Chris, it is very difficult to be a vegetarian without eating carbs, perhaps even dangerous. You need to get enough calories and without the calories from animal fats (paleo eschews vegetable oils other than olive or avocado or the like) you will simply not get enough to sustain yourself, unless you eat carbs. The calories from fats are what replaces the calories lost from taking carbs out of the diet.

Technically any legumes (beans, lentils, peas) are not allowed in the paleo diet, because of problems associated with the enzymes in legumes and because they cannot be eaten without proper processing. However, unlike grains, there is less resistance to legumes and some people eat them in moderation.

Carbs are necessary to lower because without lowering carbs you cannot switch your metabolism over to the ketogenic process, which works in the absence of carbs; your body will automatically utilize the carbs because it is fast energy. The paleo diet and fitness routines are based on the ketogenic metabolism.

Part of the problem with protein from vegetables is that the body cannot get at most of what is there, even with plant-sources of protein that are as complete as those of soy or quinoa. The amino acids remain locked within the food source by the time it gets to the intestines. This is why the waste matter that is finally released has considerably more mass from vegetable sources than meat sources.

Fish, as a paleo-approved food, is an excellent source of protein and fat, especially because deep water, "blue" fish carry very healthy amounts of Omega-3 fats... the kind you want to increase in your diet. Many people live exclusively on fish. Here in Japan getting good variety in fish is very easy, but it may be more difficult in countries where fish is less popular.

Oats are carbs and if you want to go truly paleo, supposed to be forbidden. If you read the forums in Mark's Daily Apple, though, you will see that a lot of people have a very hard time giving up oatmeal.

"Time for an update photo Doug. Or should I post the before again?"

Spare the community! Unfortunately, I fell off the Paleo wagon. I plan to get right this weekend and get back on track. Fortunately, I've only gained back a couple of pounds. I hope I don't have a bunch of false starts, I need to get on with it.

Miguel,

Thanks for the reply. I suppose with some tweaking I could come up with an "Aquaman" diet. I checked the links you provided in the other (forum cookbook) thread and only found one salmon recipe (it did look nice, though).

I've been wanting to get away from carbs for some time now. I can't put words to it, but when I consume carbs, such as bread, I get a lightheaded feeling and my ability to concentrate decreases. I don't know if carbs are to blame, however.

I just seem to lack energy all around (mornings are rough). I try to compensate with coffee and sweets, which picks me up for a little while, but then I'm feeling unenergetic/unmotivated again.

Once I tried to go a week without carbs. If you don't cook for yourself (i.e., rely on eating out), it is near impossible to do. Carbs are cheap and they fill, hence the reason why restaurants use big portions.

I thought of quinoa as a potential oatmeal substitute (would that even work in terms of flavor/texture?)

But yes, as you mentioned, we do have the best selection of fish here in Japan. If I'm going to embark on this change for the better, I can't think of no other place to do it (well, Seattle perhaps).

Edited by NightMarcher on 01/26/2012 06:37:31 MST.

"I just seem to lack energy all around (mornings are rough). I try to compensate with coffee and sweets, which picks me up for a little while, but then I'm feeling unenergetic/unmotivated again."

The Paleo/Primal adherents (I'm trying to be one of them) will tell you, well, of course! Short term energy, crash, get your brain to scream for more short term energy, crash, ad infinitum. Vicious cycle.

I've read a few of the Paleo/Primal books now, I'd recommend Sisson's "The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation". It's got all the necessary info contained in "The Primal Blueprint," but it's shorter (too many books go on and on and make the same point about 17 different ways, the transformation book only makes the same point 6 or 7 different ways, so it's not as irritating nor as long). But it really helps you understand exactly what you're going through.

Doug - you are aware that scotch is not part of the diet, correct?

"Doug - you are aware that scotch is not part of the diet, correct?"

Why do you think I fell off...... ;-)

The problem with all of this is that there is so much we probably do not know. For some people diets significantly impact their metabolism, for others there is a psychological impact, and then there is stress. Some of this can be a big deal to some people.

Before we started this diet, when I was at home my wife made me eat foods that she thought were healthy and often contained too many carbs, but were "low fat." I travel often and really ate poorly, lots of fast foods. At night I used to snack on chips. But I was not overweight. A large part of this is probably genetic and the fact that I walk everyday and usually do some kind of a hike most weekends. I run a little bit. During the day if I am busy (whether it be in my home office or on the road), I sometimes forget to eat lunch... time just goes by. So I just don't crave food often, except some days I would get a desire for an ice cream cone and would act on that.

I have stuck with this diet, because I really want to be supportive of my wife's effort. I have not experienced headaches or a general lack of energy. At my age (61), I can gain weight if I pig out a lot, but food just isn't a big deal to me. One thing with this diet, I am hungry between meals unlike the past, and I have been eating a lot of nuts and fruits for snacks in between meals. And I do not want to lose weight. I just weighed myself and have lost 8 lbs. So now I am at 150lbs and 5'11." Now if you look at a BMI table (not the perfect tool), I can still lose another 15 lbs and still me in the "normal" range, so the loss is probably not something to be concerned with.

So all of this just means that every person is different and will react differently. I have researched this diet quite a bit and it just makes sense to me. One was a 21 day diet by Dr. Loren Cordain. The 21 days does three things. You will lose weight if you stick with it (good for the mind), you probably will turn it into a good habit, and you will probably start to feel normal again. So at first some people are just going to have to try harder than others if they want their desired results. And that is the really, really hard part.

Chris, yes you can be a vegetarian and paleo. It depends on whether you will eat eggs and or fish or shellfish.

read here:
http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/08/13/ancestral-health-symposium/

and:
http://huntgatherlove.com/node/555

http://paleohacks.com/questions/56799/mingers-talk-why-cant-we-all-get-along-similarities-between-veggies-and-paleo#axzz1UvNZD2BN

good luck.

Edited by MAYNARD76 on 01/26/2012 14:14:33 MST.

Chris, I ran across this today. Thought it might interest you.

(By the way, I think I read that you are in Japan? Which part? I'm thinking of trying to get together a Japan UL gathering. The Japanese UL'ers have been leaving me out of most goings-on (no idea why), so I figure I should take the initiative and gather anyone here willing to meet up.)

Edited by butuki on 01/28/2012 04:01:02 MST.

Miguel,

Thanks for the link. Will check it out.

I am in Tokyo, on the Yokohama side.

I've been doing Paleo for about 7 weeks now and I absolutely love it. I was turned on to it because of a trainer friend and several posts about it being good for people with Chron's disease (which I have). I have to say, with no BS, that I feel better now then I ever have. I have more energy, feel more positive mentally and am overall very happy with the results. I've lost about 18 pounds in these 6 weeks, which I know is not sustainable but, a nice change. I do have the occasional Guinness and I had a quarter of a donut but, I stay pretty strict to the diet. I love the way animals taste!!!
Its definitely not for everybody but, what I do like is that it changes you mentally. What I mean by that is, you start looking at everything before you eat it. You become mindful of it being either good or bad for you. I've learned to pick up some food, Pause, then decide if I want to eat it. That Pause has helped me tremendously. What am I gaining from eating this? Will it really make me be less hungry or is it just something to eat?

This is just my experience and I wanted to share it.

So for you guys doing the Paleo diet, what do you typically eat for breakfast?

Try this. as a start.

Then This site has daily run downs of what the household is eating. Gets you to really understand how this way of eating looks and works.

Edited by butuki on 02/04/2012 05:11:24 MST.

When I was still fishing, I used to strip the egg sack from female trout while I was cleaning them, swish it aound in the stream, and then pop it into my mouth, chew, savor that rich, yolky, raw flavor, and let it slide slowly down my throat. Sigh....
How much more Paleo can you get? :0)

How much more Paleo can you get? :0)

Not much! :^D

"Not much! :^D"

Thanks, Miguel. Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment. :0)

Mostly eggs. I don't really seem to get tired of eggs. I often saute some onions and/or mushrooms, maybe some bell pepper, or sun-dried tomato, or spinach, or whatever veggie I have around--add a little ground beef or sausage, or no-nitrates bacon and a couple of eggs. Maybe a little fruit on the side. I have adjusted to drinking my coffee black. You could make coconut pancakes for a treat.

i will usually have some chicken tenders I made the night before with a bowl of fruit. Breakfast is the hardest meal but, I've noticed that when I do have the tenders for breakfast, i'm fuller, longer and have been taking my lunch later. With oatmeal or other carb loaded food, I would go get lunch at 11:30 on the dot, vs now at 1 or 1:30.

Edited by czechxpress on 02/05/2012 22:36:52 MST.

Have any of you tried monitoring your cholesterol levels, pre and mid-Paleo? This would require going to the doctor to do some blood workup, but I am curious as to how cholesterol levels would change when switching over to this type of diet.

Also, I seem to recall that dairy doesn't receive the Paleo seal of approval. Why is that? After all, cheese would be a great portable, shelf-stable source of protein and fat.

Kimberly, Coconut pancakes do sound lovely. I will need to Google a recipe, but if you have any tried and true recipes, I would be interested in trying them.

Edited by NightMarcher on 02/12/2012 02:37:45 MST.

Chris, I just made the following coconut pancake recipe (That I found at: www.nourishingdays.com) yesterday and they were outstanding! The texture reminded me of buckwheat pancakes.

Ingredients:
4 eggs at room temp.
1 cup coconut (or raw cow's) milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbl honey, or pinch of stevia
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions:
*Preheat griddle to medium or low heat.

*Beat eggs until frothy.(~2 min) Mix in milk, vanilla & honey.

*In a different bowl, combine coconut flour, baking soda & sea salt, whisking together.

*Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

*Grease griddle w/coconut oil or butter.

*Ladle a few tablespoons of batter onto the griddle for each pancake, spreading it out slightly with the back of the spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter & fairly thick.

*Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly & the bottoms start to brown. Flip & cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

*Serve hot w/ butter, coconut oil, honey, small amount of syrup, or mashed up fruit.

Edited by hoosierdaddy on 02/12/2012 11:55:20 MST.