how we get thin.

eating paleo is our choice. and we feel that it is one of the greatest choices we have made in taking care of ourselves. we are fully aware that there is more we can be doing ::ahem, exercise:: but we are confident about it putting us far ahead of where we were before.

we've been traveling up and down the east coast for the last couple weeks, visiting friends and family, and aside from our pending nuptials in september, our new eating lifestyle has been a hot topic of discussion when catching up with friends and family.

"what's this paleo thing all about? is this another one of those fad diets? isn't it just atkins? fat makes you fat -- how can you eat all that fat?!? there is no way i can not eat carbs, i love carbs too much!"

first let me talk about why we picked up the torch...

we've lost at least 25lbs between us in the last couple months, and we have never felt better. a visit to the doctor will be happening relatively soon as well, just to confirm that our levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and other factors are where they should be. but we have had more energy above all else, we sleep and think better, AND we don't count calories -- probably the biggest win of all. 

it's a simple and also a complicated way of life, at least for now, but put briefly: we do not eat grains, starches, legumes or added sugar. we eat lots of fatty meats and vegetables and many fruits. whenever possible, we try to eat animals or their products that are grass-fed or pastured.

is this a fad diet for us? polotek and i don't think so. for one thing, we've never stuck with something health-related as long as we have with this. other diets fail mostly because we are usually miserable. or tired. or bored. this feels like a permanent change. 

plus, it just makes sense. i mentioned in my last post about reading "why we get fat" by gary taubes. that book, and plenty of other reading material i've come across very clearly outlines some of the problems with the western diet, the major problem of obesity in our society, and how what is dished to us as a solution (basically the calories in < calories out model) is unsustainable for significant weight loss and/or maintaining it. i mean, tell me who REALLY is going to count how many calories they take in and burn everyday for the rest of their lives...? not me. i've tried. and failed. again and again...and again. 

now, i'm not going to tell you that we will never have a piece of bread or a noodle or a gummi bear for the rest of our lives. but those are treats for us, and are much less present in what we eat than a couple months ago. balance is key. we can still indulge once in a while and come out ahead of where we would be had we not adopted our new lifestyle.

and all that fat?! yes, i was amazed at first, too. then i picked up a book and read more about how it all works. EATING FAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT. not if you are eating the right kinds of it and not deranging your metabolism by combining it with foods that significantly raise your blood sugar. keeping the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3s around 4:1 is great for preventing health problems. read about it. that's why we eat grass-fed or pastured. eating fatty meat accompanied by refined carbs or processed foods is a no-go. so just have some vegetables with it, instead.

and people also ask, isn't paleo just the atkins diet? they share some similar principles, but they vary at points. i'm putting this venn diagram below to help with comparison.

Source

polotek and i call ourselves 'paleo', but when you look at the main principles of what that entails, we actually skew in the "primal" direction. but i kind of group paleo and primal into one group, since i've found that people have lots of variations in what works for them.

at this point in the conversation with our folks, people say that they can't give up the carbs. polotek's brother even commented that when he previously tried to cut carbs out of his eating, he felt like he couldn't get full. he needed the carbs to feel like he'd had enough to eat. which brings me to this: changing the way you eat is ALWAYS about having 'this' and not 'that'. in no case can you 'have your cake and eat it, too'. if you feel like you need carbs and sugar, and can't imagine living with them, then you probably won't have much success with a paleo lifestyle, or hardly any other diet change.

as i said before, it's not the end of the world if you have an indulgence here or there. after all, quality of life is what matters most. educate yourself on what's in your food and how it makes an impact on your body. then make a solid choice about what is most important to you. it would be a major win if you even decided to only allow yourself to eat whole wheat or whole grains, and nothing refined. or just cut out foods with added sugar or high sugar content. and start small, you don't have to change it all overnight. incorporate one thing at a time at your own pace. find what works for your body and your mind.

why we get fat.

thanksgiving came and went. i decided to set my paleo ways aside for a few days (not just turkey day, i kind of started a little before then), and now i'm back at it.

here are a few pictures highlighting the indulgent pleasures polotek and i enjoyed over the holiday...

i baked brie in crescent roll dough with apricot preserves, and i made a slammin' crab dip. 

instead of roasting a whole turkey, i opted for one of olivier's turkey roti. it was delicious. obviously.

the spread. 

we had some friends over for dinner potluck-style, and it definitely worked out great. the line up: turkey roti, honeybaked ham, mac-n-cheese, greens with smoked turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, salad with pomegranate seeds and homemade biscuits. also an amazing pumpkin gingerbread and mulled wine were in the mix. at the end, there was still a crap ton of food left, but we gave away generous take-home containers of all the food, since most of it we can't eat.

my curiosity of the damage done was killing me friday morning, so i jumped on the scale. i was up two pounds from my lowest weigh-in couple weeks ago. not terrible. i got back on track with eating paleo since then, and today i scaled up. turns out i'm now down more than i was before last week. six and a half pounds -- how do you like THEM apples?! i like them a LOT.

a couple interesting observations:

my plate. full of yum.

* i tried really hard and could NOT eat all the food on my plate. my major effort got me through a little more than half of the food you see above. i've noticed that i can eat significantly less food than before going paleo and be really full. mind you, i have NOT been starving myself in any way. when i get hungry, i eat. and i don't count calories. i eat until i am full. but once i am full, i stop.

* eating starches and grains during the few days i did, i could notice some differences in the way my body behaved. most notably, i was getting really tired really fast. i also felt sick to my stomach a couple times after eating carb heavy foods.... coincidence?

* eating potatoes, pizza, pasta and sweet things just didn't seem as rewarding as i had hoped. i mean, sometimes i can really fiend for these things, but actually giving myself the chance to eat it was much less climactic then i thought it would be. this makes me hopeful that i will eventually be able to easily overcome my urges. knowing that the reward is not worth the cheat... it's all about the mental challenge. if you can put the cookie, bagel, or muffin down and pick up a piece of sausage, strawberry, or an egg, you will do yourself a great service.

this brings me to the title of my blog post -- "why we get fat"...

i'm at the end of reading the book by that title, which has pointed out and driven home many things that i have considered and questioned about what is preached to us about how and what we should eat.

i could probably fit those things in several blog posts, and i very well may, because there was so much important and interesting information in that book about how we in westernized cultures are as fat as we are today and don't know any better. clearly there are a number of factors that come into play, but there are some simple things that people can do to improve their health, lose weight, increase their energy, and better their brain function - but they are not things that are told to us from the powers that be, like the national institutes of health, or the american heart association, or the government.

the things we should be doing are too often dismissed as quackery or gimmicks, but this book highlights study after study, scientific and historic evidence of how our bodies and biochemistry work. i'll admit that things get a bit redundant at times so the author can drive his point home, but in the end, i consider myself much more enlightened than before i downloaded this to my ipad.

it's a read i highly recommend, and intend to discuss with the world in the coming weeks.

eating this week.

i'm happy to report that my scale numbers have been trending downward. yesterday's weigh-in has me down a little more than 6lbs. i rewarded myself by having garlic naan with my indian food lunch. so yum...

i'm interested to know how other paleo grubbers fare with eating / cooking on short time. by and large, that seemed to be the story of my week. here's a look into some of the things i had...

i had deji bulgogi (marinated grilled pork) twice this week from delicia cafe. i stumbled across this place because it's right across the street from my office. i dig it. instead of rice, they gave me a little salad. it also came with kimchi, pickles, and some kind of sauteed greens. and i added a little sriracha to it, cause it's delicious.

deji bulgogi

i happened to make an awesome quick dinner this week. and it was literally because i looked through the menus of five or six restaurants first and decided that i either (a) didn't want what they had, (b) didn't feel like going there to pick it up, or (c) didn't feel like waiting an hour for delivery because my hand would be chewed off by then. 

as a result, i went in the fridge a grabbed the first three things i saw: meguez sausage from oliviers (without casing), sweet peppers left over from some dish i made last week, and bok choy that came with the farm fresh delivery. this is by far one of the simplest and tastiest fly meals i've done. i didn't even add any seasonings to it. 

all i did was brown the sausage in a large pan, then added the peppers (cut in half) and the chopped bok choy, and let it cook with a lid on the pan. it probably took 15 minutes tops to make.

merguez, peppers and bok choy

and i had a sweet treat on wednesday. i got turned on to hail merry products by a friend, and though you shouldn't eat these too often, it definitely beats your average dessert if you are fiending for something sweet. the meyer lemon and persian lime flavors are to DIE for. i got them at the whole foods in soma for a co-worker's birthday (she is also paleo), and they were a hit with the whole staff. note that the staff was definitely skeptical before trying it. i guess i would just advise you to try to abstain from eating an entire one in one sitting, if possible. 

lemony awesome.

i know. that is asking a lot. 

some kind of a food guide.

this may prove helpful to some -- here are a couple places that i've been giving my business... this list is potrero/soma-centric because that is where i spend almost all of my time in the city.

where to buy:

olivier's butchery - best meat in town! you know it's for real when more of the items are listed in french than english. the butcher, olivier cordier has it all, and it is GOOD. his shop is in dogpatch on 3rd and illinois, and reason number 8798 why i love my neighborhood. we get grass-fed beef and lamb from here, and pastured pork. he is so enthusiastic about his meat, and you can ask all kinds of questions about it. they know what they are doing. love this place.

my purchase today: this much meat cost about $55, and will be good for many meals!

farm fresh to you - we get a regular box every two weeks! i love the stuff we get from here, and it changes with each box. i like to be challenged to cook with the stuff we get (this week we have bok choy and persimmons, whaaaa?), but the best part is you can tell them what things NOT to send you, and how often you want your delivery. and you can look on the website to check what is coming in your next delivery beforehand.

gluten-free reviewer grocery: also on illinois, a few blocks down from olivier's at mariposa, has some really cool things they carry in their shop - like assorted seaweed snacks and kale chips. there is some area of crossover with paleo eating and gluten-free diets, so a person may find a couple handy things in this shop. but be careful not to get things made with rice or corn!

whole foods - everyone knows "whole paycheck". we get mostly everything else here...eggs, butter, oils, miscellaneous fruits and veggies, etc.

trader joe's - i really heart TJs, but you gotta check the labels on the things you buy here. it's less bad than a lot of other things you could eat, but they do sell a lot of tempting processed foods. try to avoid them. one thing i buy from here a lot is their seaweed snacks. they look like this.

things i've had eating out:

south park cafe in soma - i've been there a couple times. this is one of my top choices for lunch. their "pig salad" is delish, and they have a duck leg confit thats also really good (just don't eat the potatoes!).

chez maman in potrero hill - delish burgers. just get it without the bun and salad instead of fries.

pera in potrero hill - i'm a fan of the sultan's delight -- tender lamb pieces on top of eggplant puree. it's really good.

21st amendment in soma - they have a good burger and i'm also a fan of the half a jerk chicken. so good.

seoul patch in potrero hill - polotek and i LOVE this pop-up korean-inspired lunch place housed in rocketfish. their menu isn't exactly paleo, and it changes every month, but the chef eric is really awesome and will tweak his dishes to accommodate. for example i had his torta koreana this week, but he made it into a salad for me (sans bread). i've been going here every week for the last couple months and i haven't tired of it one bit!

axis cafe in soma - been there for brunch. their braised pork dish is tasty (ordered without beans and tortilla).

pastured eggs and bacon from olivier's

ozone thai in soma - i frequent their $6 take-out lunch, usually whatever curry chicken they have that day and spicy string beans (no rice).

easy breakfasts: 

crabby eggs - i usually get a container of (real) crab meat from whole foods, and toss it in a little dijon mustard. then i lightly scramble some eggs and cook it all up in a nonstick pan. i use some emeril's essence seasoning to punch it up. it's awesome.

eggs and sausage or bacon - pretty straightforward. i usually cook the eggs in butter and bake the bacon in the oven so i can save the fat for something else...like making kale chips!

kale chips fresh out of the oven

quick snacks:

kale chips - easy to make, fun to eat! there's a recipe that's paleo friendly and easy to follow here.

raw almonds - i try to always keep some in my bag. it's an easy snack if you are on the go and hungry. and you don't have to eat many to take the edge off.

in case of (sweet-tooth) emergency:

have a piece of fruit. low sugar fruits like berries are best, but it won't be the end of the world if you have an apple or a pear.

and dark chocolate. the darker the better. i try to keep this to a real minimum....maybe having one little square every couple days. a  new favorite is vosges dark chocolate bacon bar. oh dear god, it's so good. just one square at a time, though. 

you really can't give into the temptations overall. make sure that you are having something sweet because you choose to, not because you can't help yourself!

feel free to send me your thoughts on other sf goodies and places!

getting my caveman on.

as i mentioned before, polotek and i are easing into the paleo lifestyle, but the changes we have made have been dramatic, based on the things we ate a month ago. and he sometimes has to remind me that this IS a major transition for us. we can't expect to be perfect or not have slip-ups or rough days. we are now firmly in week 3, and i am down five pounds.

and i couldn't be happier about this, because this has been a very celebratory week -- namely, due to polotek's involvement with launching yammer pages this week. but also, it looks like i may soon be growing into a role of my own within the tech industry, and we have had some happy things happen on the wedding front, AND we have had friends come to visit us the last couple weeks... so, between all that celebrating and partying, it can be hard to keep a tight grip on what we put into our bodies. yet, we've still managed to come out on top!

i had a whole dungeness crab broiled in butter last week <3

and yes, my motivations for making this change have been primarily fueled by wanting to drop some LBs, but in doing this and learning about it, i have realized that these changes are good for other reasons, such as having our bodies operate the way they are intended to, reducing the toxins in what we eat, and being educated about where our food comes from and what is in it.

this morning polotek mentioned that a few other people he knows are interested in trying out or learning more about going paleo -- and that i should share some helpful info about what we've been doing to get them started. and i'm happy to oblige.

i'd like to start by saying that this is inevitably going to be easier for some people to do than others. i won't lie in saying that we are fortunate, because (1) we live in san francisco and have all kinds of fantastic businesses that make a point of selling local, ethical, healthy and socially-conscious foods. and (2) we can afford to purchase the high-quality foods that the paleo lifestyle requires. pastured eggs and butter from grass-fed cows DOES NOT come cheap compared to their conventional counterparts. on the same hand, i have been pleasantly surprised at how much grass-fed beef and pastured pork i have been able to get with my dime. just know that if you are seriously considering this lifestyle change, you will probably have to make some initial investments in changing over some items in your kitchen.

after some conversation and a lot of questions to my paleo friends, and a lot of googling, i have to say that i firmly believe that the best change people can make in the beginning (without going full-out cold turkey), is to cut as much grain, starch, and sugar out of what you eat as possible.

those things will keep your blood sugar high, and your body WILL use it for its first go-to source of energy. so if you want it to burn the fat, be extremely conservative with consuming bread, pasta, beans, rice, SOY, white potatoes, CORN, certain fruits and their juices, DRIED FRUIT, peanuts, candy, and even certain dairy.

i know you are probably thinking...what the flip can i eat?!?!
everything else. including fat. love the fats that nature intended for us to eat. it's good for you.

an example is my lunch today. i needed food fast, but was determined not to give in to the urge to eat something from our food blacklist. this is very difficult when you are hungry in a supermarket. but in some strange moment of clarity, i ended up getting a piece of pot roast they had in the hot foods section, and some mixed greens from the salad bar...and presto! awesome (and quick) paleo lunch.

really yummy, and it smelled SO good!

and with all that protein and fat, i got full pretty fast. below is a photo of what remained, and i really was stuffed at this point.

mmmm, leftovers.

so i think the key is, whenever humanly possible, to know what is in your food, and where it comes from.

i have been loving and enjoying: burgers (sans bun), slow-cooked beef and pork, meatballs (no breadcrumbs), greens, sausages, BACON, avocados, raw almonds, seafood, eggs, and so on...

i also know it has been significantly more difficult for polotek to stay on track while at work. his office caters lunch and dinner, and from what i can tell, the food options are not "trying-to-keep-low-blood-sugar" friendly. so i actually made him a sort of "snack pack" or "care package" of paleo-friendly snacks to keep around (kale chips, raw nuts, seaweed snacks, etc.). it's only been a week and he needs a refill.

paleo sushi

things in paleo-land are going just fine. i'm getting more and more comfortable with the adjustments -- you know, no grains, starches, beans and excess sugar. no big deal.

also no soy. i found some coconut aminos in the whole foods in SoMa a couple days ago, and i immediately got down on making myself some paleo sushi! it was easy, and fun, and it didn't look wonderfully pretty, but was still pretty tasty without the rice.

the ingredients i used....

• toasted nori - cut and use half sheets, prevents extra-chewiness
• 3 or 4 oz of tuna (wild caught)
• 3 or 4 oz of salmon (wild caught)
• cucumber
• avocado
• 6 or 7 lightly-boiled shrimp - chop 'em
• sriracha (use lightly) 
• wasabi powder
• coconut aminos

the end product!

i ate the entire thing. i did not share.

Paleo Winning.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood when you lose 4lbs without counting calories or exercise.

That's right, folks. It's been about a week and a half since polotek and I started this little experiment, and I'm down in pounds and so is he -- by seven lbs! And the bulk of what we are doing is cutting out grains, starches, legumes, and excess sugar.

And to be completely honest, this change in diet hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would! Don't get me wrong, I have had temptations. The thing on me that has gotten the most exercise these past couple weeks is my willpower. Jeesh...walking into the office kitchen and smelling bread toasting for someone's sandwich? Ugh. Going to a restaurant and seeing that loaf of bread on the table begging for you to break and eat it? Just cruel. Not being able to drink my glass of simply orange mango in the morning? Torture. Though, once I get past the initial test of discipline, and start eating my actual meal, I am ALWAYS quite content and satisfied.

Full disclosure: I wasn't even 100% all this time. And to be honest, the food i cheated with did not meet the expectation of what I built up on my mind. I had some macaroni and cheese last week because I was starving and in a restaurant that basically had no paleo-friendly options or things I could really tweak to make it work. I also got in a few nights of drinking last week (alcohol is a no-go because it turns to sugar in your body) since a friend was in town visiting and there were a couple parties. I tried to mitigate the damage by not drinking beer aka liquid grains. Instead, I opted for red wine or vodka tonics. I even had a little prosecco. I can't help but think of how effective my other eating would have been if I had not indulged. Either way, I really am happy that it didn't completely undo everything else.

Metabolic derangement is my number one fear.

A couple dinners polotek and I have enjoyed include: meatballs and kale, chorizo and stewed okra, bunless burger, scrambled eggs with crab and homemade kale chips!

paleo meatballs and kale with bacon

Polotek and I miss juice. I mean, really miss it. I thought we had it beat -- we were juicing one whole grapefruit and adding sparkling water to it. And it was yummy. This really did the trick for us. But I should have known it was too good to be true. I found an article on the site for the bulletproof diet that says excessive grapefruit is no bueno. So sad. We will limit our intake to maybe one grapefruit a week. Or really bad juice cravings.

Look for me to post recipes for the yummy food we've been eating soon.

chorizo and stewed okra

 I'll soon be entering week 3, and all in all, I'm feeling pretty good about it. I mean, the food is not bad at all -- lots of grass fed or pastured meats --polotek and I have particularly been enjoying lots of bacon and sausages from Olivier's, our amazing local butcher. I can get my needed Japanese fix by eating sashimi and a little wakame -- though, soy of ANY KIND is a big no-no, so no edamame or agedashi tofu. San Francisco, in addition to being localvore-city, is an extremely pork friendly place -- I've been enjoying all kinds of braised pork and variations of pork belly. And the BEST part is that I don't have to be afraid of eating all that fat! Bring. It. On!

the bulletproof diet.

it will take lots of adjustments to get to the level of the bulletproof diet as outlined by dave asprey. but polotek and i are determined to make some serious changes in the long run. 

for now we are hoping to ease into it, making one change at a time, with the hope that these things will stick or at least help us make better choices in the long run.

my understanding, based on the various things i've read is roughly this: the food the average american eats (read: carbs and sugars) keeps our blood sugar at higher levels than our bodies like. our bodies use the hormone insulin to keep our blood sugar in its preferred range. insulin lowers our blood sugar, ultimately converting excess sugar into fat to be stored away for later use. but because we keep feeding our bodies more foods that convert to sugar in our blood, it doesn't really get to burning that stored fat for fuel since it's always using the sugar first.

paleolithic diets generally focus on eating the types of food our cavemen ancestors ate -- though there are some variances from person-to-person about how they adapt this for a modern lifestyle -- suggesting minimal grains, starches, and sugars, and more dietary fats, protein, and vegetables.

the first step we are taking in making changes is to cut grains, starches and sweets - with the exception of up to one cup of rice a week. this includes (but unfortunately is not limited to): pasta, bread, corn and corn products, candy, juice, soda... 

we will be doing this for about three weeks, and then see how we feel, whether we have noticed any differences in the way our bodies operate and weigh, and if we feel confident that we can continue with the change.

so far we have been following these eating habits for a few days, and while there have been annoying moments of us contemplating things we want but can't have, the change overall doesn't feel so bad. one of the things i really like about it is not having to count calories or points as in previous diets. i eat until i am full, and i feel like this is significantly less than i ate before, because fat is filling. instead of sitting down with a waffle with the works (usually sweet stuff on top), i've had an egg over-easy with a piece or two of sausage, and felt full for hours. i can snack on a handful of almonds instead of a bag of potato chips, and feel quite content and significantly less guilty.

we'll see how things progress. right now we are taking it one day at a time, and trying to be a step ahead of our hunger by knowing what our next meal is going to be. i find that if we wait until we are hungry to figure out what to eat, we are more likely to give into bad choices.

...more to come on what we've been eating. ;)