"Eat Like A Predator, Not Like Prey": Paleo In Six Easy Steps, A Motivational Guide

[Trackhead]

It is not uncommon for me to chug whole cans of coconut milk. Mmmmmm, medium chain fatty acids.

I've been making my own lately from whole coconut. Takes a while, but it's pretty damn good and kinda fun.

Coconut "bread" too..........

[Trackhead]

I just found these guys over the weekend http://www.utahnaturalmeat.com/ and am considering pulling the trigger on a 1/4 cow and 1/2 a pig ($3.50/lb hanging weight, seems like a pretty good deal). Here's what they recommend for freezer space:

Dan,

I just split 1/2 pig with a coworker from them. Just picked it up saturday. I've been buying chicken/eggs/beef from them for a while. Nice folks!

I also did a pre-order for a couple Thanksgiving turkey's from them.

I'm working on getting my own 6-8 chickens in my yard, but my wife is a little reluctant at the moment. We've visited some friends mini-chicken farms, and the appeal is growing. Real free range eggs are very expensive, and the shit you buy at Whole Foods is a scam in regards to them truly being free range.

[Trackhead]

Seriously.

I walk out of Costco with 3 boxes of 18 eggs every week, just for us. I eat two each morning and Sam (our 12 month old) eats about 1 as well...plus what DTM eats.
Its does sound totally crazy to a lot of people who just don't understand that eggs really are insanely good for you and that you SHOULD be eating them, as long as your cholesterol is in check. I had mine checked before I got pregnant and it was totally fine.

As far as this thread goes...I've been amazed at what a transition I've made to eating primal over the last 6 months, and becoming more so the last 2 months.
I also don't love the word "strict" or "diet", as this is just a healthy lifestyle change (plus weight loss right now) for me that is LONG overdue and I'm really liking it. We still eat beans every now and again. If we go out to eat with family or a special occasion, we may eat rice or the rare pasta or a treat. I can really tell when I've eaten something like that, as it feels like a rock in my stomach-not good. We also still eat some dairy-all full fat. (especially for Sam)
I love carbs-only the carbs I love now on an everyday basis are NOT grains, sugar or processed food like products, but fruit, lots of veggies & nuts

Stoked my Sandy neighbors are into this. You guys are like my wife and I, we eat a fair bit of eggs. In my opinion, if such a huge portion of your caloric intake is from one food source, it might as well be high quality. This is my last hurdle, to either have consistent access to local, free range/pastured eggs, or get some chickens. Clearly I'm a bit obsessed, as this is my second post on it........... The Utah Natural eggs are too expensive for my taste, so I'm hoping wifey will approve the chicken farm. If not, I'll sell it as "our future child needs good eggs!"

VK2 is double in patured eggs.
O3:6 ration is much better in pastured eggs.

Those two reasons alone............

[Trackhead]

And 2nd, I still get weak in the knees when I smell fresh bread and I haven't had any in probably 2 months.

Perhaps this country is addicted to wheat via gluten. Cereals, crackers, more fucking crackers, buns, breads, pasta.............government subsidized corn and grain farming.............

Gluten polypeptides cross the blood/brain barrier and have been found to stimulate the same neuroreceptors as morphine.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6...m&ordinalpos=1

[zion zig zag]

After almost 3 months of good, paleo eating, I broke down and had a cheat day. That day stretched into a 3 day weekend that ended last night. It included a gallon of rocky road ice cream, big bag of Doritos, package of Oreo's, oatmeal cookies, nachos and a 40 ounce soda. The Coke shows how caught up I was in the moment because I don't even like it, it was probably the first Coke I've had in about 2 years. Anyway, going to bed last night I felt like shit and I woke up this morning zapped of energy. I think it was good for me to crash so hard, puts me back on the straight and narrow.

At least I did make it to the point of being able to eat without craving that stuff, and I've also gotten to where a big breakfast will keep me energized all day. I measured body fat before the big meltdown and I was at 10% which I'm pretty stoked about because there was no hunger involved and I never really felt like I was doing anything that wasn't long term sustainable.

[Rontele]

I think its perfectly natural to break down occassionally. You'll find over time, your body develops a resistance to grains and dairy and eating such foods has tremendous unintended consequences.

[zion zig zag]

I'm working on getting my own 6-8 chickens in my yard, but my wife is a little reluctant at the moment. We've visited some friends mini-chicken farms, and the appeal is growing. Real free range eggs are very expensive, and the shit you buy at Whole Foods is a scam in regards to them truly being free range.

Do it. My ex lives up in Morgan and I bought a bunch of chickens for the kids to raise and the eggs kick ass. I eat a lot of eggs so I have to cover the difference with store eggs and I'm constantly amazed at the difference.

[Trackhead]

After almost 3 months of good, paleo eating, I broke down and had a cheat day.

Cheat days, in the context of a hypocaloric state, or a low carb state, have been proven to be beneficial for raising leptin levels. Carbs stimulate leptin, fats and proteins do not.

I "cheat" once a week or so, but I don't worry about it or schedule it. If a cheese cake is around, I'll eat the whole fucking thing, no worries. Can't stop living.

[Rontele]

Cheat days, in the context of a hypocaloric state, or a low carb state, have been proven to be beneficial for raising leptin levels. Carbs stimulate leptin, fats and proteins do not.

I "cheat" once a week or so, but I don't worry about it or schedule it. If a cheese cake is around, I'll eat the whole fucking thing, no worries. Can't stop living.

I am the same way with pizza. Unfortunately, over a year of eating paleo has hightened my lactose intolerance and pizza is followed by Mugatu-levels of fartiness.

[Trackhead]

I am the same way with pizza. Unfortunately, over a year of eating paleo has hightened my lactose intolerance and pizza is followed by Mugatu-levels of fartiness.

Well, I used to have pretty significant cold weather, exercised induced asthma and GERD (reflux). Since eliminating wheat 8 months ago, all that shit is gone. Nordic skiing in cold weather is no longer followed by 8 hours of cough and albuterol inhalers. I can even drink whiskey with no reflux issues. I attribute that to wheat, as when I eat it, the reflux comes right back.

Also haven't been sick yet this year, knock on wood. I work in an ER, with little coughing, sneezing kids everywhere, used to get sick 2-3 times per year, at least. Haven't been sick once, everyone else at work has. Can't say I won't get sick, but so far.........

Dairy is fine with me, thankfully.

[Rontele]

Mrs. Rontele had many allergies and sickness that when she substantially cut gluten out of her diet went away. Pretty amazing.

[Trackhead]

Mrs. Rontele had many allergies and sickness that when she substantially cut gluten out of her diet went away. Pretty amazing.

When you read about Celiac's, it's amazing how even a tiny amount of wheat can start the ball rolling........I've lost my taste for the shit and don't miss it one bit. This is coming from a guy who used to eat Shredded Wheat every damn day and made home made bread and pizza crust all the time.

[Dantheman]

Cheat days, in the context of a hypocaloric state, or a low carb state, have been proven to be beneficial for raising leptin levels. Carbs stimulate leptin, fats and proteins do not.

I "cheat" once a week or so, but I don't worry about it or schedule it. If a cheese cake is around, I'll eat the whole fucking thing, no worries. Can't stop living.

Totally agree here. I also really like Michael Pollan's quote that you can eat all the junk food you want...as long as you make it yourself.

I've lost my taste for the shit and don't miss it one bit.

That must be nice, the Homemade Pizza thread makes me drool and want to make pizza.


I've been trying to motivate myself to get some chickens for years now, I need to get off my ass and do it.

[DeutschBag]

30 + days in now and I feel great. I've dropped a lot of the extra fat around my mid section and am now on belt hole 5 instead of hole 3 when I started. I've even got the horsehoe back in my triceps. The rise in energy has been amazing as well as how easily I sleep now! I used to always feel lathargic and had a lot of trouble getting my eight hours in each night. Now, I wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. It's been a lot of fun experiementing with the food, too. The wife and I make a batch of our own beef jerky each week, I've become a gourmet almond flour pancake maker, and we've come up with some really good paleo curries and sauces for our meats. Tomorrow, I'm going out to visit 'our' cow which will be slaughtered next week. Although German meat is typically a lot more healthy than the stuff you find at the Safeway in the US, it still is grain-fed meat. Our cow, however, is grass-fed and is not kept in a barn, hidden away from sunlight like a lot of the cows/pigs/chickens are. Can't wait to BBQ a steak up from Rosa (yes, the cow's name is Rosa...). I've also found a chain of butchers who carry organic, pasteurized poultry and grass-fed pig and cow products. They are an hour drive away, but it's worth it.

My friends keep asking me if eating the way we do is expensive. I tell them it really isn't when you consider how much money is usually spent on shit food at the grocery store. I also tell them this is not a diet, but a lifestyle change. Both my wife and I really haven't found it that difficult to make the change either. We were severly tested on our 10 day trip down to Italy last week, but only cheated once - we had a small gellato each. But, no pasta, no bread, and no sweets. Instead, we were able to sample a lot of the wild game that they serve up in Tuscany. The wild boar was amazingly good!

[Trackhead]

Although German meat is typically a lot more healthy than the stuff you find at the Safeway in the US, !

This is what bugs me when simpletons state that although we have expensive health care here, our life expectancy isn't that great, but nobody takes into account our that our agricultural system is completely fucked and misguided, as is our diet, and our health is a result of that.

When the American Heart Association is endorsing (selling their endorsement) Cocoa Puffs as "heart healthy", well, perhaps that's what's wrong with America.

[bagtagley]

If you eat store-bought meats and eggs, it's doable for relatively cheap. If you buy local, farm-raised meats and eggs, Paleo is not cheap. That's not to say you can't limit your costs, but you can't replace cheap calories like rice, flour, potatoes and beans with expensive calories like meat and eggs and break even. I'm not saying it's not worth it, but I keep seeing people try to defend Paleo as inexpensive, when it's really not. Quality, whole foods have a price. To me it's worth it, but I have no misconceptions about the added expense.

On a separate note. I scored 10 pounds of leaf lard and rendered 3 of it last week. Been using it in place of butter for cooking, but what else can I do with it? I'm having a hard time not to make pie crust and biscuits with this stuff.

[Trackhead]

If you eat store-bought meats and eggs, it's doable for relatively cheap. If you buy local, farm-raised meats and eggs, Paleo is not cheap. That's not to say you can't limit your costs, but you can't replace cheap calories like rice, flour, potatoes and beans with expensive calories like meat and eggs and break even. I'm not saying it's not worth it, but I keep seeing people try to defend Paleo as inexpensive, when it's really not. Quality, whole foods have a price. To me it's worth it, but I have no misconceptions about the added expense.

True, but perhaps the true cost of meat isn't what is in stores, but what is raised on farms. People invest so much on their material shit, then don't invest anything in their health. I'd rather ride a 5 year old bike, 4 year old skis, and drive an old car, and spend the difference on good food.

I buy organic food selectively. Research which fruits/vegies are the biggest offenders, and buy those organic, the rest are just regular supermarket stuff.

Priorities in this country are focused on gaining more fancy shit, more debt, bigger homes, more stress, and ultimately, a miserable life.

[hafilax]

Nutritionally there isn't a big difference between organic fruits and veggies and non. There is a big difference nutritionally between grass fed meat and grain fed meat. I'm not sure about eggs but I like the taste of born3 eggs more than cheaper kinds.

The choice to buy organic is more about ethical farming than nutrition. Some people buy organic because it is more expensive.

[Game Over]

Dan,

I just split 1/2 pig with a coworker from them. Just picked it up saturday. I've been buying chicken/eggs/beef from them for a while. Nice folks!

I also did a pre-order for a couple Thanksgiving turkey's from them.

I'm working on getting my own 6-8 chickens in my yard, but my wife is a little reluctant at the moment. We've visited some friends mini-chicken farms, and the appeal is growing. Real free range eggs are very expensive, and the shit you buy at Whole Foods is a scam in regards to them truly being free range.

damn i need a slick website!! $3.50lb is a bit high IMO. i sold my last batch for $2.60 and a guy down the road is selling grass fed for $2.30 you also only get 2/3's of the hang weight (bones and shrinkage) so its going to work out to about $5.30lb

edit for spam
i still have a bit left if anyone is interested http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ead.php/211948

[Spats]

Junk food is extremely expensive. Check out how much cookies, cakes, and even breakfast cereal costs per calorie...even BREAD is fucking expensive, especially the 'heart-healthy' (not) whole-grain bread you're supposed to be eating. Frozen dinners and any prepared foods are astoundingly expensive, too.

The worst is all that Weight Watchers shit, whose entire point is to give you the least food for the most money. $3.50 for maybe 250 calories? Fuck me.

If you're eating beans and rice you cook yourself, you've got a point about paleo costing more...but if you're like most of America, eating Hot Pockets, cold cereal, frozen pizzas, cookies, crackers, and fancy bread, it won't be a budget-breaker. Remember that you'll be eating a lot more hamburger and stew meat than steaks and chops...

Not to mention the whole eating out thing. Let's see, I can get a three-egg omelet, three strips of bacon, and a giant pile of fried potatoes for $10 after tax and tip...or I can fix it myself for under $2.

VK2 is double in patured eggs.

Specifically, vitamin K2 MK4, which is the form that our bodies actually need and does the most good. It's also in pastured butter and dairy, btw.

And American nutrition will continue to be totally fucked as long as we subsidize agribusiness to overproduce corn, soy, and wheat. Seriously: we grow so much extra corn that the government has to force us to burn it in our cars at a net energy loss? What the fucking fuck!

[Trackhead]

Nutritionally there isn't a big difference between organic fruits and veggies and non. There is a big difference nutritionally between grass fed meat and grain fed meat. I'm not sure about eggs but I like the taste of born3 eggs more than cheaper kinds.

The choice to buy organic is more about ethical farming than nutrition. Some people buy organic because it is more expensive.

Butter from grass fed cows also has far more Vitamin K2 content, with K2 content being almost non-existent in common store bought butter. Pastured eggs have double the Vitamin K2 content (not the Vit K1 found in spinach, etc) of regular corn fed chickens, a far better Omega 3:6 ratio, and a higher degree of choline.

Why VK2? Read about Vitamin D3 and how your body depends on K2 to activate it. Unless you're eating natto, it's highly likely the standard American diet is not providing a decent amount of VK2.

Organic vegies have lest pesticides. Like I said before, I only by organic vegies that would otherwise have a high pesticide rate.

[Trackhead]

And American nutrition will continue to be totally fucked as long as we subsidize agribusiness to overproduce corn, soy, and wheat. Seriously: we grow so much extra corn that the government has to force us to burn it in our cars at a net energy loss? What the fucking fuck!

Nothing will ever change. Every year I work in the ER, I take care of fatter and fatter people. Everyone has diabetes and hypertension now. Little 2 year old kids are coming in sucking on a Coke, morbidly obese, at two years of age. And their parents wonder why I can't get an IV in their chubby kids arm.

Every year they seem to make CT scanners heavier duty to accommodate the obese. Paramedics now have hydraulic lift stretchers. Half of our wheelchairs are double wide, every chair for family in the patient rooms is double wide. The new standard is here, and it's all double wide.

[mrryde]

I've been doing this for almost two months now and I think my grocery bill may be a bit higher, but overall I am certain that I am spending less overall on food. Even if I spent more, its so fucking worth it. Down over 20lbs and feel a shit ton better.

Anybody see Gary Taubes on the Dr Oz Show? What a joke, how can this guy possibly agree with anything Taubes says when his show is sponsored by Post Cereal and Weight Watchers?

[hafilax]

I've read that pesticides wash off pretty easily and that there isn't much difference between organic and non. I could be wrong.

Again for me it's more of an issue of sustainable farming.

[DeutschBag]

Just got back from visiting the free range farm by my place here in Germany. The guy running it is a total trip, but in a great way. He reminds me a lot of some of my friends back in Oregon. It turns out that the cow we're getting is a Scottish Highland cow. He also sells pig, goat, goose, duck along with eggs and some other products. I bought 10 eggs from him and fried a few up this morning - best damn eggs I've ever had! He also gave me some goat salami and some schwein and leber wurst. I'm really looking forward to getting our 60kilos of meat from him in two weeks! I took some pictures this morning. I'll put a couple up when I get around to taking them off the camera.

Also wanted to mention that I'm able to get locally grown organic, or Bio as they say here, fruits and veggies at the weekend markets. A lot of the grocery stores carry 'Bio' labeled produce that are twice the cost of the other produce. Honestly, I haven't noticed any difference between the Bio and non-bio labeled produce. I just make sure to wash everything well. I also try to buy all I can at the market so that I know it's not coming from Brazil or India - the origin of a lot of Euro fruit. If I can't get what I want at the weekend market from the local organic farmers, I'll try to buy the more local product at the store instead of something labeled 'Bio' that was flown in from flippin' India.