Paleo vs Vegan

It is easy to assume that as an individual following a Paleo lifestyle that I would have nothing but bad things to say about vegans.  You wouldn't be wrong to assume that, since many of the well known Paleo evangelists tend to quickly put down vegans or anything that isn't at least in the low carb realm.  In reality I think there are far more things that these two communities have in common.

I have a close friend that went all-in vegan about 6 months ago.  He has shared his before and after blood work, body fat, and I run with him regularly.  It is remarkable how close our results align to one another.  He has lost just about the same amount of weight. His body fat change is nearly identical.  He is running at about the same level.  And while our blood stats are somewhat different he has also had very significant improvements, especially in triglycerides.  So with all that it is a little hard for me to look at him and explain why he should eat steak instead of beans and grains.  

Who am I really comparing

Many vegans start out as vegetarians and ultimately make the choice due to ethical convictions. I am not going to address those differences. The remaining vegans are dietary vegans and have made the switch as an attempt at losing weight and/or get healthy basically the same reason I am Paleo.  

A breakdown of the similarities

• It's about getting healthy
• It's about whole foods
• It's about sustainable and ethical food production
• It's about eating and living naturally

And the differences

• Vegans don't eat meat
• Vegans don't eat eggs
• Paleo don't eat legumes 
• Paleo don't eat grains

Ok, I admit if you really dig there are lots of nuances to both vegan and Paleo lifestyles that could make these lists very long.  You can even find differences between vegans themselves or individual Paleo.  What I listed above are the fundamental similarities and differences I think most can agree on.

So what does this really mean 

Look around you, head out to any restaurant, grocery store, or any public place.  It is amazing how few lean people you will see.  It is amazing what you see in people's carts at the grocery store.  Look at your friends and family.  How many are overweight?  How many are 20, 30, 40 pounds overweight but believe they are healthy because so many people are 50, 60, 70 pounds overweight.  How many people do you know that eat something and assume it is healthy but you know better.  Here is the reality, our country and most of the developed world is in a total health crisis.  The solution to this crisis is actually pretty simple and straight forward.  Individuals are so inundated with false information partnered with a dependency on processed calorie rich, nutrient sparse foods that they lose the forest in the trees.  I eat meat and my friend eats beans and grain but ultimately we want the same thing.  We want to live a long happy healthy life.  We want to impact the lives of others around us and show them what we were able to accomplish and that it is not impossible.  We want to change the path our society is on.  Vegans and Paleo should be arm and arm and save the grain vs meat debate for a time when a majority of our bothers and sisters are eating healthy whole foods.

Thanks for stopping by,

Chuck

New to Paleo? Start Here

Take a couple minutes to read the Brady Nutrition Paleo Philosophy This is a quick rundown of some core Paleo guidelines mixed in with some of our own perspectives.  After you run through that here are a few additional tips to keep you moving in the right direction.


Paleo Movies
I started Paleo immediately after watching "The Perfect Human Diet" and never looked back.  So I guess this would be a pretty good place for anyone to start and get a jolt of motivation.

Paleo Websites
The number of Paleo websites out there can be dizzying.  There is no shortage of Paleo lifestyle and recipe sites and most are actually very good.   The hard part can be navigating the sometimes contradicting content of the sites.  Here are a few pointers when navigating the Paleo-Web.

• There are a number of grey areas in Paleo and many sites provide lists of foods that are or are not Paleo.  Many of these directly conflict.  Instead of following a list exactly use them as a general guide as you shape your own personal plan.  Develop an understanding of the general philosophy and develop your own as you get familiar with Paleo.  
• I have run into a number of people who have come to believe something is Paleo because they saw it in a recipe on a Paleo site.  Don't make that assumption.  Many recipes out there use ingredients that some strict Paleo will not touch and others do occasionally.  Again keep your mind open, think philosophy, and make your own choices.

Here are a few good sites to start with:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com
http://thepaleodiet.com/
http://www.fatburningman.com/
robbwolf.com
http://nomnompaleo.com
http://paleomg.com
http://www.thepaleomom.com/
http://ultimatepaleoguide.com

Podcast
There are a lot of Paleo podcasts out there and they can be a great resource. Podcasts are an excellent way to stay motivated and learn a lot about Paleo in a short time.  My two favorites are the Abel James' "Fat Burning Man Show" and Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution".

Paleo Books
For every website you run across there are probably two, three, maybe ten books.  Keep in mind many books suffer the same inconsistency as the web, so follow the same guidelines I laid out above.

Recipe Books
I would stick to the web as a resource for your recipes until you think you have exhausted that approach.  There are so many great recipes freely available and you will soon find that you cook things using the skills you already have or learn through others recipes.  I am sure if you spring for a recipe book or two you won't be sorry.  The Paleo community loves to cook delicious things and many of the recipe books I have seen are beautiful.

Educational Paleo Books
You can't go wrong picking up one or two books that are aimed at sharing the science and philosophy behind Paleo.  These can be a great reference especially when you are wondering why or if you should add or remove something from your diet.  Initially stick with the founders, Dr. Loren Cordain, Robb Wolf, and Mark Sisson.  I would also recommend Gary Taubes.

Shopping
The first week or two shopping food is tough.  We didn't buy nearly enough and ended up being pretty hungry the first week.  Depending on how you ate before will depend how different your shopping will be.  Here is a good rule of thumb.  Get as much eggs, meat, fruit, and vegetables as you think you will need, then double the vegetables, double the eggs, add about 50% to the meat, and you will probably be good.  You also want to stock up on a few Paleo staples like fresh ground almond butter, extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and sweet potatoes.

30 Days
Whether your intent is to do Paleo for a short period to get in shape or make a full lifestyle shift the adjustment takes time.  The first week will likely be very hard.  You will be hungry, you will want sugar bad, you will want carbs bad, shopping will drive you nuts, and you will constantly be wondering what you can eat while seeing things everywhere that you can't.  If you are fairly strict, sometime during the second week you will begin to feel fantastic.  At this point you will likely be seeing results at the scale too.  By the end of 30 days you will have felt and seen the benefits and gained some excellent habits.  If you can stick it out for the first 30 days there is a huge chance you will not want to go back.  After the 30 if you are still going strong but don't want to be very strict you can start to consider things to try re-incorporating in moderation

You and Your Doctor
Don't forget to talk with your doctor before starting out.  If your doctor is not supportive or doesn't know anything about Paleo try shopping around.  I have a doctor that is a huge supporter of my lifestyle and I believe he is starting to recommend it to others.

Summary
I am certain, if you can stick with it, Paleo will make you feel great, lose fat, gain muscle, and give you a whole new perspective on life.  Commit for 30 days, spend some time reading up, and jump in head first.  Please let me know if you decide to give it a try, shoot me any questions you have, and let me know how it works out for you.

Hope you have a great day,
Chuck

Should you use Creatine?

I am still developing which and how specific supplements are going to fit into the Brady Nutrition Philosophy. If you want to follow a very strict paleo/primal lifestyle then it is easy to rule out most supplementation.  Our philosophy is not aimed at a truly strict regime but one that provides flexible and achievable guidelines to support a wide range of individuals; from endurance athletes, to families on a budget, to friends and family who may only implement parts of the program. There is a place in our philosophy for supplements that clearly support its primary goals, to be as lean, strong, and healthy as possible.

As part of my Christmas Challenge I decided I would consider certain supplements and first on the list was creatine.  I have a kilo of this stuff sitting in my cupboard staring at me every time I open it up.  My initial reaction was I would take it during my challenge and it couldn't hurt.  I discussed this plan with a friend and following his comments immediately began to rethink the idea.

I have taken creatine several times when I was lifting weights in college. I had notable short term strength increases and while not as clear I think there were also some smaller long term gains.  Mark's Daily Apple has a great write up on creatine and I recommend reading it if you interested in understanding its mechanics in more detail.

So does creatine fit into the Brady Nutrition Philosophy?  To make this decision I asked myself a few simple questions.

1. Does creatine occur naturally? Yes
2. Are supplementation levels an order of magnitude above natural possibilities? No
3. Are there any performance benefits? Yes but only slight temporary ones
4. Are there any health benefits? No not really, although some studies point to benefit for specific medical issues
5. Does it address any specific deficiencies? Yes sort of but not truly
6. Is it something that someone could acclimate to causing other adverse effects?  Yes it's possible

I probably had a few more questions but this was all it took for me to have a clear answer.  No, there is currenlty not a place for creatine in the Brady Nutrition Philosophy.  With no tangible long term health or performance benefits and no real deficiency being addressed it doesn't make much sense to consider this supplement as part of our lifestyle, at this time.  Now what am I going to do with a kilo of this stuff???

Update: A good friend of mine forward me the following link on creatine.  While very pro creatine, it is also very informative and goes into some detail about the Krebs cycle.  I certainly think for some individuals creatine is a perfectly reasonable supplement based on their specific training needs and lifestyle.  I am going to keep my eye on the research and am very interested in seeing where it all goes.

http://athlete.io/3562/the-ultimate-guide-to-creatine-supplementation-part-1/

Glen Arnold Memorial Special Olympics 10K Results

Wow it was a beautiful morning for the Glen Arnold Memorial Special Olympics 10K.  We spent most of the hour before the race trying to stay warm.  It was in the 50's and although everyone was clearly uncomfortable most of us knew this was perfect race weather.  My crew drank some Brady Nutrition Endurance drink and headed to the start line.  The race started out in a bit of a bottle neck leading out to the main road.  The racers were all mixed up so I spent the first half mile trying to work into my pace group.  The first mile was a gentle down hill that was perfect to get warmed up on.  The second mile was back up the same hill and reminded me that I still had a ways to go.  The road was beautiful with stately homes and the sun rising over dew covered fields with crisp cool air occasionally rolling by.  I finished in 53 minutes easily 10 minutes faster than my best expectations and the whole crew I was running with absolutely crushed the run.  Congrats to the the soldiers out there running the 10K with full rucks on and thank you for your service. Thanks to the Albermarle police department for keeping the road clear and safe.  And finally congrats and thanks to all those that ran the race and supported such a great cause!

Welcome to the Brady Paleo Blog

Welcome to our blog!  On July 1st 2013 my wife and I began to transition our family to a Paleo lifestyle.  We have done many things over the past few years to improve our health and fitness. We have made some progress over the years but nothing compared to our first couple months living Paleo.  We have become so passionate about our new lifestyle that we have decided to chronicle our journey and philosophy here.  We have always been adhoc creative cooks and a lot of what you will see will be the simple on the fly recipes that we develop every day. We are avid observers of the Paleosphere and are excited to jump in and helping spread the word.

Thanks
Chuck and Steph Brady