We are back with episode 4 of the podcast. We seem to be settling in at about one hour episodes. Keep those questions coming!
Show Notes – The_Paleolithic_Solution_Episode_4
Download a transcript of this episode
Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist and 2X New York Times/Wall Street Journal Best-selling author of The Paleo Solution and Wired To Eat. Along with Diana Rodgers, he co-authored the book, Sacred Cow, which explains why well-raised meat is good for us and good for the planet. Robb has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world via his top-ranked iTunes podcast, books, and seminars. He also co-founded the 1st and 4th CrossFit affiliate gyms in the world, The Healthy Rebellion community platform, and is the co-founder of DrinkLMNT Electrolytes.
Search Robbwolf.com
Great content as usual. As far as audio goes – Rob sounds great, clear, good volume. Andy (i believe its Andy) sounds muffled, consistent with the other episodes.
Robb on one of your podcast you talked about the three horseman of the nutrional something. Which podcast was that? Oh and keep up the awesome work CF is going to regret everything that happens from the firing of you brotha.
Robb,
Here is something I would be interested to hear you talk about.
We are working to increase accountability, awareness, and knowledge about Paleo and Zone at One World. What are some ways to help people get started and consistent with better eating? Weekly meetings? Paleo/zone challenge? ect.
Oh snap! I just got done listening to the first three installments in one sitting and am really looking forward to this. Keep the great information coming, and thanks for everything robb!
Robb & Andy,
Another excellent show!
Thanks for making my work day so much easier. 🙂
Respectfully,
Steven
Hello!! I get shaky and don’t feel well if I don’t eat every few hours. I am fairly new to the Paleo model – and do not follow it exactly (for example I eat peanut butter). Is it okay to eat frequently as long as the food is healthy?? Thanks!
Tracy-
this is a sign of some insulin resistance. We should be able to go several hours without eating and not experience shakes or other problems. Stick with protein,veggies and fat for a month and see how that changes things.
FYI a “Take 5” is a hershey chocolate bar with Chocolate, Pretzels, Caramel, Peanuts and Peanut Butter. If you like salty and sweet, it’s pretty good.
http://www.hersheys.com/products/details/take5.asp
18g of sugar! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Robb,
Keep up the good work. I attended your nutrition cert last spring–at Crossfit Central of all places, and I’ve been following you since. Your advice is spot-on and I’m glad you have the integrity to not simply be a mouthpiece, but to speak out on where the data is (eg. anti-inflammatory food choices), and where it is not.
Craig McFarland Crossfit Ramstein
Robb, for the podcast:
any thoughts on accumulative toxic load in the body from either environmental / nutritional sources and long term affects versus reversing the damage? or is it even a legitimate concern if it can’t be avoided?
hey robb, this is chris j- we’ve spoken about my type 1 diabetes in the past and you’ve posted about my positive results with paleo. About a month ago, we discussed mapping my workouts/insulin sensitivity, trying to limit my glucose levels from exploding post workout with CF-type of WODs. I just wanted to give you an update-
1) I’ve experienced positive results by taking a bolus shot of insulin pre-workout. WOD: Diane in 5:34 w/275dl + 10units of insulin = 110 bg post workout
2) But more recently, I started doing Performance Menu & have tightened my Paleo diet and have had immediate results. WOD: 20-15-10 Box Jumps & Pull-ups + 0 insulin = 180bg post workout but my bg in 1 hour was 108.
There seems to be a break point I’m trying to find where you try to get the most (in your workout) without giving up much (aka high bg). All that to say, 180 is a good number compared to 200-225 after most long MetCon’s. But the most positive thing, seems to be that the number dropped quickly. I contribute this to keeping my carbs low during the day.
Also, when I keep my carbs low, I feel pretty crappy, but my BF is still around 18%, which I’d like to take to 10% or 11%. Do i need to just keep plugging away while feeling crappy or should I adjust any of my diet?
Thanks for everything.
Chris
Chris-
My gut sense is that we are still battling some collateral insulin resistance. Although things are obviously better, it;s still some fairly wide swings as upposed to what we would see in a normal functioning pancreas. Just keep tinkering…I think this si a good direction.
Thomas,
I’m thinking it was episode 2 or 3?
Robb is referring to the 3 things that are going to mess you up the most:
-high levels of insulin (too many damn carbs!)
-Gluten
-Improper balance between n-6/n-3 fats (too much n-6/not enough n-3)
Robb,
Can’t wait to read the post on Lights out! That is by far one of my favourite reads. I think it was awhile there when I simply would finish the book then start it all over again! That book changed my life!
Ben
That book is nothing short of amazing. The implicatiosn for training, lifestyle and many other factors are pretty heavy.
So should I try to mimic hepatic release by taking bolus insulin shots or should I stick to getting my carb intake as low as possible while committing to lower intensity WODs aka Oly Lifting without the superfluous shots?
Is the crappy feeling during the WOD to be expected with low carbs?
chris-
HOW exactly are you feeling crappy? Low energy, foggy headed? No pop in the legs?
My thought on this is to find a protocol where you have AMAZING numbers. that may mean significantly less met-con type stuff. Then you can play with things from there. My thought on this is if we can establish a REALLY healthy baseline you have some latitude to play from there. This is all highly speculative but it makes sense.
Robb,
Could you touch a little on proportions for strength focused nutrition? In the last topic of episode four you and Andy spoke about higher that Zone protein, low carb and eating enough to be satisfied plus a little more. Unfortunately, I tend to get myself in trouble when I don’t set goals.
So, what would starting proportions look like? I got the 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass (or body weight, I will have to play with that).
What is considered low carb for this approach? Still around 50g daily total?
How much fat? Are we talking something like “42 Ways to Skin the Zone” 3 fat blocks for each deleted carb block and/or “Athletes Zone” 3x fat?
Yeah, I feel great during the day as far as energy & diet, but when I hit the MetCon WODs, I feel completely spent. I usually can press through with a high level of intensity, but when I really dial in the diet, my times suck.
I’m on the Heavy Snatch/Heavy C&J 3 week cycle at the moment. I may even tone down the short MetCon’s (with less intensity or less volume) to try to keep me in a good bg range (90-120).
Thanks for the help- it’s difficult trying to find the balance in between proper levels of exercise & diet while still trying to gain 20-25lbs.
Hi Robb,
Thanks again, love your podcasts, love feeling in the loop all the way over in NZ.
Re magnesium – you mentioned a particular brand once that you recommended to help with sleep, can you remind me what it was?
Also, what dosage / and type of magnesium (eg amino acid chelate, or a combination of forms etc) do you recommend?
Natural Calm. Look around, the prices can vary.
Hey Robb,
Love the show. I don’t know if you have answered this before but I have a client that is a Vegetarian. She wants to change her body comp, but is not willing to start eating meat. Do you know of any vegetarian protein sources. I don’t know what to tell her as far as what to eat as a protein source. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
OK, I stayed up too late listening to the podcast, but that’s a better excuse than staying up late to watch TV, eh? Great presentation…again. Thanks guys.
You’ve many times mentioned supplementing the diet with fish oil, magnesium and D3.
1. Are there any others you’d recommend (ie zinc, B-12, C, E etc), and what grams/IU’s?
2. Is there a best time of day to take these, and is there a best combinations/separation involved (ie D is blocked by A)?
3. Any benefit to using some of these in a post-WOD meal, as opposed to another meal? (ie MAPK)
4. Does the recommended dose of Natural Calm supply a sufficient daily amount of Mg?
5. Ever read the book “In Defense of Food”?
Robb, just a question maybe it’s podcast 5 material…
To get to the point I’ve lost about 50lbs in the last 6 months following a paleo zone approach. Right now I’m 5’11” ~182lbs and somewhere in the neighborhood of 13% bodyfat (zone site says 14%, calipers say 8.5%, I don’t see abs yet). I’m currently hitting 16p5c49f but I’m eating eggs and bacon so there’s some hidden fat in there. I crossfit about 3x a week some weeks no Crossfit and I do a starting strength style protocol.
Fitday.com says I average 2000cals/day but I still feel hungry. I’m thinking of ditching the zone approach and just going for your “Eat till your full of paleo foods” approach much like Mat Lalonde’s experiment, I seem to do much better with ~50g of carbs/day.
Problem is I’ve become so used to measuring and weighing my food I’m afraid I’ll start over eating because I can really pack the food in at one sitting. Any advice?
Robb
Some my words are now being banned at the CFHQ forum. I submitted a thread asking; “Which is better the Modern Diet with Zoning or the Paleo Diet without Zoning?” and that thread was banned. I was not given a reason for the banning it is just banned.
They can’t even handle a diet discussion. Well they just lost me. I will never pay for a CrossFit Cert because they can’t simple discussion of diets. Also, I will never join a Gym because they are a CrossFit Affiliate. I no longer see that Affiliation as a badge of honor. I no longer care about the CrossFit games; because I no longer believe those games are for the good of community, but rather they are just a highly profitable marketing tool for CFHQ.
Also, I am businessman and your firing caused me to look at the Affiliate model of CrossFit and I do not see upside of being a CrossFit Affiliate. It is way too easy to become an Affiliate with no quality control. There are many more poorly run affiliates than well run ones. If this isn’t corrected soon all of the affiliates will harmed by disgusted clients of the poorly run affiliates.
With the explosion of affiliates, the affiliate’s ability to earn a reasonable wage will become harder and harder. Only people who benefit from the affiliate model as practiced by CFHQ is CFHQ. It seems to me the affiliate’s sole purpose is to funnel money into CFHQ.
All these facts sadden me, because CrossFit had the promise to be something special in this world. Greed has ruined that promise and that is sad for all of us gave a damn just a few short days ago. I believe CFHQ will remain highly profitable because too many of Kool-Ade drinkers do not question CFHQ’s actions. Too many the people applying for Affiliation believe Affiliation is quick and easy path to becoming well paid fitness coach and CFHQ is feeding those expectations.
I thought if enough of us, the customers of CrossFit, spoke loud enough and long enough we could get CFHQ listen to us. I was wrong. The Business of CrossFit will survive for a long time; however CrossFit as the special place to test new theories for obtaining peak fitness died at the BlackBox Summit.
Steve-
It’s sad to hear. HQ is not answerable to the affiliates. So long as an adequate number of people keep coming in the front door, the folks in the back are a muted voice. I cannot say our affiliation has every benefitted our gym. CrossFit is now becoming a more household name with both ups and downs to that. It is still the most amazing of ironies that Tony Budding kicked off the Black Box comments lamenting that his post would be deleted and his voice censored!
Some of my best friends are affiliate owners but the Black Box summit was different in that we were not bowing down to HQ and toeing the normal line we need to at HQ events. Well, I did get booted for my honesty, but that’s been a good thing. Many affiliates vary in quality but there are some damn good people out there. I think we all need to just take them on an individual basis. You are right though, what IS the compelling reason to affiliate? It used to be about openness and community. Now people are banned for asking simple questions.
Though I’m pretty much brand-spanking new to CrossFit (seriously, workout #5 is tomorrow) and to Paleo, and though I am actually pursuing grad work (only halfway hanging my head in shame) in nutritional epi, I’m really digging these podcasts. Two weeks ago I hadn’t ever heard of you, but it feels like we could be in the same room, and pretty much all of the biochem I hear out of Robb is what I hear out of my biochem professors and the other well-funded researchers in these parts. I’m nearly on board with all the meat of Paleo (figuratively and literally), but, for the love of god, please encourage hormone-free, grass-fed with every breath… Also I love that you guys are not about the supplements (vit D excluded, naturally), but about *real* food.
Looking forward to tons more… It’s all really a breath of fresh air.
Adel-
Thanks for the props. I do push the grass fed agenda but I always temper it a bit as people will spin out and start eating organic bagels over conventional meat…not a good option. The prices on GF will drop with time. We just need to push that market to expand it.
Hey Robb,
In the article by Ray Peat, he mentions that fish oil may be a factor in brain diseases, such as alzheimer’s, Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, and other Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathys. When I first heard of mad cow disease I stopped eating beef unless it was raised by someone I knew personally, like my uncle. This turned out to be a good idea anyways, but if fish oil poses any sort of risk for TSEs I’d really like to know because they are vicious diseases. Hope you can shed some light on this for me. Thanks!
Jay-
If a possibility arrises there it;s because of the gelatin capsule. If the food manufacturers ceased feeding animal byproducts back to the herd this problem would disappear. I use Gelatin fish oil caps but we are looking at a certified organic capsule for a potential Paleo Brands line and this would effectively deal with this issue. Great question.
Hi Robb,
Great, great installment Robb & Andy. Please keep ’em coming!!
One question for you that I hope you can cover…my mother is extremely thin (weighs less than 95 pounds without even trying), has had a history of intestinal/stomach problems (stomach pains that no doctor has been able to diagnose aside from prescribing Zantac), and during a routine check-up discovered that she had significantly high potassium (or magnesium…it had been a while) levels that she had to stay over night in the ER. I know for a fact that she consumes a crazy amount of carbs, usually in the form of noodles, which is probably a big culprit to most of her problems, AND she consumes a surprisingly large quantity of food in one sitting…
I guess my question is, can eating Paleo help someone of this size to gain weight in a healthy and paleolithic way? If so, how should she go about it? I need to convince her Paleo is the way to go.
Thanks for your input!
Susan-
If she has gut irritation (good bet she does) absorption is going to be terrible for her. Paleo COULD fix all that. A 1 month experiment would tell us everything!
Hi Chris,
For what it’s worth, I was in a similar situation to you – type 1 diabetic, wanting to put on some lean mass, had a little extra fat to lose (although not too much), but also wanted excellent diabetic control.
I know exactly what you mean about feeling like crap; metcon on a low-carb diet isn’t much fun. I also find that the better my overall control is, the worse I feel whenever my blood goes too high. I used to have “erratic” control and wouldn’t start feeling nauseous until my blood hit about 220; now that I have better control I feel like sh*t when it reaches about 160. Just like your hypo sensitivity improves when you don’t have many hypos, I think you become more sensitive to hyPER glycemia when your blood isn’t up there all the time. This could be a factor for you as well if your overall control is better.
To cut a long story short, I had my best successes on a low-carb paleo approach, ditching the metcons almost completely, and focusing on a strength routine (Starting Strength for me since I was pretty weak and able to make linear progress). This gave me good bloods and got my HbA1c down from 7.6 to 6.2 in about 10 weeks; I’ve not had it tested since then but believe it would now be about 5.5.
At first I dropped about 6-8 lbs of fat in about 4-5 weeks. Since then I’ve been eating to gain and have put about 16lbs on, some of that is no doubt fat but I’m still leaner than I was before starting paleo so most must be lean mass. Certainly the mirror shows me looking a lot better! Getting the calories in is hard, “more fat” is the answer as Robb told me. Bacon eggs and (gluten, wheat and dairy free) sausages for breakfast certainly help!
The advantage of a strength routine, rather than metcons, is their predictability. They still spike my blood glucose, but I now know exactly how much insulin I need to cover it; as a consequence I typically have readings of 100-120 when I finish up, because I injected the correct amount. As you’ve found, mapping out the WODs is tricky, but it’s MUCH easier with strength work.
Dropping the metcon is hard psychologically, but I think it was the best thing for me:
– It let me establish really good control
– It fit my aim of gaining some mass
– Strength is the basis of good metcon performance anyway
– Metcon performance typically comes back pretty quickly once you start training it again
Once I get to the size I want to be I’ll experiment with adding in some SHORT metcons and see what effect they have. This will be far easier from a solid basis where I’ve had a few months of really good control. I’ll probably vary the metcons a lot LESS than normal at CF, and stick to short heavy efforts most of the time; I’ll vary the exercises / reps etc., but probably tend to aim for 4-8 minute efforts. This will help somewhat to make their effects more predictable.
Hope that’s of some use; I’m no expert on any of this, but that’s my experience anyway.
Cheers,
Nick.
Nick-
Great stuff dude, thanks much for sharing. Have you read Scott Kustes’ piece in the Performance Menu on Sprint work? I wonder if graded sprint work OR some kind of density work might be an easier way for folks to map their efforts? Hmmm. Nick, Chris, thoughts? This might be a good blog post and then see how folks fare with it. You guys let me know if you are up for a little clinical trial and we can see how this pans out.
Rob and ChrisJ – great stuff! I am a type one as well so I will be keeping an eye out for your posts, Chris.
EricG-
Make sue to search the other Type 1 posts. There is a ton of good info in there.
Robb-
I love the podcast. I’ve actually been taking notes throughout the shows.
My question is based upon your comments about reducing nut consumption. I’m about 6’1″ And I’ve been stuck at 208-210 forever and ideally I need to get down to around 195ish. I eat very clean (lean meats and low gycemic veggies), and each day I have about 2/3 cup of mixed nuts between two lunches and my last meal of the day is 2 scoops of whey with 2 tbs of almond butter. I also use 1/3 c of coconut milk in my morning shake. Is this too many calories from the nuts? Thanks for your help!
Dave-X
The first thing I’d try is deleting the shakes. They have a nasty habit of insulin spiking. Give that 2-3 weeks and see if you start leaning out. Just add in real food instead of the shakes. From there, we might try dropping the nuts. Insulin control works, calorie restriction works the combo REALLY works!
Keep me posted.
Robb-
THANK YOU SO much for all you do. I am a 44 year old female athlete (runner who lifts seriously) that eats pretty clean paleo — with the occasional human lapse:) My question–and I think I know the answer is about fruit. If I cut it for a few days I feel and look leaner and I sleep better. But it is hard to find something besides fruit that I can stomach in the morning. Maybe I ma just looking for someone to tell me if I can stomach protein in the morning for a few weeks it gets easier.
Second question: Am looking to get faster and more efficient in running. Any sources you can point to for suggested lifting programs. I know about CFE–but am looking more for a squat/basic lift program.
You rock Robb. Thanks again.
Donna!
I’d suspect some low stomach acid with you. This is a pretty common cause for that AM aversion to meat. Try taking 1-2 caps of Nowfoods:Super enzymes with each protein containing meal (should be pretty much all meals). Let me knwo how that goes.
Check out the WOD at catalyst. VERY OL focussed with lots of squatting and pulling. You could modify some of that to your liking.
Robb,
The podcast, site, ect. – freaking amazing. Thank you so much for putting all of this out there. I will be buying the book when its out. On week 2 of Wendler 5/3/1, no metcons yet but planning on working some in here and there. I really appreciate your honest, no BS approach to nutrition and training.
Thanks,
Bill
Hey Robb, another great podcast! The longer the better in my opinion.
What is your take on ZMA? I recently bought some natural calm after hearing you talk about it. Can this take the place of ZMA?
Thanks….
Hi Robb
great job on the podcast – full of great stuff (as usual!)
I’ve read Lights Out! and I remember it saying that carbs are the only macronutrient that cause an insulin response. I’ve seen loads of stuff on the net which says that ALL macronutrients cause an insulin response!? Which is correct?
Chris
Chris-
Yep, all macros DO, but carbs are much more potent and unlike protein, they do not release glucagon. It’s not entirely true what they say but the net effect is what they are shooting for I suspect.
Robb
You are right there are some damn good people who are affiliates but the rate CFHQ is pumping out just anyone as a new affiliate they getting lost in the sea of bad affiliates. Sad just sad that CFHQ focused on max profits for HQ without considering the damage they doing to the good affiliates.
Robb & NickW,
Thanks for all of the insight, advice, and encouragement on trying to do strength work/lessening the MetCon’s in efforts to keep good blood work. I think there is an inherent fear that if I’m not firebreathing thru MetCon’s every single day that Im gonna balloon up again.
I guess it really comes down to diet & smart training…
Robb, Nick,
As always you provided great information, and you present both the questions and answers in a way even we knuckle draggers can understand. As far as timing is concerned, I’d love to have each episode at an hour, but I found that my note taking starts to degrade at the 45 minute mark. Simply too much information to cram into an hour and make it stick. Because “The Paleo Solution” format does not have puff-piece, happy-feel-good segments, and because you do not have a product review like some other podcasts there is more real information provided for me to digest.
Miahcel-
that’s Andy as my Co-pilot for the podcasts! I appreciate the feedback. given the deluge of questions we have we will try to keep thing at an hour. I try to make this a place where we can get deeper on a topic. If it forces people to go grab an anatomy book or do some additional reading to get the whole thing, good!
Hi Robb and Andy,
Thank you thank you thank you for the awesome podcasts! I have a long commute in the morning and evening, and your podcasts bring zen to my otherwise hectic drive.
My question- I have to take an Hb A1C test next week, and recently re-started eating strict Paleo this week. We’re trying to get a good gauge of my insulin sensitivity, and I worry that eating clean right now will affect my results, since the low carb will essentially “re-sensitize” my insulin response over time. What are your thoughts?
Thanks!
Robb,
Awesome again! I must say it really makes my day when I’m sitting at my desk and have a new one of these to listen to.
On the Ray Peat thing, I wasn’t familiar with him beforehand but from what I gathered from his piece, it seems like the propensity for oxidization and inherant instability of PUFAs vs SFAs or even MUFAs is the crux of the argument. So given that over the past 100 years fat consumption has increased about 33% with SFA consumptions staying the same and PUFA consumption almost tripling (primarily due to n-6 rich vegatable oils), then adding more fats with a high oxidization potential to an already poor diet can have negative effects due to a high load of easily oxidizable fat as a % of total fat.
However, this will easily become a non-issue with a paleo diet as the improved food quality should lessen the overall load of PUFAs as a % of fat in the diet while balancing the n-6/n-3 ratio with the fish oil to help control inflammation. Especially when coconut, avocado, olive oil, & grass fed meat, etc is a significant part of the diet, right?
Makes me think of the Kitavin study where in spite of a high carb (though gluten free), high glycemic, moderate fat (almost all saturated) low protein diet, there is virtually no incidence of CAD, and LDLox was significantly low, likely due to the more stable nature of the saturated fat and its very low potential for oxidization.
I’m not missing or misrepresenting something here am I?
Also, I watched that CFJ video that was mentioned shortly after it was posted, so there weren’t many comments yet, but I went back to look and I was very surprised at some of the comments. People really still get stuck on the idea of calories in – calories out = change in weight/body comp but without realizing the exceeding complexity of the equation… ie- cal out being a function of many things including cal in. Not to mention that cal in is dependant on absorption as you mentioned a few times.
Similar things of course work for the calcium balance equation as you mentioned too.
Anyway, this has become a bit of a ramble, but thanks again! Can’t wait for the next one!
Robb,
Fantastic job on these podcasts!
I was wondering if you could touch base on leaning out below 10% bf. Poliquin mentioned in one article that high levels of metals and low levels of vitamin c could be the culprit that keeps many from losing their last bits of cookie dough ’round the midsection. Keeping in mind that a dialed in paleo diet with good fish oil is a must, do you think this holds any relevance? Perhaps this and a decent amount of metcon?
Many Thanks,
-J
Robb,
My goals right now are the standard: get stronger while keeping the metcons in range. Since my main goal is strength (not size, but what gets paired with strength can tag along), i have been attempting to increase the protein (paleo diet). My question is regarding the actual gaining of fat in the process. Being a student in London, pubs tend to occupy those nights you mentioned with a bit more velocity than occasional (1-2 nights a week). My fear is that my fat/muscle gains are too oriented towards insulin resistance due to the location of the fat (lower obliques and abdominals, bodyfat between 5% when wrestling and i guess about 8-10% now at 155lbs). My protein choices are never superb, but will always be paleo from the butcher (non-processed). I do tend to overdo the nuts when studying.
Through the riff-raff, my question is: Is their a difference between strength induced fat gain and insulin resistance induced fat gain? also, i fear my occasionally puffy belly is from visceral fat due to fatty lamb and beef instead of water intake (hopefully), any thoughts?
cheers, the podcasts are great, keep ’em coming
Rob Silver
Robb,
Thanks for another great podcast. I am learning so much. A few questions:
Phosphatidylserine: how much is too much?
Tablet form mag citrate vs. Natural Calm: big huge price difference. Big difference in the effect on sleep?
Antinutrients in raw coconut??? Can it be true? Or have I made myself allergic to coconut? It gives me a headache as soon as I eat it. I can’t do nuts or eggs, so this is really disappointing. Coconut oil doesn’t seem to pose a problem. I’m starting to notice some of the cortisol problems (messed up sleep) I had back when I was eating a lot of nuts. Now that I have dropped grains (and added in coconut just to have convenience and variety in my diet). Like you I am busy and can’t risk getting glutened.
I confess this last 3 weeks I have been doing too much on top of the WOD. I am going to scale back from about 4 to 5 days per week of that to 3 and see how I do. Too much activity seems to really do strange things to my appetite and is counterproductive.
I agree it would be good to hear more about sleep and cortisol in future shows. Thanks!
Awesome!
The podcasts are simply amazing. I have picked up so much useful info from the past 3 episodes. Look forward to listening to this one.
One minor compliant/comment: Andy’s gain (volume) is lower than Robb’s, you need to bring his gain up a touch if you can.
First off…as always great stuff Robb. Always a learning experience when I hear you talk or read a blog. In the past few months from moving back home I have been having tendencies of wheezing…but only at night and when its closer to my going to bed. Sometimes its get so bad I need to use an inhaler. I dont have asthma but my wife, being a nurse, was able to get me some albuterol to help me through these bouts. As a kid living in South America I had TB and chronic Bronchial problems growing up. After my parents putting me in both swimming and soccer I guess I kicked it and never had these issues again. I definitely eat Paleo and I eat mainly very low carb asides from my PWO meal. My meal at night is usually a small piece of fruit some meat and nuts. The past two nights, as a test, I switched my fruit out for some cucumbers instead. No wheezing. No shortness of breath. What gives? (Sorry for the long post)
Nick-
Insulin plays a pretty big role in inflammation…the fruit, especially at night, might be a little too much.
I’m loving the podcast so far and I really enjoying how in depth you are going about the questions.
I’ve had my best success with weight loss and generaly feeling energetic on a low carb diet. I’ve got a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old and I’ve been re-evaluating what I feed them. Sometimes all they want is desert, popcorn etc. Do you have any suggestions about what makes sense to feed kids in terms of either lower carbs or paleo?
Matt-
check this out:
http://www.everydaypaleo.com
I think basic paleo is good to go.
Robb,
Yes, I’ve read Scott’s piece on speed training, it’s good stuff. I think you’re right, that kind of training may turn out to be more manageable than typical WOD’s. Partly it’s the predictability thing – you not only know what’s coming up, you can easily extrapolate from one sprint workout to the next and predict the effects, whereas it’s hard to compare a WOD of pullups / pushups / squats to one with 400m runs, KB swings and box jumps (for example). I also *think* that sprinting doesn’t lead to as much of a hepatic release compared to metcons that use weights (based on my quite limited experience so I could be wrong on that!)
I’m up for an experiment for sure, let me know what you had in mind. I mentioned above that I’m still making good progress on SS so I’d ideally like to continue with the strength work, but I’d be happy to try adding in some sprint work or something around that (e.g. the 9-day cycle that Scott proposed might work well, possibly with another weights session on day 5 where he has the metcon). But like I say, let me know what you’re thinking and what you’d want me to track.
Also, forgot to say earlier – all 4 podcasts have been great so far, thanks a bunch (and to Andy too!) An hour or so is spot on, longer would be fine too, whatever gives you enough time to get thoroughly into the questions. It’s an excellent format, the amount of knowledge packed in there is amazing.
Chris,
No problem, just hope it’s helpful. For what it’s worth, I personally think the key to dropping the BF as a type 1 is a low-carb paleo diet and *excellent* control.
One major benefit of good control is that it tends to mean you need to inject less insulin. You’ll already be injecting less on a low-carb paleo deal, which is a great start, but even then you can lower your insulin requirements with better control. I don’t know how to properly explain this, but if your blood glucose is high it takes relatively more injected insulin to deal with food. So for example if my blood is 90 and stable, I might need 1 unit of insulin to account for 8g carbs and keep my blood glucose stable. But if my blood was say 160 to start with (and still stable, not rising or dropping), and I take 1 unit and 8g carbs, my blood would rise to about 170. Essentailly, high blood glucose seems to make you temporarily insulin resistant; I don’t know if this is what’s actaully happening, but that’s the effect that I notice. By keeping good control and not letting your blood rise that high, you maintain insulin sensitivity; this means you need less insulin; this helps you lean out. Sorry if this is obvious, but it’s something that didn’t occur to me at first and just hit me one day.
I definitely think you’re on the right track with less (or NO) metcon work and more heavy lifting. Robb’s on the money as always – get your bloods in range as often as possible, get to a stable healthy baseline, then experiment from there. Hopefully if Robb puts this trial together it might lead to a great way to include some metcon work while keeping good control.
One other thing I’ve tried is low-intensity “cardio” (easy jogging or cycling, or even walking) on a daily basis to try to improve insulin sensitivity and further lower the amount of insulin you need. I’ve been lax with this since the weather turned to shit here and we’re down to 7 hours of daylight, but it seemed to help and I should really make more effort to include this daily.
Crap, just realised I’m rambling more than Barry Cooper! Hopefully it’s a bit more useful though 😉
Robb & Andy (And Anyone Else Interested Enough to Read This),
Got everything in yesterday. It is hard to find a some the stuff here where I live.
Lets get the black box recording so we can have some evidence from the wreckage…. 🙂
I have dropped all other supplements and I am going with only the following:
(All values are per day:)
-Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega 6.6 grams
-Vitamin D3 5000IU
-Natural Calm (Working up to recommend dosage)
Diet: Paleo (limited fruit, limted nuts, sweet potato/squash PWO) Minimum 1 gal of water per day (no other drinks besides occasional hot tea nothing added) Have been doing this part for about 4 weeks now.
Training: 2 days Metcon, 2 day Strength, 4 days Skill Set
Goals: Body Comp, Increase’s in S&C (as much as can be will focusing on Body Comp) I have a test in May of 2010 and I would like the best version of me possible to be stepping on the mat at that time.
If I am missing anything I am all ears. 🙂
Respectfully,
Steven
Steven-
Looks solid!
no question just thought id let you know the podcast rocks
Robb, a few questions:
1. Creatine – Yea or Nay?
2. I have heard about professional bodybuilders injecting themselves with insulin. Since we are all about minimizing our insulin levels to maintain sensitivity to it how does it make sense to inject extra insulin into your body. I don’t see how it would help them, but these guys are ripped.
3. I have a whey protein (~40g) and cocoa powder shake and a piece of fruit immediately after my workouts (before I even drive home). I know that fructose is preferentially stored in the liver and so Yams etc may be better but I have also heard that muscle glycogen can be replenished at a much faster rate right after exercise so will the fructose be broken down and shuttled there instead during that time? My typical source is a banana or a granny smith apple which I find are just so much more convenient to bring to the gym than cooking up sweet potatoes which don’t really seem very appetizing after a hard workout.
Nick-thanks for the heads up. I’m at weird place, because I have been diagnosed as a Type 1 then I began Paleo and stopped taking insulin altogether (having a1c’s as low as 5.0). My last a1c was a little high (7.2) and I’m concerned I may have to go back on Insulin Therapy. Right now I am not on insulin other than covering for stress, sickness or workouts. I’m taking oral medication like a Type 2.
Robb,
I’m a little confused:
1) Should I try to emulate hepatic release by taking pre-wod bolus shots(only time I would take insulin) to cover for MetCon’s-I’ve gotten pretty good at keeping it in the 95-120 range.
OR
2) Should I try to get off insulin completely and just stick to weight training/diet?
Chris-
My idea scenario would be to find a protocol in which you could get by with little to no insulin. This is establishing a baseline in which you could live long and healthy. Then figure out what you can get away with in your training. What you are doing is great, but for reasons of health I’d try to figure out a protocol in which you need little to no insulin. totally your call on that. So long as your numbers are looking good (A1C) perhaps no reason to go to this next extreme but this is the scientist in me coming out.
Hey RobbN do you ever drop cals on a day you do not work out?
Robb-Thanks for your advice. I decided to cut fruit for 30 days. I know I will feel better after the first few days. I think I am hypersensitive to fruit in general. I am upping my dark greens and learning how to eat protein in the morning. I am tweaking the paleo diet (no fruit) so it works for me.
Come on down to the Bay Area. Alot of support for you here!!!!!
I just decided to clean my diet up with paleo and have made significant progress in the past two weeks. I was attempting to do the low carb/no fruit plan mentioned in the first podcast in an effort to lose weight.
Today, I wore a skirt that I couldn’t wear a few weeks ago!
However, on Sunday, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.
Now I feel the symptoms of nausea on me.
During my first pregnancy, I took ginger pills every day for almost three months and they worked! I also ate crackers and things like that to calm my stomach. These days, I’m craving crackers again, but I don’t want to reintroduce flour/grains into my diet.
Besides the nausea, the other problem I’m facing is I feel like I’m constantly hungry. (Yes, nauseated at the thought of food and hungry… weird combo.)
My workouts consist of a moderate to intense, two-hour roller derby practice twice a week, and some occasional strength training (maybe once every two weeks) because derby is tough on the knees.
I try to get 8 hours of sleep every night, but I would adore 9.
I’m taking fish oil, (Cod Liver Oil until we run out… then we’ll switch to the regular kind) 2 tbsp a day. My husband insists.
How should I adapt the paleo diet to pregnancy and do you have any ideas for combating the nausea while staying paleo?
Have you developed any tips and tricks for your pregnant clients in regards to their diets?
If this is something to tackle in the podcast, I’m okay with that. I’m a listener 🙂
Robb, quick question for you about Good Fats vs. Bad Fats.
First of all, is there such a thing as a better fat? When you speak in your podcasts about fats you mention avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. Is it better to use these sources of fats with leaner cuts of meat as opposed to eating, let’s say, bacon everyday for breakfast? Or does this question depend on one’s goals? My goal is to get leaner by losing at least 3-5 lbs more fat.
Any insight into this will be helpful.
Thanks much!!
Melissa,
You should NOT take codliver oil when pregnant – it has vitamin A in it. Vitamin A is teratogenic if you take too much – that is, it causes birth defects. I don’t mean to alarm you but you should only take fish oil which comes from the flesh of the fish – not cod liver which comes from the liver.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_vitamin-a-why-you-shouldnt-get-too-much_675.bc
Vitamin D however is important – there has been recent research on how important this is in pregnancy, and many women are deficient. So do take both omega 3 (EPA and DHA) and vitamin D but not vitamin A.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/pregnancy-and-gestational-vitamin-d-deficiency.shtml
Hey Robb,
The podcast is so great, informative and simple! I have been reading up on paleo for several months and I get plenty out of each show. I’m also recommending it to friends who are new to paleo and they are really impressed by how easy you make the info sound. Keep up the good work!
Now a couple minor questions:
1. How detrimental to my sleep is it to be getting up and using the bathroom? This happens to me every night. I try to keep it as dark as possible and don’t turn on a light, since I’ve read this disturbs sleep hormone production (melatonin?; http://www.mercola.com/article/sleep.htm). I go to bed dead tired, am on a mostly consistent sleep schedule getting 7.5 or 8 hrs per night, and wake up without an alarm feeling mostly rested but I suspect things could go better. But I’m wondering if I should optimally try to avoid drinking for a couple hours before bed to try to sleep straight through.
2. Can you talk about joint popping and its relation to inflammation? General wisdom seems to be inconclusive about this topic, and the only solid information I could find about this topic was its relation to nightshades. I am also a chronic joint popper, and would like to eliminate this if it is a strong indicator of general inflammation or nightshade sensitivity.
Again thanks for the podcast, it has instantly moved to the top of my podcast listening queue.
Hi Robb,
Excellent site and podcast, I’m still working my way through it all trying to absorb it.
I have a couple of questions about supplementation: the 3 things you recommend are Fish oil, Vit D and Magnesium.
Fish oil dosage is 0.5g – 1g per 10lb of body weight, is that lean body weight, should that be taken in one lot or spread out over the day? Is there any difference? Should it be taken with food or by itself?
Vit D the dosage is 2000iu for a small person and 5000iu for a large person, does that change for the environment? I’m just south of the Gold Coast in Australia so I’m going to be getting more sun then someone in Alaska or somewhere like that. I also read that it is better to have one large dose 15 – 20 000iu every couple of days instead of 2 -5 000iu each day, do you see any benefit to that?
What amount of Magnesium should I be taking? I’m 6′ 2″ 240lb looking to improve body composition?
Thanks.
Donna,
We have done this with a few of our athletes and seen unbelievable strength and Metcon gains. We are playing we the Ketogenic eating as well and continue to see gains there too … While I love fruit our athletes run better on green leafy veggies!!!
Robb, lovin the podcast. You seen the Crossfit Journal video entiltled “Paleo v. Zone, discusion with Dr. Sears.”? HQ is hilarious. Turns out eating hoho’s and kfc will give be better results than Paleo, as long as it is WAMed. Any chance of you giving us meal ideas like the earlier days of this blog? Some of the stuff you provided us are staples. A bacon, beef, egg, chocolate concoction comes to mind!
Kyle-
I LOVE it. they have drawn a line in the sand that is just fucking ridiculous. This will go in the file next to the claims of 750 lb DL’s.
BCAA’s?? Where do they fit in?
I’m doing pretty much the same as Steven
other then dropping a digestive enzyme with my meals and trying to limit my coffee intake in the am hours only.
I like BCAA’s, pre- or POST WO. Good stuff. Can keep you up at night if you do to many in the evening. Can compete with tryptophan.
Robb and Andy,
I really enjoyed the podcasts (I made sure to give proper ratings over at iTunes). I know you have been treading lightly on the IF lately, but I just read an article I thought you would find interesting:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/50275/title/Amino_acid_recipe_could_be_right_for_long_life
The article discusses a recent study of the how and why caloric reduction results in longer life span. It’s a fruit fly job, but still very interesting.
Thank you for what you do for the community.
sully-
I saw that, interesting stuff!
Hey Robb,
I know you aren’t the biggest fan of protein powders, but do you think they would spike insulin (much if at all) if a protein drink mixed with coconut milk was consumed along wth a meal of meat, vegetables and fat?
Ian-
Yep, absolutely. You need to have a PURPOSE to what you are doing. That MIGHT be an ok scenario but the only time you want protein powder is PWO…so in that case there is no reason to have solid food…and if you are not lean, you should not have protein powder!
Our training and eating should have a bit of a purpose behind it if you want the best results.
robb, thoughts on the most recent crossfit journal entry with sears?
Duey-
Well…they have obviously given some thought as to HOW to discredit the paleo concept. They are now going to paint it as this gluttonous overeating program instead of the “moderate” middle road of the Zone. The “I’d rather eat a Ding-dong as part of a balanced meal vs. too much steak” ….well, that is just amazing!
With Zone I drop some fat, but not enough and perform well, but weak. On Paleo I do not tend to drop fat, but feel much better and stay strong. If I carb cycle I drop fat but perform like shit. I know it’s not about the look, but tired of being over fat
David-
You may need to just stick with the low-carb long enough to adapt. Check out Matt’s post on this.
Hi Kirk and Robb,
Kirk said, “Love the show. I don’t know if you have answered this before but I have a client that is a Vegetarian….any vegetarian protein sources.”
Be gentle with her and maybe she will come around on her own, like me. She may find Sear’s The Soy Zone useful – it addresses the need to get sufficient protein and also how many carbs are in a half piece of bread versus 3 cups of broccoli. She won’t be able to go totally Paleo (without eating eggs at every meal), but she can at least start to get enough protein and cut down on processed carbs. Robb has avoided insulting vegetarians, which I appreciate, since I was a vegetarian for about twenty years (until just recently) and my kids have been raised vegetarian – we are taking things very slowly. The evidence is overwhelming for the paleo diet, though.
Good protein sources, mostly not paleo:
eggs: Robb said in a podcast that eating eggs is not bad for you. Thank goodness! I love eggs!
low-fat cheese
whey protein powder, especially the plain kind without stevia, sugars, or other carbs. Vitamin Cottage has a good one in bulk.
egg protein powder
rice protein powder: It is very sharp and hard to get down, but good for vegans.
Quorn brand meat substitutes: Decent protein ratios for most products, about 2-1.
processed soy things: Better protein/carb ratio than tofu or soy milk, but you have to check out the grams of protein and carbs, aim for 2-1.
Check the labels on garden burgers, beans, tofu, soy milk, etc. They are mostly carbs. Nuts are mostly fat.
Hey Robb
Enjoying you pdcasts and the such.
I’m 196cm 96kg, Trying to increase lean muscle mass and remove the body fat. I crossfit, box and run. I am also a PT so i get a huge workout load. My job is also hard yakka, I’m a boiler maker so it involves heavy lifting, swinging hammers, and the other rigours.
I have only recently converted to a Paleo style diet and am having some adjustment issues. the lethargy mostly. But any excuse to eat more kangaroo and emu meat is fine by me.
Is this an issue on how much i am consuming?
Portion sizes? What are your Recomendations? You suggested that Cordain’s Idea of eating all you want is not a good idea if BF loss was a goal.
Whey Protein in recovery, yes or no? its hard to eat after i train sometimes because of work commitments and I use a shake to get my CHO and PRO fix.
Thanks.
Forgot to add.
On a cheat meal, piri-piri chicken burger and some chips, I ended up with a major headache. Not having had any starchy or mega carbs (bar those in my protein shake) can this have caused the headache?
Robb,
I read The Paleo Diet, and I found it interesting that coconut oil was not recommended because it has no Omega 3. It is generally considered by by health nuts to be a wonder food (perhaps even a cure-all), even by people who recommend it for dogs along with the Bones and Raw Food diet (BARF).
Could you talk in your podcast about what you know about coconut oil and coconut milk?
Robb,
Been following the blog for a while now and just finished listening to the podcast and noticed that you mention magnesium supplementation. I had not noticed you advocating this before. Is it a new development? Is it something you recommend for everyone? Lastly is there a recommended daily dose?
Aaron-
Have generally followed this since reading Protein Power Lifeplan. Give that a read. 1-2g might be helpful for some folks. it can cause diarrhea at too high of levels though.
Hi Robb,
Thanks for fielding my question via the Podcast. I hope it helps others in the same boat. Unfortunately my mom is resistive to the change in diet since she thinks she eats healthy. I’ll keep working on her.
I thought you might be interested in this article from Scientific American.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=inflammatory-clues
It talks about the relation between inflammation and insulin resistance. There is a lot of technical talk in it but it seems they are saying what you and the other Paleo crowd have been saying for years. The unfortunate thing is that it seems the medical/pharma community want to make a “product” to sell. Sad when a change in diet can give the same results.
Thanks.
Evan
P.S. I sent you an e-mail via “Contact Me” regarding some advice that didn’t have a good home on the blog.
So yeah, went paleo low carb/noi caffine/no booze. Felt awesome all week, when hashing still fine, just a little lag towards the end of the run. Had 1 beer…rocked my world!! Headache, upset stomach, the works.
Got a funny feeling that I’m done drinking for the most part. Cheat day was not kind to me.
Robb- thanks again for all the good info. Your podcast cover such a wide range of topics, there’s always something applicable in them. Thanks!
Hey guys, love the podcast. I think you have been giving a ton of really useful information. I just got a dehydrator and I am looking to make my own jerky. Do you have any favorite recipes that work well for you? I am not a huge fan of soy sauce and I would like to keep it as simple (and tasty) as possible.
Thanks!
Ben
Ben-
I’ve just used a salt water brine. Nothing fancy, I’m sure other folks do a much better job of seasoning.
2.10 Ketogenic Diet-Cheat Meals, Veggies, Zone rules
10.07 Long-term Low-Carb and Depression
21.00 Artificial Sweeteners
24.41 Meat choices and Sodium
30.20 Calcium and Acid/Base balance on Paleo
36.15 Saturated Fat in Grain-Fed Meats
38.32 Ray Peat’s view on Fish Oil
42.00 IF 101
49.10 Best brands of Jerky, Almonds, and Dried Fruit
52.08 Paleo without a colon, extra starch?
53.56 Slow-Carb diet with cheat day (Tim Ferris)
1.00.54 Excessive bruising, will Paleo help?
1.03.45 Gaining Muscle without Fat Gain
Robb, I am in the process of chronicling all the podcasts so that I can put them into one document that everyone can reference. Hopefully I’ll be done soon. Thanks for all that you do.
you are a machine!!