I think this is a sad case of correlation vs causation.
The paleo diet seems very similar to the atkins diet, and the whole argument that "we should eat like our ancestors did many years ago" is suspect at best. People from 100k years ago didn't live any where near the number of years we live today. But there is something to be said about thinking about why the diets we have today have come to be.
I believe in a diet that is not concentrated in any one area (grains, meats etc) that is both cost effective and keeps my energy high. Furthermore, one that hasn't been shown in studies to be concentrated in any one thing that is known to dramatically increase certain diseases.
In addition, I do strongly believe that when a woman is pregnant, she must eat very well and avoid anything that causes spikes in her blood sugar. Obviously diets that are well-balanced, avoid process foods/sugar will accomplish this.
I personally find that I don't particularly feel good when I eat a large amount of steak or a large amount of bread.... but ya.
Do you follow a paleo diet? Do you attribute any "gains" you had while on the diet to improvements in other factors such as (eating better on average, increased exercise etc)?
I prefer a diet along the lines of "most things in moderation." Paleo and Atkins diets get bad raps b/c some people see them as excuses to eat sticks of butter wrapped in bacon finished with a filet for every meal. I don't think there is anything wrong with a diet that mimics that of our ancestors, a more realistic "paleo" diet probably consisted of far more plants, vegetables, roots, nuts, seeds, etc than meat. It's a joke how easy it is to get meat today, 1000 years ago when you had to find and kill your meat, not so much.
I do think it is important to limit insulin spikes and elevated blood sugar levels through food intake. Most of the time I consciously try to avoid foods that will yield detrimental results like these. For me, this means little to no sugar, starch, or grains. Unfortunately for 22/23 years of my life I've eaten pizza, pasta, and ice cream and that shit is too good to completely let go of. Eating pizza, pasta, or ice cream once in a while will not kill you, lead to diabetes, or make you obese. Eating it every day will.
I don't have any quantifiable data to back up any "gains" that have resulted from a specific diet but I know I feel significantly better before, during, and after work outs, sleep better, feel happier, and have more energy when I don't eat processed foods, starches, grains, sugar, or consume alcohol for sustained periods of time. I find if I can sustain this type of lifestyle ~80% of the time for 10-14 days I will feel awesome. There may also be some correlation/causation arguments here b/c when I do maintain this type of lifestyle it usually means I have a good amount of free time, can go grocery shopping, can cook most of my meals, and can work out most days. On the other hand when I travel a lot, don't have time to cook most of my meals, etc, I tend not to work out at all, so I think, unfortunately, I live in what could be construed as two extremes--really awesome, or really shitty.
For the next 4 weeks or so I'm going to try to sustain a really awesome lifestyle in preparation for the Rachel Carson Challenge. Ultimately, the only thing I care about is beating Bonak.
I think this is a sad case of correlation vs causation.
ReplyDeleteThe paleo diet seems very similar to the atkins diet, and the whole argument that "we should eat like our ancestors did many years ago" is suspect at best. People from 100k years ago didn't live any where near the number of years we live today. But there is something to be said about thinking about why the diets we have today have come to be.
I believe in a diet that is not concentrated in any one area (grains, meats etc) that is both cost effective and keeps my energy high. Furthermore, one that hasn't been shown in studies to be concentrated in any one thing that is known to dramatically increase certain diseases.
In addition, I do strongly believe that when a woman is pregnant, she must eat very well and avoid anything that causes spikes in her blood sugar. Obviously diets that are well-balanced, avoid process foods/sugar will accomplish this.
I personally find that I don't particularly feel good when I eat a large amount of steak or a large amount of bread.... but ya.
Do you follow a paleo diet? Do you attribute any "gains" you had while on the diet to improvements in other factors such as (eating better on average, increased exercise etc)?
I prefer a diet along the lines of "most things in moderation." Paleo and Atkins diets get bad raps b/c some people see them as excuses to eat sticks of butter wrapped in bacon finished with a filet for every meal. I don't think there is anything wrong with a diet that mimics that of our ancestors, a more realistic "paleo" diet probably consisted of far more plants, vegetables, roots, nuts, seeds, etc than meat. It's a joke how easy it is to get meat today, 1000 years ago when you had to find and kill your meat, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is important to limit insulin spikes and elevated blood sugar levels through food intake. Most of the time I consciously try to avoid foods that will yield detrimental results like these. For me, this means little to no sugar, starch, or grains. Unfortunately for 22/23 years of my life I've eaten pizza, pasta, and ice cream and that shit is too good to completely let go of. Eating pizza, pasta, or ice cream once in a while will not kill you, lead to diabetes, or make you obese. Eating it every day will.
I don't have any quantifiable data to back up any "gains" that have resulted from a specific diet but I know I feel significantly better before, during, and after work outs, sleep better, feel happier, and have more energy when I don't eat processed foods, starches, grains, sugar, or consume alcohol for sustained periods of time. I find if I can sustain this type of lifestyle ~80% of the time for 10-14 days I will feel awesome. There may also be some correlation/causation arguments here b/c when I do maintain this type of lifestyle it usually means I have a good amount of free time, can go grocery shopping, can cook most of my meals, and can work out most days. On the other hand when I travel a lot, don't have time to cook most of my meals, etc, I tend not to work out at all, so I think, unfortunately, I live in what could be construed as two extremes--really awesome, or really shitty.
For the next 4 weeks or so I'm going to try to sustain a really awesome lifestyle in preparation for the Rachel Carson Challenge. Ultimately, the only thing I care about is beating Bonak.
fair enough! least you understand how difficult it is to actually quantify lifestyle. Correlations are a bitch :(
ReplyDeleteoh and good luck on the rachel carson challenge!
ReplyDelete