Paleo diet?

[Owlie]

From what I am coming to understand, and I could be wrong, our body will use the carbs for energy if they exist before it will start tapping into the fat stores. That is probably a very simplistic understanding, and I am just starting to read on this. Obviously carbs come from many sources, not just the usual prospects, but if your body is accustomed to a certain level of carbs then it becomes very efficient at using them for energy and will complain if those accustomed levels aren't there.

I am becoming more and more curious about this - especially some research that appears to indicate that a primal diet is very good for those of us prone to insulin resistance. At some point I think I will need to give this a shot, but I need to have a better understanding first so I can make educated choices during that trial period.

I don't know that I would ever go 100% Paelo/primal - I like beer even though I may not drink more than 1-2 a week, and my occasional small dose of Blue Bell ice cream.

Rest day today if I like it or not - so will have time to do some good reading this evening...

Biochemist. I am aware of this.

My not leaving the house without breakfast is less carb-driven, though topping off the fuel tank so I'm not burning my glycogen supply right out of the gate helps. It's protein and fat. I can do bacon, an egg and a single slice of buttered toast for breakfast and be happy, riding or not. My normal morning breakfast cereal is quite generous with the pecans, which helps with the protein and fat.

So a modified version of Paleo (that allows for beer and cheesecake and butter and all that good stuff) might work. I know I operate better on a higher fat and protein diet, anyway.

[Catrin]

Biochemist. I am aware of this.

I forgot that... sorry!

[westtexas]

So a modified version of Paleo (that allows for beer and cheesecake and butter and all that good stuff) might work. I know I operate better on a higher fat and protein diet, anyway.

Speaking of butter... have you tried Ghee?? Mmm buttery deliciousness without the dairy. My system is not coconut oil friendly, so that's what I use to make my omelettes in the morning... and essentially other meat product that tastes great with butter. Also veggies.

[Catrin]

Speaking of butter... have you tried Ghee?? Mmm buttery deliciousness without the dairy. My system is not coconut oil friendly, so that's what I use to make my omelettes in the morning... and essentially other meat product that tastes great with butter. Also veggies.

hmm, will have to check this out.

I've been doing a lot of reading on Mark Apple's site which has been rather attention getting, especially his discussion on the carbohydrate curve. I checked out his "Primal Blueprint" electronically from my library along with "The Paleo Answer". I am waiting for a hard copy of "The Paleo Diet" to show up from the library.

I think I am starting to understand why I've been at this plateu for so long. I dropped a little when I increased my calorie intake 40%, but my nutritionist insisted that I needed 200 grams of carbs daily... My BMI is barely in the normal range and I really want to see that change. It certainly isn't from not exercising or caloric intake. While my nutritionist insists that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie (assuming you aren't eating junk food), I strongly disagree with her on this one. I've suspected for a time that it is time to change something about my diet and this just might be it.

[GLC1968]

Catrin - no, I don't snack anymore. I did when I was paleo before, but I'm sure my need for snacks stemmed from my inability to let go of all the carbs I was eating. I was closer to 150 - 200 back then and even with a lot of running, I was not losing any weight either.

Since I did the Whole30, my carbs hover just below 100 per day and I no longer feel the need to snack at all. I haven't done any long rides (really, except for a few 25 milers) but no, I don't need to 'fuel' specifically for those. I just do whatever exercise I do and then eat when I'm hungry which is normally just at meal times. This past weekend, I added a couple of two-hour kayaking sessions and did not need to increase my calories/intake at all either day. I think that exercise less than 120 minutes, I'd probably be fine without extra fuel unless it was super intense exercise (like a race). We'll see how it goes as I start ramping up my activity going forward!

I just looked up one of my days that I tracked a month or so ago. On zero exercise, I ate 1780 calories, 50% fat, 23% carb and 27% protein. Carbs were 93 g for the day and that included eating sweet potato with dinner. I would say it was close to a typical day if maybe a tad low in quantity/calories. And keep in mind, I am actively losing weight. When I ate that meal, I was 157 lbs. Today I am 147, so even on 1800 calories a day and no exercise, I am losing fat. If you all are active, you NEED to eat more! Eat that avocado and ghee!

(I agree that ghee is awesome. I made my own a month ago and now it's my second choice fat, after bacon fat, for cooking and melted on veggies, it tastes positively decadent).

[Catrin]

I just looked up a recipe for ghee, so it is basically cooked butter that has had the oil strained from it? hmmm, will have to try this. For some reason I thought ghee was sheeps milk butter or something like that and I've been afraid to try it.

I need to start thinking how to approach this test, frankly I think that cutting out the steel-cut oats and bread will pretty much cut my carbs in half. I just need to think about what to replace that with and get my protein/carb/fat balance where I need it to be. I've a long ride at an event on Sept 22, so that should give me enough time to figure this out.

Back to reading. I like that Mark Apple provides a list of shopping ideas to get started. I've really depended on non-fat dairy for close to half of my protein intake - I just realized that non-fat dairy is pretty high in sodium and I've been noting some occasional blood pressure issues...typically I've close to low blood pressure so am pretty sure this is related to sodium intake.

GLC that helps, thanks! As an active woman it really helps to have an idea how this has worked for another active woman. With the new functional training I've added as cross-training my activity level has really ramped up this summer.

[GLC1968]

Ghee is basically the same thing as drawn butter (or clarified butter). It's super easy to make - just melt butter in a pot, skim off the solids using a spoon, and then the remaining beautiful yellow liquid is purely the butter fat (no milk solids). I put mine into half pint ball jars and put them in the fridge. It's REALLY hard, but softens with warmth very, very quickly.

I think that Ghee actually may have some spices in it (the Indian stuff you buy at our local store does) but mine is plain. Oh, and I used pastured butter to make it.

[solobiker]

This has been great reading. I too have been reading a lot of posts on MDA and have learned quite a bit and have gotten a lot of good ideas. They have some good recipes on there too. What do you guys think of my meal plan for today?

B: 2 eggs cooked in butter with 1/2 chicken sausage and veggies

L Chicken thigh with the skin on, veggies

D: Plan is for a taco salad..no dressing

Any thoughts?

[ccnyc]

Ghee is basically the same thing as drawn butter (or clarified butter). It's super easy to make - just melt butter in a pot, skim off the solids using a spoon, and then the remaining beautiful yellow liquid is purely the butter fat (no milk solids). I put mine into half pint ball jars and put them in the fridge. It's REALLY hard, but softens with warmth very, very quickly.

I think that Ghee actually may have some spices in it (the Indian stuff you buy at our local store does) but mine is plain. Oh, and I used pastured butter to make it.

If you don't have time to make it yourself Purity Farms Ghee is very good. No spices and you can get it at Whole Foods.
http://purityfarms.com/
Traditional 100%, Certified Organic Ghee (Clarified Butter) From Grass Fed, Pastured Cows
Salt Free • Lactose and Casein Free • No Transfatty Acids • Kosher • No GMO's (No Genetically Modified Organisms)

Ghee is fabulous!!!