30 Day Experiment: Getting Unfat and Energized

I seemed to have broken the bank at costco yesterday as I stocked up for my new diet. I’ve been hinting at it for a few weeks, and now that my trips, birthday, and Halloween are over I decided it was time to execute. I plan on following a Paleo diet for the next thirty days. I haven’t read much of Good Calories, Bad Calories so as I delve more into the book I will have additional information to add on the benefits of such a diet.

The main idea is simply that our bodies are made to digest things that are natural to us as human beings. It has been propagated in our culture that high fat diets lead to heart disease, clogged arteries, etc. The problem with this premise is that as people eat less fat in their daily lives (for more carbs) the chance of heart disease does not decrease (see President Eisenhower as a famous example) but has in fact increased.

What modern science has started to find is that processed carbohydrates are the enemy. Foods that are high glycemic in nature spike our insulin levels and cause all sorts of messes for our body. The symptom that I am most concerned with is the energy level fluctuations. After eating a high carb meal (note when I say high carb I’m assuming high glycemic carbs) your body spikes in energy and then subsequently crashes as well. When you replace those carbs with naturally digestable carbs such as vegetables, fruits, quinoa, etc. these spikes don’t occur and you receive a steady energy supply throughout the day. Proponents of the diet claim a willingness to be more active and energized.

So my hypothesis is that by eating a paleo style diet I will have more energy level for activity and feel more energized throughout the day. I will test it by following a paleo diet for 30 days. I will have at least one cheat meal a week since I eat out with my work team one day a week, and possibly one or two meals on the weekend. So I am committing myself to 18-19/21 meals a week.

I’m getting recipes from two blogs and will consult a few websites if I’m looking for something far out there. What’s interesting is the use of natural sweetners. Blue Agave nectar is supposedly sweeter then table sugar and yet low glycemic. I’ve reviewed interesting dessert recipes I want to try, and If I remember I will take a picture of some of my favorite meals to share with you.

In truth, I tend to follow this natural diet most of the time. I just haven’t committed myself to so many healthy meals and documented my results. I am very interested to see if I will have a significant change in energy level as some have claimed. As always, if you have any questions or comments post them below and I will respond.