Paleo Diet

[SkrewzLoose]

I wouldn't reccomend skipping breakfast, it should be your largest meal. Hard boil eggs the night before, good source of protein and its quick. replace the special k bar with trail mix for a snack, skip the cheese on your salad, skip the powerade.

I'm going to steal a pot from my wife when I go home this weekend. I'll be able to start the hard boiled eggs next week. I'll also be able to use them in my salads. I'll have some fruit in the morning as well.
What do you use as trail mix? Would a few handfuls of almonds/cashews do the trick?
I use the powerade in my PWO shake for the carbs and electrolytes. What would you suggest in its place?

Thanks for the recommendations. Like I said, I'm trying to keep it as clean as possible with what I have at my disposal.

 

[goon175]

I use raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and cashews in my trail mix. I make a big zip lock bag of it on sundays and keep it with me through the week. Personally, I think unless you are doing a marathon in 90+ degree weather, you can skip the powerade/gatorade stuff. Water does the trick just fine for most activities.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a paleo saint by any means. I don't have a salad everyday, but when I do, it has cheese on it. Also, I sneak candy corn at any chance during the month of october.

 

[SkrewzLoose]

I liked that due to the candy corn comment.
I'll give the homemade trail mix a try...it may contain an M&M or 900, though.

Thanks again for the tips!

 

[PattyW]

I'm going to start posting my diet in here for all you Paleo experts to critique. If you think I should post it elsewhere in this part of the forum, just let me know. I'm trying to be as good as I can with my diet now that I have a stove & oven across the hall. Here's what today looked like.

Breakfast: Protein shake w/skim milk, Yoplait greek yogurt w/peaches & granola
Mid morning: Special K bar
Lunch: Semi-epic salad consisting of spring mix greens, tomatoes, 1/2 an avocado, shredded cheddar, pan seared chix breast & roasted garlic vinaigrette
Post WO: Casein/Whey shake w/16oz powerade
Dinner: Salmon steak & sweet potato w/cinnamon
Drinking about 2 liters of water per day

I know you're supposed to stay away from dairy but the yogurt is too easy first thing in the morning. I don't have the gumption to get up early to make bacon, sausage and eggs every morning.
I'm open to critiques/suggestions.

If im feeling lazy in the morning I eat a banana and almond butter...and you can always cook eggs and bacon in the microwave

 

[SkrewzLoose]

More of the same today. Only difference is I had a salad w/steak for lunch and a salad w/chicken for dinner.
I'm going to start looking up Paleo certified desserts because I have a feeling that Snickers, frozen yogurt, cake, Milky Way, brownies, ice cream, cup cakes, et al are NOT on the list and my sweet tooth is starting to get the best of me.

 

[PattyW]

More of the same today. Only difference is I had a salad w/steak for lunch and a salad w/chicken for dinner.
I'm going to start looking up Paleo certified desserts because I have a feeling that Snickers, frozen yogurt, cake, Milky Way, brownies, ice cream, cup cakes, et al are NOT on the list and my sweet tooth is starting to get the best of me.

Here is a pretty awesome paleo dessert that ive made before, didnt use the dates that the recipe calls for though.

http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2012/10/chocolate-paleo-pudding-with-coconut-whip-cream/

 

[SkrewzLoose]

So, I'm eating at the galley for all 3 meals now as their food isn't that bad. It's not strict Paleo by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm trying to eat relatively healthy until I can get moved into my own place and control the content of all my meals. That being said, my breakfast consists of a protein shake then bacon, sausage and 3-4 hard boiled eggs. Are there any health concerns with eating bacon and sausage every morning? Cholesterol and heart issues exist on my mom's side of the family and I'd like to avoid the whole #-bypass surgery down the road if possible. Your thoughts?

 

[pardus]

So, I'm eating at the galley for all 3 meals now as their food isn't that bad. It's not strict Paleo by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm trying to eat relatively healthy until I can get moved into my own place and control the content of all my meals. That being said, my breakfast consists of a protein shake then bacon, sausage and 3-4 hard boiled eggs. Are there any health concerns with eating bacon and sausage every morning? Cholesterol and heart issues exist on my mom's side of the family and I'd like to avoid the whole #-bypass surgery down the road if possible. Your thoughts?

You should be taking a fish oil supplement every day (not cod liver oil). That will help a lot with blood issues/plaque etc...

I was eating paleo while deployed, at the end when they gave me a blood test my total cholesterol was 100. The Dr asked me if I was a vegetarian because of that.

.02c

 

[PattyW]

So, I'm eating at the galley for all 3 meals now as their food isn't that bad. It's not strict Paleo by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm trying to eat relatively healthy until I can get moved into my own place and control the content of all my meals. That being said, my breakfast consists of a protein shake then bacon, sausage and 3-4 hard boiled eggs. Are there any health concerns with eating bacon and sausage every morning? Cholesterol and heart issues exist on my mom's side of the family and I'd like to avoid the whole #-bypass surgery down the road if possible. Your thoughts?

Yea Pardus is right on with the fish oil. The only thing I see that could bea little suspect is your protein intake. Depending on your activity levels I would say you're a little overboard with the shake and then the eggs and meat. I eat breakfast then take my protein around 1030 and lunch around 1. But your fat intake seems fine.

 

[goon175]

Bacon every day is fine, but sausage has a lot of "extra" stuff in it, so I would eat that in moderation.

Also, my daily breakfast is 3-4 hard boiled eggs, and on the days I have time, bacon as well.

 

[tova]

I am getting interested in the Paleo diet - I have not read all the information yet - just what is posted here - I do have a few concerns - 1) I am highly allergic to all fish / shellfish so that can't be on the menu, 2) since I take Warfarin (blood thinner), I have to really limit my intakes of greens, cranberries and absolutely no grapefruit / tea & 3) having had congestive heart failure (yes, I will be discussing this with my GM & cardiologist), I too am concerned with the increase intake of meat / eggs due to cholesterol.

So with all that together, do you think this might be a good idea for me to look into - even a modified version?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[DAVE101]

Are there any health concerns with eating bacon and sausage every morning?

Yes, they are both processed meats, meaning high is sodium and nitrates. Even though bacon appears in every single paleo menu I've seen, ground and cured meats are not like the"whole foods" typically encouraged in the paleo diet.

I too am concerned with the increase intake of meat / eggs due to cholesterol.

Dietary cholesterol =/= systemic cholesterol (at least in moderation). Here's a study of obese patients placed on an "Atkins Diet" (high fat, low carb) with subsequent decreases in cholesterol and blood pressure. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/

 

[dirtmover]

Hey Tova, read it starts with food. With most people dietary cholesterol doesn't effect blood cholesterol. Also the Paleo diet by Loren Cordain is a good read as well.

 

[SkrewzLoose]

Thanks for the info, gents. I added Fish Oil to my regimen about a month ago. I take 1 fish oil & 1 multi vitamin every morning and every evening.

 

[goon175]

You can get bacon that is nitrate free, taken straight from the pig, but I doubt that is what they are serving in the mess hall.

 

[PattyW]

Thanks for the info, gents. I added Fish Oil to my regimen about a month ago. I take 1 fish oil & 1 multi vitamin every morning and every evening.

How many Milligrams of Omega-3 does your fish oil have. I take 3,000 mg a day. So unless you have a super power fish oil pill you can definitely take more than 2 pills a day. Safe bet is 6-8.

 

[SkrewzLoose]

1,000 mg of Omega-3 per capsule. Bottle says 1-3 per day.

 

[Hillclimb]

Thanks for the info, gents. I added Fish Oil to my regimen about a month ago. I take 1 fish oil & 1 multi vitamin every morning and every evening.

You should add up the DHA and EPA on the back to see how many omega 3's you're getting. A lot of them advertise the 1000mg capsule, but only really have 300mg of omega 3's.

Ive been taking 3-5 grams a day since forever and my bloodwork/lipid profiles always come back awesome. If you chose to start taking that much, its usually cheaper to take liquid omega 3s. I have the Nordic naturals brand and it has 1725mg a serving, @96 servings for 34$. Bought it at supersupplements. the cheapest I've seen so far.

 

[SkrewzLoose]

You should add up the DHA and EPA on the back to see how many omega 3's you're getting. A lot of them advertise the 1000mg capsule, but only really have 300mg of omega 3's.

Ive been taking 3-5 grams a day since forever and my bloodwork/lipid profiles always come back awesome. If you chose to start taking that much, its usually cheaper to take liquid omega 3s. I have the Nordic naturals brand and it has 1725mg a serving, @96 servings for 34$. Bought it at supersupplements. the cheapest I've seen so far.

You hit the nail on the head, 300mg it is. Once this is gone, I'll do some more extensive research before my next purchase, including the brand you recommend. Thanks for the info.

 

[MilkTruckCoPilot]

I've decided to go back on 100% Paleo as of yesterday, those steaks were great! I had been using protein shakes to supplement my diet but have since decided to cut them out. We shall see how that goes, I'm not usually a big eater.