On Being Paleo...Part 1: How Did I Arrive Here?

Ok, so a little background before I begin. Part of the reason I took so long in restarting my blog this year was debating over content. Do others really care about what I have to say, and also what of value do I have to contribute. When I finally decided to get going, one of the things I knew I was going to share was regarding nutrition and some of what I've learned over the last two years. So with that, here is the first of a couple of blogs about how I ended up on the Paleo diet, what I've learned, some of the myths, and why/how its worked for me. I do caveat, everything I say here may not be applicable to everyone AND I'm not a doctor.

So, for the first blog how and why dear god would I want to cut out gluten? To answer I need to go back a ways. So forgive my digression and enjoy the ride I'll take you on.

So 2 years ago, I was overweight not very but somewhat. For my height (5'10") I weighed in at 175 but my % body fat put me in the overweight category. Not by much, but enough I wasn't happy. The spare tire I had built in grad school was not going away. All my clothes from yesteryear had been subbed out for size 34 and almost 36 jeans in some brands. I longed to wear size 31-32 jeans again! Looking over old photos you could see the change in my face..and er waste. So I wasn't happy with my looks.

In addition I was having problems with my gut which went undiagnosed for quite a while. The problems would strike at what appeared to me to be random times and was very uncomfortable. The gut problems had a hole host of symptoms with it none of which ever left me feeling great.  Following conversations with my doctor we never quite figured out what was wrong although a dietary problem was suspected.

Now, lets throw in one more problem, I also discovered around the same time, I was having allergic reactions to beer, worst of all wheat beer. Where anyone normal could drink beer and feel fine, I would have hangover like symptoms; and swelling my lips, throat, and face; and congestion all within 45 minutes. So with that I tried to minimize beer intake. I will note, all other libations were consumed with no reaction and with proper planning no hangover, however with beer I never avoided a hangover.

So there is the background of where I was, in short, slightly fat, with stomach problems, and beer allergies.

So in 2009, I began my first bit of weight loss in the spring during which I went low carb for 2 months. In that period I lost about 8 pounds and was not below 170. Goal 1 achieved. I felt better and was on the road I wanted to be on. Also because I was low carb, I cut out gluten and noticed an improvement in the gut problems. Still the high levels of salt and other things about the diet left me wanting more.

So through summer 2009, my new diet consisted of eating rite. I did lots of research into calorie counting, traking carbs, optimal mixes of veges/fruits/meats etc. The biggest bang for the buck here was calorie counting. With that practice and exercise I hit 160 by fall 2009. Goal 2 achieved. There was now 15 pounds less of me to love and I was back to size 33 jeans. However, the problems with this approach. Conflicting information to sort through on how much of you SHOULD be taking in of carbs/proteins. There is good information on sources of protein, carbs, fats, etc. But the ratios are tough to figure out. I made lots of decisions of what felt right for myself.

During this period there was one diet that was in the back of my mind, but it seemed impossible for me to take on. The Paleo Diet. I was introduced to it in 2009 when I bought a training plan and it recommended the diet. I bought two books:














They seemed perfect for what I was trying to do, but trying to go paleo required breaking lots of habits which were long engrained in me...a brief two week foray into it in 2009 failed miserably.

Now in 2010, attempt number two. This time, I brought Becky on board so that cooking and living the paleo lifestyle would be much easier. After all, it takes a village! So in January 2010, we set about a full on hard-core 3-month paleo lifestyle. Since the initial 3 month phase I've been living a more relaxed but still paleo-centric lifestyle.

What happened, in that first 3 months of paleo goodness I went from 160-151 and have stayed there. Success, I'm at a weight I"m much happier with. I can go uphill much faster. Except for 2 instances post race, I've been away from beer for 9 months. I don't miss it or the allergy problems. I consume wine and am becoming more and more a wine snob.

Now, the benefits mentioned above were great. However, the biggest and most unexpected one relates to the gut problems. They are gone! Completely. The suspected culprit is gluten which also explains some of the problems with wheat beer.

Now as I'll mention more in a later post, the paleo diet is like an anti-inflammatory diet on steroids. Where as other anti-inflam diets allow other refined grains, the paleo diet cuts them all out. Rice, wheat, tapioca, quinoa all gone from the diet. This leads to natural weight loss. But for those who have allergies to things like gluten, those allergies clear up. Basically, while I may not have celiac, my doctor related that I probably have a gluten intolerance. This leads to bowel inflammation, which untreated leads to long term problems. Now because I had been consuming gluten all my life and had been suffering the inflammation problems for a long time, it took about a month for all the problems to clear up when I initially went paleo. It also explains why I didnt' see the full benefits of being gluten free during my low-carb phase the previous year.

Some other benefits I saw:

low salt meant less bloating
natural amounts of weight loss
more consistent energy levels throughout the day (no highs or lows due to insulin spikes)
reductions in general allergies (again I mentioned its an anti-inflam diet on steroids)
overall improved health

Some of the cons:

eating or snacking all the time
increased in food budget (hey the corporations have use eating cheap on refined food filling our stomachs with alot of crap)
difficulty adjusting diet to work adequately with cycling (the athletes book provides a good basis but it took alot of trial and error to get pre/post and on-the-bike nutrition to keep me from bonking)

So with that, I'll go into more detail on some of these issues in future posts.

Cheers

J