Going Paleo? Does it work?

Thursday morning weigh in: 191.

Strong week! Steady exercise. No huge distractions. Proper eating with no meals out. Good but not crazy workouts. (Yesterday's ride was only an hour and ten, with estimated avg HR of 156. (HR strap battery dies. A year out of one battery!)

I didn't eat after the ride, doing a little intermittent fast. Just drank a bit of tailwind.
 
Morning weight in: 192.4

I knew that I would be bouncing back a bit from the 191. My eating (below) was a bit heavy... I actually felt a bit "stuffed" this morning, so I probably won't eat until lunch or so. The way this has worked in the past is that when I hit a new low, my body bounces back up a bit in weight... then goes slowly back down to that new low. I think a realistic goal is 190 by a week from today. My awesome Thursday morning weigh in was a bit juiced of course. Skipping dinner the night before because I rode, and I was probably a bit dehydrated because I was drinking water all day long yesterday. But, regardless... SCOREBOARD.

Ate good foods yesterday, but the lamb from Persian New Year was going to go bad; that would be a travesty... so I had a second dinner when I got home from work. A few chunks of lamb, spinach frittatas and a piece of bacon that was in with the lamb. The morning was a monster shake (nuts, protein powder, berries, almond butter, raw egg, splash of coconut milk, ice) , lunch was chicken and quinoa, dinner was some more chicken and quinoa. Snacked on a vanilla protein shake... then had a spoon of almond butter and a spoon of coconut mana. So, a lot of food... all of it good food... but too much food nonetheless.

1/2 hour on the stair climber hands free at max (an eliptical with no arms that goes to 20 degree incline); 1/2 hour on the trainer. A few weight sets. Chase the dog.

Watching Better Call Saul while doing the workout. MAN that show is slow. But, it is the most realistic depiction of life as an attorney at a real law firm of any show on television (ever). Yes, thousands of hours of drudgery interrupted by ten to fifty hours of terror... all done with anal retentive douchebags looking over your shoulder for any slight deviation from their perception of how things should happen. Nope, don't work at one of those places anymore. :)
 
StrandLeper said:
I knew that I would be bouncing back a bit from the 191. My eating (below) was a bit heavy... I actually felt a bit "stuffed" this morning, so I probably won't eat until lunch or so. The way this has worked in the past is that when I hit a new low, my body bounces back up a bit in weight... then goes slowly back down to that new low. I think a realistic goal is 190 by a week from today. My awesome Thursday morning weigh in was a bit juiced of course. Skipping dinner the night before because I rode, and I was probably a bit dehydrated because I was drinking water all day long yesterday. But, regardless... SCOREBOARD.
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I needed to read that... I just bounced up 2 pounds and nearly got depressed. I know I just eat too much!
Cathy does not help (I'll blame her...:cautious:. I can't... I just can't blame her!) She lavishes me with food, it's healthy, but just too much of it!
Okay personal disgust rant over...:bang:

Drive on Paleo Rockstah!
 
Lots of peaks and valleys @Mikie even when you are super disciplined. Hydration, digestive tract ... Lots of variables. As you go through the peaks and valleys, just make sure the peaks get gradually smaller. :)

Monday weigh ins are almost useless for me because during the weekend, I am too busy to dump. Granted, I do a BM before my ride, but it is not like my usual 830 weekday, post coffee, post drive, post email check flush. Knowwhatiamsaying?!?

By Tuesday, I am getting back to normal, and fully dialed by Wednesday.

Pretty disciplined weekend, but wife made Meyer Lemon cookies. OMG. Had a couple. 193.6 Monday weigh in.

This morning, I forgot. Predicting high 192 for tomorrow based on how I feel.

An hour of cycling and weights at home on Monday. An hour of home cycling tonight.

Tomorrow night is the "push the limit" ride in Aliso. CANNOT wait!
 
Thursday weigh in: 190.2

A bit juiced due to the ride the night before and a little dehydration I am sure. But this is the lowest I have been in many months. Stoked.

Same eating pattern. Very few grains. Mostly meat, fats and veggies. Big shake this morning.

Stoked that I should be back in the 180s soon.
 
StrandLeper said:
Thursday weigh in: 190.2

A bit juiced due to the ride the night before and a little dehydration I am sure. But this is the lowest I have been in many months. Stoked.

Same eating pattern. Very few grains. Mostly meat, fats and veggies. Big shake this morning.

Stoked that I should be back in the 180s soon.
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Thanks for the updates. I'm enjoying this thread... Not sure I could ever go full paleo, but there are applicable nuggets of gold in here!
 
Monday morning 4-4: 192.6.

Not bummed because I knew there would be a pullback. & because Monday! (See above)

Weekend eating was heavy. Two big pieces of sole on Friday night, Saturday was usual bacon avo tomato and egg brekkie, w yogurt and nut lunch, a few cookies, and then a massive non-primal dinner at the new Italian restaurant in town Taverna.

Wife & I split: chianti, burrata salad, focaccia with pine nuts, shaved parm and toasted prosciutto (omg) and a short rib risotto. The most carbs I have consumed in ages... But when in Rome (pun intended).

Sunday was a fun 2.5 hour, 3,000 foot, 2,000 calorie ride. Just enjoyed the day, the scenery and the people (lots of them). Didn't push too hard. One bottle of tailwind pre-ride. One during and after ride.

Sunday eating was fairly light. Usual coffee for brekkie, coffee braised short rib (just one), beets and avo for lunch. Shake for dinner.
 
StrandLeper said:
Monday morning 4-4: 192.6.

Not bummed because I knew there would be a pullback. & because Monday! (See above)

Weekend eating was heavy. Two big pieces of sole on Friday night, Saturday was usual bacon avo tomato and egg brekkie, w yogurt and nut lunch, a few cookies, and then a massive non-primal dinner at the new Italian restaurant in town Taverna.

Wife & I split: chianti, burrata salad, focaccia with pine nuts, shaved parm and toasted prosciutto (omg) and a short rib risotto. The most carbs I have consumed in ages... But when in Rome (pun intended).

Sunday was a fun 2.5 hour, 3,000 foot, 2,000 calorie ride. Just enjoyed the day, the scenery and the people (lots of them). Didn't push too hard. One bottle of tailwind pre-ride. One during and after ride.

Sunday eating was fairly light. Usual coffee for brekkie, coffee braised short rib (just one), beets and avo for lunch. Shake for dinner.
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Well, duh.....when you eat shoes, you are never gonna lose weight.....I find my flip flops just go straight to my thighs. :stop:
 
Taking @mtnbikej 's advice and not consuming my shoes this week. Tues weigh in 192.0. You can see the pattern, right? Should be back below 190 by Friday, at a new low. Every week is a downward Monday to Friday trend, with each week starting lower and ending lower.

Hour spin Monday, hour spin with three weight sets tonight. Usual 20 morning pull ups to wake up.

Good eating, but not crazy light. Today: breaking shake, beef rib lunch, crab cake dinner. Snacked on some coconut mana and a handful of nuts.

What has kept this trend almost linear (at least comparing by the week) are the consistent workouts and no fancy weekday dinners with clients.

Will be 191 ish tomorrow weigh in, and 189 or below by Friday.

What is strange is the big weight stack every Monday. But it isn't strange. Less rigid eating, plus less rigid intestinal flushing, plus (this is a biggie) no water loss from Sunday night workout (cuz I workout Sunday morning).

Abs start and (almost) end in the kitchen, so I am told.
 
Wednesday 4-6-16: 191.4
Thursday 4-7-16: 190.8

Good workouts. Good eating. Thought that I would be lower this morning, but must have re-hydrated well (after the Wednesday night ride).

That pasta dinner last Saturday really hammered me! (wife too)

Hopefully into the 189s tomorrow and a better choice of food this weekend.
 
Drumroll please >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 191.0

WTF? Take it easy partner... and work the problem.

What did I do differently that caused the weight hangup? Besides eating an entire Italian village last Saturday night... (and my shoes on Friday night... my feet are NOT small, unlike Donald Trump... you know what I am saying ladies...???)

Good workout last night (an hour of spinning with weights every 15 minutes).

Good eating yesterday except for the handful of dark chocolate coconut M&M type candy that a staff member bought me (why oh why?!? Passive aggressive torture, or thoughtfulness? you decide.)

But why? As I diagnose my eating the answer is pretty easy. Most mornings this week I have had a large a large breakfast shake. Not large in size, but LARGE in fat and protein (and calories) Mac Nuts (six or so), berries (just a few for flavor), sunflower nut butter 1 tblspoon, 1/2 scoop of protein, a raw egg, a bit of MCT oil, a tablespoon of collagen,five or six coffee beans, avocado slices, a few squares of 86% chocolate, a tablespoon of Cacao butter, 1/4 of a frozen banana, a 1/4 cup of coconut milk... holy cow there are a LOT of calories in that thing. Good calories, but calories nonetheless. Who did I think I was? Arnold Schwarz in "Pumping Iron III Middle Aged Laguna Beach Douche Bag Edition???"

A big shake like that is a good idea because it PACKS the energy... just not every day... or make it and save it in three or four smaller portions to consume each morning.

What about supplements? I am not a big supplement type of guy. I think that multivitamins are a cruel joke. I do fish oil capsule, a probiotic capsule, three organic spirulina tablets, try to get a tablespoon of MCT oil every day, and just recently added a few tablespoons of collagen powder (use Kosher because they can't cut corners)... wait, I guess I am a big supplement guy...

Also, more on the "feeling" on the bike. The recent batteries for my HRM that I ordered from some no-name vendor on Amazon are crap and lasted two rides in my HRM... so on Wednesday I did not have any HR data to go by... and just rode by feel, you know, like most people. I wanted to have fun, push myself on the downs, spin on the in betweens, and push myself on Cholla and the climb from Mathis to TOW.

The plan was dashed when I had a mechanical on my first downhill (Mentally Sensitive) ... and had to gingerly ride to Rock n' Road for a fix... but I managed to snake my way back over to the neighborhood that you can ride up to get to five oaks (using my element map screen... very intuitive and easy... zoom in with clicks, zoom out with clicks)... then proceeded to PR Five Oaks, PR Cholla (4:19) and PR the Mathis to TOW climb. I am not going to say that I wasn't pushing, because I was... but it just felt in synch.

(By the way... that feeling of just being at the limit of control on a sort of gnarly downhill... that is a really good feeling... very close to a late drop on a big wave as you grab your rail to pull in... )

Then, when I was looking at my data on Strava, I saw that I PR'd the climb up Park from my house to TOW. But I wasn't even pushing on that section... and was fiddling with my HRM half the time???

Now this weekend, I get to (maybe) ride Holy Jim to Joplin with @mike the animal... I have a feeling that I am going to feel very inadequate at the end of that ride... especially in the bike handling department. But that is what is so great about this passion... you can always get better... lots better.
 
OK, I'm going to say it. I admire the hell out of you Strand, but you are playing with the simplest margins of standard deviation. Ounces will vary and probably can't (and shouldn't) be controlled. Loosen up a smidge, my friend. Maybe it's OK to vary by ounces for no apparent reason.

But, I have a crappy diet, can't climb for Sh!t and evidently can't ride down a hill without getting injured, so, really, who cares what I type? :confused:
 
.... Pause.... Son came into town and eating and workout schedule thrown for a loop. Don't want to detract from family time and family fun by being a douche. Trying to eat light, and get in my workouts. Back to it on Monday. THAT is going to be a scary weigh in!
 
herzalot said:
I admire the hell out of you Strand, but you are playing with the simplest margins of standard deviation. Ounces will vary and probably can't (and shouldn't) be controlled. Loosen up a smidge, my friend. Maybe it's OK to vary by ounces for no apparent reason.
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+1. Yep, just taking a dump, peeing or drinking a quart of water will monkeywrench any meaningful result of daily weigh ins. Sorry for being a fly buzzing in your ear, brother Strand, but don't lose sight of the fact that you're a human being!
 
I love your comments @mike. You are very correct on what can cause the day to day variations of a pound or three on a guy my size.

Rough week of non-workouts for much of last week (no workouts Wed'y through Sat'y, made up for it on Sunday on a ride with some IMTBers up some small hills, then up a big hill.)

Pretty good eating, but more evening snacking than usual (usually there is none) because of son being home, hangout time after work, wife throwing freshly baked goods at us...

Even had a date night on Saturday with dinner out (split the sole... wife ordered frites... I had a few... and a bit of wine)

Drumroll >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 192.0 this morning. Probably a bit dehydrated from yesterday's ride... so water adjusted 193 more than likely. But stoked that my body has settled into the low 190s, even with my workout routine and eating routine put on pause for family time.

Going to be another challenging week this week because of a trip to the Half Moon Bay for some R&R for a few days, so no riding Wed'y through Sat'y. Maybe a bit of eating at nice restaurants too. I will try to avoid the carbs. I am sure that we will spend at least one full day walking the entire city of SF, so I've got that going for me!

Hopefully the house-sitter will not eat all of my primal cr@p!
 
By the way, I did the long ride on Sunday (50 and 7800 and 5.5 hours) with a bottle of Tailwind and an old pack of shotbloks that I wanted to get rid of (and tons of water). Pre-ride was Greek Yogurt and nut brekkie at 445, plus my usual coffee while driving, and 1/2 bottle of Tailwind. My average HR was likely in the high 140s (HR monitor is dead I think, time for a new one). I was feeling pretty strong at the end too.
 
Stumbled upon this while browsing around and out of the typical "General Discussion", "Trailhead", and "Ride Report" forums. I too have been doing paleo for a couple years but put that aside for 10 months while the wifey was prego. I kept in shape by going to the gym and just recently started riding more again. How's it been so far Leper? it's been about 2 weeks and no updates. BTW, have you read the book "Paleo Diet for Athletes"? It's authored by Lauren Cordain, the same scientist that first put paleo on the map. It's a good read and explains a lot when balancing paleo and endurance sports. If I ever really need to kick myself in the butt because I've gone off track, I usually do a program that's strict paleo called whole30. There's a book that provides the details called "It starts with Food", it's well written and has tons of scientific references if you're into that type of thing. I've noticed that getting back into paleo and riding for me has been a challenge. I know how my body feels when fat adapted and I can tell it's no where close to that point now. Since my new baby girl is only 5.5 weeks old I'm only able to hit the trails once a week or so but hit the gym for about an hour daily to help maintain any fitness. As for paleo recipes that help out, I may be able to share a few that my wife has also created and are really damn good ie. paleo hash (sweet potatoes, veggies, and grassfed beef) for breakfast, a good stir fry, and of course a great simple marinade for grilled chicken.
 
@BeyondTheLens it goes well. A confluence of events is keeping me juggling a lot of balls... And my routine was totally smashed by our son staying with us for a few weeks to deal with oral surgery before he goes back on the road. (22, graduated early, taking a year break from the grind to climb around the world). So mom has been stuffing him up and I have been the "beneficiary" and we have been doing lots of "family time." Luckily, part of family time is usually a workout. Staying pretty primal but not as strict as before. This will continue for two weeks or so. Plus a trial up in NorCal in two weeks and expert depositions all over the country has me scrambling a bit. But my Primal drink powder is perfect for days on the road. I just don't have to worry about eating.

I will pick up the Cordain book.

I truly think I am fat adapted or getting close.

Last Saturday's ride was a good example. My time was short, but it was a 2:15, and I never even thought of nutrition and never came close to bonking. The last mile is a 700 foot or so climb to my house, and I was fresh.

My last big ride with Jzilla and Faust (50 miles, 8k), I went the back half of the ride with water only. The back half was no picnic... But I felt really strong throughout.

Look forward to the dialogue as I pick back up on this thread shortly.

Stoked to have your input.

I was hoping that the June 12 hour of Temecula race would be the test tube, but it falls exactly on my anniversary. That is one day that I do not mess with. So maybe the big bear race this summer. Or the big bear road race the following week.
 
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