How we eat...fats, carbs, cholesterol, Paleo, Primal, etc

[RootSkier]

I figured this should be it's own thread. I have gotten involved in a few debates that were tangential to the thread, so let's try it all by itself.

Do you have an overall strategy for how you eat? I am not talking about diets, diets are temporary. I am talking about how you actually eat in the long term.

A few months ago, I started doing Crossfit (www.crossfit.com, www.crossfitmissoula.com)with mrs. rootskier. Right away, I started paying more attention to what I ate. We have always eaten mostly whole, nonprocessed foods, but I had a very high carb diet. Initially, I started reading about the Zone diet, which is very popular in the Crossfit community. However, I hated the calorie counting nature of the Zone. I am bad about measuring things, and additionally, the amount of protein felt insufficient for the volume of work I was doing.

Then I read about the Paleo/Primal diet. The basic premise is that humans have been evolving for over 100,000 years, but have only recently started eating high carb and grain diets. In other words, we evolved to eat meat and fish, nuts and seeds, fruit/berries, and vegetables.

I soon realized it was more than just a diet...it was an idea about some simple principles that everyone could benefit from.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-...mal-blueprint/

1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants.
2. Move around a lot at a slow pace.
3. Lift heavy things.
4. Run really fast every once in a while.
5. Get lots of sleep.
6. Play.
7. Get some sunlight every day.
8. Avoid trauma.
9. Avoid poisonous things.
10. Use your mind.
That’s it.

There is a lot more to it. My parents and in-laws are all on statins, and some of the people who are PhDs and nutrionists have made me wonder about the usefulness of things like cholesterol levels and expensive drugs: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/s...cked-up-to-be/. Also, my family has a history of type 2 diabetes...a fate I am determined not to emulate.

What do you guys think? Anyone else "quit" the carbs and improved performance/health? I should add that my switch has all but eliminated a lifetime of lower intestinal discomfort that is also common in my family. I should also add that I'm not a nazi about it. I eat pizza sometimes, and if I go out to dinner I may very well eat a cheeseburger with the bun and a mess of fries...it's just that these types of things are the exception, not the rule.

I certainly don't claim to be any sort of expert in nutrition, but I just find all of this very interesting. Especially since I was just at my parents house and my dad, the type 2 diabetic, has some South Beach "Diet" Bars, where two of the first four ingredients are sugar and HFCS.

[trouble]

what was the average lifespan of a caveman?

[RootSkier]

Common question/argument. No one is advocating going back to the caveman lifestyle, but the fact is that humans evolved into a pretty incredible species following the above protocols. Obviously, a more sedentary lifestyle with unimaginable advances in technology and medical care, and a huge decrease in potential daily trauma possibility has done tremendous things to advance lifespans.

[alias]

I always balance my beer intake with my cookie intake.

[iceman]

I can't remember the last time I had a good insect.

[Affix Snow]

I can't remember the last time I had a good insect.

Lobster? Crab? Delicious....

[bagtagley]

I always balance my beer intake with my cookie intake.

That's just dangerous and irresponsible. You really need more balance. Try adding some wine, cake and donuts.


Root, I've been trying hard to cut back on my sugar intake, especially at night. It's not about weight loss, but overall health. Bread and starchy foods are proving to be much more difficult, though I'm not totally convinced that I should be avoiding brown and wild rice. Having a kid makes it more difficult because she loves bread, crackers, potatoes....

[iceman]

Lobster? Crab? Delicious....

Actually, no. Insects and Lobsters and Crabs are all Arthropods, but insects belong to the class Insecta while crabs and lobsters belong to the class Crustacea. But thanks for playing.

[RootSkier]

Root, I've been trying hard to cut back on my sugar intake, especially at night. It's not about weight loss, but overall health.

Yeah, I can see how that would be hard. If I didn't FEEL so much better after severely curbing my carb intake I am sure I would not have stuck with it.

Also...sugar, didn't mention it above, but I have almost completely eliminated refined sugar from my diet. Pop = gone, don't miss it. Sugar in coffee....weaned off it slowly. Don't miss it. Dark chocolate with high cocoa count...way more fat than sugar, eat it once a week or so. Same with ice cream, but less often. But again, not a nazi. If someone offers me a piece of carrot cake I am probably going to eat it...and like it.

It has nothing to do with weight loss for me, either. I started working out in a dedicated way to prevent/fix some chronic injuries, and the performance concerns sprung from that.

[Rontele]

Rootskier,

How do you balance your copious intake of cock with the rest of your diet?

I always thought iceman was a stay at home dad, not a zoologist.

[RootSkier]

If semen is mostly fructose, then why does it taste so salty?

[Rontele]

In all seriousness, I am very conscious of everything I put in my body. I try to be as diligent as possible about what I eat, understanding that I am human and prone to lapses for pleasurable items (in my case, bread, cheese and the occassional desert).

I stay away from processed, fast foods almost religiously and never drink, non-diet soda [/high horse]

[grrrr]

And why do you know that?

[watersnowdirt]

I'm terrible with discipline. After 9 years a vegetarian, I think I sort of when the opposite direction. Generally, I'm pretty healthy, but certianly not perfect.

A couple of easy things that pretty much don't add any work to how you shop/eat:

I mostly shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Stay away from all those middle aisles full of processed food.

I look at ingredients, and if it has a bunch of stuff I can't pronounce, I generally stay away from it.

Because I don't eat a lot of sugar, I don't crave it. Makes it easy to cut back.

I don't drink sugary drinks - that cuts out a ton of sugar right there.

Whenever possible, I buy organic, local, seasonal.

Having said all that, I could definitely stand to cut back on fats - cheese and butter (mmmmmm) and eat less pasta (which I unfortunately, love).

[Rontele]

And why do you know that?

He subscribes to Elton John's Cock Diet.

[grrrr]

And in seriousness, I'll say this much - these theories that cavemen didn't eat carbs is just so much bunk.

Just because something sounds logical doesn't mean it has any merit.

Consider this - Civilization grew from grain farming societies that went on to subjugate the hunter gatherer societies. Doesn't that prove that carbs are better for the long term survival of not only the individual but of the species?

[Skijunkie]

I had a pound of choc chip cookies yesterday, I'm kinda addicted. But I only allow my self a bag a week. Besides that I eat pretty well.

Here's what I do so far

1. Keep fat calories as low as possible
2. no trans fat
3. no msg when possible
4. eat all day in small portions
5. eat vegetables when ever I get the chance
6. cook as many of my own meals from scratch when possible
7. and I just started limiting my sugar besides the whole cookie thing

This may not sound like much but I used to just eat meat, msg, and junk food.

[Rontele]

wsd's grocery store perimeter idea is fucking brilliant!

[RootSkier]

The grocery store perimeter is absolutely the most fundametal way most modern city-dwellers can easily improve their diet. Also...as far as ingredients go, reading labels is good and all, but it's totally possible to buy stuff that doesn't have ingredients. In all seriousness, both mrs. rootskier and I have gone shopping this week and we have bought absolutely nothing with 'ingredients' except some bulk almond butter that had some added oil.

edit: oops, cottage cheese has a few ingredients. Forgot that one.

[grrrr]

Well, rootskier, it makes just as much sense as this silly caveman theory, but you fell for that.

[Falldise]

I eat like shit, lots of bacon, toast, donuts, beer, burgers, cheese, pasta, pizza, cake, cheese puffs. You know good stuff like that. But I exercise a ton, so it seems to balance itself out. But I am a pretty big deal so that system may not work really well for you.

[RootSkier]

Well, rootskier, it makes just as much sense as this silly caveman theory, but you fell for that.

Are you angry about something? I am just curious to see what other people think and how other people who are interested in their own performance eat. Obviously you have your opinion, care to share it with us? Or do you just want to pick out one little detail you don't like and harp on that?

[Spark]

Don't fully agree with just shopping the perimeter of the grocery store there are some aisle you have to go down to get health goods like legumes and nut butters, and complex carbs like brown rice, barley, lentils, quinoa, oatmeal (not the instant stuff).

Also, canned and frozen vegetables are good to have on hand when you don't have the fresh stuff.

[Woodlandclown]

I can't remember the last time I had a good insect.

i eat a ton of them whilst riding my bike in the summer. i still come home hungry, they are obviously not worth the calories.

[zion zig zag]

Carbs are fuel, whenever I've cut back I feel sluggish. I'm eating pop tarts right now, to be followed by a bowl of cereal.

I try and eat healthy, but I have a lot of lapses. So I try and live by two simple things, limit trans fats as much as possible and limit myself to 3500 calories for a normal day with no big exercise efforts.