Transformation 5.0

Paleo Not Paleo, Daily Fuel, and Lock In

Simpsons Angel Devil

Today begins with a question:

“Are chia seeds, quinoa and yoghurt Paleo? I thought we weren’t supposed to eat those?” – Steven

First, Steven, thanks for writing!  I felt this warranted a more thought out reply, so onward to the answer:

In the strict sense chia seeds, quinoa, and yogurt are decidedly not Paleo.  However, is Paleo the measuring stick that takes priority in every situation?

I love Paleo.  I support it, I believe in it, and I practice it.  Most of the time.

Paleo fails when it becomes blind, when it becomes blanket shoulds and shouldn’ts, and when it loses the individual nature of nutrition.

Food is not a binary sequence of 1s and 0s and yeses and nos.  Instead, I look at it as a personal spectrum.  On one end are completely ideal foods and on the other are downright harmful ones.  Foods exist all along this spectrum, separated by degrees.

While chia seeds, quinoa, and grass-fed yogurt aren’t termed Paleo, they’re certainly not on the harmful side of my personal spectrum.  They make up more of a gray area – an area that I am very interested in testing.

Those who listen to Relentless Roger and The Caveman Doctor know that Paleo Baked Goods (PBGs) bug me when used as justification for more than an occasional treat.  I’m sorry, but don’t delude yourself that a Paleo cookie recipe of dark chocolate, coconut/almond flour, honey/maple syrup, etc. is that much better than a regular cookie.  Slightly better, yes.  Leaps and bounds, no.

I know without a doubt that chia seeds, quinoa, and grass-fed dairy make me feel 100x better than that Paleo cookie recipe.  So what’s Paleo and what’s not?

Look, feel, and perform will always be greater than Paleo.  Lifestyle will always be greater than diet.  Look, feel, and perform lifestyle – what helps you function at a high level for your life and for your circumstances?  That’s a great question to ask.

Let’s avoid boxing our very unique selves into any one construct.  Let’s self-experiment.  Let’s test gray areas.  Let’s have some fun with it.  And let’s let look, feel, and perform dictate the success or lack thereof of an approach.

Day 3 Recap

Back on the exercise horse!  The day included a 45-minute strength session.  3x: Renegade rows, dips, turkish getups, kneeling core cable presses.  2x: Standing shoulder presses, TRX triceps presses, TRX jacknives, and hand release push-ups.  It was intentionally 75% effort, with the goal of limiting soreness for MuckFest day (Saturday).

General movement checked in at 18,303 steps and 8.77 miles.

Sleep was a little light at 7 hours and 43 minutes (7 minutes restless), but I don’t feel too bad about it at the moment.

Now for the nutrition

I returned to the first grass-fed greek yogurt variation I tried (I like it better), and included the same accessories of raw cacao nibs, chia seeds, organic blueberries, and cinnamon.  And of course, One Village black gold.

Day 3 Breakfast

I still have a few of these Natural Force samples left, so I’m plowing through them around my workouts.  More likely than not I’m going to order the Raw Tea to incorporate in the remainder of the program.

Day 2 Workout Fuel

Post workout organic grass-fed whole milk.

Day 2 Post Workout

Late lunch-time!  Ground bison, brown rice pasta, local baby spinach, Himalayan salt/garlic combo, probiotic, and fish oil.

Day 3 Lunch

Rise Bar snack.

Day 2 Snack

We tried some duck breast found at the Reading Terminal market, which was a brand new dinner experiment.  It was tasty!  Duck breast, wild rice, and the rest of the spinach with pan drippings as dressing.

Day 3 Dinner

Daily Fuel

Back in the day, when I was taking my first foray into blogging, I posted “Daily Fuel” each and every morning.  It was a collection of the blog articles that had my attention, in hopes that they would inspire others.  Let’s start closing these posts with one piece of daily fuel, shall we?

Thanks to Natalie and Marissa for putting this post on my radar!

How Richard Branson Started Over 400 Companies: The Most Powerful Productivity (& Confidence) Hack of All Time

SPOILER ALERT!  That’s a long-winded way of saying that exercise is where it’s at.

My favorite excerpt:

Busy people who don’t work out say they don’t have time.  Busy people who do work out swear they don’t have time not to.

Read it, live it, and, most importantly…LOCK IN.

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    Steven
    May 31, 2014 at 2:27 am

    Great post, loved the video at the end! Inspiring! Thanks a lot for directly replying to my comment. A bit confusing when trying to follow a Paleo lifestyle but I think I get it. It’s a refreshing way of looking at things.

    • Reply
      Relentless Roger
      May 31, 2014 at 1:18 pm

      I agree Steven – it can get quite confusing! Early on in the Paleo journey, it’s very helpful to have a do/don’t template to follow. It makes the transition much easier. Long-term, as you become more comfortable with the approach, I feel it’s necessary to mold your own approach – introducing other foods that make you feel good and discarding those that make you feel bad. In this molding process, it’s all about you and only you.

      Thanks again for the engaging conversation, and here’s to your continued success!

    Leave a Reply to Steven Cancel Reply