Primal/Paleo Diet

bonkers5975

I'm with you, aweightymatter. I don't recall any grains being allowed, sprouted or otherwise. I really hate when things do become trendy and start morphing to suit the masses, because the masses can't handle restriction :P Last time I checked, while gluten free, rice is indeed a grain!

For anyone looking into this WOE, like I said, try it. I for one have difficulties with many grains, but none with legumes. So once in awhile I treat myself to some black or red beans, because I enjoy them. Primal is a jumping off point, as with any other plan, there is no one size fits all. You must personalize your plan in order to succeed.

KokomoJoe

Some are allergic to wheat/grains?

A constantly under diagnosed problem in my opinion. I have currently stopped with wheat and will reduce some other grains, but I love my brown rice, quinoa (a seed actually) and my beans. I have a couple paleo cookbooks that I love cooking from. Oven baked okra (yum).

tidmutt

I'm with you, aweightymatter. I don't recall any grains being allowed, sprouted or otherwise. I really hate when things do become trendy and start morphing to suit the masses, because the masses can't handle restriction :P Last time I checked, while gluten free, rice is indeed a grain!

For anyone looking into this WOE, like I said, try it. I for one have difficulties with many grains, but none with legumes. So once in awhile I treat myself to some black or red beans, because I enjoy them. Primal is a jumping off point, as with any other plan, there is no one size fits all. You must personalize your plan in order to succeed.

Search Mark's Daily Apple for sprouted grain and you'll find he discusses it's occasional consumption. He also talks about soaking legumes, rice being okay from time to time etc.

It's not about being trendy because people can't handle restriction, it's about being open minded and not biased based on your own preconceptions and adhering to some dogma. There is nothing to say we couldn't one day invent the perfect synthetic food, should Primal exclude that? Of course not. The ideal WOE is informed by deep science which always evolves over time. People find this confusing and frustrating but that is how science works. I have been impressed with how Primal is open to change. I don't think it's the be all and end all, but there's quite a lot to like IMHO.

Now if science one day proves that prior to agriculture we were all incredibly unhealthy and died of disease at age 22 then perhaps it would be time to take Primal/Paleo out into the field and put it down.

weightofyourskin

Really in all the different things discussed in this thread the theme is the same:

Stop eating garbage. Garbage being defined as:

Grains
Sugar
Legumes
Processed Foods
Low/No Fat Dairy

What's wrong with legumes? The last I checked, they're low in fat, high in fibre (and occasionally protein), antioxidants, assorted minerals...

mjbrenner

What's wrong with legumes? The last I checked, they're low in fat, high in fibre (and occasionally protein), antioxidants, assorted minerals...

Many people, including followers of the Paleo diet, avoid legumes due to the comparatively high concentration of anti-nutrients and toxins. That said, the way that most people cook beans reduces toxins and anti-nutrients to negligible levels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaseolus_vulgaris#Toxicity

If you like many of the Paleo ideas but need a less strict regimen, many people use a combination of Paleo and the "slow carb" diet from The Four-Hour Body to good effect. Ignoring the stupid name for the book, the slow carb diet is very manageable and has a decent amount of science behind it. It also allows a weekly cheat day, which means that you can have all the potatoes and pancakes you want - one day a week.

hpsnickers1

every diet is restrictive in its own way.

But not every diet eliminates entire categories of food.

I don't find not eating grains, beans and sugar restrictive at all. Because I get to eat meat, fish, poultry, healthy fats, veggies, some occasional berries. Will I never again eat a bowl of ice cream even though it clogs my sinuses and gives me gut pain the next day? No, I will still enjoy on occasion. What's wrong with eliminating a food group when that food group makes your body sick? I didn't need a doctor to tell me it. In fact the doctors were treating all my symptoms as separate issues.

The wheat that is in EVERYTHING these days is not the same wheat that our ancestors ate - even our great-grandparents ate. The wheat has been hybridized and genetically modified to the point where it can't grow without human intervention (also corn which is a nasty grain, too). This has also seriously increased the gluten content. Now all these people with Celiac markers and celiac disease are popping up. I eliminated it as an experiment and every digestive I have dealt with since my childhood disappeared. I'm 41. What's wrong with eliminating a food group when that food group makes your body sick? I didn't need a doctor to tell me to do it. In fact the doctors were treating all my symptoms as separate issues when in fact it was two things, grains and milk (I enjoy my cheese on occasion, too).

Rice is a grain though not on the same level as the nasty wheat today. But I know that rice does the exact same thing to my blood sugar levels as wheat, oats and sugar (including the "natural" sugar in fruit - fructose which goes straight to the liver and gets converted into fat - not even used as immediate fuel. Even my low-sugar berries spike my blood sugar levels pretty good). And I'm not diabetic nor am I prediabetic.

All Primal/Paleo is is going back to the basics. You can alter it to suit you and your needs.

But no one can tell me that eating real, whole foods is unhealthy and restrictive. It's freeing. I found freedom from counting calories, weighing and logging foods and spending my entire day worrying about food because I was told to eat 5-6 times a day (and when I was eating high-carb I was starving every couple of hours so I had to). I just make sure I get plenty of veggies, protein and fats. And if I want to raise my carbs some I throw in some fruit or a yummy sweet potato lathered in some butter. In fact, day one of Primal was a 36 hour fast that felt absolutely wonderful. (just a guess but my ratios are probably around 10/20/70 but they change day to day).

hpsnickers1

Primal allows for consumption of sprouted grain bread in moderation, even rice.

Also, that lack of consistent ideology that concerns you doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it's what I liked about Primal. It's open to change. Knowledge evolves, theories are proposed and disproved and the WOE evolves with them. If you read the old posts, they recommended lean meats, now they recommend fatty meats provided they are grass fed.

Agreed it's not a catch all, nothing is, other than eat less and exercise more, as depressing as that is.

I have to admit I haven't checked up on MDA in a couple months since, when I started training for an endurance event, I already knew I was breaking one of Mark's #1 rules

BUT, I have read 'The Primal Blueprint' in the last year. The edition I read does not include sprouted-grain breads as a suggestion. Has it been updated or changed to reflect that? I don't remember if the book itself recommended wild rice or not, though I have seen arguments for that on MDA and a couple other blogs.

I have not read Robb Wolf's book either though as I've read the other main books & blogs and am not sure if that's going to hold any dramatically new info. Does it / is it worth a read?

I guess my thing is, I have taken a lot of ideas from a lot of the main paleo/primal thinkers, but as it changes to include dairy and grains, does it really need a special label any more? Otherwise, it seems to be an eat-whole-foods, eliminate-the-white-and-processed-stuff approach. I think that's a very important message for people, but not necessarily one that requires a specific marketable name -- especially if no longer goes by the original tenets behind the marketable name.

Hop on MDA and go back through the articles a little bit. Last week he had 2 articles on "how to train for a marathon" at least when you are Primal/Paleo. A marathon is definitely an endurance event.

hpsnickers1

every diet is restrictive in its own way.

But not every diet eliminates entire categories of food.

I've seen paleo/primal diets with potatoes...it's really what you make of it. Some indigenous peoples eat mostly tubors and fruits, and others eat mostly meat and fat. The point is to eat a diet that's nutrient-dense, filling, and non-insulinogenic. The only grains I was eating were whole wheat pasta and oatmeal. I can certainly eat oatmeal if I want, but it doesn't stick with me like eggs.

I agree. I used to have a bowl of oatmeal and an apple in the morning. I would bloat up and then 90 minutes later I was STARVING!!! And shaky - turns out it was blood sugar heading up high and then crashing down - this caused the hunger even though I still had food in my stomach. Now my typical breakfast is 3 eggs, 4 pieces of uncured bacon and this will keep me full for 5-6 hours. Sometimes I just down a can of coconut milk (Love A Taste of Thai- 55g of fat - 50 of them saturated) and this will keep me feeling full for about 7 hours.

But what I really love? The feeling of being full and satisfied WITHOUT the disextended stomach and the pain from the grains bloating me up.

ahamm002

I am not promoting/bashing paleo, but from what I understand it, the true reason many people follow it is not for weight loss. I've done a lot of reading on the paleo "diet," and it seems that most people see a lot of health benefits by elminating grains and dairy. It's not so much about weight loss, although that can be a nice side effect. (to the contrary, paleo suggests eating a lot of fatty foods, which is awesome, but if your'e not active, it can be counterproductive.)

Actually, the Paleo diet is great for weight loss. People who are used to eating diets high in refined carbs will usually lose weight even if they eat lots of fatty foods on Paleo.

Marll

Paleo seems to be typically followed by people that are seeking overall health in their body, and the nice side effect is that heavier people pretty much always loose weight without even trying, and those that might be prone to being underweight/"skinny-fat" will likely notice better muscle tone and fat loss.