Going Primal

Last year I looked over the China Study book, watched Forks Over Knives and pursued other like minded documentaries about food, it’s processing and the way our bodies digest. My family and I have been very food and health conscious for the last five years, eating a Eat This Not That diet for years. One thing the new Facebook timeline will reveal when connecting with old peers is that weight gain is a game changer for many people. While I admit to plenty of vanity reasons I keep my weight under control, but I don’t think any reasonable person thinks being overweight is good for their health. Many doctors and nutritionist seem united in their statement that belly fat is a key health indicator. And that’s just the fat we see, the other invisible fat apparently lurks around inside us squeezing our vital organs visourly.

I was almost about to go vegatarian after the China Study. But then I took a Research Methodology course in my grad program and read this blog by Denise Minger pointed out by my friend, kristi Bennett. Both helped me determine that even though plenty of real men eat only plants, the science that promotes abandoning meat, at least in this book, is wanting.

So I was content to stick with the Eat This Not That philosophy. That way of eating ( high protein, good fat, veggies and only whole wheat grains) plus p90x has helped me stay in shape and keep my weight in check. Depending on my discipline, stress and holiday rationalizations, I vacillate between 185-200lbs. I feel amazing at 185 and less so at 200. But now, even more than being “cut” I want to add more lean muscle, lose body fat % and see my health numbers improve. Being 40 has improved a vanity only motivation! I think being young and looking young and the health numbers associated with that has a lot to do with wheight control. 40 year olds, 50 year olds, and older adults can dramatically different from each other in lifestyle and health, generally differentiated by weight class.

The journey through the food blogs led me through the raw food fanatics and then finally landed me on the Primal Living philosophy. Primal eating makes sense after reading men’s health and Eat This Not That (abs diet). It takes the same philosophy but questions the introduction of grain carbohydrate to the modern diet. Built on a Darwinian view of human development, Primal seeks to eat only whole natural food sources focusing on good fat, protein, lots of veggies, antioxidant fruit an no grains. I have seen plenty of overweight vegetarians to understand the grain = fat connection. But primal proponents make a disease connection I hadn’t made. It seems the combination of processed grains, proteins and fat is at the core of many inflammatory based disease, almost all disease according to some.

So, here is where I am in 2012. An almost convinced vegetarian going primal. I will miss my whole wheat thomas bagels, and my natural peanut butter. But I will welcome the health benefits I think I will gain by burning fat for energy by losing the grains.

Here is a PDF of the main foods that are considered primal.