thanks for the input. I don't have much weight to lose, so I'm really just looking to see if Paleo or Whole30 would work for me to just clean things up a bit.

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

Thanks for the input. I don't have much weight to lose, so I'm really just looking to see if Paleo or Whole30 would work for me to just clean things up a bit.

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I think that it would. I didn't really have weight to lose either. And honestly, I am the same weight now as I was this time last year, but I'm significantly leaner (less %body fat) and way more muscular.

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Originally Posted by westtexas

I think that it would. I didn't really have weight to lose either. And honestly, I am the same weight now as I was this time last year, but I'm significantly leaner (less %body fat) and way more muscular.

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This is what I am after as well, my weight isn't much off my desired target.

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Originally Posted by Becky

Uncured bacon seems to be easy enough to find around here, but I'm struggling to locate bacon (or sausage for that matter) without any added sugar. Why is there sugar in my meat? :eek:

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I'm not sure if it is the same with store bought bacon, but from curing Bacon at home I know that you can use either a special salt for curing that contains nitrit, or you use sugar: this prevents the meat from becoming grey during pickling (? not sure if it is the right word. The step before curing/smoking where you add salt and herbs) when curing or smoking.
Sugar is the better alternative in my opinion. I don't think that there is a lot of sugar IN the bacon after curing, or you would taste it.

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Originally Posted by Susan

I'm not sure if it is the same with store bought bacon, but from curing Bacon at home I know that you can use either a special salt for curing that contains nitrit, or you use sugar: this prevents the meat from becoming grey during pickling (? not sure if it is the right word. The step before curing/smoking where you add salt and herbs) when curing or smoking.
Sugar is the better alternative in my opinion. I don't think that there is a lot of sugar IN the bacon after curing, or you would taste it.

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Interesting information, thank you! I notice my package of uncured bacon still has Turabino sugar in it - unsure why since it is uncured, but obviously there is still some processing. Nothing I can't pronounce however :cool:

Wow, after only 3 days of no grains and bumping up fat, protein and veggies I've lost almost 3 pounds! I've read that grains promote water weight and bloating (among other things), but this seems to prove that. My calorie intake is consistent so it wasn't from starving myself, indeed yesterday I ate a little more than normal. Felt great, no energy problems, and also no early-afternoon crash that I am accustomed to - and it was like that the day before as well.

Friday I only had a short, though hard, 30 minute workout and yesterday just had a really short recovery road ride. Today I've my usual "Funday" workout this morning and a good ride planned for late afternoon.

I bought regular (pork) bacon at Trader Joe's yesterday. About to test it out now. It has no sugar or nitrates. I looked for beef bacon, but none. I can't find that, anywhere. I've been eating turkey bacon for years, and really prefer the taste, but I'm willing to try the additive-free pork.
I've been craving grains like crazy since I got back from my vacation, where I ate with no abandon. My weight has been up and down, still not in the "danger" zone, so I am not sure what is going on, except that I've been sick with sinus stuff and this often makes me want comfort foods, like bread and bagels. I've given in, mostly, although all whole wheat stuff, except for the pancakes DH made yesterday morning :).
And what are coconut aminos? I see this in almost all of the recipes in the Paleo cookbook I bought. I assume they add fat to make you feel full. Really don't like the taste of coconut and I have no idea where you would buy them. I've made the recipes without this addition.