What's up with Paleo?

Diet fads come and go. One day fat is the devil, the next day carbs are killing us. South beach was big for a while, now it seems paleo is the new thing. So what are we to make of all this? How is someone supposed to pick the right diet?

Here is my take: anything and everything we eat constitutes our diet. The idea of "being on a diet" is absurd. You can change eating habits, but making drastic changes that last for a few weeks or months before falling off the wagon can be unhealthy. A healthy diet is based around moderation and finding what food habits work for you. My diet fits my lifestyle and probably isn't the right fit for everyone else.

The paleo diet is based on the idea that cavemen (who lived in the paleolithic era) did not eat certain things, like grains, sugars, dairy products or anything processed. Cavemen had not yet domesticated cows or grains, so these things didn't exist in their world, thus they didn't have that choice. The idea is that throughout most of human history, our bodies never processed dairy or grain or lots of sugar and now that we have all those things in abundance we are having all sorts of health problems (see: heart disease, chronic inflammation, obesity, diabetes, etc).

The people I know who adhere to some form of the paleo diet are all very fit people. The diet fuels better athletic performance; speeds recovery and keeps your brain sharp. It can also take some getting used to. It, like any other diet, can and should be tweaked to suit the individual's needs. I follow paleo about 80% of the time. I find that this level of adherence keeps me healthy and burning clean while allowing for the occasional cheat that helps maintain sanity (I swear they put some addictive chemicals in the smell of movie theater popcorn). But it is up to each person how much effort they want to put into their diet.

Here are a few links to good paleo related sites:

-This article is about a guy who has spent 20 years tweaking his diet and exercise program with great results. http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2009/12/25/panu-eating-and-high-intensity-training.html

-This blog is dedicated solely to eating paleo. I use lots of her delicious recipes. http://paleomg.com/

-Another collection of paleo recipes and other paleo info: http://realfoodforager.com/

Just a reminder: I am not a doctor or a dietitian. I'm just a dude who likes to eat bacon and I build my diet around that. Just kidding. But seriously. . .

Jack

PS - Yesterday's workout - 800 meter repeats. We went to the park and walked off 100 meters. Then we proceeded to run 800 meters (back and forth four times). Rested two minutes and then ran another 800m, then 2 min rest, and one final 800m. I tried to hit the same time for each 800m (~2:25) This can be done anywhere with minimal gear. Disclaimer: These are not fun. Enjoy.