Paleo Diet for Athletes...Your Thoughts. (Page 2)

It's not a belief system and I am over 40. If simple carbohydrate food causes you to gain weight easily, then they clearly need to be consumed in moderation. A balanced diet based more on whole foods as mentioned above a few times is the answer as opposed to more draconian all or nothing type solutions, certainly for the long haul. What we eat is a choice. No one put's a gun to anyone's head and forces them to eat something. We all need to simply take responsibility for our actions in regards to our diets. Beyond impulse control, people use food for all sorts of other things including emotional support. Peoples relationship with food and the choices they make IS the problem, not the carb content of pasta or bread. I still assert that the carbohydrate isn't the bad guy here, it's how much of it you eat. It's really very straight forward but the diet industry makes it very confused.

Yes, it's your belief system.

For me:
<50 grams of carbs == lose weight
<100 grams of carbs == stable weight
>100 grams of carbs == weight gain.

I've been trying to get to any other way this works and that's what happens. I'm glad you've found a way that works for you and probably works for most. For some carbs are indeed the bad guy. If you cannot accept that then I really don't care. Enjoy your beliefs, I only know what works for me and this OP asked if others were having success on such a diet. Oddly enough I saw that what I've found in the past four years of trial and error is well within the OP's question so I answered.

Enjoy your evening.

Edited by DanielG 2009-12-07 4:17 PM

You misunderstand my point, Daniel. I agree with you. You have found that "moderation" which works for you.


...and why do I get the impression you aren't being sincere when you wish me a good evening?

Edited by bryancd 2009-12-07 4:26 PM

well, sorry to hear fruits and vegetables make you fat.

I dont think I would eat them if they made me pork up, either.

Glad to see you can identify what contributes to weight gain...sometimes the most difficult part of losing weight and keeping it off is realizing what is good for you, some people never learn this no matter what, and go as far as blaming their bodies just dont react well to what are typically good foods.

  It is good to see you have.  Congrats!

I did misunderstand you, apparently. I apologize for that but yes, I've found what works for me.

I was actually being quite serious wishing you a good evening. Disagreement, even or perhaps especially due to misunderstandings, should never be cause for boorish behaviour.

The other thread on this was very interesting and informative. As I mentioned in that thread, I'm ready to start this diet 100%, but I can't cause I have a half mary this weekend and can't afford to feel weak, as some people and the book have mentioned happens in the first two weeks. As a side note, I'm not doing this diet to lose weight. I already eat pretty healthily, and I'm nearly below the healthy weight for my height. But my diet is full of grains, and I have GI issues on every single long run or high intensity run. I'm also always hungry. I have a six pack but my stomach sticks out cause I eat so much food all day long. So when I read that this diet resolves GI issues, gives you more energy, doesn't leave you feeling too hungry, and is generally more healthy than what I was currently eating, I decided to give it a shot. I do like others' suggestions about basically following the guidelines of the diet but adding in grains as desired, but in moderation. I could see myself ending up doing that.

Since I have never really had a weight problem, I have never really dieted. But, I couldn't imagine any endurance athlete thriving on a low-carb diet.

Personally, my diet (for most of my life) has most closely followed the Mediterraen diet principles.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet include:

¦Getting plenty of exercise and eating your meals with family and friends
¦Eating a generous amount of fruits and vegetables
¦Consuming healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
¦Consuming healthy whole grains
¦Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
¦Eating small portions of nuts
¦Drinking red wine, in moderation, for some
¦Consuming very little red meat
¦Eating fish or shellfish at least twice a week

I love carbs, especially pasta at least 2x a week. but always consume the whole-grain variety.

I try to eat mainly whole foods if possible.

Not saying it would work for everyone, but seems to work for me.

It's not a low-carb diet. You get carbs from fruits and vegetables. And can have other carbs before, during, and after a workout.

Edited by SeminoleTriathlete 2009-12-07 7:38 PM

That's pretty well me also. I've done Atkins and have recently finished the book Paleo Diet for Athletes. I ended up just reducing carbs overall and that works well for me.

I found Atkins just too tough to stay on as I love whole grains. The Paleo Diet for Athletes is far more liberal than Atkins but still a bit too much for me to completely follow. But reducing carbs does help a lot in how a feel, no question.

For me carbs beget carbs. The more I eat the more I crave so controlling them is very beneficial..

I should correct this to say "complex carbs like whole grains and pasta" ( the carbs in fruit and vegetables cause no problems whatsoever)




Edited by raveon 2009-12-08 12:07 AM

Man, I have no idea how someone can do a lo-carb diet, and then train significant (or even not-so-significant!) volume. 

If I'm running as "little" as 5 miles per day and doing NOTHING else sports-wise, I'd be dying on that lo-carb diet! Crank it up to the equivalent of 10-15 run miles per day across 3 sports, and I feel like I'm constantly carbo loading! 

I really don't understand why people think Paleo diet is that expensive. If you read the book there are tons of ideas for cheap healthy meals. Since, you will be buying less of junk(non Paleo) foods and buying more of the Paleo foods your grocery expense should not change much and even if it does it is marginal. Remember, you will eat smaller portions of higher quality foods or mix of foods that will keep you moving for longer. I spend on average 60 dollars a week on groceries and I live in one of the most expensive areas to live in the US.

L

Hum, I am not into the Paleo diet but I have been reading the thread here and the one on the nutritional link and it is not a low carb diet.  It just get's the carbs from a source other then wheat and what not.  But, veg away.  This diet however is for sure not very vegetarian friendly at all.  Which is ok with me.  I like what I eat and it doesn't cause me any issues.

Compared to a diet full of high-priced processed junk foods, the foods okayed by the Paleo diet aren't expensive.  Compared to a diet that makes use of dairy, legumes, starchy vegetables, and whole grains, the Paleo diet is about twice as expensive.  I would be willing to give the Paleo diet a shot as a test run, but gram for gram, getting some carbs from quinoa, amaranth, yams, and potatoes and some carbs from fruits and vegetables is way cheaper than getting all your carbs from fruits and vegetables.  Similarly, I can't afford to make meat and eggs my main source of dietary protein -- there's a lot of cottage cheese in my diet.

I have a quick question - how do the two books (Paleo Diet, Paleo Diet for Athletes) work? My wife and I were talking about trying this together - I would do the Athletes version and she'd stick with the "basic" version. If I buy the Paleo Diet for Athletes book, would it have everything that is in the base Paleo Diet book, or do I really need them both?

-Matt

I have both...she could do the Paleo Diet from the one for Athletes. The basic eating is the same the athlete version has the pre training, training and post training information. The basic information on all the rest of the eating is similar.

My husband and I have been doing Paleo or a variation of it Primal me for last 3 months and him last 2. I've been on a variations of paleo for last 7 years so differences aren't as great as in him. He has dropped 5% body fat and feels so much better.

Be prepared that the first 2 weeks are hard then it takes maybe 6 weeks to fully adapt.

I got the Paleo book for Athletes and it wouldn't be for me either.  I read the theories, etc, but when I looked at the list of what not to eat,  there's no way for me.  I eat lots of veggies, fruits and lean proteins, and in moderation, I like whole grains, pastas and rices.  I enjoy my cereal or oatmeal in the morning.  I also enjoy dairy - low fat milk, yogurt and cheese.  The way I eat is keeping moderation in mind, not overindulging, and these days, I can certainly tell when I eat too much crap - I feel like crap, but with everything in moderation, I feel good.  It works for me.   Healthy oils are key.  I eat natural and organic when possible - things with as few ingredients as possible, etc, but the Paleo just wouldn't work for me.  And, yes, I think it would cost a ton, but maybe that's just a perception!  Eating organic isn't cheap either!!    Just my 2 cents!

You can eat whole grains, pasta, rice, oatmeal and cereal when you time it with workouts..within an hour before your workout and then again after your workout.

Goal is to use those types of carbs to fuel workout and not get stored as fat so timing of when you eat them in important and keeps your insulin levels more level.

Thanks for the clarification!  That makes total sense!  I've read a good chunk of it, but must have missed some the important parts!!