Evolve and Improve Away from Neanderthal life!

Do you really want to be a caveman or cavewoman? Together, Let’s evolve and improve.

Paleo is short for Paleolithic, the prehistoric age when humans used rocks as tools and art was cave paintings. The animals that existed during those days, like the Wooly Mammoth, aren’t at our zoo today; many are extinct. Making a rock into a spear shape was an innovation. Their diet wasn’t any more evolved.

Take a look at Venus of Willendorf. Do you want a body like that? That paleo icon looks like the body type I’m trying to avoid, the exact same body I had when I was obese. In a period when food was scarce and difficult to gather, being obese was a great thing. Today, with our office jobs and cars to carry us around, it’s not so great.

There is nothing about being a cavewoman, or interacting with cavemen, that I want to revisit.

Why would we strive to eat today like people did then? Do you want to go backwards? I don’t.

I’m not a doctor. I’m just a human who has maintained an enormous weight loss over time (165 pounds since 1998) and I pay attention.

When you look at the guidelines for high protein cavemen diets, there are some good suggestions, such as eliminating processed and junk food. However, the first guideline for unlimited meat eating really makes these plans simply unhealthy. The graphics of these “new” food pyramids are all meat foundation, which is not new at all. In fact, Neanderthals likely ate more veggies and fruits. These foods are much less work than hunting down an animal.

Just like the cookie diets, this is the meat lover’s diet because that’s what people want. I’m not judging personal protein choices, but it’s not for me and it’s not my guidance. Even with my omnivore clients I would never suggest “unlimited” protein portions of any type each day.   People photocopy these diets out of books, gyms hand them out and people ask me all the time why they aren’t losing weight like they expected with “the diet my gym (or new workout) suggested”, so this post is to answer that question.

1. Eating Unlimited Meat is Unhealthy.

Love your heart!

Humans can overdo anything, whether we think it’s good or bad. Too much animal protein, or any protein, is too much protein.

Love your liver and kidneys! I’ve written about ketosis and ketoacidosis here:

http://www.engineeringwellness.com/micheleon/50-ways-to-lose-your-liver-2

 Losing a liver or kidney is real. These things really happen to real people. The “all you can eat” meat mentality is also really tough for digestion and bad for the colon.  I have a loved one right now on the kidney list – it is awful.

 RIP Dr. Atkins. In fact, he was the cardiologist who promoted a high protein diet via tons of animal protein promotion. Atkins died of falling on the sidewalk a year after suffering cardiac arrest/heart attack and he had a chronic virus, history of heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension (diseases of lifestyle). Doesn’t it seem as if we are just changing the name of an old fad diet that didn’t work? That’s what it is.

Active healthy survivors of different critical illnesses report more energy eating plant based, rather than eating more animals and animal protein.

It’s probably also simply not true that while cave people were dragging each other around by the hair, that they had “unlimited” meat (or any food) available to them. Hunting and gathering food requires hard work, so true cavepeople probably didn’t get to sit in air-conditioned restaurants and eat 6 meals of meat, or more, per day. No drive-thru then either.

Want an unlimited food choice? Unlimited unprocessed farm-to-table organic plant foods that include beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants are my suggestion. If you need plant based recipe ideas that work for weight loss, see my books here:

http://www.amazon.com/Michele-the-Trainer/e/B0075W9PJI

2. Acid, not Alkaline; Intense Exercise Increases Lactic Acid as does eating Animals.

There are many health benefits to eating an alkaline diet; consuming animal products creates acid. Google any acid/alkaline chart and take a look at what you’re consuming.

Please love your kidneys and liver! Check out this article from the National Institutes of Health.

Are you doing a competitive or intense workout? How do you feel after? Here’s my article on repetitive and competitive injuries: http://www.engineeringwellness.com/movement/matching-underwear-the-repetitive-competitive-gym

More reps, longer intervals? Your intense workout is creating even more acidity!

Lactic acid makes us feel sore after exercise. What exercise program are you trying to fuel with acidic foods like animal protein? Intense exercise increases acid in the body. Why would you fuel that with acidic foods? Scientific American published a great article on this.

3. Fat is Fat: Too Much Animal Fat is too much Fat

All animal products contain animal fat, the best known unwanted unhealthy fat.  Animal fat is cholesterol.

“One quarter of the calories in chicken are fat,” Dr. Neal Barnard.

Butter is also animal fat. Ghee is also animal fat.  Adding it to coffee might be delicious, but is completely unnecessary for most climates, unless we’re working or mountain climbing in Antarctica and we really need that extra fat. Butter is not part of any weight loss recipe because it’s animal fat.

Test it out yourself. You can decide for yourself if unlimited animal protein or unlimited vegetables are a better choice for your health and weight loss goals. You can share your journal with your doctor. Often we are not aware of what we’re eating. Write some simple notes for yourself and you can review it.

I created a journal so that my clients can track their consumption and they can learn what works for them. Get your very own Michele the Trainer Success Journal here:

http://www.amazon.com/Michele-the-Trainer/e/B0075W9PJI

4. Losing Excellent Food Choices-What do you mean no potatoes?

There is no reason to deprive yourself of organic potatoes, and organic (non-wheaty and non-gluten grains) such as millet, rice, amaranth, quinoa, organic beans and some organic fruit.

If you’re diabetic or at risk, you probably already know your blood sugar information and allowed fruit intake from your doctor.

Increase your healthy food choices! Some healthy non-cereal grains (non-allergy/gluten free), do exist, and a plain organic potato is a fine choice.

5. Toxins are stored in Fat Cells

 Yoga practitioners are generally more flexible eating plant based because their goal is to release toxins that create stiffness. If you don’t practice yoga, you might not understand the layers of “cleansing” that some people work to clear in order to regain their flexibility.

Our bodies are like toxin filters. All of the toxins we accumulate from internal and external sources are stored inside our bodies, including those we breathe in. Toxins from eating an animal that was stressed and killed (and stored—ew!), no matter how attractively marketed, land in the body of the consumer as toxins. Toxins are stored in our fat cells and joints.

Will the body release fat if we are taking in toxins?

6. Binges and Cheats

 Cheat days build and reinforce binges. Cheat meals or days are really binge eating and doesn’t build balanced habits. Have a treat, but pigging out on animal protein, then planning a binge of everything else, doesn’t encourage a balanced plan of self-compassion.

Meat lover’s diets might be your favorite, if you love meat. We see celebrities all the time that might visibly look “fit”, but we don’t know the cardiac or internal organ damage it may be creating. If people want to know why high animal protein isn’t working for them, the answer is simple; it’s just not a healthy balanced program and it certainly doesn’t marry well with an intense workout program. While avoiding processed junk is a good guideline, the overall high animal product intake is unfavorable.

Clinging to bacon, meat, cookies or wine for a diet is awesome for selling us what we want to hear. Cutting out junk food and processed foods will improve anyone’s health, but handing you unlimited pork chops instead isn’t helping you.

 

 Onward and Upward

It’s probably challenging to kill moving animals for food if your only tool is rocks.

I wrote this because people ask me, “Why are my hips and butt getting bigger on this caveman diet that <this or that> the gym gave me?” (See number 5 above.)

No reinvention of the wheel necessary. The unlimited part of your diet should be vegetables. Most people that are working with these type diets have figured that out that more veggies is the way to go. I am vegan, but my clients are mostly omnivores and I want to encourage everyone to not only reach their goals, but also to improve their health, so please eat more veggies! You can use any of my books for UNLIMITED vegetable ideas to fuel your workout and you are free to choose any (note that I would recommend portioned organic plant based) protein you want:

Michele the Trainer’s Quick Start to Losing 100 Pounds

Delicious, Easy-To-Follow Organic Recipes For Weight Loss and Healthy Lifestyles

Michele the Trainer’s Top Twenty Secrets to Make a Boring Salad Sexy

http://www.amazon.com/Michele-the-Trainer/e/B0075W9PJI

 I hope this helps. Hydrate with water and if you have any questions about how I’ve kept my weight off since 1998, call or email me! Eat more veggies!

Want to Know More?

michele@michelethetrainer.com

www.michelethetrainer.com

www.michelethespeaker.com

877-409-1758