Paleo and Lifting Links

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PALEO (kool-aid)

Whole 9 shopping list

Macro Nutrients

Zone Diet (paleo + crossfit)

Another Zone Diet



PALEO (Fuck the kool-aid)

I breathe... I'm hungry

Seven Shades of Paleo



LIFTING

Stronglifts 5x5

judgejudgejudge

Ewwww Goya >.<

Ok.  As far as I understand it, Paleo (in its original incarnation) was all about cutting out processed crap and eating things in their most natural state.  So why on earth do paleoers have such a huge anti-dairy rage boner?  Milk is one of the best things out there!  And I don't just mean because it is delicious, but because it is full of vitamins and fat that our bodys need.  But a lot of paleoers put milk on their Bad List and go out of their way to substitute it by any means possible.

Hey, I love almond milk, trust me.  But it isn't milk!  It can be substituted in some situations to achieve a similar effect, but it will never replace milk.  You can make almond milk by blending blanched almonds 1:3 with water.  Ok, I can put that in the "natural" column; I'm perfectly ok with blanching.  But coconut milk/cream/water?  Guys, when was the last time anything in those cans was ever actually part of a fruit (nut?)?  How much processing had to go into those poor coconuts to create these concoctions?  And how many preservatives had to be added before canning?  How long ago were they canned?  And how far did they have to travel?  See my issues here?

I mean, I'm perfectly ok with the idea of coconut stuffs, and though I haven't tried them yet for this purpose, there's a chance that I'll like them.  But unless you live in Hawaii, where you can make all this from scratch, on what planet is coconut substitutes paleo?

LIFT ALL OF THE THINGS!

During the holidays, which spanned most of halloween through epiphany, I ate everything I could find.  I went down to Mexico and there was no way I wasn't going to fill up on quesadillas, tacos and tamales, or have chocolate at christmas, or wine at new years... yeah.  The weird thing is that I got to the point where I no longer felt going in and out of keto.

Of course, all this food brought along its friends who bullied me into getting serious into exercise.  I started January 9 with the Stronglifts 5x5 program and, while I am still neurotic every day that I am fluffy and keep gaining weight, Dan keeps reminding me that I AM getting much stronger, my form is epically better, and I'm even seeing an improvement in my skating after having taken december off.

When I started with derby 2.5 years ago, I was 185 lbs.  In the first few months of keto I dropped to 165, with an all time low of 145 for a very short time.  I have been stable mostly between 150-155, but went up to 160 while away.  After a few days of strict keto, I got back to the low 150's, but back up to 160 with the month of lifting.

And now I decided to go off keto and have gone up to 165 this wonderful week of Carnaval.  I've been playing with the idea of trying Paleo, but really can't find the logic to it.  The lines are too tenuous and shifting, and Paleo means so many different things to people.  Someone shared this post on the Seven Shades Of Paleo and it started to gel with me.

So, in theory, I plan on trying this Paleo thing (Lent?) but follow the more basal definition of it.  I want to avoid eating (to a certain degree) over-processed foods in favor of more natural foods.  Have I told you how much I had missed fruit?  I have been eating the everloving shit out of it the past week!  And milk.  Damn, did I miss milk.  But yeah, less processed foods.  Steel cut oats instead of rolled oats or other chemically processed cereals.  Milk, fruit, meat, veggies.  

Another thing that I'm having trouble with is completely changing my appetite.  Yes, I'm craving fruit and milk, but I'm also still craving ALL OF THE CHEESE and meat and cream, but now it really disagrees with me, especially if it follows or is combined by some large source of carbs.  This is something I need to work on.  I need to find a balance where I'm not constantly starving or stuck to the toilet.

Now, for something more interesting:  data!

Jan 11 > Feb 12

Squat 5x5 @ 65 lbs > 110

Bench press 5x5 @ 45 lbs > 60

Deadlift 1x5 @ 135 lbs > 175

Barbell Row 5x5 @ 65 lbs > 70

Standing Dumbell Press 5x5 @ 30 lbs > Standing Plate Press 2x5 @ 45 + 3x5 @ 35 lbs

Chest 37" > 38"
Arms 10" > 10.75"
Hips 37.75 > 36"
Waist 33" > 32.5"
Thighs 20" > 20.75"
Calves 14.25" > 15.75"
Forearms 8" > 9"
Shoulders 41" > 42"
Neck 12" > 13.5"

(PS:  I'm on bodybuilding.com and MyFitnessPal for anybody willing to harass me)