The Paleo Diet - Robb Wolf on Paleolithic nutrition, intermittent fasting, and fitness

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The Paleo Solution – Episode 53

Back with episode 53 (sans intro music this week)!

Download a transcript of Episode 53

Show Topics:

  1. Training to Lean Out
  2. Decaf Coffee
  3. Safe Rate of Weight Loss
  4. Too Much Fish Oil
  5. Matt Lalonde on Cooking Meat
  6. Too Much Protein
  7. Frustrated with Weight Loss Speed
  8. Milk Replacement for Coffee
  9. Thoughts on Mediterranean Diet
  10. Alzheimers & Paleo
  11. MovNat
  12. Carb Binge
  13. Breastfeeding Options

Show Notes – The_Paleo_Solution_Episode_53

Download episode here.

Comments

  1. Robb and Andy,

    Thanks for another podcast.

    In the book you mention sauerkraut as a pro-biotic option.
    How much of it would be considered a therapeutic dose?

    Thnaks
    AJP

    Reply

    • General “dosage” on raw sauerkraut with meals is 1-2Tbsp with each meal. More than that isn’t really necessary, but sometimes I eat 1/4c at a meal just because I like it more with that food and then not with another meal. I eat it with eggs in the morning often and it’s pretty tasty.

      You should buy it cold, the ingredients should just be cabbage and salt (or possibly also water) and it shouldn’t be heated about around 110 degrees to keep the good critters alive- eating it cold is preferable.

      I actually made a video about it not too long ago:
      http://www.youtube.com/user/balancedbites#p/a/u/1/yyfSCU_FSCo

      Diane 🙂

      Reply

  2. What about Almond milk for a milk replacement in coffee? Could you explain what’s so bad about soy milk? We’re talking less than 8 ounces a day. What specifically is the problem?

    Thanks Robb and Andy– these podcasts (and the book) are awesome.

    Reply

    • Generally we are talking a whack of sugar, lectin issues etc. And like all this, just recommending folks try removing it, reintroduce 30 days later, decide what you want to do. Sugary coffee seems to lead to sugary snacks…so it all depends on what your goals are.

      Reply

      • I have personally liked putting coconut milk in my coffe. But if it sits for a bit the fat starts to seprate and float on top.I could see how that could be kinda hard for some people but just give it a good stir and your golden.

        Reply

    • I was also going to suggest almond milk. They are not all loaded with sugar… the best is Blue Diamond UNSWEETENED vanilla flavor almond milk. I am also a coffee and ‘spro drink afficionado, and the almond milk works best out of all the things I’ve tried. It even froths!

      Reply

      • i use coconut milk in my hot coffee and the Blue Diamond unsweetened almond milk in my iced coffees. my local store has it in plain, vanilla and chocolate and i think its like ~40-45 calories per 8oz, like 1-2g of fat, carbs and protein.

        Reply

  3. egg white omelets, AKA my cross to bear:

    man, i wish i could eat egg yolks.

    about 8 years ago i realized egg yolks, unless cooked solid as in a hard-boiled egg, made my insides very unhappy.

    i have been trying to reintroduce them, at home and slowly, but it’s tough to get them down after so many bad episodes. it’s like PTSD with those things.

    i have often wondered if this is a typical sensitivity.

    Reply

  4. Robb,

    Just a quick recommendation:

    It would be awesome if you listed the start time next to each topic.

    i.e.:

    3. Safe Rate of Weight Loss (21:00)

    This would simply help us time-crunched individuals find the answers to certain topics quickly!

    Great stuff!

    Thanks,

    Ryan

    Reply

  5. Show Topics:

    Training to Lean Out 11.52
    Decaf Coffee 17.23
    Safe Rate of Weight Loss 20.11
    Too Much Fish Oil 23.10
    Matt Lalonde on Cooking Meat 31.00
    Too Much Protein 35.39
    Frustrated with Weight Loss Speed 38.52
    Milk Replacement for Coffee 45.15
    Thoughts on Mediterranean Diet 47.58
    Alzheimers & Paleo 53.16
    MovNat 54.30
    Carb Binge 58.46
    Breastfeeding Options 1.01.15

    Reply

  7. I may have a solution for “Canadian Artic Paleo”. I came up with a quick and easy coconut creamer that a lot of Paleo/primal/low-carb people have tried and say it works well for them. I blend one can of coconut milk, one egg a little coconut oil and a very small amount of vanilla extract, and after a few hours in the fridge, it is a very thick and quite delicious creamer. Here’s a link to the post on my blog:

    http://followingmynose.blogspot.com/2010/10/primal-non-dairy-coffee-creamer.html

    And it already has a Robb Wolf quote at the end! 🙂

    Reply

    • I’d love to see Robb’s response to this. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me since he just replaced whole grains and complex carbs with simple sugars and removed most of his protein intake. I’d like to see if he actually calculated his caloric intake before going on the twinkies and cutting it to 1800 per day. If he cut his calorie consumption by 800 or more calories per day it makes some sense of the weight loss, but what about the “health markers”?

      Reply

      • A review from Robb would be cool. Looks like he just cut down on calories though. Biomarker improvement is mysterious – would love more info.

        But just b/c this dude restricted his calories and ate crap doesn’t doesn’t disprove paleo.

        I would love to know how he felt and performed – probably a lot like what he was eating – crap!

        Reply

  9. Re: Turncoat (or thinking/re-evaluating)
    Robb, the real tragedy would occur if you were NOT willing to amend or reverse your position on something in the face of new evidence. Thank you for being open minded.

    “A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything” – African Proverb

    Reply

  10. Robb,

    Would love to hear a take from you and your squad on Prof Haubs Twinkie stunt… I’m getting a ton of questions from some of my “think they’re too smart, don’t wanna change and like to throw stones” clients. I had what I thought was a great explanation until I was sent his Facebook “Log”: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Prof-Haubs-Diet-Experiments/152304481454281?v=wall

    From what I saw in the CNN article I expected his small-dense LDL would have up-ticked (which he never got a NMR Lipid test), his TAG/HDL ratio to go a bit south (which it seemed to improve), his body-fat to drop a bit but for him to loose mostly H20 weight (which his bodyfat supposedly made up 20+lbs of his drop according to a sophisticated BF-measurement) and him to have ravenous hunger (which he subjectively said he didn’t have).

    MattFush @ CentervilleCrossfit

    Reply

    • Matt-
      I’ll take a longer stab at this but in the short run the main thing to consider is that he was in a significant calorie deficit, that is quite important.

      Reply

      • When I was young and rather foolish, in my eternal quest to lose weight, I went on every diet imaginable. These included: Toast, butter and honey diet (counting calories) Israeli Army diet, starvation diet, diet pills, just eating less diet, and finally the chocolate diet. Every diet gave weight loss as long as I was in calorie deficit. Even just eating chocolate works if you count your calories.

        The only way now I can keep weight to where I want it is keeping tabs on portion sizes, even strict paleo and too much food – and I put on weight. I’ve always been like this – it’s just a reality for me. The beauty of paleo is – I don’t get hungry, or feel deprived or lack in nutrients, and I am incredibly well. I also maintain a way better body composition than any of my previous low cal diets. Nor do I have to exercise like crazy to keep weight off.

        Reply

  11. Hey Robb and Andy,

    Thanks for weighing in on the decaff coffee topic. I can see dosing yourself pretty hard/frequently with caffeine being somewhat bad. Not sure if I’m willing to stop though.

    I suppose the brevity of my “question” took away from its original intent. So this is my second attempt at a “decaf coffee” question.

    How do you feel about the preparation methods to make decaf coffee? From what I’ve heard/read (with only a brief google search), they might be a little shady?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination

    Thanks for continuously dropping knowledge bombs, you make my morning commute much more bearable.

    Reply

  12. robb,

    love the book. quick q. paleo 4 months now, have lost a lot of weight and feel great. blood test soon will show if other improvements made as well. have been working on strength and conditioning too. using sliced meat and sweet potato post work out as per dallas and melissa.

    i find that on some longer metcon workouts i feel like i need some gatorade or something. especially when combo like thrusters and burpees.

    would it be helpful if i drank some coconut water during the workout? what about a banana 30 min or so before i start to prevent potassium depletion (is that a real thing?)?

    thank you!!!

    Reply

  13. Not on any of todays topics perhaps, but could anyone direct me to some research showing the negative effect grains has on insulin receptors?
    Something I can show people claiming that folks with type 2 diabetes should keep bread in their diet to make their meals “balanced”.

    Reply

  15. please DO NOT use the term “scat” in anything (ie.. “holy scats” as suggested). if you really want to know why, google it… *shiver*

    Reply

  16. Hey Robb. I am trying to understand the balance between leaning out, training capacity, recovery and fueling. Can you train enough to fuel your body with sweet potatoes and still lean out? Lets say Roy Nelson came to his senses and decided to drop down to 205 or even 185. What would you have his training look like, assuming he still rolled and sparred. What would you feed and water him with? How long to drop that belly. Thanks for all the help, it is much appreciated.

    Reply

  17. Props to Dallas on mentioning the milk bank. I just heard Ep. 52 today and am part way through 53.

    You might also consider La Leche League. They are a worldwide support for breastfeeding mothers. Each state and region likely has meetings and localized information. I’m in NC and the local group used to meet at my old work.

    This link takes you to information about milk banks and from there you should be able to navigate to find meetings and information closer to you.

    http://www.llli.org/Release/milksharing.html

    Reply

  18. Love the discussion about the fish oil/omega 3 topic. The paleo/primal nutrition understanding is still in it’s infancy. There is much to learn and it is not wrong to make a recommendation only to withdraw all or part of it later on. My guess is the more scientific research that is done, the more simple nutrition will become. Meat and seasonal plants. That is what this has all boiled down to the whole time anyways. Thanks for the continued dedication to keeping the rest of us updated through all of your medias.

    Reply

  19. Hi Robb,

    Sleep question. I have no problem falling asleep, but after 4-6 hours I wake up and can’t go back to sleep. It’s been going on for quite a few months and is starting to kick my ass. I believe I have all the sleep parameters dialed in; cool, very dark room, ear plugs, no computer etc 2 hrs before bed, read to relax, same bed time and rise time 7 days a week, natural calm before bed…no dice.

    Is there yet another approach that should be considered for those who can’t sleep through the night? I suspect some cortisol issues, so I have toyed with the idea of PDS supplementation. But not sure dosage , timing etc.

    I have been strict paleo for over 1.5 years, pretty lean, with the body fat I do have chillin’ just below the belly button, hence my cortisol assumption. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

    Reply

      • What time are you going to sleep and what time are you waking up? There are some Chinese medicine charts that connect different organ functions/dysfunction to times of the night when we might wake up – this is just one- http://tuberose.com/Graphics/Meridian_Clock2.gif. It’s a bit out there, but anything is possible– liver detox needs, etc.

        Have you had an ASI (adrenal stress index) done? That will test your cortisol and be the quickest way to know if that’s what’s really gone off…

        Reply

        • Interesting. Sleep at 2100/2130 and get up at 0530/0600. But I usually wake up around 0200. Which it looks like liver according to the chart. Worth taking a look at for sure, thank you. I haven’t had an ASI, but I think I will have to look into it if this continues. No health problems at all and I feel really good other than the sleep thing, but I definitely want to make sure there isn’t something lurking. Thank you!

          Reply

          • I have the same issues. How would one go about fixing the liver problems related even after takin natural calm and a small dose of melatonin? i have dialed in paleo food regime very well for an athlete, and am having this sleep issue

  20. Regarding the person who wanted a dairy replacement for their coffee, I don’t drink coffee but do love me some stevia-sweetened hot cocoa, and I will sometimes use light coconut milk (yes I finally found a use for the light stuff!). It mixes well and adds the coconut flavor without making it too heavy. I imagine this would work for coffee as well!

    Reply

  21. “Cookie Monster” haha, one of the best PG name callings I’ve heard.

    Grats again on the NASA gig, it sounds like it was awesome and there’s some pretty interesting stuff that could result from your presentation.

    I don’t mean to keep asking about it, but if you get a chance could you still send me that pic of us you took on your phone at the Atlanta PSS?

    Reply

  22. Robb,

    I’m hoping on your list of things to do is to have a paleo and kids chapter/book some day. I came across this today and I thought you would find it interesting. I can only access the article summary and abstract. However, from what I can tell they are using cow milk formula vs. amped up casein (i.e.milk) new formulation to try and reduce the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in kids. The kids long term outcomes are the same. Humm… Really? (sarcasm).

    http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1004809

    Right now I am going through the blogs and podscasts for personal information but plan a second go through to gather the pediatric information. I”m a pediatric OT. Meaning I already have A&P background as well as disease specific training and ability to plan programming. Each year I have to get CE to maintain my license. In my future I’d like to develop programs for obese children and maybe recess replacement programs. What if any programs or training would you recommend and in what order.

    On my current wish list:
    CF Kids
    MovNat
    Others?

    THank you so much for all the great information outlets! I have the book and I’m planning giving it to more than one person as a Christmas present. 🙂

    Reply

    • Keep your eyes open for Sarah Fragoso at EverydayPaleo. She has a book coming out soon, but honestly I find the kid issue kinda funny. They are little people. Feed them small amounts of paleo foods!

      CrossFit Kids has historically been very good but I hear HQ bought it from the Martins, no idea as to the current structure but it does not bode well.

      MovNat is amazing, and it opens up a much broader world of training and play than crossfit. You’d love it.

      Reply

      • Thank you so much for the quick response on the food and training. Any book recommendations on playful exercise? I already follow Sarah’s Everyday Paleo Blog and I’m looking forward to the cookbook release. Thank you again for your time and information. You and Andy educate and crack me up as I drive from house to house.

        I agree that recommending little people eat nothing but good food should be simple enough. However, if anyone has a special snowflake it’s when you are talking about kids, especially theirs. The kids I am working with have a disability and therefore have the “special” moniker already attached to them.

        I have slowly been learning about the paleo diet since the beginning of the year through Cordian’s book, your book, and your podcasts. Perhaps I am the too excited Noob, looking to get involved. LOL! I was thinking and suggesting a compilation of kids related information because I am coming from a medical model and I’m looking for ways to introduce this topic along with the work I am already doing to address self-feeding skills. I must admit until recently I often was in the same camp as the parents are “I just want them to eat something, anything”.

        Thanks again and have a great day!!!

        Reply

  23. I agree that it’s not necessarily a good thing to be dogmatic about the paleo thing, but was the saturated fat content of ancestral diets really that low? Grass fed muscle meats are pretty lean, but what about organ meats? Back in the day I’m sure they ate liver and brain just as readily as the muscle meats of an animal.

    Reply

    • George-
      Check out the work Cordain did on the full body rendering of wild ruminants. Not much Sat’d fat. This was misconstrued however to indicate a PROBLEM with sat’d fat. Bottom line: Ancestral diet did not have a lot, but for overall health, it does not seem to matter.

      Reply

  25. Regarding the longevity in relation to social support issue, from reading Gladwell’s book Outliers, I learned about this town of Roseto which had unusually little CVD and it seems to be related to social issues.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7079814

    From the abstract:

    “The major finding was the importance of social support and close family ties in buffering the deleterious effects of stress and life change, factors which have been implicated in the occurrence of myocardial infarction and sudden death.”

    Reply

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robb

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.

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