Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Alright, Hackers: I've been eating the right way for about five months. I'm feeling mostly great with a few lingering issues. I've made bone broth. I'm making snide comments to people about the lipid hypothesis. I know my fats. I've held fistfuls of raw, pastured-raised and local organ meats and have stopped grimacing at the taste and instead at the blood splatters on my wall. I have a fairly good understanding of what to eat and what not to eat and why. I feel like I am ready to graduate to Paleo Junior High.

So, what's next? I want a better understanding of it all. I have zero background in science or nutrition but I can learn. I just need a little guidance. Can someone recommend posts from PH, external websites, books, etc? Or, could you prioritize what would be a good starting off point? Should I focus on the importance of one specific mineral or vitamin or how the body functions generally? I really wish that certain people would start a blog (I'm calling you out, Travis Culp).

I apologize if this is vague, but I am just spinning my wheels the last few weeks. Here are a few things I am looking for that might be asking too much: a breakdown of all the essential macronutrients, the role they play in our bodies, food sources for those nutrients, the frequency in which I should consume them, etc.

I also would love a one week menu that would provide all of the essential nutrients without the need for supplementation including serving sizes, etc (assuming I am lucky enough to have access to most everything I would need).

Let me know if I need to provide more info or clarify anything.

Thanks in advance for any help you are willing to lend.

EDIT: to clarify, I am relatively confident that I have the basics down (but please feel free to correct me if I say something wrong). I spend a lot of time on MDA and increasingly more time on Rob Wolf's site. I am gleefully eating offal, I walk 25 + miles a week, lift heavy things, do a sprintish activity. I balance my Omega 6 and 3 fats. I fully appreciate the importance of reducing stress, and I am working on sleep. Regarding sleep, I am getting much more of it but I still struggle to wake up in the morning no matter how early I go to bed. It has been this way my entire life. I have tried "just making myself get up," putting the alarm clock across the room, magnesium, melatonin, exercise, caffeine elimination, alcohol elimination, etc. I am really looking for more information about more of the science behind the diet (like autophagy in IFing and liver glocogens, etc).

edited Apr 27 2012 at 13:57

asked Apr 27 2012 at 5:38

Marcy
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Why don't you start your own blog Marcy so we can learn with you?! – Suz - Paleo Oz Apr 27 2012 at 5:51

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Sounds like you've got paleo down pat already, why make it even more work? Enjoy the results and enjoy life. – Matt Apr 27 2012 at 11:10

I'll hold off on starting a blog until I can add something worthwhile to the internet. In the meantime, I will skulk around and appreciate other people's hard work (like your's, Suz!). – Marcy Apr 27 2012 at 14:03

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Speaking about Travis, where is he :D? I disagree with Matt : if you can do better, try. – Korion Apr 27 2012 at 16:22

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You know, I just read through some of the previous answers on sleep and I want to experiment with a couple things for several weeks before I post the question. I'll update if it doesn't change. I just want to be able to wake up just once without feeling like I am drugged. – Marcy Apr 27 2012 at 18:56

show 2 more comments

Eric · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-27 06:05:18Z UTC

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I would recomend reading The Perfect Health Diet book.

answered Apr 27 2012 at 6:05

Eric
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Awesome, this is exactly what I'm looking for. I am ordering it through my library today. Thank you! – Marcy Apr 27 2012 at 14:02

CaveDad · Answer 2 · 2012-04-27 13:02:17Z UTC

Ohhh, you want to go Paleo grad school? I can help you.

First of all, you probably need to expand your snide remark repertoire.

Next, ramp it up with offal! Our cave dwelling (I know they didn't really dwell in caves) muses wouldn't have wasted any part of the kill and we shouldn't either. Go for liver, heart, tripe, brain.

Make all of your own food from scratch. Source everything local of course and avoid any manufactured food or drink.

Make your own soap from beef tallow and then stop using soap all together when you realize how gross soap is.

Hunting is very Paleo.

Are you still wearing shoes? How Neolithic!

Sleep on the floor, preferably on sheep skins.

Work standing up, never sit, just stand or lay down, sitting isn't Paleo. Squatting is OK.

Speaking of squatting.. Yep, you gotta squat to poo if you are going to go Paleo grad school.

That should do it, once you are doing all these things you most certainly will earn your doctorate of Paleo crazy school (of which I am a proud alum).

P.S. Laughing at yourself is way Paleo.

P.P.S What the hell is a macronutrient?

Nance · Answer 3 · 2012-04-27 18:27:54Z UTC

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I'm with CaveDad. The "next step" for me has been to gradually reduce the amount of logical thought and willpower required to do this--in other words, a transition from "change" to "life."

I can't quite do it yet because I still have excess fat to lose, but I have reached the point that neo-foods no longer register as edible and my patterns are automatic once I reaffirm in my head whether it's a fast/low-density/feast day.

I figure if I have to think about it, I'm not there yet.

answered Apr 27 2012 at 18:27

Nance
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	I can appreciate that, Nance, and thanks for commenting. I guess I just feel like at this level of understanding I have, I am no better than a SAD eater who just parrots what they have always been told without actually understanding it. I know that saturated fat isn't bad for me and won't clog my arteries, but my reason is "Because Mark Sisson told me," just in the same way my dad thinks saturated fat will kill us all because "the Government / my doctor told me." I just want to truly understand my body and the science behind it. – Marcy Apr 29 2012 at 14:21
	@Marcy, that's a very intelligent approach. If you haven't already, you should definitely read/listen to the 3-part series on cholesterol that was done by Chriss Kresser and Chris Masterjohn. I learned a lot from that. – Nance Apr 29 2012 at 15:25
	Great! I am looking it up now. I probably didn't phrase my question correctly, but this is exactly the information I wanted. Links to articles, podcasts etc. to explain the basic concepts more in depth. Thank you! – Marcy Apr 29 2012 at 17:39

Becky · Answer 4 · 2012-04-27 06:29:51Z UTC

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I would recommend The Primal Blueprint. Mark is gifted at making the science understandable. Check out his website, www.marksdailyapple.com

answered Apr 27 2012 at 6:29

Becky
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I like Mark's style too. If you're willing to troll his archives, the book isn't really necessary- all the information is availabe for free on the site. His links to studies are helpful for further research, too. It's a great starting point for me- see his "Definitive Guide To" Series and and maybe start with DGT Protein, Fats, Oils, Carbs, Vegetables, etc. That should get you going! :) – Chris Apr 27 2012 at 13:19

Thanks, guys. I started out on MDA and kind of worked my way into paleo from primal. I still heavily use MDA though because I love the format, Mark is hilarious, and he cites some solid science (from what I can tell). – Marcy Apr 27 2012 at 13:46

tdgor · Answer 5 · 2012-04-27 16:15:56Z UTC

How much sleep are you getting? What are you doing in the way of movement? Are you walking, sprinting, lifting heavy things?

EDIT: Thanks for the additional information above. It sounds like you have the exercise part wired (and the food part, for that matter).

I honestly think that if you want to take things to the next level, you will get more bang for your buck working on the sleep thing than the food thing. Issues of sleep hygiene can be very subtle and the effect of the fixes can be very hard to detect in the short run. I find my sleep tweaks to take six to eight weeks to take effect. In the realm of "just making yourself get up," do have a fixed time to get up every single day without exception? The tendency to sleep in occasionally is universal but having a completely rigid wakeup time (and bedtime, to the extent you can manage it) can help reset your circadian rhythms. There is much much more I could say. However, you asked about food, not sleep so I'll shut up now. ;-)

Next level of paleo - where to go from here?

5 Answers