martinekerr Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Hello all! I'm new to the Whole30 forum with my first post. I am a kettlebell trainer with quite good education in sports nutrition through PN, but wanted to 'test' the Paleo style for myself, so I could answer truthfully any questions I got from clients. Whole30 just seemed a better way to start. I have completed day 5: so far so good really. Some early wins: no real sweet cravings or alcohol cravings; only small bread cravings; not craving coffee as I once did simply because no matter how I try to enjoy it black, i just don't. So not worth drinking so I'll be switching to tea tomorrow. My challenges are mainly: 1) breaking a long time habit of eating 5 smaller meals per day a la Precision Nutrition; 2) wrapping my head around eating more fat 3) having to abstain from certain foods due to tiny amounts of sugar or containing soy - and not having access to any alternatives where I live; and 4) not having access to better sources of protein, more variety of tasty veggies. Perhaps I should mention that I live in Dubai, in the Middle East. As an example, organic chicken at the one shop where we can get it costs $22 per pound and I can't find any organic grass/pasture fed ghee anywhere. It's times like this when I wish I were still living in Canada...so much access to better quality food. I loved the blog article about the 5 stages of grief about changing eating habits. I think it's a little funny that I'm actually getting a little angry about eating this way especially since it has been my own personal decision to do this 'elimination diet experiment' - that's how I explain it. These feelings seemed to have crept up on me over the past few days: "Ya right, as if my primal ancestors ALL had access to coconuts - it's a tropical plant folks. For that matter, I suspect they didn't all churn butter to make ghee either. And you say cacao is ok, but isn't that a bean? And depending on where they lived, they wouldn't all have chickens for so many freaking eggs would they. Sausage is pretty much processed isn't it. Did these guys smoke their bacon? And I can't see that any one of them would have turned their nose up on almonds or sesame seeds because they had more Omega 6."...and so on. This is me, type A personality and stickler for details, looking for holes in the entire theory that this is how our primal ancestors really ate. It's not enough to stop me from forging ahead - I've committed to seeing it through the full 30 days and then to transition to another 4 weeks of paleo style eating. If anyone feels like enlightening me on the above questions, please do so - I'd appreciate your perspectives. On to day 6... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoothead Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 A common critique of the "paleo diet" is that it is thought of against the backdrop of one cave person's available food. This quote from Dr. Loren Cordain sums it up though: Dr. Cordain: We studied the diets of 229 hunter gatherer societies from around the globe and mimicked the food categories they consumed with common foods available in the supermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Hi, so many of the objections to Paleo that you bring up, were more or less the same ones I did when I first came across the idea about 14 years ago. I live in Scotland, what would my Paleo ancestors have eaten? It was years later I realised we're not trying to strictly emulate a paleo experience. I like all mod cons, centrally heated, double glazed homes, warm clothes and a much greater variety of foods than was available in the past. That doesn't mean I can't take the healthiest parts of their lifestyle and adapt them to modern times, after all if my ancestors had had access to things like sweet potatoes, greens out of season, I'm sure they'd have grabbed them and rejoiced. I can also avoid all the unhealthy crap that we've added into our diets since then. However, for me, W30 is actually so much more than just a Paleo diet. When I first read ISWF it was all the science behind this way of eating that convinced me to try it. How food can heal or disrupt our hormones and the effect of different foods on our gut. These were the reasons I decided to give it a try and the only reason I stil recommend it, is the totally pragmatic one that it works. By the way, I hear you about the anger. For me, it was day 23 when I suddenly started craving things I'd never even liked and stomped round the house demanding to know whose stupid idea this was anyway (mine of course but hey) Fortunately I got over it the next day or two and ended up doing a W60. I haven't actually added all that much back into my diet because at the end of the day, for me, what my ancestors ate is an interesting discussion, what really matters is what makes me feel healthiest and I have to say I'm now convinced thats basically sticking to this way of eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted February 9, 2013 Moderators Share Posted February 9, 2013 Looking for holes in the theory is how I became a Whole9 Envoy and moderator. Be careful! If the world were a sane place, Delta airlines would be flying a ton of chicken from Atlanta to Dubai every day. $22 per pound! That makes me feel a little better about paying my local farmer $15 per chicken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Looking for holes in the theory is how I became a Whole9 Envoy and moderator. Be careful! Hahahahaha (I am going to be laughing at that one all day) For more laughter about this same subject, click over to this hilarious blog article called The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater. Recommended by another poster on the Whole9 forums, and had me laughing rather more riotously than one ought to laugh when one is supposed to be grading music theory papers. Haha On a slightly more serious note, I was interested to notice that in It Starts With Food, the Hartwigs make the clear point that they are not trying to convince anyone to live like cavewomen (I feel I must tip the balance of the overuse of the term cavemen, and yes that is my old feminist gasbag roots showing, whyeverdoyouask? ). It seems to be more a matter of looking at our biology and what we were made to eat. Seems fair enough. I do not want to live in a cave and give up my little life in my little cottage making music and getting paid for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Also, cacao is not a bean in the legume sense. Just a seed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 For more laughter about this same subject, click over to this hilarious blog article called The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater. That is an INCREDIBLE post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 That is an INCREDIBLE post. I will never look at a rabbit the same way again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I will never look at a rabbit the same way again... Or a baby seal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Hahahahaha!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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