Training Update

I am now halfway done with my 6 month period of rest before I get another MRI of my back to see if I can go back to jiu jitsu. I have been following the paleo diet very strictly and lifting almost every day. In the month following the discovery of my injured back I ate like crap and put on 16 lbs. In the past 4 weeks I lost all of that weight and am now down to 178. I am looking to drop another 8 pounds before I switch to trying to put on muscle. I am frustrated because I have been sick for the past 3 days and haven't been able to go to the gym.

Picture of me as riddler killing time at comicon till I can go back to jiu jiutsu

Paleo Diet: Cortisol and Caffeine

I have been reading the book The Paleo Solution lately. I have learned a lot that I didn't already know including some interesting information about hormones.

Cortisol is bad

Cortisol is a hormone that is caused by stress, excessive exercise, not enough sleep and drinking caffeine. It leads to accelerated aging, fat storage, and hair loss. If you are looking to improve our health, you should try to reduce your exposure to cortisol by sleeping more, reducing your stress and avoiding caffeine. Luckily enough, getting more sleep will aid you in reducing your caffine intake

  Image Source

Weight Loss: Paleo Diet Basics

The paleo diet is one of the greatest diets ever created. Pretty much any diet will allow you to lose weight if you increase your exercise and limit your calorie intake, but what sets the paleo diet apart is that it makes dieting easy. Other diets have I have done were painful and I was always hungry, but that wasn't the case once I adopted the paleo diet.

What you can and can't eat on Paleo Diet

The problem with starting on the paleo diet is that it is so restrictive and hard to adjust to at first. The basic idea is to eat similar foods to what cave men would eat thousands of years ago during the paleolithic era.

You can eat Meat and Eggs

You can eat pretty much any type of meat you want including beef, chicken, seafood, turkey and eggs. It is ok to eat some ham and bacon but it is best to limit your intake of pork products.

You can eat Fruits

All fruits are ok to eat on the paleo diet but limit the quantity of fruit you eat. Although fruit does not have refined sugar, it does still have a lot of sugar in it. I eat a lot of apples, pears and grapes. I love pineapple but it is a pain to cut or expensive to buy pre-cut.

You can eat Vegetables

You can eat pretty much unlimited vegetables. Personally I eat a lot of broccoli, spinach, carrots and peppers, but most vegetables are ok. The only vegetables that are not ok are corn, peas and any beans.

You can eat Nuts

All nuts except peanuts are ok. Cashews, almonds and walnuts are all good options for nuts you can eat. Be very careful with nuts because a small quantity can contain a lot of calories. I can eat a pound of salted cashews (about 1600 calories) in one sitting because they are so addictive.

You can drink Water

Pretty much all you can drink is water. A limited quantity of natural no sugar added juice is ok but not necessary. When you switch to only water you will notice your grocery bill drop nicely.

You can't eat Carbs

Carbs are the devil, avoid them like the plague. You cannot eat bread, corn, potatoes, rice, pasta, tortillas or anything that has flower or wheat in it. It is hard to adjust to but it makes dieting easier in the long run.

You can't eat Refined Sugars

You can't eat candy, sodas, chocolate, cookies, or anything else that has sugar added. No sugary juices, just natural juice like orange juice.

You can't eat or drink Dairy

Don't eat cheese or ice cream and don't drink milk. The no cheese part can be hard to adjust to but it is good for two reasons. It helps with your diet and also most people are mildly lactose intolerant. If you tend to fart a lot, avoiding cheese helps reduce it. Avoiding dairy also seems to help people who have bad skin.

You can't eat Processed Food

If it doesn't look like it was grown on a farm, don't eat it. If you go to the grocery store, all of the natural foods will be on the outside with the processed foods in the inside aisles. Don't even bother going down the aisles, there is no healthy food in there.

You can't drink Alcohol

Alcohol is empty calories, avoid drinking all alcohols.

You can't eat Legumes

Legumes include foods like beans, peanuts and peas.

Why the Paleo Diet works

The paleo works because it prevents you from eating foods that raise your insulin. Insulin sends a message to your body telling it to get hungry and to store fat. Both of those are really bad when you are on a diet. When you start following the paleo diet your food cravings go down, this is why it is easy to follow. It is almost as if the weight just starts melting off.

Paleo Diet success story

I dropped 28 pounds in 3 months following the paleo diet. It is by far the best and easiest diet I have ever followed. Everyone I have ever talked to that has tried it has had similar success. I will write a follow up in a few days with tips on adjusting to the paleo diet.

Link to site I got vegetables picture from. Link to site I got meats picture from.

Martial Arts can help you lose weight

Today I am going to talk about weight loss, after all it made it on my list of top 10 reasons to do jiu jitsu. I have heard about story after story after story about people who have lost a lot of weight doing martial arts. I think there are 3 main reasons it helps you to lose weight an keep it off:

1) Martial Arts is exercise which helps you burn calories.

2) Martial Arts are fun which often means you will continue to be active even after you reach your goal.

3) Martial Arts teaches people discipline which helps them stick to the diet they are following and keep eating healthy even after they reach their goal.

I have been doing BJJ for 3 months now and following the paleo diet. So far I have lost 27 pounds, making this the most successful diet I have ever had. I plan to lose another 5 pounds before I hit the body fat percentage I want (roughly 7%). I look so much better than when I started, I have abs showing and everything. Once I reach my goal I will post before and after photos. When I have more time I will do a detailed (probably several part series) entry about paleo diet and losing weight.