Paleo Part 3 - The Good, the Bad and the Great Bonk

Paleo – The Good, the Bad and the Great Bonk

It’s been about two months since I began eating Paleo. Eating what?? If you missed the first two blog posts about this, check them out here.

I’m Going Paleo: What, How, Why?

Paleo Eating: The First 10 Days

So how is it going? I’ve been getting this question a lot from clients, boot campers and friends.

Let’s look at this in terms of the good, the bad and the ugly (or the Great Bonk).

The Good. Always start with the good stuff. I switched to Paleo and immediately saw significant positive changes in my body composition, physical appearance and energy.

• I dropped 9 lbs in the first few weeks. It was all fat loss. My body fat % dropped from about 13 to around 8.5%. Most of it was in the lay around my gut.
• That change in body comp led to a leaner, stronger look that was noticed by my colleagues and friends. It was without a doubt the leanest and strongest I’ve ever looked.
• My energy level improved as did my sleeping habits. No more late night carb binges and no more bloated feeling throughout the day. I woke up ready to go.
• And without getting into too much detail, my digestive system profoundly changed for the better.

The Bad. Any significant change to your eating habits is accompanyied by challenges. For me, the nutritional changes were not too bad. I thought giving up sweetened drinks would be hard but it wasn’t. Unsweetened iced tea became my drink of choice. Eliminating dairy was easier than I thought as well. I replaced milk with almond or coconut milk. No problem. My grain and processed carb consumption was also low.

But there are challenges that have made it tough to stick to Paleo.

• Weight loss is not a goal of mine. Losing the 9 lbs put my under 200 for the first time in 20 years. There is something about being under that number that concerns me. Even though I felt fine I thought I needed to eat more or add more carbs to up my weight.
• My friends are not necessarily eating Paleo. I have determined that keeping granola and ice cream in the house for my girlfriend when she visits is not something I can do. If those two items are around I eat them, plain and simple.
• It can be expensive to buy whole foods all the time. I found about a 25% increase in my food budget. I believe it is worth the investment but it is something to be aware of.
• Meal prep takes time. My schedule permits me time to prep meals on some days and no time on other days. I have friends who do all their meal prep on Sundays for the week. I have not gotten to that level of nutritional organization yet. Still working on it.

The Ugly (or The Great Bonk). I tend to do a lot of endurance events. 5+ mile runs and 50+ mile bike rides can be weekly things. On one of my first Paleo-fueled training sessions I learned an important lesson.

I was prepping for a Run/Canoe/Bike/Run event with my training partner Michelle. One of our early training sessions was a 40 mile bike ride followed by a 3 mile run. The ride started well. We did the first 25 miles at a strong pace. I had fueled up on bananas and other fruit in the morning but I was not taking any energy bars (lots o’ carbs) or energy gels (even more simple carbs) because they weren’t Paleo.

Michelle challenged me to do the last 8 miles at race pace. That’s where the trouble began. We rode hard and with one mile left I felt some weakness in my legs. I stopped at a grocery store and grabbed two pears and quickly downed them to get me through the run.

The start of the run was ugly. I was slow and had no rhythm. A mile in Michelle recognized there was a problem and suggested we turn back. “Nope, let’s keep going.” Bad idea. I bonked (athletes term for running out of energy) bad. In one fell swoop I got light headed and the world began to shimmer like an impressionist painting. I slowed to  a walk. Michelle stuck with me. And for the two miles back to the car I was walking slowly. Any effort to jog lasted only 10 seconds. My body was desperately looking for my energy to burn and I had not been giving it enough. I had never experienced a bonk like that before. I knew that going forward if I expect to do long efforts I need to change up my Paleo plan.

The Bottom Line. I have made some tweaks to my Paleo eating. I keep a supply of natural energy bars on hand and take energy gels with me on longer events. I also have become less rigid with my Paleo eating to help stop the weight loss. I am not opposed to an occasional pasta meal or some desserts. However, that has led me to be a little too laxed lately. I am still trying to strike a balance.

Look for more updates in the future. 

Paleo eating -- First 10 days

Getting Started with Paleo

I’m 10 days into my paleo way of eating. If you missed it, I decided to begin eating ‘like the cavemen/cavewomen’ in order to improve my health and workout performance. Basically, it’s meat, fish, vegatables, fruit and nuts for me from now on. Check out my earlier blog for more details.

I’m happy to say that one week in I am still standing upright, getting in good workouts (with one exception), and have lost 5 lbs. More on that later.

First off, I should explain a few things that make this transition easier for me than for most people. I am a fitness trainer by profession. I spend a lot of time reading and talking to people about health, fitness and nutrition. The knowledge I gained from this industry already had me part way to paleo. For example, I cut down on pasta years ago, I also experimented with many different fruits and vegatables that I never ate as a kid (corn and green beans in my house growing up – most likely from a can), but I still had some problem areas.

Let’s dig into those problem areas now, shall we.

Sweetened beverages – mainly iced tea which I drink all the time. Over the years I went from sweetening with splenda to sugar to eventually a tablespoon of honey when I make it on my own. I also would stop at the local convenience store and buy sweetened tea sweetened with ‘real sugar’ (as if that somehow makes it better) to the tune of about 36g per serving.

Dairy – Since I was a kid I have been addicted to milk. I could drink it non-stop all day. Unfortunately, I always felt milk was better if paired with a cookie, brownie, muffin or granola. I have to admit that the main reason I ate sweets up until a few weeks ago was because of this milk/sweet pairing I loved so much. I ditched milk for soy milk a couple months back and the addiction got worse. I was drinking a half gallon a day. And chocolate soy milk…it might as well have been a million dollars.

Legumes – I ate beans, mostly black beans, as a protein source. I’m a big fan of Mexican food so a wheat wrap with beef or chicken, salsa, and black beans was a staple. They are gone now but I can still make a great burrito paleo style.

So how did the first 10 days go

Armed with “Everyday Paleo” by Sarah Fragoso I went to the local Wegman’s to fill my pantry and fridge with the essentials. My next blog with talk about the essentials and what I did with the non-paleo stuff I had in the house.

Breakfast has been easy. In the past I would eat 3 eggs for breakfast or granola with milk. The granola and milk are gone. Now it is 3 eggs, an avacado, maybe some virginia ham, a banana or other fresh fruit and coconut or almond milk.

Lunch is usually leftovers from a prior night’s dinner (beef, chicken, fish and veggies). I also add in some almonds or peanuts. If I’m not in the mood for leftovers I go with a burger loaded up with fresh tomato, onion, greens and spices.

Dinners have been awesome. Sirloin Dijon, Moroccan Chicken, Asparagus-stuffed Chicken Breasts, Coconut Shrimp. I love them all (although I overcooked the sirloin a little.) What I have noticed most is I am not hungry in the evenings any more. If I do get a sweet tooth and satisfy it with an orange or cheeries or strawberries.

Did I ‘cheat’?

I ate 95% paleo for 10 days and I expect to eat 90% paleo over the long haul. I don’t believe in restricting foods. I do believe that once you eat clean and realize how certain foods make you feel lousy you will voluntarily say no to them. Over the first 10 days I had a scoop of ice cream at Freddy Farms after mini-golf, a few handfuls of chocolate granola, and a small slice of strawberry cheesecake….all guilt free.

In my upcoming blogs you’ll hear:

• How to setup your pantry and fridge for paleo eating
• My brutal bike ride and why paleo for endurance athletes might be troublesome
• What changes I am seeing in my workouts and body composition

I’m Going Paleo – What, Why and How?

Your reaction to me saying “I’m going paleo” probably falls into one of four categories.

“Really, that’s interesting, tell me more.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“What or where is a paleo?”

“Who cares?”

This series of blog posts are aimed at all of you. The “who cares” contingent probably won’t read for long but might learn something when they do read. The rest are likely to have your questions answered while you learn about the how’s and whys of choosing to eat paleo.

I will be learning along with you, in real time, while experiencing what if any impact it has on my health, strength, mood, endurance, stress, speed, outlook on life and many other factors. My intent is to share with you what it means to eat paleo, from shopping to cooking to the inevitable 'cheating'. I hope you enjoy the read and, if it is right for you, join me.

Let’s get the first question out of the way. What is paleo?

It is a way of eating that mimics our hunter-gatherer ancestors based on the notion that humans have, over the millenia, genetically adapted to eating meats, fish, vegetables and fruits. Our modern diet, just a blip on the historical timeline, based primarily on grains, legumes, dairy products, processed foods and refined sugars predispose us to sickness. Basically, our bodies are used to us eating like a caveman/cavewoman so we should do so.

Why am I choosing to go paleo?

In February I will be going to the C.R.A.S.H. B World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston. My goal is a top 100 finish in the Open category and a top 10 in the Masters Division.

Primarily paleo is an experiment for me. Some of the fittest people I know are strict paleo followers. They choose it to stay lean and fit but they probably would be that way anyway given the amount of effort they put into their workouts. More importantly to me, eating paleo improves their results. Whether it is strength, cardio capacity, or race times…by most measures they get better, stronger and faster.

I believe eating paleo will give me greater capacity to go faster and finish better at the event. As a by-product, I want to see and feel the health benefits of paleo eating.

In upcoming posts I'll discuss my pre-paleo nutrition and let you know how I got started. This isn't the first attempt, just the first serious attempt at "going paleo". Wish me luck.