Go Primal: So Easy a Caveman Can Do It

Posted at July 28, 2009

118-1I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately on the Paleolithic diet, the Primal blueprint, and other sources that promote a more natural form of weight training, diet, and lifestyle.  Essentially, the plan is to follow what our 10,000 year old ancestors used to do, because it was that form of living in those terrible conditions that allowed them to thrive and make us who we are today.  If you’re interested in trying out this lifestyle, I would highly recommend reading this introductory article over at Mark’s Daily Apple.  I’m a big fan of the KISS principle (Keep it simple, stupid!), so this whole primal living thing is right up my alley.  Something about getting in touch with your primal side, and just lifting heavy stuff, running fast, and being awesome (without having to wear loin cloths and fight off saber-tooth tiger attacks) just gets me going.

Mark promotes a lifestyle that would make Bonk from Bonk’s Adventure very happy: simplify your lifestyle, your exercise, and your diet. Eat lots of healthy meat, vegetables, nuts, and berries, and stay away from over-processed foods, excess sugar, and bad trans fats.  Fresh produce is your friend.  Lift heavy weights (free weights, not machines), run sprints, get lots of sleep, exercise outside, and have fun.  By following this blueprint, you’ll end up being more “healthy, energetic, happy, lean, strong, bright, and productive,” because we’re genetically predisposed to being more efficient with this type of behavior.  It worked for Bonk – not only he he smiling and full of energy, but he’s got a huge brain in that big melon of his.  I’d guess he’s a big hit with the cave-ladies.

cavemanAlthough I’m not ready to give up grains and dairy quite yet, there are quite a few things I plan on taking from the Primal Blueprint and implementing into my lifestyle.  I know there are all kinds of body building supplements out there (some illegal, many legal) that will allow me to put on weight much faster and build muscle much quicker.  However, I’m not so sure how these supplements will affect my body in the long run, and I’d rather build a body now that is sustainable, healthy, and built for the future.  If it takes me six months longer to get to my goal body type, so be it.  When I get there, I know I did it right, without any help, in the healthiest way possible.

I challenge you to do the same. If you’re a big guy or girl, don’t resort to pills or supplements or weight loss tactics that aren’t safe.  Think about how long Hydroxycut was on the market before it was pulled off the shelves for being unsafe.  What about the ’safe’ stuff you’re taking now?  What happens when you find out in 2020 that it’s been destroying your insides for years and they’re just discovering it now.  How about those crazy supplements you can buy to help you build muscle faster (one of which actually has a normal side effect of “tunnel vision.” holy ***)?  Is the reward really worth the risk?

I say better safe than sorry. Our primal ancestors have been eating animals, fruits, nuts, and vegetables for years and years and years and years.  They didn’t have blenders and pills and powders and injections to keep them healthy, fit, and strong, and they turned out okay.  They lived in caves, without modern medicine, without technology, without a supermarket, and managed to still become the most dominant species on the planet.  They’re okay in my book.  Here is how I plan on changing my diet:

Anybody else trying to follow a similar style? Do we have any vegetarian or Vegan readers?  You’d be amazed what people are accomplishing these days eating only fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Be more like Bonk.

-Steve

Diet, Level Up Your Life

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  • Nick
    I love oatmeal but it gives me worse heartburn than anything else I've ever eaten. I do like brown rice just fine but does anyone have any suggestions for something substitute for the oatmeal?
  • JT
    whats the deal about Oatmeal? Whats so healthy about it anyways? Does it matter if its flavoured (apple/cinnamon)?
    And flaxseed?
  • NerdFitness
    Hey JT,

    As far as carbs go, I'd say oatmeal and brown rice are two of the lesser
    "troublemakers" when it comes to the paleo diet (in my opinion. Honestly, I
    eat both because I need the calories and its the cheapest and easiest way
    for me to get the healthiest carb calories in me. I'd avoid the
    apple/cinnamon flavored stuff, as I'd guess it's artificial flavoring, which
    is a paleo no-no. oatmeal is "healthy" in that it's a complex carb, so it
    takes your body quite a while to digest it and use it for fuel...compared to
    sugary stuff which jacks your body full of energy and then you crash shortly
    thereafter.

    I still eat PB sandwiches, but I've switched to flaxseed bread. Once again,
    bread is a paleo no-no, but I'd say compared to regular wheat bread (which
    still has high-fructose corn syrup) and white bread (just awful for you),
    it's pretty dang healthy.

    I've found a good balance of paleo and non-paleo (but still healthy) foods
    to help me maintain weight while trying to build muscle. I encourage
    everybody to find a balance that works for them.

    -NF Steve
  • The true cost of orange juice (hfcs/sugar causes obesity and obesity in kids):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    more from lustig (sugar bitter truth) on the benefits of an orange over orange juice (oj causes obesity and diabetes):
    http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2...
    ---
    lustig interview:

    Norman Swan: So we don't need to get obsessed on fruit sugars, it's sugar itself, sucrose.

    Robert Lustig: Absolutely, it's sugar in general. So people say oh does that mean I can't eat fruit? No, let's take an orange -- an orange has 20 calories, 10 of which are fructose and has high fibre. A glass of orange juice has 120 calories, it takes 6 oranges to make that glass of orange juice and there's no fibre. You tell me which is better for you, so by all means eat the fruit, just don't drink the juice. Juice is part of the problem and there's plenty of data, not just mine. Miles Faith had an article in Pediatrics, December 2006 showing that in toddlers, in inner city Harlem in New York, in toddlers the number of juice servings correlated with the degree of BMI increase.

    Norman Swan: Where does this fit, I mean people at the University of Sydney who've pioneered the glycaemic index, the idea that you get some foods which actually boost your blood sugar very quickly and some which are slow. They kind of argue that it doesn't actually matter terribly much what kind of sugar it is, it just depends on how fast your insulin is going to go up. Where does what you're saying fit into the glycaemic index story?

    Robert Lustig: In fact glycaemic index is half the story, the other half of the story is the fibre. Here's the way it works -- carrots, let's talk about carrots for a minute. Carrots are very high glycaemic index, what is the definition of glycaemic index? It's how high your blood sugar goes if you eat 50 grams of carbohydrate in that food, that's what glycaemic index is. So if you eat 50 grams of carbohydrate in carrots your blood sugar goes up very high and so that would be a high glycaemic index food. Fructose is a low glycaemic index food because fructose does not stimulate insulin, it's all of these calories but it doesn't stimulate insulin. So in fact a soda has a glycaemic index of 53 which is low. So you'd say oh wait a second, carrots are bad for you and a soda is good for you? Because glycaemic index is not the whole story, in fact what you really want to talk about is a related concept called glycaemic load.

    Glycaemic load is glycaemic index times the amount of food you'd actually have to eat to get the 50 grams of carbohydrate, so in carrots you'd have to eat the entire truck in order to get that. Well you can't do that, you wouldn't do that, so in fact carrots, even though they are high glycaemic index are actually low glycaemic load. Carrots are fine, there's nothing wrong with carrots. On the other hand fructose, I mean a soda, there's a lot wrong with it but you wouldn't see it in just looking at glycaemic index.

    ---
    you could probably blend some oranges so the fiber is there, but no juicing.

    so the glycemic load (pink cream measurer) is not to be fully trusted for *fructose* consumption (there's more sugar in there than realized)!
  • Symon
    Just a few quick comments. It's awesome that you discovered the paleo lifestyle (or as mark sisson calls it "primal") It really changed my life (I've lost 40 lbs) for the better. Unfortunately, I can't eat oatmeal (doesn't agree with me) and I've read that soy increases your estrogen levels (thus the moobs) and hampers your muscle growing abilities. One suggestion for vegetables is raw (organic preferably) celery and carrots with almond butter. Our local health food store has an almond butter press that makes however much of the stuff you want. It tastes great and is much healthier than peanut butter (peanuts are a legume not a nut). Another question? What is your blood type? I'm O negative and have read that the paleo diet may help the O type more than other blood types because we have higher stomach acid and can digest meat easier than A and B types. Check out the blood type diet on the internet because now I'm starting to wonder if paleo really will work for everybody. My girlfriend is an A and can handle grains much better than me. Keep up the good work.
  • Nicole
    Add chocolate protein powder to oatmeal halfway through it's cooking and stir. I cook mine with water and Designer Whey Chocolate Protein - and I enjoy it cold. It kinda tastes like Cocoa Krispie cereal. Enjoy! :)
  • Hey Nicole, thanks for the tip! I'll try that tomorrow morning when I make my next round of oatmeal!

    -Steve
  • Billy
    Hey Steve i happen to love oatmeal for the simple fact that i DO modify it. you said you wanted more fruit and nuts?? add fresh strawberries and blueberries or chopped apples or whatever fruit/berry you like! (i'd suggest staying away from citrus though, i tried an orange in it once. not very good) to your oats while you cook 'em or put in some chopped almonds with sweet milk (like the flavored almond milk or soymilk) or put some peanut butter in it. there's lots of ways to make oatmeal better without processed sugars (it makes my teeth hurt so i stay away).
  • I've gradually made a similar transition over the past year or two after reading Gary Taube's "Good Calories, Bad Calories" - it's interesting to check out of the store and realize you don't have anything in a box! Certainly a change from the way I used to shop, but I've found that I'm simply not that interested in processed foods anymore... and I've become a much better cook, so that's a great side benefit.

    I haven't yet seen a real compelling argument against dairy unless you're skipping it for ethical reasons rather than health.
  • toddhelmkamp
    As far as dairy goes, I try to avoid it because it makes my mucous membranes produce more mucous, which in turn typically gives me a sinus infection. I had great results switching to soy milk, but after Jordan's comment I'm kind of scared. I thought my moobs were because I was overweight!
  • Hmmm, yeah I'm good with no moobs :)

    -S
  • Jordan (Smith)
    I have that Paleo Diet book if you want to borrow it.

    Dunno bout rice milk but you're gonna want to stay away from soy milk and soy stuff in general if you don't want to possibly grow breasts. (!!!)
  • Jessica
    I eat steel-cut oatmeal with protein powder and flaxseed mixed in.

    Also as a vegetarian I eat a lot of black beans, quinoa, wild rice, and seitan. Almost anything can be made vegetarian, and it's been a pretty simple lifestyle transition for me. I've given up dairy as well just by switching to either soy or rice-based milk. I guess I tend to lean vegan, but if I go to a birthday party and have a slice of cake I don't freak out if it was made with milk and eggs.

    I like how Michael Pollard sums it up. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
  • I've heard great things about almond milk and rice milk, so maybe I'll look into those as I slowly transition away from dairy. That sounds like a pretty legit bowl of oatmeal too Jess!

    Yeah, I think it's best for you to find what works with your lifestyle.

    Thanks for the comment!

    -Steve
  • Jordan
    I have to choke down oatmeal. I have never liked it and the other day I saw a commercial for "Truvia", an all natural sweetener from the Stevia plant that has 0 calories. 2 packets of it my bowl of oatmeal and it makes it 100x better. I actually look forward to my morning bowl of oats now.
  • Thanks for the comment Jordan. I'll have to try out some Truvia!

    -Steve
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