Paleo Challenge

Have you ever tried something because everyone else was doing it?  Admittedly, I think we all have.  That wasn't so much the case when I tried the Paleo Diet for 30 days, it was more about learning a new diet, and having first hand knowledge on the effects of this diet using my very own body.  "Learn by doing," right? Right.  Now when someone asks this nutrition major what I think of this diet, I am able to give them educated feedback, and back it up with experience.  Yep, I am now ahead of the game.

Have you even heard of the Paleo Diet?  It became all the rage a few years ago, and like all "fad diets," I knew to tread lightly.  The concept of this diet is to eat foods the way our ancestors did back in the Paleolithic Era (2.6 million -12,000 years ago).  This diet consisted mainly of grass fed meat (protein), wild seafood (protein), nuts & seeds (protein & protein), EGGS (protein), healthy oils: walnut, avocado, olive, coconut (fat), a plethora of non- starchy vegetables, and some fruit (both carbs).  My first red flag was being on a diet that restricts foods, to me this says right off the bat that this is not sustainable...not for me anyway.  Some of these are obvious, such as fried and processed foods (carbs), refined sugars (simple carbs); and some are less obvious, like dairy (protein) and grains & legumes (protein).  However, there are some food items that make it on both the DO and DON'T list, but today, I'll refrain from making it confusing and not mention them, yet.

As an applied nutrition major at Cal Poly SLO, we are taught (and live by) the 55%CHO, 15%PRO, 30%FAT ratio, which are the USDA guidelines for adults found here: http://www.choosemyplate.gov.  To clarify, this means your total caloric intake should be divided up by the percentages previously mentioned.  This is scientifically based evidence that these macronutrients (big word for CHO, PRO, and FAT), in this quantity, constitutes a healthy diet.  Did you know that? Well, you should.  Check out that website for more info.   Okay, let's move along.

What did you notice first? Probably the same thing as me: this Paleo Diet is VERY high in protein, high in fats, and low in carbohydrates, kind of backwards.  It is also high in veggies which is great(!) but demonizes dairy, whole grains and legumes, something that I, as an advocate of the Mediterranean Diet, had the most difficulty with.  What?! No cheese?!!!  Grrrrrrr..... Why don't you just take away my wine too.  Oh, that's bad too?!  Dang it.

Now that you have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about, let's get to the point.

Oh shoot, I should mention one thing, I didn't quit coffee, not one bit.  Coffee is on the good and bad list.  I'm a student, throw me a freaking bone.  A big meaty one at that.

I started this diet on October 1, 2014 and completed it Oct. 30th.  As we all know Halloween is on the 31st, and I had plans, ones that involved wine tasting in Paso Robles as a reward for completing a nearly impossible challenge.  Haha, just kidding, it wasn't that bad.

The first week went by pretty smoothly, I was constantly observing how I felt, checking my energy levels and weight after 7 days.  I was tired... quick to fatigue, as I rode my bike to and from school twice a day at about 14 total miles a day.  I woke up tired.  Okay, my body was switching gears, I am on protein overload and my body is adjusting, I was expecting this.  I did lose 1# though.  We like that. A typical day consisted of:

• smoothie for breaky (on school days)
• 1 scoop Arbonne vanilla or chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 a frozen banana
• about 1/2 cup of the Cherry Berry Blend (Trader Joe's, frozen mixed berries)
• 1 tsp spirulina 
• 1 cup homemade almond milk (or store bought unsweetened)
• Lunch
• 2 cups raw kale
• mixed veg like carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc
• 1/2 avocado
• about 4 oz chicken
• and I whipped up some vinaigrette 
• balsamic vinegar (or orange muscat) and olive oil (or walnut oil)
• Dinner
• more chicken
• roasted veggies like cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant, red bell peppers, etc
• baked sweet potato
• snacks
• generally included hard boiled eggs, left over something, raw veggies, apples, grapefruit, you know, easy stuff

Monday Night Dinner Party: Paleo Scotch eggs with a delicious salad (minus the croutons, I was having plate envy)

Week 2: After these 7 days, I was getting bored with my food options.  I had to spice it up!  I was still feeling tired in the mornings, and quick to fatigue when exercising.  Must still be making those changes, I guess.  I did lose another pound, which was cool.  There was one big difference this week though, my face broke out with terrible acne.  Oh great.  Here I am at 31 years old with the complexion of a teenager.  I mustered this up to a dis-symbiosis in my gut flora.  My body wasn't feeling balanced, and now there was physical evidence that something wasn't right.  One could say that I cheated here, but from this moment on, half way through my challenge, I decided to reintroduce yogurt back to my diet; homemade yogurt that is, because if I was a cave woman, I would have been able to make it then, too.  But in all reality, this food is on that controversial list of good and bad while being Paleo (I think more bad, though).  I didn't care, I needed nutritional intervention to bring my gut back to it's harmonious state, I mean, we are talking about ACNE! GROSS!

Mixed baby lettuce and kale salad with tomatoes, peppers, caramelized onion and beets,  toasted pine nuts, chia seeds with a orange muscat vinaigrette 

I did get more creative with my meals though, I started making wacky salad combinations, roasting beets, adding nuts and seeds, eating more fish.... and chicken.  Did I mention that I don't eat beef or pork?  Ya, my meat selection was limited.  On one of our Monday night dinner parties, Leslie brought something that was so freaking delicious, I made it like 10 times more the next two weeks.

She roasted a spaghetti squash and made a ground turkey and tomato meat sauce.  YUM!  Amanda made these chocolate "Paleo" dessert balls, and that was the first time I ate something dessert-like on this challenge.  They were DELICIOSO!  Mmmm, chocolate and dates and almond meal I think.

Week 3: I lost yet another pound, but I was still tired and slow in the mornings, and was noticing that it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus in class. That being said, my energy during cardio did finally increased, I felt like my legs were getting stronger!  I biked to school one day in record time, 13 minutes, while listening to Pearl Jam radio on Pandora.  Maybe there is some merit to this high protein diet!  I was feeling overall better, maybe because I knew the end was near.

Week 4: As consistent as ever, I lost another pound for a total weight loss of 4#s.  I never snapped out of being tired in the mornings and my poop cycle was off this week.  Ugh great, nothing like a little irregularity to add to your day.  And while I'm already being gross, I did not menstruate once on this diet, I think I shocked my body to the point where it just didn't know what to do anymore.  And no, I was not pregnant.

Summary:
I found out first hand that the Paleo Diet was not for me and this is something that I feel is good to know.  That being said, I believe there are people out there that do well on this diet, and I support them all the way.  When someone asks me my opinion about the Paleo Diet, I now can tell them first hand about my personal experiences, and offer them tips for what worked for me and what didn't.  As a future Registered Dietitian, it is important to connect with people on the food level, and sometimes RDs may come off as nutritional know-it-alls, hiding behind scientifically based studies.  But let's get something straight here, there is absolutely no judgement on my part regarding people who LOVE the Paleo Diet, even swear by it.  I think that is great.  Go get 'em tiger!

Note: as a woman of child bearing age, it is important that I meet the RDAs on my micronutrient intakes (vitamins and minerals).  On most days, I took a calcium-magnesium-vitamin D supplement, and iron supplement.  I feel as if the Paleo Diet lacks in calcium rich foods (the bioavailability of Ca2+ in vegetables is lower than you may realize).

If I were to repeat this challenge, I would make a few changes.

• I would quit coffee.  Yes, I said it... but I didn't say I was definitely going to do this again!  I just thing this would help my energy levels in the mornings, you know, release myself from the tight constricting grasp of the caffeine gods 
• I would pick a different time frame, one where I wasn't juggling this challenge with 2 jobs and 18 credits of classes.. also contributing to the chronic fatigue
• Since I have a better idea of what to expect, I would plan my meals better, perhaps write out a meal plan per week to assess total calories in, and measure my macronutrient intakes as well
• Get a full body scan (DXA) before and after, measuring bone density, muscle mass, and %body fat. I would also want to get a complete blood count done as well.  

Now that I can somewhat relate to a lab rat, I am on the lookout for a new "fad diet" to try out, if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.  But like I said before, the Mediterranean Diet is my go-to.  It is more of a lifestyle than diet, and never have I ever felt restricted while adhering to it.  

Until next time,

Stefanie Notte

My first non-paleo meal, we went to the new ramen house in SLO, yum