I'm following a semi Paleo diet. Strict Paleo diet restricts grains (including oats and quinoa), most fruits and all dairy. Strict Paleo dieters also eat and worship fat like its God.
For me, I have no problems cutting out grains or simple form of carbs like bread, pasta or rice. My argument is that these are carb sources with no nutritional value. Why not replace these with fruits like apples or berries and vegetables. Some argue that whole grains provide fiber but I can still get fiber from carefully chosen vegetables.
No fruits? No way! I love my fruits. Yes I agree that fruits have alot of sugar in them, but I'm not eating a box of apples or a whole comb of bananas. I think in moderation fruits are good. And essential.
Nobody is going to argue that vegetables are bad. Neither am I. And since Paleo says lots of vegetables, lots of vegetables it is!
Here is the kicker. I don't eat fat like the Paleo diet suggests. Nuts, whole cream, whole milk, liver, organs, bacon, fat from the meat and so forth make me full just thinking about it. Fat is important, because some nutrients are only fat soluble. So I will take in my fat. But not 60% of my daily intake. It will be more like 20% in the form of fatty fish like salmon, avocados and at most a handful of nuts. If I see fat on my meat, I will trim it. If I ask for coffee I will ask for soy milk. If I get cottage cheese I will get 2%. And no bacons. Except for cheat days. And since when did bacon become a health food?
Typical diet on weekdays. No food in the morning before the morning workouts. This will hopefully help teach my body to use fat as fuel.
For me, I have no problems cutting out grains or simple form of carbs like bread, pasta or rice. My argument is that these are carb sources with no nutritional value. Why not replace these with fruits like apples or berries and vegetables. Some argue that whole grains provide fiber but I can still get fiber from carefully chosen vegetables.
No fruits? No way! I love my fruits. Yes I agree that fruits have alot of sugar in them, but I'm not eating a box of apples or a whole comb of bananas. I think in moderation fruits are good. And essential.
Nobody is going to argue that vegetables are bad. Neither am I. And since Paleo says lots of vegetables, lots of vegetables it is!
Here is the kicker. I don't eat fat like the Paleo diet suggests. Nuts, whole cream, whole milk, liver, organs, bacon, fat from the meat and so forth make me full just thinking about it. Fat is important, because some nutrients are only fat soluble. So I will take in my fat. But not 60% of my daily intake. It will be more like 20% in the form of fatty fish like salmon, avocados and at most a handful of nuts. If I see fat on my meat, I will trim it. If I ask for coffee I will ask for soy milk. If I get cottage cheese I will get 2%. And no bacons. Except for cheat days. And since when did bacon become a health food?
Typical diet on weekdays. No food in the morning before the morning workouts. This will hopefully help teach my body to use fat as fuel.
6AM : Morning WOD sometime after the WOD, Shakeology
8AM : Cottage cheese (2%) with fruits. Normally berries.
10AM: Meat (80%) and Vegetables (20%). Chicken, beef or bison.
12PM: same as above.
2PM : same as above.
4PM : Meat and some carbs (quinoa).
5PM : Evening WOD and/or strength
7PM : Last meal of the day. Normally have a protein shake before
this. Around 50g. Might snack after this on cottage cheese
or some meat.
9PM : Try to sleep by 10PM. Having a hard time in the beginning.
Weekends are a little more relaxed but still generally healthy. Normally I will start with Shakeology before or after a workout. Hit the WOD. Lunch will be 25g of protein or a meal. Generally no more carbs. Dinner on weekends are cheat meals. Need to try to do this in moderation.
December 5 2011
Working out without carbs is something completely new to me. In fact, I'm still not sold yet on the Paleo diet notion of using fat as the main fuel source. Looking at energy production from a biochemistry point of view, there is no way to completely avoid carbs. You need carbs because fat burns in a carbohydrate fuel! In addition to that, carbs is the fastest, most efficient and most readily available fuel for our muscles. And doing Crossfit type workouts at a high intensity puts our body in an anaerobic state, where carbs again is king.
Now I agree that we don't need carbs all the time. When I wake up until I start working out, I'm 99% in my aerobic range where I should be able to burn most of my fat as the main source of fuel. And eating carbs during this time is a mute point.
Changes from this point on:
- Carbs before workouts. Normally in the form of quinoa or oats
- Carbs after workouts. About 15g in the form of simple sugars like glucose.
- No carbs at night, and no food 2/3 hours before bed. Will snack on cottage cheese to have some casein protein. Experimenting with the claim that we maximize our growth hormones during sleep and we don't want to put food in our stomach and waste that time digesting. Also carbs at night will probably be converted to fat anyways. During muscle growth and repair, we will need protein, and that explains the casein protein for slow release.
Ok more changes. This time on something that I like. My diet. I'm adding one more meal in a day. I'm going to try to see if with an additional meal will help my workouts. Right now I don't feel too tired, but I'd like to try to see if I can eat more and lift more faster.
times are approximate.
5AM : Water with BCAA and Glutamine
6:45AM : After morning WOD, protein and Shakeology
7:15AM : Cottage cheese (2%) with fruits. Normally berries and
a teaspoon of almond butter.
a teaspoon of almond butter.
9:00AM : Meat (80%) and Vege (20%). Chicken, beef or bison.
10:30AM : same as above.
12:00PM : same as above.
2:00PM : same as above.
2:00PM : same as above.
4:00PM : some carbs; quinoa or oats.
6:30PM : protein and carbs post workout.
7:30PM : Last meal of the day. Normally have a protein shake
before this. Around 50g. Might snack after this on
cottage cheese or some meat.
before this. Around 50g. Might snack after this on
cottage cheese or some meat.
9PM : Try to sleep by 10PM. Having a hard time in the
beginning.
beginning.
