Beware "Paleofication"
Options
Akimajuktuq
Posts: 3,037 Member
Paleofication is a mistake so many of us make and we justify it to varying degrees. I went down that road a little in my first year even with keeping carbs low, and yes I lost a lot of weight quickly, but it was fat AND muscle because I was under-eating... then the next year it all came crashing down to reality. I didn't totally lose my way, but now I'm fully recommitted, knowing more than ever that it's all about the FOOD. Treats and cheats just don't get me where I want to be regardless of how low I keep the calories.
Paleo treats have their place in a healthy lifestyle, but when did a treat become an every meal, every day, or even every week thing? I see people consistently under-eating because they "gain" if they eat more, but I also see a lot of less than ideal food choices often. (btw, I'm picking on myself here too!).
We are going to see more and more "Paleo" foods available in the stores. Soon Big Food will be pumping them out (and already are with things like Larabars) en masse. Do we really trust them? Do we really want to contribute to their billions in profits that they've made by contributing greatly to making everyone sick/fat, and fighting to keep it that way? Yeah, we don't want to take away "choice" by asking them to honestly label their food or use healthier ingredients. They use OUR money to fight having to label their foods. That PISSES me off... yet so many keep giving them billions more of their hard earned money.
Robb Wolf's article today is awesome.
http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=5f6a2d9eb2474135c0ab2625d&id=78e7277b47&e=01b65ec4c6
"And I am SICK AND TIRED of folks telling me that they can’t eat a freaking potato, carrot or piece of fruit because there’s too much sugar – BUT at the same time are eating ‘paleo pancakes’ with 100% maple syrup for breakfast, a sandwich on ‘paleo bread’ for lunch, ‘paleo crackers’ and a cup of tea with honey for a snack, and ‘paleo cookies’ for dessert after dinner. Seriously?!?!? You’re gonna tell me a carrot is bad?!?!?" <LOL, my fave quote in the article!!!
Paleo treats have their place in a healthy lifestyle, but when did a treat become an every meal, every day, or even every week thing? I see people consistently under-eating because they "gain" if they eat more, but I also see a lot of less than ideal food choices often. (btw, I'm picking on myself here too!).
We are going to see more and more "Paleo" foods available in the stores. Soon Big Food will be pumping them out (and already are with things like Larabars) en masse. Do we really trust them? Do we really want to contribute to their billions in profits that they've made by contributing greatly to making everyone sick/fat, and fighting to keep it that way? Yeah, we don't want to take away "choice" by asking them to honestly label their food or use healthier ingredients. They use OUR money to fight having to label their foods. That PISSES me off... yet so many keep giving them billions more of their hard earned money.
Robb Wolf's article today is awesome.
http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=5f6a2d9eb2474135c0ab2625d&id=78e7277b47&e=01b65ec4c6
"And I am SICK AND TIRED of folks telling me that they can’t eat a freaking potato, carrot or piece of fruit because there’s too much sugar – BUT at the same time are eating ‘paleo pancakes’ with 100% maple syrup for breakfast, a sandwich on ‘paleo bread’ for lunch, ‘paleo crackers’ and a cup of tea with honey for a snack, and ‘paleo cookies’ for dessert after dinner. Seriously?!?!? You’re gonna tell me a carrot is bad?!?!?" <LOL, my fave quote in the article!!!
0
Replies
-
I agree 100%0
-
You are so right! I've noticed so many more paleo convenience foods at my local natural food store. They've always had more than the regular grocery store but last week it was really in your face. They have this "Paleonola" which is bascially just regular granola without the grains and it was LOADED with sugar from being coated with maple syrup. Don't get me wrong, maple syrup is OK in moderation but you know that people will see "paleo" and think they can eat however much they want. Plus you could buy all the ingredients way cheaper and bake up a batch of that stuff yourself for a fraction of the price. They also have these paleo snack packs that are bascially beef jerky with a small portion of nuts for something like $5/serving, outrageous, let alone the packaging waste! Just buy some jerky and nuts and put them in a tupperware container for goodness sake. As for Larabars I've known for a while that dates stick to my *kitten* like glue, those things are off limits for me LOL!0
-
Simply put: if it is a convenience food - it's NOT paleo. Even if it does mimic paleo principles.
Paleo/primal is not rocket science - it can be adhered to with a few simple rules. Even a caveman can do it!
- Eat whole foods, organically grown and simply prepared;
- Eat lots of plants and animals; go easy on the fruits and roots;
- Avoid foods that cannot be consumed in a raw state (not that you have to eat it raw - we were designed to eat way before we learned how to cook);
- Do not eat any sugar that does not have a plant wrapped around it.
Those four rules will answer virtually any question that may pop up on what to eat.0 -
Just read the article. Great!
I hate talking to someone who says "Paleo doesn't work" and then I find they were eating incredible amounts of calories, "natural" sweeteners, nuts, and the like. I was astonished to find that 2 TBS of Great Lakes Gelatin is 22g of protein--that's a quarter of my daily total!
My recipe for BP coffee (with 1 TBS each of butter and coconut oil) comes in at 25g of fat, which is a fair amount of my daily fat (I forget if it's a quarter or a third), even though I don't worry about going over on fats. Carbs, yes; fats, not so much. It's not like I'm going to eat double the amount of fats I'm aiming for -- they're so satiating I don't think I could manage.
So, I think my capacity for "paleo fail" would likely be in sweets, probably, like too much fruit (yes, it's natural, but it also raises triglycerides and the carbs make me crave carbs), or paleoified baked goods.
Am going to do my best to stick with fairly plain eating, varied as much as I can manage, with a moderate treat on Sundays. It seems to be working.
And try to avoid the non-Paleo temptations... last night I had caramel corn, and really, really enjoyed it. But I also really don't think it's a wise choice, not even if it's organic, non-GMO, naturally sweetened, etc.0 -
monkeydharma wrote: »Simply put: if it is a convenience food - it's NOT paleo. Even if it does mimic paleo principles.
Paleo/primal is not rocket science - it can be adhered to with a few simple rules. Even a caveman can do it!
- Eat whole foods, organically grown and simply prepared;
- Eat lots of plants and animals; go easy on the fruits and roots;
- Avoid foods that cannot be consumed in a raw state (not that you have to eat it raw - we were designed to eat way before we learned how to cook);
- Do not eat any sugar that does not have a plant wrapped around it.
Those four rules will answer virtually any question that may pop up on what to eat.
^I had to quote this because I think we should all read this again, and again. Paleo is so darned simple and yet so many of us find ways to complicate it and justify our vices.... And Big Food will be right there to help us waste our money and harm our health.
@homesweeths: I just started with the gelatin in my coffee. I sometimes shy away from it the way it gums up my immersion blender but I think I found a good method this morning. It wasn't even stuck in the bottom of my cup. And I mixed it right into the hot coffee! For some things I just need "easy" or I won't stick with it.
One SHOULD enjoy a rare treat or why bother? I found an (evil) Coca Cola in my house awhile back (left by the jerk house-sitter) and I truly did enjoy it. Yeah, I sold my soul to the devil on that one! lol Even the mighty Akimajuktuq can fall flat on her face... A LOT!!!
0 -
monkeydharma wrote: »Simply put: if it is a convenience food - it's NOT paleo. Even if it does mimic paleo principles.
Paleo/primal is not rocket science - it can be adhered to with a few simple rules. Even a caveman can do it!
- Eat whole foods, organically grown and simply prepared;
- Eat lots of plants and animals; go easy on the fruits and roots;
- Avoid foods that cannot be consumed in a raw state (not that you have to eat it raw - we were designed to eat way before we learned how to cook);
- Do not eat any sugar that does not have a plant wrapped around it.
Those four rules will answer virtually any question that may pop up on what to eat.
Like this a lot!0 -
Oh man, MFP sensored my only marginally off color word for gluteous maximus! LOL!0
-
Great article! Really needed to hear that and get back to basics and get serious! I am very guilty of letting myself indulge in something that is labeled or considered Paleo (like homemade Paleo granola or brownies) And I almost always end up bingeing on them. Loved when he said we shun too much fruit or carrots but will eat Paleo treats with honey, maple syrup and tons of nuts or nut flour and somehow justify it. So for me I have decided Paleo treats are just as bad as grains.0
-
Excellent post - and an excellent article. I've been telling people who suggest I try gluten-free products (I have a wheat intolerance) that they often have worse things in them than the regular versions. Paleo treats are in the same category for me.0
-
You should post this to the main food and nutrition page.0
-
And get ripped to shreds by the CICO, "all things in moderation", IIFYM, "all food is equal" crowd? Not a chance. Been there, did that. I'll stick to us Paleo zealots with our "psuedo-science".
0 -
Akimajuktuq wrote: »And get ripped to shreds by the CICO, "all things in moderation", IIFYM, "all food is equal" crowd? Not a chance. Been there, did that. I'll stick to us Paleo zealots with our "psuedo-science".
0 -
Akimajuktuq wrote: »And get ripped to shreds by the CICO, "all things in moderation", IIFYM, "all food is equal" crowd? Not a chance. Been there, did that. I'll stick to us Paleo zealots with our "psuedo-science".
WISEWOMAN! CICO Fascists abound in most main forums. BigMegaFoodConglomerates also steal terms to confuse the clueless..like FAST 5 has been a successful IF method for a decade, now Jenny Craig offers"Fast5" why? possibly a google-er will find it first and be distracted? trading on popularity. I see it in my nutrition group..they hear one key word and go off buying "yogurt shakes' loaded with sugar, not 'real fruit' shameful.
I am so disgusted with 'food' companies like Yoplait/Dannon now pushing ACTUAL candy VISIBLE on top of low-fat high-sugar 'yogurt' cups.. from 12g to 36g sugar!!!! AND with Easter bunny art and cartoons..YoCrunch co is as evil as they come!
http://www.yocrunch.com/products/yocrunch-flavors/vanilla-with-mams-chocolate-candies
http://www.yoplait.com/Home/Products/HersheysMixIns
0 -
just saw a seminar and the Pro-keto doc was showing us packaged "low carb" in big letters on ice cream bars, Honey/choco waffle candy…as BigmegaFood JUMPS on the wagon 'consumers' all lose, money, but not weight.
On my post above about yogurt I went into that section to find FULL FAT yogurt..it did not exist..but I sawEVERY single label on ALL 90 brands said "Low fat" or No fat.<shakes head>0 -
KETOGENICGURL wrote: »just saw a seminar and the Pro-keto doc was showing us packaged "low carb" in big letters on ice cream bars, Honey/choco waffle candy…as BigmegaFood JUMPS on the wagon 'consumers' all lose, money, but not weight.
On my post above about yogurt I went into that section to find FULL FAT yogurt..it did not exist..but I sawEVERY single label on ALL 90 brands said "Low fat" or No fat.<shakes head>
You used to be able to buy plain organic whole milk yogurt at whole foods but mine stopped carrying it because no one would buy it -.- another thing is Chobani sells "whole milk yogurt" in little cups now called indulgence, they're LOADED with sugar, each little cup that's 99g has a TABLESPOON of sugar in them! Way too much, it hurt my teeth when I tried it. Oh and the whole milk isn't whole milk, it's nonfat milk with cream added to compensate.0 -
Faylina, yep, we have Health Food Stores here, I bet they have it, but prolly $5. for 8oz..
I remember owning a 'yogurt maker" 4 cup dealie in the late 70's…all it takes is whole milk and a warm stove plus some culture starter (just buy ONE of HFS 'real' yogurt) and it makes itself! hummm you got me thinking!!0 -
Yogurt is so easy to make, machine or otherwise. I can't access healthy milk so I don't bother with it though. Kefir is nice too. I'm trying to avoid dairy but if I could access local and raw dairy I would be happy to include it more, especially for my child. (But since dairy isn't good for me, and she's half Inuit, I really don't think dairy is NEEDED.)0
-
KETOGENICGURL wrote: »Faylina, yep, we have Health Food Stores here, I bet they have it, but prolly $5. for 8oz..
I remember owning a 'yogurt maker" 4 cup dealie in the late 70's…all it takes is whole milk and a warm stove plus some culture starter (just buy ONE of HFS 'real' yogurt) and it makes itself! hummm you got me thinking!!
I wish I could give you mine, I have this baby yogurt maker that I never use. If I wanted to make yogurt I'd just ferment it in my dehydrater, it's what I've always done.0 -
In my vision of a perfect world there would be very limited low-fat yogurt options and whole milk would be the norm. This might actually happen with Dietary guidelines in the US changing and easing up on the vilification of fat. I predict some food packages will actually start advertising "High Fat! Low carb!". I've considered marketing my version of fat bombs because I think they are the best. Ahh, supply and demand.
Currently, the pre-packaged paleoish treats are just too sweet. Even so many recipes are simply substitutions for non paleo treats (like cupcakes made with a cup of chopped dates). Paleo pancakes with the bananas and eggs put me in a worse food coma than regular pancakes.
My healthfood store carries Paleo pasta and bread, but I've never been tempted to buy those at all. I'm sure everyone is different, but I don't miss pasta and bread even though they were once the cornerstone of my diet.
To sum it up, I could see those new to paleo WOE falling for paleofied convenience foods and recipes. I'm still trying to get it all figured out. I started eating Paleo this past November. I look forward to the impending growing season to fully take advantage of all nature's bounty.0 -
