http://www.outlawfitnesshq.com/the-paleo-diet/
I recently read the blog linked in this post. It is fairly lengthy, but take the time to read it and then sit and mentally cogitate on it. For the past 5+ years I’ve been CrossFitting and training for some endurance events. Throughout that time, I tried several diet approaches with varying levels of success. Here is what I found. The majority of people migrate to the polls of “all” or “nothing.” Balance in life is hard to come by. This applies to diet, exercise, work, rest, lifestyle habits and etc…. Why is this? It appears to be part of our nature.
When I first started changing my diet to support exercise and better health, I chose The Zone Diet. That worked to reduce my weight from 198 to 168 with an appropriate % of body fat reduction from 18% to 6-8%. The only problem was, I hated measuring things and it became inconvenient. So, I then began to look at other diet concepts that would support my body composition and be easier to manage. At that time, I read Loren Cordain’s Book, “Paleo Diet for Athletes” and then later Robb Wolfe’s book, “Paleo Solution.” I also read “The Maker’s Diet” and continued to read various blogs by Mark Sisson, Dr. Eades and the likes. For my purposes, the paleo diet appeared to be the best fit, but I didn’t necessarily agree with some of the excluded foods, not due to scientific review, but admittedly due to my own preference in desired foods. So, here is what I’ve come up with. I use a paleo style diet, no measuring of foods, focus on quality eating lean meats, vegetables, nuts/seeds, and limited fruits. I also consume some dairy products and grains on an infrequent basis. Don’t judge me that I am not 100% paleo! What I do works for me. By the way, I’m the guy on the banner photo three over from the top left. That picture was taken with me at 180 lbs. and roughly 8% body fat.
For me, it’s all about quality of life and sustainability. Who cares if you are 100% this or that, if you can’t sustain it and are miserable while trying to do so. Elitism exists everywhere and there is no shortage of it in the area of diet lifestyles! Reading the attached blog post will get you thinking. I am not in agreement with everything in the post, but one thing that I can agree on is that a diet rich in natural foods, higher in quality protein , no processed sugars or other food products, will support a healthy body. Ultimately, we have got to learn to self-govern and figure out what works for us and not because some movement takes us one way or another. Finding a balanced diet that produces the results you want and is sustainable is the key! Read everything you can with a discriminating eye, and look for the science, anecdotal and experiential evidence.
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