How much protein already?

Hello Team and others!

So the food logs are starting to come in and I wanted to address a few issues.

The first is protein requirements. There are thousands of recommendations on this and for this sort of thing, I like to give a range because some people need more protein then others. Just remember, if you are looking to gain weight, you need to eat more protein than someone just trying to maintain or someone trying to lose weight.

General Range: 1.8-3.0 grams/kg of bodyweight

So for me, this would be 174-291 grams of protein a day. Some also use the 1 gram/1 pound of bodyweight measurement which would put me at 215.

Here are just a few food items to give you an idea of where to get protein:

Half breast of chicken: 27 grams
One egg: 7 grams
One slice of bacon: 3 grams
3 ounces of salmon-21 grams
3 ounces of hamburger-21 grams
3 ounces beef-23-35 grams
3 ounces veal/lamb-29 grams
3 ounces shrimp: 18 grams
One ounce of Parmesan cheese: 12 grams
One ounce blue cheese/cheddar-6 grams
One cup of milk: 8 grams
8 ounces yogurt: 8-12 grams
Whey: 24 grams

So my typical day of protein looks like this :
Breakfast: 4 eggs, 4 slices of bacon, scoop of whey in a smoothie, yogurt in smoothie (maybe 4 oz.)
Lunch: one half chicken breast at lunch, some cheese (maybe 2 oz.)
Post WOD: whey with whole milk (3 cups)
Dinner: 8 oz. of steak, cheese (maybe 2 oz.)

That puts me somewhere in the 220 range and probably more than that as I get small amounts of protein from nuts (usually peanut butter...I didn't give a crap if it's not paleo) and other sources. Yes, I eat plenty of dairy. Thanks Great great great great grandpa for crapping your brains out so I could have lactose tolerance.

I did a previous post on this site http://nutritiondata.self.com/  It is a great resource to find out nutrient profiles of foods, just don't pay attention to their recommendations for healthy food. So do a little research on one day of your log and see if you are getting enough protein. My guess is some of you are not.

A couple other points.

I'm going to pick on Nathan because his log is full of egg whites. The whites have the protein. The yolks have pretty much everything else. The yolks are full of vitamins and minerals. As for the cholesterol myth, let's just say I have seen absolutely no conclusive evidence that animal cholesterol raises human cholesterol. In one study I read, they gave eggs to men and their cholesterol went DOWN. So unless you don't like the flavor or you just hate the color yellow (which I'm pretty sure is why Nathan is not eating them), eat your yolks people.

So far, I am seeing very little, if any, fish on the logs. I know fish isn't convenient and many people don't love it, but if you are not going to eat fish, you need to look into a high quality fish oil. I don't think anyone needs the fatty fish is good for you lecture.

Finally, I notice this every time there is a challenge with my clients or the gym...you need to seek out variety. If you eat the same thing every day, not only are you not getting a balanced nutrient profile, but you are likely to kill yourself. My breakfast is usually either one of two things(eggs and smoothie or leftover dinner), but lunches and dinners are extremely varied.

Meat List!

In answer to Nate's question, here is my meat list:

Best to worst:
1. Fish and shellfish

2. Grass fed beef-the fat content in this is almost as good as fish

3. Game-venison/buffalo/etc/etc

4. White meat poultry-go free range! (if you need a reason, rent the movie FOOD INC)

5. Pastured Pork

6. Regular "store" beef

7. Regular "store" pork

Try to stay away from:

1. DELI AND PROCESSED MEATS!-there are some brands (applegate) that don't use nitrates and nitrites that are ok, but still not awesome like our team

2. Dark meat poultry-especially poultry skin (SORRY NATE!)

3. Eat very little cured meats-salamis etc etc

Just remember, cheap food is cheap for a reason. Since you will spending less money on beer and other fat people food, you can afford to buy high quality stuff. If anyone needs places to find this stuff, let me know. 

Answers to Questions-Part 1

So rather than write a lengthy FB response, here are the answers to the most recent questions. You will soon find, I can never just say yes or no.

1. Ashley asked if there was a way for her to combat soreness. DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness has been studied very little, but there is some evidence to suggest a proper warm up and yes, a cool down, might assist with it. 10 minutes of light exercise (slow jogging, walking, slow rowing) followed by plenty of static stretching of the muscles used may help. Again, some scientists argue for and against this, so try and see. And always remember that active recovery of any kind will help you, well, recover. At least better than passive recovery (sitting on your ass post wod). If you didn't try to beat DOMS before it occurred, then you want to get blood to those muscles any way possible. Once again, light exercise helps but so do saunas, hot baths, and massages. Cold therapy helps with recovery but not so much with DOMS.

2. Melissa asked if orange juice is legal. All juices are sugar bombs....natural sugar bombs. So juice is all about timing. I love the idea of drinking juice post workout as our bodies are starved for quick carbs. Other than that, if you are not looking to lose much weight, a little juice in the morning is no big deal. For anyone wanting to lose weight, cut it completely. For most people, most of the time, preferred liquids should be water, coffee and tea.

3. One note on Jake's question about almond flour. In general, I think paleo recipes are pretty dumb. They taste like dirt and are often times combined with other "natural paleo" ingredients that just make people fat. I don't care if it's paleo, agave and honey are sugars and if you put a cup in a recipe, that crap isn't training food. Learn to live without buns and pizza. And then when the challenge is over, continue to live without them 90% of the time. Then, when you cheat, eat a real pizza or a real bun.

The Great Potato War

Hello team,

For those of you who didn't hear yet, I add a minor outrage at the idea that we couldn't have white potatoes in this challenge. The rule is you can have sweet potatoes and not white. This is based off of several ideas:

1. White potatoes are not paleo.
2. White potatoes make you fat.
3. White potatoes contain poisons called glycoalkaloids

You all know my thoughts on pure paleo, so we'll leave that alone, but how about the other two? I will start with #3 as it is the easiest to tackle. It is true that if you eat a bunch of raw potato peels, green potatoes, or sprouting potatoes, you will get enough glycoalkaloids to give you headaches, vomiting and diarrhea. But who the hell eats raw potato peels, green potatoes, or sprouting/rotten potatoes? If you do, I'm sorry, but your death had just enhanced the human gene pool.

So let's move onto #2. White potatoes have been demonized because they are high in carbs and spike your insulin. High Glycemic! Everyone run! If something is classified as "high glycemic" or has a high glycemic index (GI) everyone runs from it like the plague. First of all, the GI of a food can change. In fruit, the ripeness can make it have a lower GI. In potatoes, the variety and type of potato and the way it is cooked can change the GI. Hell, if I chew a food enough, that "processing" can raise the GI. What does all this mean???

GI has been misunderstood and adopted by jerkoffs who want to sell you a diet book. I'm not buying it.

White potatoes (ALL potatoes) are good energy. So treat them as such. I will consistently pound this through your head. Carbs=energy. If you need lots of energy, you need carbs. If you are sedentary and don't do much, you don't need them.

This does not mean eat white potatoes every damn day at every meal. It means don't freak out when you have some. And as with all carbs, gauge it on how much you need to lose weight. Are you someone who sits most of the day and then works out  for a half hour, three times a week? Then maybe you should chill out on the potatoes. And chill out on other carbs as well. Or are you someone who is on their feet all day and then works out like a monster six days a week? Potato your face off.

I will agree with the "sweet potatoes are better" comment, but damn it, I get sick of those things and I always need energy, so don't be surprised if you see me with a big plate of mashed potatoes all over my face.

You will often see me looking like this.

Let it Begin

Challenge starts today Team Awesome. It's only six weeks of your life. So do your team a favor and don't cheat with junk food. No beer Malmberg. Let's show everyone why we are Team Awesome. I want to decimate them the first time around in the challenge WOD and then as they getting their self esteem up and feeling good after six weeks, knock them to the ground again. No mercy in this DOJO! Sweep the leg! I just realized Ana X and Jake probably have no idea what that means...

There is no mercy in this DOJO.

A word on the logs. Give me whatever you can. I DO NOT need exact amounts. I do want EVERYTHING you eat however. So yes, tell me what kind of dressing you put on your salad. That brings me to some more tips.

1. All I have to do is eat meat and veggies, right? Wrong. Deli meat is dirt. Stop eating it. Vegetables from cans are dirt. Stop eating them. Eat food as unprocessed as possible.
2. Try to find the time to cook your own food. Restaurants will not be using good fats most likely. If you do eat out, BE THAT GUY OR GIRL. Ask for the side salad instead of fries. Ask for salad dressing made from olive oil on that salad. Make special requests and then tip your server big. Everyone wins.
3. That reminds me. One of the biggest problems with paleo heads, crossfitters in particular is that they emphasize the meat and veggies but don't cover bad fat. Butter. Coconut Oil. Olive Oil. Buy them and don't use anything else for the next six weeks. Sweet Potato French Fries are not good for you. Neither are chicken wings fried in vegetable oil.
4. EVERYONE needs to be getting carb+protein within one hour after your workout. EVERYONE. Please go buy some whey protein and mix it in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio with carbs. 20 Grams of protein/20-40 grams of carbs. This is a great time to have juice or high glycemic carbs like bananas. I am also STRONGLY encouraging everyone add creatine to their post workout drink. Creatine monohydrate is cheap and works. I always have plenty on hand if anyone need to use some. 5 grams (one scoop) a day for the six weeks and you WILL add lean body mass.

There will be more, but I don't want to overload you! Please post questions to comments or reach out on Facebook. Good luck.

Welcome Back-Paleo Schmaleo

Hello All,

I am bringing this blog back to life mostly to communicate with my "team" and possibly provide them with some quality information. After that, maybe I will get off my lazy ass and continue to post entries here. We shall see.

So welcome team.

I know you have been talked to about nutrition and most of you are buying into the paleo bit, but as you have probably heard me say, I am not paleo. There are many reasons for this and I will not bore you with all of them. True paleo heads who don't eat things like tubers, are incredibly misinformed. Crossfit paleo heads who eat sweet potatoes, but not regular potatoes or rice, are in my mind, somewhat misinformed.

Forget the argument about us living on a diet for millions of years and that this diet is the perfect one. Hogwash. It's called adaptation. Agriculture has been around for 10,000 years or so and you are telling me that in that time, human genes cannot adapt to certain types of grains or develop favorable adaptations like lactose tolerance? Bull.

Adaptation is amazing. I have had clients who came into me and couldn't do a bodyweight squat without falling down and then, in a few months, are back squatting 200 pounds to full depth. How? Adaptation. Your body is adapting every day.

Does that mean I love grains? Not really. There are some grains, like wheat, that our bodies have still not quite figured out and are linked to all sorts of nasty autoimmune disorders. There are other grains, fermented buckwheat anyone?, that can be good for you but are pointless because they taste like ass and don't deliver any nutrients that aren't in vegetables. However, if I'm in need of some energy for a 2 hour workout, I might wolf down some milled white rice (see my post on rice) for extra energy.

I like to look at this way. Chances are your ancestors spent tons of time getting sick so you don't have to. Some people are lactose tolerant because their ancestors were forced into eating dairy. Others are not tolerant. There is no one answer to anything. There is good dairy and bad dairy. There are edible grains and dirty grains. And chances are something that might royally screw up my system, won't screw up yours.

So the bottom line is eat real food. Eat quality food. Get to know your local farmers. Buy their stuff! Stop eating processed junk. And listen to your body. If you are in the bathroom 5 minutes after eating sweet potatoes, maybe you should cut that food out.

This is one of the better posts I have seen on what to eat. I will obviously preface this by saying, YES, we are in a paleo challenge and if you want to "win", then don't eat rice or oatmeal. If you want to win, you will also skip the giant cheat meal. If you read this, please ignore his comment about a peri-workout protocol...unfortunately t-nation requires that their authors plug one of their supplements at one time during their post. So you can pass on the ANACONDA drink. The rest of the information is good.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_simple_diet

We'll start there. SO much more information we can cover, but let's stop for now.