Muff's Modules & More

worstofthewurst · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 2:17 pm Post subject:

I'm coming from a different perspective here. A couple years ago I adopted the Paleo diet, which isn't so much a strict diet, but rather a framework for finding what works best for your individual metabolic success. There are different flavors of Paleo, differing opinions about what's best, but really it's a toolbox for metabolic self regulation.

When I was young, I was really overweight - about 80 pounds overweight. I lost a lot of weight quickly, in a way that I wouldn't repeat (most people would consider lots of running, caloric restriction, skinless chicken breasts, beans, and no fat healthy, but I think this is a recipe for an early grave). My weight fluctuated a lot after that, mainly because I listened to conventional diet and exercise wisdom, and had a continual boom-and-bust yo-yo cycle. Things leveled out once I started weight training, which I really thrived on. I still experienced hypoglycemic episodes (and consequent mood swings), which made hunger a real issue.

My dad passed away at 54, just a couple of weeks shy of 10 years ago. He was somewhere between 350 and 400 pounds and diabetic, and this combined with COPD added up to his heart just giving out. Anyway, the diabetic/insulin thing is what turned me onto the Paleo diet/lifestyle, because insulin and hyperinsulinemia is at the root of all these ailments which we call "the diseases of civilization."

These days I'm not the leanest guy, but I'm happy with my body composition - I have a lot of muscle, I'm strong, I'm fast. Very soon after I started, for the first time in my life I felt like my body was functioning the way it was supposed to, and this includes digestion and excretion. Allergies are gone, and it's t's rare that I get sick, and if I do, it doesn't come close to knocking me on my ass; when I was younger I was prone to illness and allergies.

I am not the kind of guy that gets preachy and self-righteous about my lifestyle choices (there is not one thing that works for everyone - Paleo included), but at the same time, I think that conventional approaches to diet and exercising are making people fat and unhealthy. If the USDA started to offer sensible dietary guidelines, it would be catastrophic for agriculture as we know it. My mom was shocked when I told her that sometimes my breakfast consists of 8 eggs fried in butter, because she still believes that eating eggs raises your cholesterol - but it just doesn't work like that! Not only that, blood serum cholesterol is not a reliable predictor for heart disease. Meanwhile, my blood chemistry is IMMACULATE, and my mom's doctor is keeping her on statins, which are awful.

As far as caloric intake, a 50 calorie per day surplus adding up to 5 pounds a year is true IF you are riding the insulin rollercoaster. However, if your diet is such that insulin doesn't really factor into the equation, and your training is high-intensity/short duration, i.e. promoting metabolic activity rather than merely burning calories only during the duration of your workout, then calorie in/calorie out doesn't really make a lot of sense, because your body will find its equilibrium and regulate its composition the way its supposed to.

drewtoothpaste · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 2:26 pm Post subject:

^ Nobody here is arguing with you bro, I'm glad that you've found a way to eat healthy foods and get your body composition to where you want it.

worstofthewurst · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 3:05 pm Post subject:

drewtoothpaste · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 3:26 pm Post subject:

Yeah definitely, I eat high-protein with almost no grains, lots of fish oil + healthy fats, and my compromise is eating a small amount of fake food/diet food to fill the gaps.

On the topic of foods, I usually don't have enough room (on a cut) to eat fried kale but I've baked it before with this recipe and it's pretty good:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips- recipe/index.html

iamgoldman · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:32 pm Post subject:

im basically on a permanent diet.
I drink a lot more water than i think i need and eat anything and everything except meats.
i think the only reason i don't gain a pound is because water + physically demanding warehouse work.

add some tillamook yogurt in there and omg flavor country

robot909 · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:33 am Post subject:

I usually drink more water, drink V8 (vegetable juice), apples, oranges, avocados, simple soup. And stay away from boxed meals.

ignatius · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:00 am Post subject:

@worstofthewurst - thanks for the post. indeed genetic traits are interesting. i'm the runt of my family (other than my mom) and i'm 6-1 and 215 (after losing 15 lbs). my brothers are a couple inches taller than me and had fluctuating weight all their lives but they are strong/muscular. my younger brother was 300+ for a while and my dad stays around there these days. my older brother just gets a gut depending on how much of his wife's cooking he eats.. italian.

i could never gain weight no matter what.. i weighed 178 lbs at most until i was 32.. then it was 5 lbs or so a year.. and i used to work out a ton in my 20's. benching 300+ lbs. blah blah blah.. pains me to think about it now because i was in crazy good shape.

so, i'm still figuring out my diet and weight and what i should naturally be at at this point in my life.. i think it's definitely closer to my weight in my 20s. i've never been overweight until now. trying to overcome a few years of sloth.

i think there is a lot to what you say and hearing your experience is food for thought. so thanks for sharing.

when i saw that documentary "super size me" and they interviewed the guy who's eaten like 20,000 double whoppers or whatever i was mesmerized a bit. he was a skinny lanky guy and had eaten at least 1 whopper every day for 19 years or something. not a lot of people could do that and remain in perfect health.

ignatius · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:01 am Post subject:

double post

worstofthewurst · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 5:24 am Post subject:

A really, really good alternative to "Supersize Me" is a doc called "Fat Head." the premise of the movie sounds kind of obnoxious: a guy sets out to lose weight by eating fast food. It's really more thoughtful than it sounds. The film maker presents a lot of good, clear information on the lipid hypothesis, the role of insulin in the metabolism, and how the state of our food industry came to be and how it informs our prescribed dietary guidelines. He talks to legit doctors who give very compelling evidence. It's available on Netflix watch instantly, though I'm really perplexed why Netflix's synopsis of the film says anything about losing weight by eating fries, because that is the opposite notion of the film.

Ignatius, I wonder sometimes about not only genetics, but the effect that blood type may have on food tolerances and metabolism. Google "blood type diet" and you'll see what I'm talking about, if you don't know it already. There's not a lot of evidence supporting the foundational claims of blood typology and food tolerances, and his demotyping chronology and geography is mostly wrong or just arbitrary, but what surprised me is that I thrive on precisely what is prescribed for my blood type (O), which is incidentally essentially Paleo. Also, a couple people I've been with have not fared so well on the Paleo approach, but rather did well on a more vegetarian diet, and their blood types corresponded with the blood type diet as well. There may be something to it.

Recently I heard of a researcher who wants to classify people based on three (I think) different types of intestinal flora populations. I'm really curious to hear more about it.

jonah · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:19 am Post subject:

There is a theory that cholesterol is the spackling used to repair micro-tears in the arteries caused by free radicals, stress, etc. and you're better off addressing the things that cause the tears, if you can.

I like the cookbook "Nourishing Traditions", while it's not a diet cookbook per se, it does put a lot of focus on improving the nutrient availably of foods and the recipes generally involve a decent amount of prep work which can limit the amount you eat as well. It has traditional recipes from many different cultures and really broadened my appreciation of history. There are also a lot of really neat food related sociological and historical tid-bits on nearly every page that are enjoyable to read in their own right even if you disregard the recipes. I dunno how many cookbooks have citations. lol

drewtoothpaste · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:29 am Post subject:

You mentioned coconut oil, wurst - I keep reading stuff about it and use it to cook occasionally but I can't tell what's real and what's hype about it.

MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) are supposedly metabolized more easily than other fats, I don't know if it's true, but it's nice to cook with since it's got a high smoke point and keeps in the pantry fine. I do love to cook with duck fat but you have to refrigerate that...

confusional · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:12 am Post subject:

There's diet, and then there's lifestyle. I used to work long hours, sitting behind a computer screen, with a 2 hour drive each way. And that was on a good day. I made great money, but I was also 80 lbs heavier and completely miserable. It was killing me.

It took several years, but I got my life back. Now I'm broke but sexy as fuck. Well, on a good day.

My only food restriction is that is has to be real food, preferably in season... and delicious. I stop to taste things rather than merely consume. If you buy food and it contains nutritional info, chances are it's not real food, but a packaged food product.

drewtoothpaste · Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:44 am Post subject:

My new favorite diet food is beef heart.

Extremely lean, tender, needs nothing more than some salt and pepper, and you can sear it fast in a pan and leave the middle rare.

DELICIOUS

lorenzovektor · Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:06 pm Post subject:

I've cut down on pop, beer, (anything carbonated for that matter), dairy, wheat, corn, sugar, and fried foods.

I've increased my fruit and vegetables, water, and tea. I try to bake and grill more often. I've always ate meat, I really don't want to give it up. Sometimes I get the craving for a glass a milk so I try to fool my self with almond milk.

I feel better and I've started losing weight.

jonah · Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 1:14 pm Post subject:

drewtoothpaste · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 10:39 am Post subject:

Found some fresh kale at our farmer's market this week and cooked it for breakfast this morning... Fast as hell and seems to keep a lot better than spinach.

boramx · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:00 am Post subject:

VinceL · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:50 pm Post subject:

Me just cut back on how many chocolate chip cookies me eat.

MR-808 · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:18 pm Post subject:

I like celery slathered with sunflower seed butter. :)

I lost 10 lbs in a month by cutting out all carbs, including alcohol, and eating mostly protein. Since then I've stayed on the high protein diet, mostly beans & quinoa, sprouted nuts, cheese, and yogurt; with pears & apples, celery, salad, stir-fried veggies, and olives to keep me from pooping bricks. ;)

My weight fluctuates by a few lbs according to how much alcohol I drink, but that's 12-15 lbs below where I started. And I'm quite happy with what I eat, and don't feel at all deprived.

For me, the important takeaway is that everyone's metabolism is different, so it's important to figure out what works for you. Most people can't digest dairy properly, but I thrive on it. YMMV