keep up the good work…
thanks
roger

HA! That’s funny. Eva T is not just a pretty face (or a perfect fanny) she is pretty damn smart on all this geeky crap too. Give her a smooch for me.
Robb

The diet part is going to be a challenge for me.

Protein – Whey etc…

Little safety assurance
Nutritional supplements can be marketed without FDA approval of safety or effectiveness. Athletes who choose to ingest these supplements should be concerned with the safety of long-term use. They are low-nutrient, low-fiber, highly-processed, high-calorie “foods,” whose consumption reduces the phytochemical density of your diet.
Ingesting more protein than your body needs is not a small matter. It ages you prematurely and can cause significant harm. The excess protein you do not use is not stored by your body as protein; it is converted to fat or eliminated via the kidneys. Eliminating excess nitrogen via your urine leaches calcium and other minerals from your bones and breeds kidney stones.
Bad amino acid trips
Vegetable foods are alkaline. Animal products are acidic foods that require a huge output of hydrochloric acid from the stomach for digestion. This acid tide in the blood after a high-protein meal requires an equally strong basic response by the body to neutralize the acid. The dietary-derived acid load from high-protein animal foods must be buffered, and to do that your bones dissolve and release phosphates and calcium. The alkaline phosphate then buffers the acid. This is a primary step in bone loss that leads to osteoporosis. High salt intake also contributes to flushing your bone mass down the toilet bowl. Excessive stimulation of bone turnover also causes an increase in bone breakdown and remodeling, which can lead to osteoarthritis and calcium deposits in other tissues. The presence of this bone material in the urinary tract also lays the foundation for calcium-based kidney stones
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-how-safe-are-protein-drinks-and-powders.html

Who gets kidney stones?

Anyone can get a kidney stone, but it may be more likely if you:

* Are male
* Are Caucasian
* Are very overweight
* Have had kidney infections
* Have a family member with kidney stones
* Have had kidney stones before
* Eat a lot of animal protein (such as meat and eggs)
* Do not drink enough fluids

How can I prevent kidney stones?

If you have had kidney stones in the past, you are more likely to have kidney stones in the future. Try to stop stones from forming by:

* Drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water each day
* Eating less salt (sodium), meat and eggs
* Finding out what type of stone you have
* Having a urine test done by your doctor
* Talking to your doctor about your medicines and other tests for kidney stones

http://www.kidneyfund.org/kidney-health/kidney-problems/kidney-stones.html#ks6

Chris Webb
ctw4779@hotmail.com

Roger-
Acid Base balance is key with kidney stones. Some of that was alluded to above. A basic paleo Zone approach in which protein is moderate and the carbs are from predominately fruits and veggies guarantees a net alkaline state. Damn tough to create calcium oxolates in this condition.
Robb

I have tested this myself and lo and behold the black box worked!!

Sarena-
I need to do a post on this. Folks are finally waking up…maybe!
Robb

Marc

Let me know if the current post helps a bit.
Robb

Never a more stunning endorsement has been made…for rice.
Robb

thanks,
Nick

This sorta applies to this post, but either way I am going to ask it here. Another crossfitter mentioned to me that they actually blend up some of their veggies with water and some tomato paste, etc… and drink it. How does this effect the intake into the body. I know that juice (which is different because this is actually the whole veggie/s) is obviously bad, and I thought that I remember seeing that blending fruit (i.e. whole fruit) isn’t as good as just eating it. So how does it affect you when its vegetables that are blended up. For example, I tried it recently and zoned my veggies for 4 cups spinach, 2.5

Nick-
Sounds nasty! How about soup? I think it’s still a good idea to chew things. Our guts do not do well with mass-intake liquid foods.
Robb

Just wondering if you see similar trends.

Derek-
I think I see more trends based on personality type, particularly addictive perssonalities. In the more addictive personality type I see a lot of self sabotage and just reticence to take the steps necessary to better insure success…I also see a streak of perfectionism that makes this whole process an all-or-nothing proposition. 2-weeks of perfect compliance is undermined in one meal, the individual feels they have “failed” and they give up. It’s tough stuff. Shitty, refined carbs taste good, are socially acceptable and in this era of “environmental awareness” a quasi vegetarian approach that is all bagel-bites and brown rice seems like a morally laudable approach. I’m perhaps a calloused bastard but I’m at the point where it’s “Help the ones who are open to change, fuck the rest.”
Robb

Adam!
That’s the goods. We use the yellow can which is a bit less spicy but the same consistency. Great stuff!
Robb

It’s similar to a common argument about Crossfit. People tend to argue that Crossfit is simply aiming to train people at near maximum heart rates, when in truth – high heart rate during crossfit is not the goal, but really a secondary result of the intensity of any given workout.

Being that Robb is a personal trainer why would he advocate any other means of losing weight/body fat than paleo/zone diets? Obviously if you are obese and you cut your calories in half – you should lose weight…Proper nutrtion programming is the goal here and discussion of (most) other methods of losing weight is probably a waste of time and doesn’t promote overall fitness, nutrtion, and well-being.

Greg-
You said it better than I did! Thank you. The funny thing about the resistance to even trying a paleo/zone diet (particularly on the CF Message board) is the info is ALL FREE. I wrote some articles on the PM, Scotty Hagnass has a recipe book. There is no 19.95/month recurring auto pay for this stuff, just fucking try it! Maybe i need to reconsider the $19.95 auto pay for a bunch of bogus supplements…hmmm
Thanks again for the great answer Greg.
Robb

Sarah-
Well…You could GET all that stuff checked but it’s not really going to alter your approach: an emphasis on proteins, loads of seasonal veggeis, enough fruit to replenish glycogen for training…fish oil, perhaps some R-alpha lipoic acid (500mg-1g/day), 9hrs of sleep in a dark room. Get that stuff dialed in and you are 90% down the road. if you do not see body comp and energy improvements from that THEN lets go digging in your hormones.
Robb

I have tried a CR high carb diet several times in the name of getting leaner. I started around 14% BF and would lose about 15-20 lbs. So yes, you can lose weight this way. However, my BF% basically did not move, I lost strength and was tired most of the time. I also looked worse.

When I went paleo the fat melted and the muscle stayed. My BF% dropped to about 6-8%. Furthermore, this eating is enjoyable and easy. Lots of veggies and meat with fruits and nuts mixed in…..very sustainable. It’s just a no brianer.

Craig-
That is why the athletes zone ramps up the fat…for caloric balance. It does seem to run people leaner in terms of total calories than what they are accustomed to. Same for basic paleo eating. Control insulin and folks tend to eat less.
Robb

Jack-
The scenario you describe has a nearly 100% failure rate! If we are not controlling insulin levels it is hard as hell to keep calories low OR to loose weight. People report loosing fat on a low carb diet to be much easier then a CR high carb/low fat diet. Less hunger, better energy. The problem is people get “bored” and start straying into problematic foods. Welcome to yo-you dieting.
Robb

A couple of questions for you. I have read from previous posts that you are critical of the Weston A. Price Org. Part of this is due to their being critical to the Dr. Cordain’s and Dr. Sears’ books. I have found good in all 3 so I am looking for a little advice.
- How many eggs a day? Go with Dr. Cordain’s advice of 6 a week? Weston A. Price as well as many PM and Crossfit blogs say you could almost eat unlimited eggs. I don’t understand Cordain’s reasons for limiting eggs due to the fat/protein ratio. I though Sat Fat and Cholesterol was no longer the evil once thought. If we are supposed to up our fat content, aren’t eggs perfectly acceptable.
- Are egg yolks bad? Once again Weston A. Price says the yolks are source of all the goodness (vitamins and other brain food). So should we heed to Dr. Sears’ advice of avoiding yolks?
- I am confused about the focus on lean meat in the paleo regime. As above, if saturated fat is not bad, why the focus on lean meat?
- What is your view of fish oil versus cod liver oil consumption? Take both or one?
- What is your view of raw milk and other dairy versus cutting dairy completely out?
- Finally, is fasting one day a week (24+ hours) as good as the daily 15-19 hr fasting window for long term health gains? I tried the daily fasting window last week and gained weight as well getting a lot of constipation. Any suggestions?

Sorry for the long laundry list but it is my first posts of hopefully many more. Thank you, Pete

Pete! Great questions! I’m going to take htis to the front page to go a little more in-depth.
Robb

Shane-
Just eat as hunger dictates. Meats, veggies, fruit, some nuts. Easy peezy!
Robb

Richard-
This is a stumper for folks. You can pick up a can of Coke and a box of juice and the nutrition info is virtually identical…but there is this nebulous notion that the juice is “natural”. Plutonium and arsenic is natural. Dengue Fever is natural…natural can kill!
Robb

Well…kids will be kids!
Robb

High carb diets + CR = Goodbye muscle and metabolism…and oh yeah, hello insulin resistance and increase of all diseases! Popcorn anyone?