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