Paleo Diet - Day 7 (final update)

A full week down! 7 days on the paleo diet and I must say its going well. I can feel that this lifestyle is becoming more habit than forced and I am really enjoying the amount of fresh food I am eating. I'm beginning to wonder why it took me 27 years to figure it out.

The Obligatory Meal Info

Breakfast: Fried egg, bacon, with fruit salad and nuts Lunch: Salad with egg, bacon, and chicken sausage Snack 1: Boiled Egg Dinner: Beef Thai curry Snack 2: Fruit salad

My First Test - Takeaway!

Tonight I had my first big test of sticking to paleo. We had some friends over tonight and we ordered Thai food so I picked a nice coconut-based curry with big chunks of meat with vegetables (including potatoes). As I mentioned in some earlier posts, I am not too afraid of adding the odd potato to the diet as they are still a natural food and aren't going to cause me too many problems.

I did add some rice to my dish too but then did not end up eating it. Instead I saved myself for the left-over fruit salad. A much wiser choice.

The Week Summary

7 days complete and I am happy that this will become a regular lifestyle change for me. I love the food, I am happier, I am more creative, and I'm leaner but with more defined muscles. It has been a very positive experience, except for some slight sugar cravings but those are easily handled. Overall I believe this paleo style of eating not only makes sense but is good fun. I'm sold.

No More Paleo Updates

With the first week complete I wont be doing daily updates anymore. I really wanted to force myself to be accountable and writing every night was a way to do that but I feel that it is getting in the way of my other writing and I have lot more things to talk about still. As such my paleo diet updates more irregular and only when something important happens.

Paleo Diet - Day 5

Day 5 on the Paleo diet and I'm still feeling great! Even without the longer than usual sleep last night I have been full of energy and happiness all day. I think some of that is a natural psychological by-product (as I start to notice improvements in my body I naturally become happier) but I cant help feeling it has a lot to do with the types of food I'm eating and the long lasting energy they provide the body.

The Obligatory Meal Info

Breakfast: Chicken Apple Hash and some Macadamias Snack 1: Fruit salad and some Almonds Lunch: Left over dinner (bolognese and vegies) Snack 2: Egg and 2 chicken sausages Dinner: More of yesterday's dinner with fruit salad dessert

Supplements and Vitamins

I have started on some of the dietary supplements and vitamins that are recommended as complimentary to the paleo diet. In particular I am taking fish oil, magnesium, and vitamin D3. I have not noticed any effects yet, unless they too are contributing to my more upbeat and energetic mindset.

Primal Exercise

I have been thinking more and more about changing my exercise routines to be more primal based so I trialled a few different things today.

I did some alternating step lunges, squats, pushups, and chin-ups using just my body weight as resistance. I then filled a bucket of water and did some quick "clean and jerk" style lifts as well as holding it above my head for as long as I could. The result? A bit of fun and some very good exercise and my abs feel tight without even doing any a work. Maybe there is something in this primal exercise theory?

Workout Food

I still have that niggling idea that I should have a big hit of carbs post-workout and I cannot find too much good information about what paleo-foods are ideal for this time. The extra meals have stopped weight loss but for muscle gain I can't help feeling I should load up with carbs after busting out the weights. We will see how tomorrow's early morning session goes.

Summary

It's working well. I look and feel healthier, stronger, and fitter. All positive so far.

Paleo Diet - Day 4

Day 4 on the Paleo diet and I'm feeling great! Perhaps the earlier bedtime last night played a part but I cannot discount the possibility that this paleo eating style is having positive effects on my body. Just like it said on the tin!

The Obligatory Meal Info

Breakfast: Chicken Apple Hash and some Macadamias Snack 1: Apple and almonds Lunch: Salad with leftover lamb rissoles Snack 2: Big serve of watermelon Snack 3: Two eggs (fried after a quick afternoon workout) Dinner: Bolognese, steamed vegies (broccoli, cauliflower and carrot) and macadamias

Extra Meals!

After some more reading I've added some extra food into my day. My main concern is losing too much weight as I am already quite lean. Since January I've dropped 5.2kg (from the Slow Carb Diet and general good eating habits) and I don't want to lose much more. So the solution is adding extra paleo-friendly meals to my day. I am not going to structure it but just try to get myself into the habit of eating when hungry.

Eating When Hungry

Eating when hungry is the ideal way to tackle the paleo diet. If you feel hungry, you eat. Simple. It means that you listen to your body and if you need to eat 3 meals one day and 6 meals the next that's what you do.

Today I was hungry at about 11:15am and I had already eaten my morning snack. So i tucked into my hearty lunch! I got a few weird looks and the odd comment about how "it's not lunchtime yet" simply because I was eating before midday. It made me realise how much emphasis we put on the clock instead of just listening to our bodies and it was in that moment that I made the resolution to eat whenever I damn well felt like it!

Energy Plus

Today it only took me a few minutes to go from lying in bed to being fully awake, primed with energy and ready for the day. I was energetic and happy right from the start of the day, a feeling I hadn't experienced for quite a while.

I contribute this increased energy and general good feeling partially to the diet and partially to the longer sleep time. Even though I still did not manage to sleep through the entire night without disturbance, I spent over 9 hours in bed and my body rested appropriately.

Summary

I'm getting into this paleo eating and I feel like it is something I can definitely sustain in the future for a long time. I'm also re-learning how important sleep is in our lives and with that my focus is shifting to be less about time-suck social temptations and more about giving my body what it wants.

Paleo Diet - Day 2 (The Sugar Itch)

Day 2 in my paleo experiment was good but a little harder than yesterday. I'm calling today my "sugar itch" day because I found myself daydreaming a few times about sweet foods. I think it will get worse though hence it only being an itch today. I did spend the day in an office watching people chowing down on cream-filled biscuits, chips and lollies so maybe that didn't help. But I digress. Time for the interesting part:

Meals

Breakfast: Leftover Salmon and mixed nuts (Brazil and Pecans) Snack: Orange and almonds Lunch: Chicken salad (lettuce, carrot, tomato, capsicum, 2 boiled eggs, 100g chicken) Snack: Apple and almonds Dinner: Spicy Orange Chicken (Zac's recipe) with lots of vegetables on the side. Drinks: A few Vodka, Lime and Sodas to round out the night!

Paleo Taste

As I alluded to earlier, I had a an urge for some sugar today. I think that mindset made the meals seem blander than they actually were. I normally love my chicken salad but I had to push myself to finish it today. I expect this to get better as I get used to the no sugar intake.

Dreaded Weight Loss!

I weighed myself again this morning (this time BEFORE breakfast) and I was down 1.4 kilos! Not cool. Some of this I can contribute to having a little extra weight yesterday as "wedding hangover" but it still rings some alarm bells. Standing at 6"2 (188cm) I am already relatively lean so weight loss is not ideal. I will continue to monitor this in the future, especially after gym workouts.

Summary

I'm feeling a little flat as I write this but I contribute that to a recent lack of good sleep. Overall I feel the paleo diet will work well. I can see how it would easily result in weight loss for overweight/obese people but am unsure of maintaining it in my lean state. Perhaps I am simply not eating enough? This is only day 2 after all so I will reserve any judgment until I have further data.

Day 2, the "sugar itch", complete!