Please don’t put plastic in microwaves. Contrary to popular belief and what plastic manufacturers say, many plastics, including plastic wrap, exude chemicals when heated. These chemicals drip right into your food. Ew.

When I’ve wanted to cook a sweet potato really quickly, I simply threw it in my microwave for a few minutes, then turned it, etc.

Cheers,
Nick

Great article! Am going to forward to all of our deployed friends…and make sure my husband reads it

Best wishes!

Penny

First of all let me say I love your blog and really appreciate all of the information you provide. This is a complete tangent and has nothing to do with what is written above but here goes…

I read this recently on Tim Ferriss’s blog (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/)
and was wondering what you thought as I very much respect your opinion. Tim eats a “slow carb” diet ala Dr. Michael Eades. Its very very low carb, high protein, high fat but he allows for legumes and dairy, so not paleo. My question concerns one practice he has of what is basically a cheat day on steroids. He writes…

“I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t down regulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.”

How does this strike you? What do you read as the advantages or disadvantages of this? I’m not sure how to measure the benefits of down regulating the metabolic rate and reinforcing dietary rigidity for the rest of the week versus the potential negative effects of the sugar/carbs consumed during the cheat day. Is there a net benefit to this practice such that the cheat day actually improves the overall performance of the dieter? I’m not sure how one might want to measure that benefit, by blood work or athletic performance or what have you…

Anywho, this sounds like a really appealing practice, is there any truth or advantage to this or do you completely disagree with his practice? As of now I allow myself one cheat meal per week but after 77 some days of paleo plus an initial 30 ultra strict days I find myself having difficulty balancing my cravings, social pressures with my desire to improve/maintain health and athletic prowess. I figure I’ll take this for a test drive, black box it and see how my body responds but regardless I’d love to have your input.

Thanks, Noah Milstein

I know you’re generally very positive about Costco fish oil. I’ve used both the regular (300mg EPA+DHA/capsule) and enteric coated (674mgPA+DHA/capsule).

I’ve noticed on occasion with the enteric coated that I’ll literally see oil in my stool, and not the case at the same dose with the non-coated costco brand. Thus causing me to ponder whether I’m missing out on absorption, or over-dosing… FYI I weigh 265 and shoot for about 13g/day

In reading about enteric coatings, their main purpose is obviously to prevent digestion in the stomach and allow the pill to pass further down the GI tract, thus reducing fishy burps….

Do you have a take on the “symptoms” I’ve noticed with the coated pills, or in general know of any differences w/ non-coated….

Thanks so much!

Things are going well in Kitchener, hope all is well on your end too. Cheers

Yeah tough to find jerky for a decent enough price without other crap in it! Too bad those Paleo Kits that we were to get for the Ontario Challenge never made it over the border!!!!! Totally bummed about that. Best bet is to buy a cheap roast and make your own jerky. It will take some preparation but you will get a TON of jerky out of it. Hope all is well in Kitchener!

It would take at least one week of eating a high carb diet to revert back to being a sugar burner. One high carb meal won’t do much damage. In fact, it would be inline with cyclic low carb prescriptions (low carb all week with one carb up during the weekend). Keep in mind there is a very good chance you will feel real lousy for a couple of days afterwards. Especially if you eat grains.

what about some of the negative things I’ve heard about the use of microwaves breaking down the nutrients in food? What are your thougths on that?

Also I notice that most jerky’s have MSG in them for flavouring. I’m not a fan of that stuff, and I know a lot of people that aren’t. Just something to keep an eye on.

Bottom line, try to avoid them. Coffee and tea are the best!

Question on low-carb (50g) paleo ala Mat Lalonde: How long does it take for the body to un-adapt or revert back to it’s old ways after the 3-4 week low-carb high-fat adaptation period? Let’s say I was to go low carb paleo until Thanksgiving, a total of 4 weeks (right when the body is adapted to burning fat for fuel and performance starts to increase). If I eat the mashed potatoes, brown-and-serve rolls, corn, candied yams, pumpin pie, pecan pie, and then leftovers for the rest of the weekend. Does that shoot the low-carb paleo adaption period to hell? Because that’s what’s about to happen to a bunch of people over the holidays. It would kind of suck to binge too hard over Thanksgiving break, blow the progress, get back into the shaky/weak performance low-carb paleo just to blow it again at Christmas. Is it possible to break into high-carb mode for a couple days with out having to start from scratch? Or does the body immediately switch back to the moderate-carb operation after carbs are reintroduced in such an abrupt fashion?

Thanks so much for the military post. I really enjoy following your site and am always looking forward to your next post. I am as paleo as I can be when the Army lets me be. Believe it or not, when at home, I follow your food stash staples almost perfectly. I do however eat more fruit than sweet potatoes. I presume that you are recommending that you eat sweet potatoes over fruit. If body composition isn’t really an issue, and ensuring energy levels remain high for duty, why should the fruit be used in moderation? I appreciate your guidance and your website rocks. Thanks for the endless information you provide in attempts to make peoples lives better!

Nicholas

Whenever energy drinks come up, the main reason they’re frowned upon is the sugar content. You mention that energy drinks will inhibit the ability to get sound sleep, think clearly, cause heart burn/acid reflux, and a host of other GI issues, but these issues aren’t usually mentioned when soda is the subject. What differentiates energy drinks from soda? I drink Sugar Free Red Bull. What about this as an alternative? Am I still subject to the same issues at the same level?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwnPDNOAKhs