Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts - PaleoHacks.com

Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T09:50:24Z

Hello fellow paleo community Abit of background first. I'm 22 years old, 6'1, 180 pounds, 7-8%BF, strength train 4 times a week.

I've been following a fairly strict paleo diet for the past year. After numerous attempts at various diets (vegan, raw vegan, fruitarian, anti-inflammatory diet) I stumbled upon Dr. Dadamo's Genotype diet (updated version of the blood type diet). The book categorized me as a Hunter. It had a strict chart of beneficial foods and foods to avoid (gluten, dairy, seed oils). The diet is very similar to a Paleo diet but does however omit certain vegetables and fruits (ie: avocado, coconuts, apples) due to lectin content. After a 100% strict adherence to the recommended guidelines and strength training 4 times a week I got extremely lean. I looked and felt amazing.

I started to follow Robb Wolf's podcast and stumbled on Paleo Hacks. The common consensus amongst users was for people to limit my intake of nuts and cut back on fruit. I decided to eat simply meat, vegetables and coconut oil for 2 months in hopes of further improving my health. For someone doing resistance training 4 times a week this was a bad move. I was lethargic and was constantly tired. I decided to re-introduce carbs in the form of sweet potatoes post workout only. I did notice some improvement in regards to my performance but I still felt sluggish.

Well I finally decided a few weeks ago to re-introduce more fruit (3-4 servings a day) and increase my intake of nuts (almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, macadamia butter etc) and I am starting to feel good again. My workouts are better and I'm once again leaning out while keeping muscle. I eat lots of organic veggies, grass fed beef, free range eggs, wild fish and chicken.

Since changing my diet once again a typical day would be something like this: -Breakfast: 2 bananas and a cup of blueberries -Breakfast #2: 4 eggs cooked in ghee with some veggies (broc, peppers, kale, swiss chard) Workout -Post Workout: Protein (fish, beef, chicken) with veggies and sweet potatoes covered with olive oil -Snack: a good amount of nuts and celery dipped in almond butter -Supper: Veggies and Protein (see PW meal)

If I get hungry between meals I will have more fruit

So my Question is.... Does anyone else feel better/don't see a harm in eating more fruits and nuts?

Answer by Adam Farrah for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T10:42:49Z

I definitely eat more fruit than is typical for Paleo. One reason is likely that, when my health and digestion were very poor, I lived on mashed bananas for a few months. They were abut all I could digest. I just don't have a real fear of fruit - for better or worse.

Nuts are another story, as they don't seem to digest well for me.

But, lots of bananas - often balanced out with coconut oil and rice protein - tend to work really well for me. Mangos also work really well for me in smoothies. Apples don't work very well for me and neither does citrus.

Adam

Answer by Jenn for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T11:34:57Z

I don't eat a lot of fruit, but it seems to me you've got it dialed in on what works for you.

Answer by cliff for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T12:01:57Z

I eat a ton of fruit. I personally think most paleo people are limiting fruit based on dogma(which is based off faulty science) to there detriment.

Answer by Kewpie for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T12:05:07Z

I don't see any harm if it is working for you. There is no one-size-fits-all with paleo. It's all about figuring out what works best for your body. It sounds like you've found it.

I probably eat more fruit than most paleo folks. I usually had at least 3 servings a day in the summer. I'm eating less fruit now because I eat locally and seasonally as much as possible and there is less fruit available at this time of year. However, I generally don't eat more than one serving of nuts or nut butter at most. Some days I don't have nuts at all.

Answer by JayJay for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T14:34:29Z

Fruit and carbs in general are all based on your activity level and your goals. If your hitting it hard 4x/week and your already lean without metabolic syndrome and your only 22 so your metabolism is naturally higher than older persons then have at it.

The nuts thing is more about o6/o3 ratio than anything. I like em myself, so it falls under the "whatever" category for me. May want to limit them if your fighting an autoimmune inflammatory disease.

Answer by Tom R. for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T17:09:25Z

Like the others who have responded, sounds like you are dialing it in. If you "look, feel, and perform" the best with more fruit and nuts, I say get it. I usually will have one banana, a couple servings of berries/cherries and maybe an orange in a day. I'll also usually have a small handful or two of almonds and/or cashews. Seems to work for me as well.

Answer by Erica for Feeling better eating more Fruits and Nuts

2011-11-19T18:03:36Z

For me, personally, I basically don't consume any fruit (other than the very rare banana), but I compensate by getting my carbs from sweet potatoes, squash, and other starchier vegetables. I know that my body doesn't do well on VLC, I aim to get in around 100-130g carbs a day.