Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Hey guys. I 24 years old, am 5'6, and I weigh 132 pounds. I recently just started to do the Paleo Diet and Crossfit in hopes of becoming healthy and also gaining muscle mass. I am however confused on how to go about dealing with my nutrition. I added what it is I plan on eating to livestrong to see what I am getting for protein, carbs etc. This is what I have. http://imgur.com/CCLeX . Alot of those ingredients I put into a smoothie that I drink during the day. My question is what foods should I add/remove, how are my numbers, and how should I go about my nutrition on the days I work out compared to the days that I do not(I work out 3x a week). I really appreciate your guys responses.

Thanks Alex

flag	asked Dec 17 2011 at 19:29 Alex 21●1●4

	Message me if you would like help. In short, 1) Eat a slight caloric surplus 2) Eat at least 130g protein/day 3) Ditch Crossfit 4) Pick 8-12 basic exercises working all major muscle groups and get stronger in them, training at @75-85% of one-rep max. Choose compound exercises (involving the movement of more than one joint) when possible--for example, squats rather than leg extensions, overhead presses rather than side laterals, etc. – Daniel Kirsner Dec 17 2011 at 21:28
	If you are doing diary, there is the whole GOMAD approach. Mark Sisson says instead why not try dozen eggs a day. I know Robb Wolf at some point was drinking Goats Milk post workout. – pbo Dec 17 2011 at 21:43
	PBO-I think I am going to try and avoid dairy. Not positive but I am pretty sure I am lactose sensitive, maybe even intolerant. Going to get tested when I get back to the states Daniel-Thanks for the response. I tried to figure out the messaging system on here but failed. What constitutes a slight surplus? I am aiming for 3500 a day. Too much? Right now I am at 225g of protein a day. Excessive? I rather enjoy crossfit. Curious to know why you are against it. Its a crossfit gym, not the crossfit program where you do it in your house. – Alex Dec 17 2011 at 23:47
	cont. The group atmosphere motivates me far more than what I could manage to do by myself. And we do do a bunch of squats and overhead presses. Think I am going to stick with it. 4. I do try though if I feel crossfit did not get everything that I would have liked to do the stuff that I feel it missed when I get back to my apt. – Alex Dec 17 2011 at 23:49
	paleohacks.com/questions/35405/… – Futureboy Dec 18 2011 at 1:52

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Clayton · Answer 1 · 2011-12-17 20:03:58Z UTC

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Go read the book.

answered Dec 17 2011 at 20:03

Clayton
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	..what book????? – Alex Dec 17 2011 at 20:06
	not trying to be a dick either, but there's a lot of people lately who "go" Paleo and have the slightest clue what it means or where to start. I advise you to read the book, you'll learn more from that then what you can get from people's opinions online. – Clayton Dec 17 2011 at 20:06
	The Paleo Diet book written by Loren Cordain - the founder of the oringial human diet. Technically, he didn't "create" the diet because it's always been accessible to us here on Earth, but he put it together in nice paperwork form so we can all learn about. There's also the Paleo Diet for Athletes written by Loren Cordain. If you're CrossFitting or just working out, it's a great book about post and pre-workout nutrition. – Clayton Dec 17 2011 at 20:09
	you said you recently started xfit? does your box have a nutritional program? if so, they should have already spoken to you about what the Paleo Diet is and how to get started. – Clayton Dec 17 2011 at 20:11
	Really? I have done a fair amount of research when it comes to the Paleo Diet. I did not come to this decision on a whim. I am a celiac. Paleo has numerous health advantages. Its cheaper to make one's own food. Makes alot of sense. I do realize that sweet potatoes are the one thing that I am eating that is not technically paleo but its a small slight. They are very healthy and I love them. I also feel like my question does not really show ignorance when it comes to the diet but rather is just trying to get confirmation that what I am doing is good. Better to be safe than sorry no? What book??? – Alex Dec 17 2011 at 20:11

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Eric · Answer 2 · 2011-12-17 20:19:44Z UTC

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Your food looks good and will evolve overtime. You might add a cup of cottage cheese before bed. Lift big: Squats deadlift and bench press. If you do run do sprints once or twice a week. 6-8 sprints per workout

answered Dec 17 2011 at 20:19

Eric
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	Cottage cheese is not paleo tho right? – Alex Dec 17 2011 at 20:31
	Strictly speaking dairy is not included in Paleo. However it is a frequent addition. – Eric Dec 17 2011 at 21:05
	It's up to you. If dairy is okay with you and you get grass fed cottage cheese I see no problem with it. – pbo Dec 17 2011 at 21:41

shah78 · Answer 3 · 2011-12-17 20:29:55Z UTC

What Kurt G. Harris M.D. is to Paleo, Vince Gironda is(was)to Bodybuilding.(especially for the hard gainer) . Both are at the top of their food chains, and both are indeed, Honey Badgers.Google: Vince Gironda. Lots of free stuff about him, and by him. R.I.P. :)

NoGlutenEver · Answer 4 · 2011-12-18 02:09:59Z UTC

whoa, celiac - that's an important piece of info. How long have you been GF?

In addition to checking for lactose intolerance, you may also want to check for casein intolerance and confirm that you are ok with eggs. Gluten intolerance is permanent, but any other intolerances may not be.

You could try cow or buffalo milk ghee, which is lactose and casein free. A good source of calories and vitamin K.

In other words, if you don't gain, you may need to be GF longer or even more strict that you have been ( are you very sensitive to gluten) or you may have additional (and possibly hidden) intolerances.

Finally, my spouse can gain weight and muscle with effort, but maintenance is a bear. He has to be very consistent about eating a lot of protein. One gluten mistake and he tends to lose a lot of weight. On the other hand, he continues to make strength gains. But none of this happened until he'd been off eggs for one year (they're back now) and had been gluten and casein free for 2.

Bill1102inf · Answer 5 · 2011-12-18 05:48:54Z UTC

1) Go to Mark Ripptoes site 'Starting Strength' to learn how to properly do Squats, Deadlifts and Bench.

2) Then go to stronglifts dot com and download the free E book there which explains the 5x5 method.

3) Then learn to do the squat correctly, begin the workout routine and add in GOMAD if you want/need to.

OR do anything else and come back here in a month or 3 or 6 or 12 when nothing else works out.

Want to get bigger? Write down someplace SQUAT - 225lbs, 3x5 . Make that your goal, its perfectly attainable by you and every day ask yourself: Am I moving closer or further from my goal? You will make all the adjustments you need in order to get there.

Enjoy!

AndyM · Answer 6 · 2011-12-18 11:29:15Z UTC

If you're not gaining, eat more. I like the look of your list but as well as the salmon you mention, I'd suggest some big fatty steaks and organ meats. Plain chicken breast is the minimum you can get from an animal, and animals are where it's at for growth. There's a whole bunch of different ways you can structure your eating but it's basically finding what works for you. The only other significant factor of course is the recovery. It may not be ideal but you should still see gains with 3x a week, if you eat enough and get lots of sleep etc. Otherwise, you may want to consider cutting back. Really high-intensity once a week is enough to stimulate growth, and gives time to recover before hitting it again. But as you say, if you actually do better with a group then you should be able to get what you need from that - just don't be afraid to take it easy some days. If you're not feeling at full strength then you're just piling on the damage if you try and push through it.

Hardgainer trying to gain muscle mass doing the paleo diet. Help!

6 Answers