Tag Archives: diet

Thrive, Paleo, or Other? Planning My Experiment

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What’s the best whole-food diet?

A carefully-crafted plant-based diet emphasizing only nutritious, alkalizing, and energizing foods?
The Paleo diet, based on the eating patterns of humankind over the last two million or so years?
An omnivorous diet of whole foods with high-quality meat and dairy?

Which is best? Undoubtedly, that depends on the person. But it is possible to determine which is best for *me*. Next Friday, I’ll begin an experiment which could potentially take up to 39 weeks: a 12-week trial of three quality whole-food diets in turn, each beginning with a 1-week transition period.

Why? First, I need to lose weight. Although I’ve come a long way in the four years since I began running, I’m still overweight, and I want not to be. More than that, I want to be lean. Running lighter is simply more fun! Although these diets aren’t meant specifically for weight loss, I believe that Thrive’s nutritious vegan approach will very likely help me lose weight. Second, I need to find what best fuels my running. Although I’ve been a near-vegetarian for years, after reading sources for athletes that encourage a lot of protein, I began eating far more eggs over the last year. However, my results were mixed, and I want to investigate. Hence, my three-step experiment outlined below.

  • Diet I: Thrive-inspired plant-based whole-food diet

    I’ll largely be following the plan presented by Brendan Brazier in his wonderful book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life. Thrive is much more strict than most vegans eat (there are lots of junk-food vegans out there). Thrive is concerned with eliminating dietary stressors, acid-forming foods, and non-nutritious foods. Thus, processed carbs, wheat, corn, and many forms of soy are out, as are high omega-6 vegetable oils, refined sugars, and coffee. Did I really say meat, dairy, eggs, wheat, corn, soy, cheap vegetable oils, sugar, and coffee? Isn’t that at least 90 percent of the Standard American Diet? It is, and Thrive is almost the antithesis of SAD.

    What’s left? Nearly all vegetables, all fresh or frozen fruits, most nuts and seeds, plus more exotic fare like sea vegetables, ancient grains and pseudo-grains. Special attention is given to the balance of Omega 3, 6, and 9 fats, and reducing inflammation. Strict as it is, Thrive is still less restrictive than some other diets like Timothy Ferris’s slow-carb diet which eschews all fruits and grains.

    However, its restrictions do concern me; sustainability is key for any long-term strategy, so I’m going to allow myself two mild “cheats” per week. These are not going to be a license to eat a pint of ice cream or a half chicken. These will be reasonable cheats, like a sushi lunch). And I’m not a fanatic—I won’t sweat it if I eat a wrap with mayo that might have a couple of grams of egg in it, or have something sweetened with honey instead of agave nectar. Beside the “vegan cheats,” I’ll also allow myself a few optional “Thrive cheats”–foods that, though vegan, fall outside of the Thrive world (white rice, some nachos, etc.)

    In spite of my premeditated cheating, I am really looking forward to this exciting approach to eating. Who can resist a recipe called “Wild Rice Yam Pancakes”?

  • Diet II: Paleo

    After I’ve given the Thrive diet a 12-week test, I’ll probably begin a test of the Paleo diet, Loren Cordain’s modern-day adaptation of humanity’s pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer diet. Paleo consists of meat, eggs (in moderation), vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds only). The condition is that if Thrive should feel so perfect that I can’t imagine eating any other way, screw it—I’ve found what’s right for me. However, if I’m still interested, Paleo is up next. Again, I’ll be emphasizing whole-foods, and will strive to eat the best, closest-to-wild meat, fish, and eggs possible during this time. Looking at Cordain’s recipes, they seem rather, um, mundane compared to Thrive’s, so I’ll likely continue my vegan meals as before, but will incorporate at least one animal-based meal a day, whether eggs or meat. I know some of you are wondering how could anyone have LESS that that, but for me, that will be a dramatic change.

    Note: I will not hesitate to end the experiment early if I feel a dramatic loss of energy, or any other strongly negative effects.

  • Diet III: Whole foods with dairy: omnivore or lacto-vegetarian

    Assuming I still haven’t been won over by Thrive or Paleo, I’ll try a third alternative, incorporating high-quality grass-fed dairy, and possibly eggs and meat, contingent on my experience of Paleo. Again, I might cut the experiment short based on my experience.

UPDATE, May 12, 2013
How did it go? Read about it.

The 10 best and worst holiday habits

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From Dr. Phil Maffetone:

The Best Holiday Habits:

  1. Maintain a healthy lifestyle
  2. Be with those you want to be with
  3. Stick with a holiday budget
  4. Balance work and pleasure
  5. Get enough sleep
  6. Stay at home and have fun
  7. Do things you’re passionate about
  8. Shop locally
  9. Buy & receive only healthy gifts
  10. Share healthy food

The Worst Holiday Habits:

  1. Spending money you don’t have
  2. Visiting people you don’t like
  3. Going to parties you’d rather avoid
  4. Eating things you don’t want
  5. Drinking too much alcohol
  6. Last minute shopping
  7. Holiday travel (especially at peak periods)
  8. Going on a diet January 1st
  9. Gaining weight
  10. Buying unhealthy gifts

Eight reasons to lose weight slowly

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  1. Better metabolism: Slow weight loss, if done well, doesn’t send starvation signals to the brain, slowing metabolism. Many fast weight-loss plans do, and after a few weeks of rapid weight loss, metabolism often slows down dramatically.
  2. Habit-forming: In losing slowly, you have time to let the changes you are making become habits. And when your new patterns of eating and exercising become habit, you can sustain them after you reach your target weight.
  3. Saves money, part 1: Clothes: Slow weight loss gives you more time before you have to buy new clothes.
  4. Saves money, part 2: Food: Slow weight loss usually pays for itself in simply buying less food or eating out less, even if the plan has a fee or cost involved.
  5. Less disruptive: Fast weight-loss plans generally work with a dramatic change in eating or lifestyle. Whether that’s the balance of macronutrients (low-carb, low-fat, high-protein, etc.), amount of calories (severe restriction, intermittent fasting, modified fasts, etc.) supplements, or a sudden increase in exercise, you generally need to make a sharp change to your eating or lifestyle for it to work. Slow weight loss can be much less disruptive.
  6. Enjoyability: Slow weight loss is usually more enjoyable, because there are a greater variety of foods available.

    The dramatic restrictions that fast weight-loss plans mandate are usually unpleasant, and require you to read an entire book to persuade you that you will enjoy them if you just *stick with it.* Without the brainwashing (persuasion), few people would ever want to embark upon the changes involved in most get-thin-quick schemes.

  7. Flexibility: The gentler changes of slower weight-loss approaches usually makes them easier to adapt to your lifestyle, such as eating out on weekends, etc. Fast plans often create awkward situations: (Sorry, I can’t go with you to that place, I’m not allowed to have carbs/fats/food!)
  8. Long-term sustainability: This is the kicker. Can you keep the weight off after losing it? Fast weight-loss methods usually aren’t sustainable for the long term. After the shock phase and main weight-loss phase, they usually have a “maintenance” phase that continues the diet in a milder form which is still usually difficult. Most people will abandon it and soon begin regaining.

    A slow method is usually more sustainable almost by definition; you have to sustain it longer to reach your target, and can continue maintaining your desired weight afterwards by staying on the plan or slightly modifying it.