Over at Mark's Daily Apple, it's time for another Primal Blueprint Health Challenge!
I'm so ready for a challenge like this; my eating over the past few days has been fairly appalling. I'm just not motivated to eat well at the moment what with studying, submitting my final research paper(s) and preparing for my new job. It's kind of ironic that the thing that would help me to cope the most is the first thing that goes out of the window in times of stress.
Anyway, I've signed up and will be tracking my progress both here and on the journal I created in the Challenge forum. My goals are pretty simple: back to a grain free, sugar free, caffeine free, alcohol free existence and majorly cut down on dairy. Also, I'm going to try and get running outside again.
So, are you up for the primal challenge?
Showing posts with label primal/paleo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label primal/paleo. Show all posts
Monday, 3 August 2009
Monday, 6 July 2009
My Diet: Before & After
Here is an example of my 'before' and 'after' diet. Both diets are around the same amount of calories (1500-2000). Their macros (percentage of fat, carbs, proteins) vary considerably.
The before diet, although wheat-free, was grain heavy and very low in saturated fat. This is the kind of diet that 'health experts' preach about - I was a nutritionist's wet dream!
A typical 'before' day:
Breakfast - porridge and a banana.
Lunch - chopped salad, oatcakes, tunafish.
Dinner - chicken and vegetable stirfry with brown rice.
Snacks - fruit, rice cakes, peanut butter, oat/rice cereal bars, flapjacks, nuts and dried fruit.
If I was eating as we, as a society, are prescribed then why was I chronically hungry, tired, weak, underperforming in my active pursuits and experiencing a range of health issues? This is where my nutrition research began. I was eating as directed by a society that lives by the 'carbohydrates' are necessary, fat is the 'devil' philosophy, so what was wrong with me? What was so bad about the alternatives?
So, to cut a long story short I read and read and read. And googled and googled and googled a bit more. After going through feelings of despair, confusion, anger and... well, more anger, my diet now looks a bit more species appropriate:
Breakfast - two egg omelette with bacon.
Lunch - cold meat, cheese and salad.
Dinner - vegetables and meat.
Snacks - nut butters (not peanut), fruit, nuts and seeds, small pieces of meat or cheese.
I have also started dabbling with intermittent fasting and will provide further information regarding this anon.
I guess the big question is: has the diet change been successful? Well, yes and no. With twenty-odd years of damage already done to my body from following the socially accepted and unquestioned diet 'norms' of high carbs, low fat I can't imagine that my body is going to correct itself after just a few months of this new regime. Time will tell.
The before diet, although wheat-free, was grain heavy and very low in saturated fat. This is the kind of diet that 'health experts' preach about - I was a nutritionist's wet dream!
A typical 'before' day:
Breakfast - porridge and a banana.
Lunch - chopped salad, oatcakes, tunafish.
Dinner - chicken and vegetable stirfry with brown rice.
Snacks - fruit, rice cakes, peanut butter, oat/rice cereal bars, flapjacks, nuts and dried fruit.
If I was eating as we, as a society, are prescribed then why was I chronically hungry, tired, weak, underperforming in my active pursuits and experiencing a range of health issues? This is where my nutrition research began. I was eating as directed by a society that lives by the 'carbohydrates' are necessary, fat is the 'devil' philosophy, so what was wrong with me? What was so bad about the alternatives?
So, to cut a long story short I read and read and read. And googled and googled and googled a bit more. After going through feelings of despair, confusion, anger and... well, more anger, my diet now looks a bit more species appropriate:
Breakfast - two egg omelette with bacon.
Lunch - cold meat, cheese and salad.
Dinner - vegetables and meat.
Snacks - nut butters (not peanut), fruit, nuts and seeds, small pieces of meat or cheese.
I have also started dabbling with intermittent fasting and will provide further information regarding this anon.
I guess the big question is: has the diet change been successful? Well, yes and no. With twenty-odd years of damage already done to my body from following the socially accepted and unquestioned diet 'norms' of high carbs, low fat I can't imagine that my body is going to correct itself after just a few months of this new regime. Time will tell.
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