Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Any comments/warnings about my numbers would be greatly apreciated!! Also do my guidelines seem correct according to current paleo norms? Is there a good resource to find current expected paleo norms on blood work?

I haven't been eating Paleo yet. My normal diet isn't far from paleo, except i was consuming grains and too much fat. I did this blood work as a baseline before getting ready to try paleo for 60 days. I try to eat a healtly diet and do cardio and resistance training. I average around 400 miles per year of running and lift weights six times a week in smaller workouts(<40mintues). I was on Doxycycline antibiotics for MRSA (apparently a lifelong issue)the week before the test, so not sure how/if any that might affect the numbers. I was really surprised my A1C,CRP,eAG, and TC were all so high. My nutritional intake for the last 94 days has been around 2,217 calories (fat 44%, Protien 20%, carbs33%) I've gain around 1.5 ibs muscle and lost 23.2 ibs fat over this time frame. my carbs of cource will be much lower with paleo and already consume probably too much fat. I eat a lot of avacadoes.

Male, age: 32.4
weight: 256
height: 5'10"

A1c: 5.6                    GUIDELINE: "[4,4.9] > 5 you have big problems brewing per robb wolf", [4.6%,5.4%] per *1
CRP: 2.74                  GUIDELINE: < 1.0 mg/l
Cholesterol, Total: 153        GUIDELINE: 120-140 mg/dl
Triglycerides: 74           GUIDELINE: 50-80 mg/dl
HDL-C: 42                   GUIDELINE: > 50 mg/dl ( ATP-III says > 59 possilbe CHD risk), but seem paleo advice is don't worry with high #'s
vLDL-C: 15                    GUIDELINE: the smaller the better
LDL-C: 96                   GUIDELINE: 40-70 mg/dl
LDL Particle size: predominantly typeA  GUIDELINE: predominantly typeA
Total Cholesterol/ HDL Ratio: 3.6       GUIDELINE: the smaller the better
est avg Glu (eAG): 114              GUIDELINE: 60,  <83 per *1

*1 http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/16422495.php

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    calories    F   P   carb F % P % carb %
JAN 2361        95  120 225 36% 20% 38%
FEB 2296        101 112 231 40% 20% 40%
MAR 2366        117 127 189 45% 21% 32%
APR 1845        123 88  97  60% 19% 21%
avg 2217        109 112 186 44% 20% 33%

EDIT:

I usually go on 3 to 5 month cycles. So, 3 to 5 months of a cleaner/reduced nutritional intake and increase exercise, then 3 to 5 months just maintaining with reduced exercise. I still keep exercising, just less time and intensity. In the past i've done cycles mainly just running or mainly just weights. Currently I'm doing a mix of HIIT cardio (indoor rower/running) and weights. Lately I’ve been doing around 10miles per week cardio and six weights sessions a week. Smaller sessions work better for my schedule than 4 bigger days.

I've been training consistently for the last two years with the exception of perhaps two periods around a 1 month each i just did nothing. I'm 5'10" and went from 340 to 255, however i still have a good bit of fat to loose to get healthy. I take time off/reduce training as my body tells me it needs more rest. I can tell based on how fast i recover from weights.. if i am eating enough or just wore out. I sleep like a rock. I mentally don't feel stressed or depressed in life.

I look forward to some works, dread others (because of being tired, in that case i usually back off the intensity). I'm still experiencing strength gain via calculated 1 rep max's and/or volume per exercise each week. I've been trying to progress slowly on weights. I appreciate the advice, percentages and study citation, and your time in looking at my data.

edited Apr 5 2012 at 20:46

asked Apr 5 2012 at 15:52

SeripisChad
1●2

	120-140mg/dl total cholesterol?! That's dangerously low!! See: perfecthealthdiet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/… – DePaw Apr 5 2012 at 19:08
	@DePaw I got it from 'The Paleo Solution' pg 236. Thanks for the info. – SeripisChad Apr 5 2012 at 21:00
	Are those red guidelines from Cordain's? No wonder. He's the low TC guy. Also, his eAG # is off, too. 60 is damn hypoglycemic. Btw eAG is not an actual number tested but just your A1c converted to average blood sugar. Your CRP could be elevated due to the antibiotic but your other #s look good. I'd retest. Has your TC always been this low? If it's this low, I wouldn't worry too much but I'd be aware of the link between perennially low TC/LDL and cancer. – Namby Pamby Apr 6 2012 at 4:11
	@Namby Pamby Thanks for the response. I'm going to retest in 60 days of a more paleo diet type and no drugs in the system. I know i should have waited, but i had already scheduled the appointment and was excited to get on paleo. – SeripisChad Apr 6 2012 at 12:22

Andreas · Answer 1 · 2012-04-05 17:03:37Z UTC

Fasting glucose somewhat high, maybe caused by IR. Lipids doesn't seem that extreme. Your diet must have worked OK for you to loose so much weight. With further weight reduction, your BG should go down due to improved insulin sensitivity. If you go VLC, it could cause IR in itself, so I would suggest caution, with to extreme avoidance of carbs, like eat some starchy stuff like potatoes on a daily or near daily basis.

e.istre91 · Answer 2 · 2012-04-05 17:29:36Z UTC

Lifting six times a week...yea that'll be your CRP level right there. And you are running something like >1 mile a day. Jesus. Professional athletes can't handle that workload. (I feel like I've been on a crusade against overtraining lately. Everyone seems to do it...)

I literally almost had a heart attack for you. That is way too much training. Way way too much. For anyone.

My usual host of questions:
How long have you been training consistently? (1-3 week breaks still count as consistent)
When is the last time you took some time off from training?
Do you have insomnia, or have recently developed problems sleeping?
How stressed do you normally feel throughout the day?
How do you feel post workout?
Do you look forward to your workouts or do you dread each and every one?

If you've just started weight training in the past year, and only managed to build 1.5 lb of muscle...you are definitely overtrained.

I would also say your cholesterol is actually a little low. Between 160-240 seems to be about ideal, below 160 you have increased risk for psychological issues. Above 240, something is going on that needs to be corrected, most likely.

A study of 121 healthy young women found that those with low cholesterol levels - below 160mg/dl - were more likely to score high on measures of depression and anxiety than women with normal or high cholesterol levels. Normal cholesterol levels are considered to fall within the range of 180mg/dl to 200mg/dl. There is now a compelling body of evidence in both men and women that low cholesterol is a potential predictor for depression and anxiety in certain individuals. [Psychosomatic Medicine, May 1999]

Your fat percentages look good from the diet data you provided. I don't see any concern in needing to lower that. You could probably shoot somewhere between 30-40% fat, and 30-40% carbs.

My key piece of advice to you:

Chill out. Really. You are training way too much. I can give you more details on proper amounts after you answer my questions :).

Got my pre-paleo blood work. Numbers seem high, should i be concerned? Any comments appreciated.

2 Answers