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| Ta, da, da, daaaaa!! |
I set myself the challenge of adopting the Paleo diet for a full 30 days, and I've just passed the 30 day mark!
Woohoo, etc, etc.
I also started this blog to record a daily diary of how I was finding the challenge. As this is the 8th blog I've published that kind of suggests that maybe doing it daily didn't quite work out.
The reasons behind this are that, yes, publishing a blog post every day was not practical as I would have other demands on my time, but even at the beginning I doubted it would be daily. I would say the main reason for the number of blogs is that the 'challenge' element didn't really last the full 30 days.
The first week or two were a challenge, but since then I have found that for the most part I have simply fallen in to a habit that I find easily works.
First thing was doing all the research. So all starchy carbs were out, including rice and pasta. Anything made with flour or sugar as well. All legumes - so beans, lentils, etc were also out.
What I could eat was any fruit, veg, meat and fish. There were certain things that were absolute mainstays in my diet that had to go, like having porridge every morning.
The next difficulty was facing a problem that I had already been warned about - Paleo flu.
Essentially what you are doing is cutting out carbs and getting your energy from fat instead. For a good few days your body goes through a process of changing to adapt to this new diet. To throw some science at you, you are going from glycolysis to Ketosis.
After a day or so I did start to feel really drained, and that feeling lasted a good few days. I was tired and had a bad, nagging headache that paracetamol just would not shift.
One thing that helped, which is going against everything I'm used to doing within the concept of eating well, was to consume more fat. So olive oil drizzled on salads, avocado, and eating the fat on joints of meat that I would have normally cut off and discarded.
It felt counter-intuitive, but it really did help. I went away on a camping trip with my grilfriend and ate plenty. After the trip I never had a problem again with what could be considered the 'Paleo flu'. My body was now used to it.
I also got used to eating the Paleo way in day to do day life as well. On the days I was in the office I would take a mixed salad (which was prepared in bulk on the Sunday), and add protein to it, mostly canned fish, but also meat and eggs.
Along with that I would take a large tub of mixed nuts and berries (usually containing raisins, almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cacao nibs, coconut flakes, goji berries and golden berries). I would have most of this with a banana mid morning as part of my breakfast, and then snack on it over the day. I also took a couple more pieces of fruit with me as well.
As with any 'good' diet, the trick to sticking to it is preparation. Trying to get proper Paleo food on the go is not easy, so you need to make sure you have food ready and with you over the day.
Working in an office part time is fine to do that, as I have a set routine, but this is a lot harder for when I am on the road doing stand up comedy. It's hard enough sourcing the right food on the run, but if you are relying on Motorway services it is nigh on impossible.
The best I could find was that in some places they now do small portions of pre-cooked cold chicken drumsticks. It's not exactly going to be organic in that situation, but it's better than nothing.
On certain Paleo sites I have seen the figure of 10-15% being quoted as an acceptable percentage to allow yourself to deviate from the diet. I.e. if you go out and get some food that contains a little sugar, or a bit of wheat, it is ok as long as it is kept minimal.
In practice I don't know how else you can do it. Of course, if you prepare ALL your food yourself you will be fine. However, that just would not work for me. Broadly speaking I'm happy with my commitment to my diet.
For instance I went out for a curry and got a sizzling mixed tandoori. This was tandoori pieces of chicken, lamb, beef, pork, etc (AKA Noah's Ark on a plate!), served with a sauce of my choice. I went with Rogan Josh for the sauce as that is mostly tomato based.
Being cooked in ghee butter is absolutely fine on the Paleo diet, the only issue was that being tandoori the meat was probably marinaded in a yoghurt sauce. However, that would be so small an amount of what was on my plate it would barely matter. Mind you, I suppose the onion bhaji was even more of a sin because of the flour it contained, and I still ate that as well!
Talking of sinning, I have also covered in an earlier blog about the debate around booze. Strictly speaking you should not have any, but if pushed tequila, cider or wine are just about ok. As such, I now drink cider if out, but that's never more than once a week anyway. Does it sound like I'm trying to defend myself too much? Maybe.
So, what now?
The idea of the 30 day challenge was to give myself enough time to really road-test this diet, to see how it made me feel.
Aside from the aforementioned 'Paleo flu', I feel fine. My energy levels throughout the day are pretty good and I'm sleeping ok as well. What I would say though is that any changes I might have felt have not exactly been as transformative as I might have thought.
Sally also feels that I am little more spikey than I was before. I'm not so sure myself, but she would be a better judge than me I suppose. Oh, and the thing about Atkins causing bad breath? That can be an issue with Paleo as well apparently. Yuk. Just something to be aware of I suppose.
Overall I think I am feeling a little better, with no massive spikes or dips in energy levels. So is it worth it? More to the point, will I carry on?
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| Sally decided we needed a picture of me hitting day 30 of the challenge. Here I'd just cycled 3 miles uphill, which is why I'm not looking quite as enthusiastic as you might expect. |
I think I will. I've lost a little weight from my tummy, my skin is good, and generally I am feeling alert. The rules are forcing me to avoid bad foods that are bad for you no matter what diet you follow - doughnuts, chocloate, etc.
It's not about calorie counting, or even loosing weight, so I can eat as much as I want. Now that's an attractive feature!
I went to the doctors today to have my bloods taken to be tested. I asked them to look at my cholestoral and calcium levels, as those are two areas of potential concern with the high fat, low diary nature of the diet.
This will be the last blog for now, but if I have anything big to report, such as changes in my health, I will do. Thanks for reading, and make sure to keep following my regular blog about EVERYTHING.
Right, best pack some nuts, fruit and chicken for when I hit the road for tonights gig...
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