Classes will be held tonight at 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30.
Paleo Challenge Questions
Okay. I am going to try to address most of the questions I have gotten since Saturday. I am happy that you all have so many questions and want to do this right. If you search online you will find Paleo lists that exclude some of the foods we have made exceptions for. For example, the Cordain version of the Paleo diet doesn’t allow you to eat the skin off the chicken, which doesn’t make much sense to me because I doubt 40,000 years ago they were stripping their meat of the skin for a leaner option. Robb Wolfe has his own athletic/crossfit version of the Paleo diet that most crossfitters follow. If you are looking to do some reading today, go to http://robbwolf.com.
On Robb Wolf’s version of the Paleo diet, the following foods are allowed: sweet potatoes, bacon, vinegar, deli meat, whey protein, tofu, honey, red wine and tequila. Why are these things expectable? Well, because we want to make this realistic for most of you. You are all athletes and need more food and energy than the average person. Sweet potatoes are a great recovery food and help satisfy your craving for something sweet. Bacon has a ton of fat, but it will keep you full and give you energy. Vinegar, though very acidic, is essential to many recipes including salad dressings, and it is a natural substance. Deli meat isn’t encouraged, because it is loaded with salt and certain kinds are processed, but it is a quick and easy dense form of protein that will help you stay on track. Protein powder is a great dense source of protein and great for post workout. Tofu also acts as a dense protein, because of the way it is extracted from the soybeans. Honey is a natural form of sugar which is great for cooking paleo recipes. Finally red wine and tequila have been around forever and are not grain products; they are not necessarily healthy for you, but they won’t set you back dramatically either.
Q&A
If there is a half serving of a cheat in a recipe do I still need to subtract a full 5 points?
Use your judgement. If it is truly a small amount (less than a half serving) subtract 2.5 instead of 5. This works both ways though. If you have a piece of pizza and it is a large piece of pizza, make sure you account for the extra servings of dough. A large piece of pizza would be at least -15.
Green tea?
You may have green tea.
What if I go out to eat?
Say you go out to breakfast and order an omelet with veggies. You may not know exactly how it is cooked, but it’s okay. That is one thing you can turn a blind eye to. BUT if you order steak and it comes with a creamy sauce on top, subtract 5. Most times that you eat out you will subtract 5 for a topping or side, but I don’t believe you should be punished when you are making good choices when eating out.
What should I subtract if I nibble on my kids’ food?
Subtract 5. Those calories add up. If you know you will lose points you are less likely do it.
Extracts?
Ok if there is no cornstarch.
Green beans?
Unfortunately they are a bean. Not paleo.
What oils should I be using?
Coconut oil and olive oil are preferred. Stay away from soybean oil!
Portion Sizes
Most of your cheats are going to be packaged foods. Just look on the side of the product for the nutrition information and it will give you portion sizes. I have listed some examples below of one single serving.
- Slice of bread
- Piece of cheese (2 ounces)
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1/2 muffin (medium size)
- 1/2 bagel
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter
- 1 cup of beans
- 1 ear of corn
- 1 shot of hard alcohol
- 1 beer
- 12-14 corn chips
- 8-10 potato chips
- 1 small cupcake (the mini ones) normal size is 2 servings
- 10 french fries
- 1 ounce of butter
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp ketchup
I could go on forever. But at least this is a start.
I will continue to blog about the Paleo diet over the course of the next couple weeks. Please continue to read and educate yourself in your spare time.
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