Final thoughts on my 30 days of auto-immune paleo

Well – its the last day today of 30 days auto-immune paleo eating, and I just wanted to round off with a my results and some observations.

Here are the changes I made from what I had been eating prior:
Strictly cutting out nightshades; potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers
No nuts or seeds
No dairy, not even butter
No alcohol
No eggs
No sugar
No processed food (i.e additives, processed meat etc)

(I was already grain and legume free)

I also made sure that I:
took my omega 3 every day (I use Zone Omega Rx – I like it and it works well)
drank 2 litres of fluid a day
got 8 hours sleep most days (occasionally 7)
did 4 -5 CrossFit workouts per week, up from 2
Ate before and after workouts, protein plus starchy carbs, like banana or sweet potato
Ate 4 times a day, a balanced meal with protein, some starchy carbs or fruit and a little fat plus a lot of non starch veggies at at least one meal.

I also added some beta-alanine most days – it decreases muscle burn for me.

Prior to this I had been eating a small amount of dairy, nightshades and nuts, and alcohol (glass of wine) daily. I had a habit of skipping meals (otherwise known as intermittent fasting or IF). I also tended to forget to drink regular fluids and forget to take omega 3. I often skipped post workout meals.

What I noticed:
I like eating like this, I like eating more carbs and less fat. I feel better not skipping meals. The first time a diet dramatically changed my life was in 1996 when I started the Zone diet. This experience was akin to falling in love for the first time. The portions and ratio of carbs, protein and fat were a sweet spot for me. I feel as though I’ve come full circle. My paleo experience was like a “this is it” for food quality – taking out grains and legumes was an epiphany health wise. I played with paleo eating trends; less carbs, more fat, skipping meals. I’ve now gone back to eating a close to a zone ratio – about 20 – 25 grams protein, 20 – 30 grams carbs and a little fat (not measured) at each meal. I notice if I have too few carbs, I don’t feel satisfied, as though my blood sugar needs to increase to a certain level before I have that ‘just right’ feeling. Fat doesn’t do it for me – I was eating extra fat for satiety – but for me it has a delayed effect, so I’d eat it – and then an hour later feel kind of yukky, and got a kind of heavy feeling in my stomach. I don’t much like eating a lot of protein either, approx 100 grams of meat feels about right. Eating a zonish ratio gives me a really clear head as well, I feel focused and calm. My body feels just right. Satiety is excellent and blood sugar stable. (By the way – I’m don’t weigh and measure my food, I just put it on my plate, I use rough portion sizes that I’m familiar with, and how I feel in response to food)

This by the way – is not a high carb diet, I get a total of about 100 grams of carbs a day, sometimes a bit less. Far less than the food pyramid, or the standard Kiwi diet. It would be considered low to moderate carbs. In line with recommendations by Paul Jaminet (Perfect Health Diet)

Results:
I really do feel fantastic. I’ve lost the pesky inch from my waist (at navel), and 1/2 ” off my butt. Weight loss – about a kilo (2.2lbs)
Given that I’m menopausal – I’m pleased – I really thought I was getting some middle age spread – not so! As I mentioned in my last post my Raynauds is much improved – the only episode I’ve had in the last month happened when I’d had nothing to eat or drink for 6 hours. Nothing else has bothered me health wise. I have felt invigorated by the extra exercise and recovered really well. No sore muscles. I’ve had a follow up thyroid test – it is the closest to normal it has ever been: TSH which, when I was diagnosed last year was 5.1 mU/L is now down to 4.1 (normal range .3 – 4.0) Still a tad high. Thyroid hormones T4 and T3 are both in low normal range, and I’m still sub clinical – i.e. no symptoms. So I think that auto-immune paleo improved my thyroid which has helped weight loss.

We repeated a benchmark WOD and a 500 metre row today. I took 6 seconds off my row and just under 4 minutes off the WOD (I was pretty slow the first time!) 15 minutes to 11 minutes. I’m pretty pleased with that – the extra exercise paid off. I also finally got out some unassisted kipping pullups for the first time.

What’s next:
I see no reason not to continue. Why would I not want to feel like this? I’ll probably add eggs and occasional tomatoes back in. I’ll keep the alcohol to special occasions. I’ll keep the regular balanced meals, the pre and post workout eating, and plenty of fluid. Nuts and seeds and the other nightshades will be off the menu. I may see if they affect me – but not yet. I’ll keep dairy free. And I’ll keep up the 4-5 x week CrossFit.

Doing 30 days strict paleo – I highly recommend it!