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

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Paleolithic Solution Seminar: Chico, CA!

Sunday was the first day in almost a month the sun was out in Chico, CA. In completely unrelated news, we also hosted the inaugural Paleolithic Solution Seminar.* We had attendees from Ireland, Canada and all over the US attend what was likely the largest concentration of Pseudo-Science since the last time I spoke publicly!

I had a lot of fun with this material. About half the day was new: Basic endocrinology of cortisol, the seven characteristics of a paleo diet, how to customize nutrition for fat loss, mass gain and a host of health conditions. I have some ideas for streamlining the material,  some other things I want to add…always something to tinker with! I’m looking forward to attendee feedback. Please be honest, I’m really interested in making this the best event possible.

Our Next gig will be at CrossFit OneWorld hosted by Freddy “Hands off My Beer” Comacho. This is a BYOB event, but bring an extra for Freddy.

 

*-Just wanted to make a distinction here. A CERTIFICATION indicates some kind of test and proof of aptitude, otherwise it’s a SEMINAR. A CERTIFICATE of ATTENDANCE…well, that’s a seminar too.

Comments

  1. Good Morning Robb. I would love to know if and when you guys would be hosting a Paleo Seminar in New Jersey or Boston, Conn or Rhode Island. I read Enter the Zone over the summer but wasn’t completely convinced that the food portions trumped Food QUALITY. I have been doing a TON of research on the Paleolithic lifstyle and it seems that it’s the best possible option for someone who is looking to optimize their health and fitness. PLEASE COME TO THE EASTCOAST!! Thanks for all you’ve done man!! Hope to hear from you soon..

    Reply

  3. The PSS was absoultely excellent. Having been a Zoner in the past this is exactly what i needed to better prepare myself and my athletes for Paleo nutrition. I likened this and the Mobility gig in Redding to a conversation where you only hear every other word (reading, watching videos, podcasts & the rest) until the point that you actually experience in person the subject, then you get the other half of the conversation.

    I have a couple of follow up questions that I e-mailed separately yesterday but will ask here:
    Being that guy without a gallbladder and now that I understand I need digestive enzyme supplementation would that be the Now Foods Super Enzyme? Would I use the standard dose of 1 tablet taken with each meal? And should I also take a tab with the magnesium before bed time?

    I have several members that are interested in the PSS and wonder if you could bring it to the northern Nevada area (CrossFit Carson Valley). We are close to Lake Tahoe, Carson City and fairly close to Reno. I think there could also be a decent draw from northern California and maybe even Utah. I know the Reno folks are also asking the question but our grass fed beef is more plentiful than theirs 😉

    Reply

    • Ron!
      It was great having you there! You may require anywhere from 1-4 nowfoods super enzymes caps. Do not take it with just magnesium…you need it with a meal!!

      Since the first BBS we have received over 600 requests to host seminars! We are going essentially down the line from folks who have made requests…we will hit you hooligans at some point. I really appreciate the support and Interest.

      Reply

  4. Three of us from Dallas, Texas all loved it. Great material, well explained.

    You mentioned you could talk about this for 5 days non-stop. Email me when you decide to do that because I can sit there and listen for 5 days non-stop. 🙂

    Awesome work.

    Reply

  6. First of all Robb I want to know your recommendation for the amount of cookie dough (in Zone proportions, of course) I would need to get a 700 lb DL, 650 lb Squat, and be able to run a 30 second 400m.

    On a serious note I would love to see your SEMINAR come to the Northern Virginia area some time soon. The Podcasts are great….but it just doesn’t afford me the opportunity to ask you asinine Zone questions in a face to face setting.

    -Jeremy

    Reply

    • Jeremy-
      I have no idea on the cookie dough but man, it would be a NICE experiment!!

      We will be out in VA with RUTMAN in I think july…still need to hammer that out, but wee will be there.

      Reply

  9. Robb-
    I cannot thank you enough! The seminar was outstanding and I took away so much valuable information and it sparked many more questions. This was such an asset for me as a trainer, but in some ways more importantly as a mom and wife. I look forward to the peasant uprising in my house! You had some great points for us to consider as trainers as well, my favorite was to guard you space and energy! I can think of a few instances that will come in handy 🙂 Your “staff”, I use the term loosely since most are family and probably didn’t have a choice, were outstanding as well. I would particularly like to thank Chrissy for sitting down with me and talking Mom of new babies stuff, I’ve struggled with some decisions and it was nice to get information and advice from someone else in my shoes, so Chrissy thank you so very much!
    Look forward to the POD casts and future seminars!
    Thanks again!
    Maryanne
    PS.. Crossfit Sierra would LOVE to host too!

    Reply

    • Maryanne-
      It was great to finally meet another one of our neighbors. Let us know how the changes go and we would LOVE to roll up to your place to do a gig. We also do a monthly 1 hr nutrition talk. Our next one is Feb 16 at 7:30 pm. Kinda late but you nd your cleints are ALWAYS welcome. I just rotate through material I hit in the main lecture.

      Reply

  10. Robb,

    Is Australia on that list of destinations?? If not i know a place in Melbourne that would be willing to host.

    Reply

  11. Robb, I just wanted to thank you again for the seminar. Listening to you and Kelly was more than worth the trip from DC. I told one of our clients that “Robb Wolf will save America if more people start listening to him.” Thanks again, man…

    Reply

  13. Robb,
    Congrats on getting this seminar off the ground…nice work!

    Question: I get teh restless leg thing happening nights, usually waking around an hour or so after falling asleep to toss and turn. I think I read somewhere that this is possibly a potassium issue, but I’ve tried tabs to no avail, same with magnesium. The only thing that seems to work is eating–carbs or dairy in particular. Any idea if this is my body telling me I need more food, or a little insulin spike, or what?

    Reply

  14. The Seminar was fantastic. Robb is an amazing speaker, even better in person (for those 6 people that listen to the podcasts). I checked the fliers at the Old Folks Home, doesn’t look like they have you on the field trip schedule yet Robb, guess your listeners will have to suffer through the bed sores while they settle for podcast. Back to the point, 8 hours felt way too short. This should be a minimum 2 day course with required prerequisite reading to help move things along. It would be nice to get to the material that we didn’t have time for.
    Heck, this should be standard curriculum in every nutrition department in the nation, but I guess anyone that reads this site knows that.

    Reply

  15. This is a quote from a comment on the article that Tristy linked to. All I can say is wow…

    “…And of course they don’t listen to me! Gluten (wheat) is so much better for the rest of us in comparison to white flour.”

    The depth of this person’s ignorance is truly awe inspiring.

    Reply

  16. Great Seminar. Can’t say enough goods things about it. We are lucky to have someone as competent as Robb leading the charge on nutrition.

    Reply

  17. Robb,
    I’d be real happy to host you here in CT. Nutrition Seminar and/or Black Box Summit.
    I emailed through the website and have not heard anything back yet. Maybe you could post the procedure for requesting to host a seminar for all of us that are interested. If it’s already posted somewhere feel free to ridicule me publicly.

    Reply

    • TOM!
      those requests go into a list and we tackle them as they came in. It’s a good idea though to make that adedicated and systematic process.

      Since the Black Box gig we have received over 600 requests to host a seminar. Our plan to reach as many people as possible is to go west coast, middle, east coast, and perhaps once per quarter hit an international location: Europe, australia/NZ, asia:japan/thailand…lots of ways to do this but this makes the most sense. We will post a 2010 schedule soon.

      Reply

  19. ” My 2 1/2 yr old grandson was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 18 mos. His parents removed all gluten from his diet and there was a remarkable improvement. Just 3 weeks after becoming gluten free he began making eye contact and speaking again! I don’t think we really know just how serious food allergies can be.”…. thank god for some reasonable comment s at least from that article!!

    Reply

  20. Hey Robb,

    Over the past year I have cleaned up my diet several times with some good long term habit development, but it seems like whenever I really buckle down for example on a pretty clean Zone diet with 17-18 blocks, another time with general improvements on food quality and portion size similar to the zone and. Last weekend I improved my food quality again and while I have gotten over many of the craving/blood suger things people go through, my sleep drive has diminished terribly. This happened the last two times too. I have been doing Crossfit or CA WODs pretty consistently and my performance does not seem to suffer, but my recovery definitely does. Also, I don’t seem to have as much energy during the day at work.

    When I am eating whatever, I generally sleep 7.5-8.5 hours per night. When I clean up my eating habits, I struggle to get 6.5 hours night.

    Have you seen this before? Any ideas?

    Anything would be much appreciated,
    Thank you,
    Andrew

    Reply

  23. Robb, thanks for a life-changing day of information! You have the gift of being able to communicate complex concepts, like endocrinology, in a way that is accessible to lay people, and you do it with good humor and passion. More specific feedback: I’m glad that you covered cortisol—it seems highly relevant to a lot of the issues we see with clients; loved the tools for figuring out macros for different populations and the supplements recommendations/explanations. I thought your handouts were sufficient to get me through the presentation, and I would love to have a more robust explanation of some of the pathologies and your recommended strategies for addressing them so that I would feel more fully prepared to explain to a client the how and why behind it all—fortunately, you’ve got a book in the works! I can’t wait to read it—thanks again for stimulating and focusing my interest in nutrition.

    Reply

  24. Robb – any chance you’ll come and do a Paleo gig out here in Virginia w/Rutman in August? Rut is doing his MEBB gig @ CrossFit Hampton Roads and I know my folks and his would love to have you come out.

    Reply

  25. Hey Robb.

    Thanks for the awesome paleo seminar. I learned a ton and had a blast. I have already placed an order for vitamin D, zinc, and Natural Calm. There was great energy at the seminar and your whole crew at NorCal great too. Chico’s a fun place. I want to bring my friend back. She can shop downtown while I go get smoked by a WOD at NorCal. I particularly enjoyed the clinical nutrition part. I have always approached paleo from an athlete/performance standpoint since that is my primary goal. But the clinical aspect was fascinating. My mother had an autoimmune disorder. All throughout her life she was told it was lupus by Doctors. It was just recently that the Doctors decided it was not lupus and was instead some rare and mostly unknown autoimmune disorder. I would really like to see her go paleo. It is on her radar since I always talk about it, but after attending your seminar I feel that I have much better and solid info and material to offer her. It will be hard to get her to transition away from her nasty refined gluten carb diet, but it’s definitely worth a try.

    One suggestion: I loved the note packet and took many additional notes on it, but sometimes there was so much info and not enough room to note it all. It would be awesome if you could space the notes out a little so that there is more room to add stuff.

    And on a side note, I think my fish oil went bad while I was in Chico (it was unfridged for a while) becasue I got horrible intestinal upset Monday morning after taking a some. My intestines are still a little unsettled. What are your thoughts on kombucha? Would that help. I want to get a good dose of probiotics to get my intestines settled again. I know I could use yogurt, but I was hoping to steer clear of the extra dairy. Is there something you’d recommend and that is still paleo friendly?

    Thanks again for the paleo seminar. I hope to make it to another one of your gigs in the future.

    Reply

    • Marie-
      roger that on more writing space. Not sure on the fish oil…sounds more like run of the mill food poisoning. I like about any pro-biotic, particularly rotating through the different sources.

      Reply

  27. Robb, I loved the seminar. I agree with some of the other folks I could easily sit through two days. Maybe and advanced day would be in order. The only thing I can think of that you didn’t talk about is grass fed vs corn fed meat. Thanks for the coffee and nuts. Oh another thing was cheating. That’s all. Thanks again.

    Reply

  28. Robb,
    I can’t thank you enough for such a wonderful weekend! Your staff and family were so welcoming & all very good people. It was an such an honor to be a part your seminar. It’s not usually easy to listen to someone talk for that many hours, but your seminar was so engaging I could have kept learning for many more hours. In fact, I agree that you almost need 2 days for the material. It could give the attendees the night to solidify questions that popped up & they can be addressed on the 2nd day.

    It’s funny because you said if we don’t own a gym or are not a trainer, how the hell did we end up there?? Well, I’m not a trainer and don’t own a gym & while of course I want to look good naked, that’s not the only reason I traveled to Chico this past weekend. I am just a Crossfitter whose life has been changed by the Paleo Diet. I’ve increasingly become interested in the why behind how much better I feel and the information you provide to the public is invaluable. What your seminar did for me was finally convert floating facts into concrete and incorporated knowledge. When the info you present gets fully incorporated into one’s thinking I believe one’s outlook is fundamentally changed. And mostly, I want to understand this better so I can help spread the good word. So you should know that while you are up against an overwhelming force of misinformation that feels impossible to fight, your work is reaching out beyond the gym owners, trainers and your own clients. One person at a time, you are helping to improve the quality of so many people’s lives. I really thank you for that.

    Catherine

    Reply

  31. Not sure if where to put this comment but I know someone will be happy. I just read an article and they have bacon candles in chicago. You light the vegatable oil soaked wick and the bacon dribbles its love onto what ever you want. Here is the article with the phone number to order it. I’m calling tommorow. Enjoy

    Reply

  34. Rob , It was well worth the journey from Ireland. I enjoyed you Seminars layout, and your wit kept my concentration levels up!
    keep up the good work!
    John B

    Reply

  35. Robb!!! Please come to the Myrtle Beach area! There is a nice little community that is growing in the area. We always have to schlep up to Charlotte or Raleigh for something.

    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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