On Feb 19, 2006, at 6:05 am, Greg Davis wrote:
> I've been eating along paleo lines for about 6 months now and since
> I find myself sticking to certain eating patterns so I thought I'd
> see if anyone on the list thinks I'm eating too much/too little of
> anything.
>
> I'm 23 yrs old and have always been very lean. I've dropped about
> 10 pounds to 175 (I'm 6'0) since going paleo but haven't noticed
> much change in body composition.
Greg - you sound quite like me (I thought I was alone). I'm also 23
and about 6', and weigh slightly less than you (about 75kg which my
calculator tells me is about 165lbs). Can I ask why you got into
paleo? Most people don't look at their diet until well into their
30s when bits start dropping off them.
> Living a student life with a tight budget my meals are very plain
> and repetitive. Most of my paleo interest came from following Art
> De Vany's blog which I think is the best advice out there.
I *don't* live a student life and I still eat repetitive meals!
Right now I'm fond of roast pork leg or belly, with a roast parsnip
or 2 and roast mushrooms (soaked in the fat from the meat) and a
couple of carrots mashed with cauliflower mixed with beef dripping
and whatever fat is left from the pork. I'm drooling just writing
that :) Anyway I eat this 3-4 times a week and I could quite happily
eat it every day. I don't ever get bored of foods on paleo.
> Every fourth or fifth day I eat sparingly, sometimes not anything.
An intermittent faster too :) I tend to eat once a day, sometimes
with a small snack in the day. I plan to start skipping days some
time. I have days now when I'm not that interested in food, but I
will be living with my mum for a few months at least and she makes it
her duty to see I over-feed myself.
> My goals are to maximize muscle, minimize fat and keep my weight up.
>
> Have been eating about 3-4 meals a day that each basically consist of:
> - 1 portion of meat (grain-fed) or seafood (cold-water) or omega-3
> enriched eggs
> - 1-2 handfuls of mixed tree nuts
> - 1 piece of fruit (mainly berries,apples,oranges)
> - at least 1 serving of dark green and other vegetables
> - 1 tbsp of olive oil or udo's oil
>
> ... I'm concerned about eating too much of the wrong fats in the
> long run. ...
You were eating WAY too much of the wrong fats before you started
paleo, and you've probably eliminated at least 95% of the cause of
illness (eg bread, cheese) so personally, in your situation I
wouldn't worry. You won't be a student forever, and when you are
earning more you can eat grass-fed beef to your heart's content.
(Unless you move in England, in which case you'd need to spend half
an average wage just to eat properly).
> Need to keep my calories up because I train with weights and play
> quite a bit of sports weekly, so I'm relying on eating high fat,
> might not be getting enough carbohydrates since I rarely if ever
> eat root vegetables and stay strictly paleo.
Carbohydrates are absolutely, completely, 100% unnecessary for human
health or fitness. They can be used for energy, but it is only in
high-intensity competitive athletics where you *need* the extra
energy to gain a competitive advantage. For most sane levels of
workout there is not need at all. (Hell it should be possible to go
without *food* for several days and still train, never mind carbs).
> Also any suggestions for getting some more calories in there at
> meals or supplements I should consider ?
I just add some extra fat. When I eat mince meat, I fry it in some
extra beef dripping. When I mash vegetables, I always add a bit of
fat. If I'm eating something "non-absorbent" I often have some
mushrooms to soak up the excess fat.
Ashley
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