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.

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.