Paleo Diet

Don Wassall

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Anyone ever tried it for a while and if so what do you think of it?

I'm on a semi-paleo diet right now, but can't completely cut out Coke so I try to limit my intake to one Coke a day and maybe one or two Diet Cokes. Does the Paleo diet work if you deviate from it that much? I can't drink only water all day long, day after day.

I've always counted calories when dieting and am dubious that you can eat as much as you want on the Paleo diet and still lose weight. I just can't see eating 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day or more and still losing weight, at least not with my metabolism.
 

Leonardfan

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Hey Don - I have never tried the Paleo but just as a recommendation on a substitute for coke - have you every tried flavored seltzer waters? I was never real big into soda - I will admit to having a can of coke now and then but I mostly drink - coffee, water (or seltzer water) and beer (or hard alcohol every now and than). The seltzer isn't a bad substitute and has zero calories.
 

The Hock

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A couple guys at work went on the Paleo and they are in better shape than they were a year ago. It worked for them. I'm thinking of trying it.
 

icsept

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Avoiding dairy seems like a key part of the paleo diet. Cheese is off the charts high in fat and sodium, not to mention addictive.
 

Don Wassall

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I'll try flavored seltzer waters, but I'm so used to having some caffeine and sugar via Coke that I'll probably never be able to stop completely, but if I cut back significantly that's pretty good. I love beer but can go weeks or months without it. I've been on this diet for about two weeks and have lost some weight (I go by how clothes fit rather than a scale), so the semi-Paleo combined with reduced calories seems to work best for me. But dieting takes will power and man do I notice all the commercials for food at night when I'm hungry!
 
Joined
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I'm new here.I know a bit about proper nutrition easier than writing about it look here.Nina Teicholz
Author of The Big Fat Surprise
http://thebigfatsurprise.com/
One more part stay away from anything with wheat in it,including beer,it's not a beer belly it is a wheat belly,wine,whiskeyinstead.
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/blog/
Finally I had a major heart attack then open heart surgery that morning a little more than 30 months ago.
Surgeon told me first get away from wheat,then change your diet and try and be a saturated fat burning person,basically eating very small amounts of carbohydrates the rest,egg yolks,fatty meats,whole milk,etc.Some people call it ancestral.The very first time in my life that my blood pressure is "normal."I lost 30 lbs since then. Eat what your Great Grandparents ate.
Great interviews by Nina,
Go Pats,I cannot wait till next Sunday!!!
 

Don Wassall

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This was just published on the Return of Kings website:

Go Hardcore And Cut Weight Like A Man
Hardcore-3b-1.jpg


Here we go gentlemen. If you’ve finally decided it’s time to burn off that extra weight and get back to your glorious and lean former self, then buckle up. You are going to come out of the gate hard, never look back and set the tone for the rest of your life. In a few short months you will transform your physique and develop the habits to excel as an elite physical specimen.

It’s time to go hardcore and cut weight like a man.

Go Badass
The first step is to cut out all alcohol, sugar and wheat. This will keep things simple and eliminate a huge swath of empty and harmful calories. It will also set the proper discipline for the rest of your life. After six months of eating as a man should you will have the energy to go full throttle all day, every day.

If you did nothing else but remove these three items from your diet you’d be well on your way to success. If you stay away from processed foods as well, all that remains are choices which will lead to fewer calories consumed as a natural course of action—more on that later.

Alcohol
Let’s start with alcohol. This is a tough one, but necessary if you’re going to go all out. At first you will make it an absolute because you’ve made a hardcore decision the weight is going to come off. Calories will be limited and they will need to sustain you through a transition from eating your fill at every meal, to eating at a caloric deficit until you reach your shredded prime. This new habit will be greatly aided by consuming quality sustenance and by maintaining a clear and focused mind.

Do yourself a favor and man up by quitting alcohol while you cut. Later, when you’ve reached your goal, you can reassess the limited consumption for relaxation and recreation.

In fact, let’s take it to another level and limit your beverages to black coffee and water. You will drink black coffee for pleasure and water to stay hydrated. Both are calorie free and in line with your new clear and focused resolve.

Hardcore-4.jpeg

Water and Coffee Only

Sugar And Wheat
Next are sugar and wheat. These two items, especially wheat, are responsible for the cultural surge in weight and diabetes here in the United States. They both have the same effect on your metabolism, but wheat is the stealth killer of the two.

Refined sugar from sweets and beverages is an obvious source of empty and wasteful calories. No problem, you’ve made a man’s decision and will also make them an absolute no go until you get to where you need to be. Then like alcohol, and once the shallow habit is broken, the occasional indulgence will be allowed after you reach your goal.

Now on to the underlying cause of weight gain in the American diet.

Despite the rampant promotion of whole grains as a replacement for cholesterol and fat by the U.S. government and medical establishment since 1985, wheat has basically the same effect inside your body as refined sugar. Not coincidentally, the year 1985 marks the beginning of the rapid upward climb in body weight and diabetes here in the United States. Culturally, we are now a nation where wheat based products are pervasive and dominate our diet.

Glucose And Insulin
Both refined sugar and wheat are converted into glucose or blood sugar once digested. In fact, the glycemic index (blood sugar or glucose level) of whole wheat bread is higher than that of table sugar once metabolized. Imagine that, whole wheat bread is worse for you in some ways than table sugar and yet remains the darling of the U.S. federal government and other health advocates.

Each of these sources of bloodstream glucose results in a surge of insulin. This is a metabolic response to remove and convert them to stored fat. Unlike with protein, fat and more complex carbohydrates, this rapid glucose-insulin cycle will lead to hunger again in about 2 hours. Thus, emerges the need for between meals snacking, the resultant storage of more fat and another round of sugar high and then sugar low.

This is the crux of the obesity problem in western society. Break away from the slothful masses and remove sugar and wheat from your diet. Each meal will sustain you longer and as a natural consequence you will consume less.

Hardcore-5.jpeg

Focus on Meat and Vegetables

Eat Paleo Plus
What to eat then you ask? Eat as we have as a species for 99.5% of our existence. Basically that means to eat Paleo or as we did as hunter-gatherers.

It is only in the past few thousand years that humans converted to an agricultural existence and radically changed our evolutionary diet. Eat Paleo and you will avoid the modern repeated glucose-insulin cycle and end up consuming the macro and micro nutrients we have evolved best to thrive on.

Today this means eating chicken, beef, fish, eggs, vegetables, tubers (root based food), nuts and berries. To these I would add dairy and rice which are not strictly Paleo, but will allow for an additional variety in a family setting. Keep the consumption of rice and non-berry fruit to a minimum to avoid their simple carbohydrate content.

Eat At A 25% Dynamic Deficit
Now that you know what to avoid and what is best to eat, you will consume at a 25% deficit below your breakeven caloric number. This is the daily total at which you will maintain your weight.

A good rule of thumb is to multiply your current weight in pounds by 14 or 15. For example, if you weigh 200lbs your breakeven number would be between 2800 and 3000 calories. Your actual number will vary based on metabolism and activity level. My advice is to be conservative and use the lower of the two. Thus, for a 200 pound man a 25% deficit would mean a daily budget of 2100 calories.

Also structure your diet so that you shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. In other words, make the basis of your diet meat, eggs and vegetables. These meals will provide the foundation for your new muscular and explosive frame, as well as keep you full as you lose the weight. Find a smartphone application such as MyFitnessPal to track your daily consumption.

And finally, as the pounds burn off keep the pressure on your metabolism and maintain the 25% deficit. In other words, keep dropping your daily caloric number. Get the job done.

Hardcore-2.jpeg

Get Serious and Reap the Benefits

Lifting And High Intensity Training
I did say go hardcore and cut weight like a man, right? You want to lose weight, add muscle mass and then pursue an elite physical excellence from there. We don’t want you to end up losing a bunch of weight just to end up skinny soft and then put it all back on again.

Our metabolism has evolved to slow down as we lose weight. This is a survival mechanism to prevent starvation. As a result, your breakeven number will drop and eventually lead to rapid weight gain once consumption returns to normal. Sound familiar?

The answer to this metabolic adaptation is lifting weights and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Both will raise testosterone levels, add muscle mass and increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

The body’s BMR is responsible for the vast majority of calories burned on a daily basis. It is the minimum amount of caloric energy necessary for your body to function at rest.

Adding muscle mass and putting your body under stress through resistance training and some form of HIIT (such as sprints or 2 minute rounds on the heavy bag) will raise your BMR. It will counteract the metabolic slowdown from losing weight.

Hardcore-1.jpeg

Work Up a Sweat Every Other Day

Take Control
There you have it gentlemen. Cut out all alcohol, sugar and wheat. Eat meat and vegetables at a 25% caloric deficit. Limit beverages to black coffee and water. Lift weights and do sprints.

If you are serious about losing weight and pursuing a jaw dropping physical transformation you have your answer. In six months you can be a new man if you choose to do so. Make a man’s decision, go hardcore and become a Force of Nature.

http://www.returnofkings.com/112763/go-hardcore-and-cut-weight-like-a-man
 

Heretic

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Joined
May 1, 2015
Messages
3,261
I'll try flavored seltzer waters, but I'm so used to having some caffeine and sugar via Coke that I'll probably never be able to stop completely, but if I cut back significantly that's pretty good. I love beer but can go weeks or months without it. I've been on this diet for about two weeks and have lost some weight (I go by how clothes fit rather than a scale), so the semi-Paleo combined with reduced calories seems to work best for me. But dieting takes will power and man do I notice all the commercials for food at night when I'm hungry!
Don, if your local grocer has this type of Coke that came out a couple of years ago, you may want to give it a try as a replacement for the regular Coke that is loaded with GMO corn-syrup or the Diet Coke that is loaded with aspartame. It's sweetened with both stevia (completely natural and calorie-free) and pure cane sugar...a much better, lower-calorie and healthier alternative.
 

FootballDad

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Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
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Somewhere near Kansas City, MO
This was just published on the Return of Kings website:

Go Hardcore And Cut Weight Like A Man
Hardcore-3b-1.jpg


Here we go gentlemen. If you’ve finally decided it’s time to burn off that extra weight and get back to your glorious and lean former self, then buckle up. You are going to come out of the gate hard, never look back and set the tone for the rest of your life. In a few short months you will transform your physique and develop the habits to excel as an elite physical specimen.

It’s time to go hardcore and cut weight like a man.

Go Badass
The first step is to cut out all alcohol, sugar and wheat. This will keep things simple and eliminate a huge swath of empty and harmful calories. It will also set the proper discipline for the rest of your life. After six months of eating as a man should you will have the energy to go full throttle all day, every day.

If you did nothing else but remove these three items from your diet you’d be well on your way to success. If you stay away from processed foods as well, all that remains are choices which will lead to fewer calories consumed as a natural course of action—more on that later.

Alcohol
Let’s start with alcohol. This is a tough one, but necessary if you’re going to go all out. At first you will make it an absolute because you’ve made a hardcore decision the weight is going to come off. Calories will be limited and they will need to sustain you through a transition from eating your fill at every meal, to eating at a caloric deficit until you reach your shredded prime. This new habit will be greatly aided by consuming quality sustenance and by maintaining a clear and focused mind.

Do yourself a favor and man up by quitting alcohol while you cut. Later, when you’ve reached your goal, you can reassess the limited consumption for relaxation and recreation.

In fact, let’s take it to another level and limit your beverages to black coffee and water. You will drink black coffee for pleasure and water to stay hydrated. Both are calorie free and in line with your new clear and focused resolve.

Hardcore-4.jpeg

Water and Coffee Only

Sugar And Wheat
Next are sugar and wheat. These two items, especially wheat, are responsible for the cultural surge in weight and diabetes here in the United States. They both have the same effect on your metabolism, but wheat is the stealth killer of the two.

Refined sugar from sweets and beverages is an obvious source of empty and wasteful calories. No problem, you’ve made a man’s decision and will also make them an absolute no go until you get to where you need to be. Then like alcohol, and once the shallow habit is broken, the occasional indulgence will be allowed after you reach your goal.

Now on to the underlying cause of weight gain in the American diet.

Despite the rampant promotion of whole grains as a replacement for cholesterol and fat by the U.S. government and medical establishment since 1985, wheat has basically the same effect inside your body as refined sugar. Not coincidentally, the year 1985 marks the beginning of the rapid upward climb in body weight and diabetes here in the United States. Culturally, we are now a nation where wheat based products are pervasive and dominate our diet.

Glucose And Insulin
Both refined sugar and wheat are converted into glucose or blood sugar once digested. In fact, the glycemic index (blood sugar or glucose level) of whole wheat bread is higher than that of table sugar once metabolized. Imagine that, whole wheat bread is worse for you in some ways than table sugar and yet remains the darling of the U.S. federal government and other health advocates.

Each of these sources of bloodstream glucose results in a surge of insulin. This is a metabolic response to remove and convert them to stored fat. Unlike with protein, fat and more complex carbohydrates, this rapid glucose-insulin cycle will lead to hunger again in about 2 hours. Thus, emerges the need for between meals snacking, the resultant storage of more fat and another round of sugar high and then sugar low.

This is the crux of the obesity problem in western society. Break away from the slothful masses and remove sugar and wheat from your diet. Each meal will sustain you longer and as a natural consequence you will consume less.

Hardcore-5.jpeg

Focus on Meat and Vegetables

Eat Paleo Plus
What to eat then you ask? Eat as we have as a species for 99.5% of our existence. Basically that means to eat Paleo or as we did as hunter-gatherers.

It is only in the past few thousand years that humans converted to an agricultural existence and radically changed our evolutionary diet. Eat Paleo and you will avoid the modern repeated glucose-insulin cycle and end up consuming the macro and micro nutrients we have evolved best to thrive on.

Today this means eating chicken, beef, fish, eggs, vegetables, tubers (root based food), nuts and berries. To these I would add dairy and rice which are not strictly Paleo, but will allow for an additional variety in a family setting. Keep the consumption of rice and non-berry fruit to a minimum to avoid their simple carbohydrate content.

Eat At A 25% Dynamic Deficit
Now that you know what to avoid and what is best to eat, you will consume at a 25% deficit below your breakeven caloric number. This is the daily total at which you will maintain your weight.

A good rule of thumb is to multiply your current weight in pounds by 14 or 15. For example, if you weigh 200lbs your breakeven number would be between 2800 and 3000 calories. Your actual number will vary based on metabolism and activity level. My advice is to be conservative and use the lower of the two. Thus, for a 200 pound man a 25% deficit would mean a daily budget of 2100 calories.

Also structure your diet so that you shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. In other words, make the basis of your diet meat, eggs and vegetables. These meals will provide the foundation for your new muscular and explosive frame, as well as keep you full as you lose the weight. Find a smartphone application such as MyFitnessPal to track your daily consumption.

And finally, as the pounds burn off keep the pressure on your metabolism and maintain the 25% deficit. In other words, keep dropping your daily caloric number. Get the job done.

Hardcore-2.jpeg

Get Serious and Reap the Benefits

Lifting And High Intensity Training
I did say go hardcore and cut weight like a man, right? You want to lose weight, add muscle mass and then pursue an elite physical excellence from there. We don’t want you to end up losing a bunch of weight just to end up skinny soft and then put it all back on again.

Our metabolism has evolved to slow down as we lose weight. This is a survival mechanism to prevent starvation. As a result, your breakeven number will drop and eventually lead to rapid weight gain once consumption returns to normal. Sound familiar?

The answer to this metabolic adaptation is lifting weights and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Both will raise testosterone levels, add muscle mass and increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

The body’s BMR is responsible for the vast majority of calories burned on a daily basis. It is the minimum amount of caloric energy necessary for your body to function at rest.

Adding muscle mass and putting your body under stress through resistance training and some form of HIIT (such as sprints or 2 minute rounds on the heavy bag) will raise your BMR. It will counteract the metabolic slowdown from losing weight.

Hardcore-1.jpeg

Work Up a Sweat Every Other Day

Take Control
There you have it gentlemen. Cut out all alcohol, sugar and wheat. Eat meat and vegetables at a 25% caloric deficit. Limit beverages to black coffee and water. Lift weights and do sprints.

If you are serious about losing weight and pursuing a jaw dropping physical transformation you have your answer. In six months you can be a new man if you choose to do so. Make a man’s decision, go hardcore and become a Force of Nature.

http://www.returnofkings.com/112763/go-hardcore-and-cut-weight-like-a-man

Nice diet. I'm not overweight, but this sounds like a good basic diet/regimen to add muscle and tone up. The article (and many others) mention wheat as a awful grain. And it is, in our current GMO/overprocessed world. Our ancestors ate plenty of wheat, but usually in a sprouted form which gives it an entirely different nutritional profile. For those who would love a diet like this but still want bread, I recommend this stuff. It doesn't keep for weeks like normal store-bought bread, but that tells you something. It also tastes amazing.
 

DixieDestroyer

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Thanks FBD. I've been aiming to give that paleo/caveman diet a shot. I've also tried the Ezekiel bread before, too...it's pretty good (& healthy).
 

Don Wassall

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Don, if your local grocer has this type of Coke that came out a couple of years ago, you may want to give it a try as a replacement for the regular Coke that is loaded with GMO corn-syrup or the Diet Coke that is loaded with aspartame. It's sweetened with both stevia (completely natural and calorie-free) and pure cane sugar...a much better, lower-calorie and healthier alternative.

I've looked around and haven't seen it, it must not be in this market.

Anyway, I'm doing pretty well on my diet even if I'm not as disciplined with them as I used to be. I bought a dip bar about a year ago and it's made a difference in my upper body strength. Looking to lose about 12 to 15 pounds to get to my "fighting weight" now that we're in the Trump era of renewal, about halfway there now.
 

Carolina Speed

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Anyone ever tried it for a while and if so what do you think of it?

I'm on a semi-paleo diet right now, but can't completely cut out Coke so I try to limit my intake to one Coke a day and maybe one or two Diet Cokes. Does the Paleo diet work if you deviate from it that much? I can't drink only water all day long, day after day.

I've always counted calories when dieting and am dubious that you can eat as much as you want on the Paleo diet and still lose weight. I just can't see eating 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day or more and still losing weight, at least not with my metabolism.

I'm not sure what the paleo diet is. I guess I'll do some research on it later. Here's what worked for me. I was a big time soda drinker for a long time. We have something in NC called Sun Drop. It's kind of like Mountain Dew, but tastes better and it's horribly loaded with sugar. Terrible for your health and could cause diabetes. A little over 2 years ago I quit drinking soda cold turkey and literally went through withdrawals and haven't had one since. I know how hard it is to quit drinking them, but I'm so glad I did. I lost 15 lbs. by just drinking water only. I would eat about anything I wanted, cut my bread intake down somewhat, but drank water only, sometimes sweet tea or occasional Gatorade. I used flat bread for my burgers and sandwiches instead of the regular buns. I was 220 and went to 205 lbs. in 2 weeks. However, I weight train like a mad man.
Then, as most of you know, I was diagnosed with throat Cancer and lost another 45 lbs. to 160. I have since made it back to about 185 lbs. I guess what I'm saying is, for me, I can eat about anything I want as long as I drink mostly water and keep working out hard!
Also, by cutting out sodas and alcohol you save lots of $$$!
 

Don Wassall

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I'm not sure what the paleo diet is. I guess I'll do some research on it later. Here's what worked for me. I was a big time soda drinker for a long time. We have something in NC called Sun Drop. It's kind of like Mountain Dew, but tastes better and it's horribly loaded with sugar. Terrible for your health and could cause diabetes. A little over 2 years ago I quit drinking soda cold turkey and literally went through withdrawals and haven't had one since. I know how hard it is to quit drinking them, but I'm so glad I did. I lost 15 lbs. by just drinking water only. I would eat about anything I wanted, cut my bread intake down somewhat, but drank water only, sometimes sweet tea or occasional Gatorade. I used flat bread for my burgers and sandwiches instead of the regular buns. I was 220 and went to 205 lbs. in 2 weeks. However, I weight train like a mad man.
Then, as most of you know, I was diagnosed with throat Cancer and lost another 45 lbs. to 160. I have since made it back to about 185 lbs. I guess what I'm saying is, for me, I can eat about anything I want as long as I drink mostly water and keep working out hard!
Also, by cutting out sodas and alcohol you save lots of $$$!

The basic idea behind the paleo diet is that by eating what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, one naturally gets leaner and healthier. So that translates into eating lots of meat, vegetables and certain fruits, and not eating sugar, dairy, alcohol, starch, wheat, processed food, and junk food in general. The article in post #7 above covers it pretty well.
 
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