For a few years I have been researching a dietary philosophy known as the “Paleo Diet” or “Primal Diet” or what I call the Caveman Diet. The rough theory is that our bodies could not have evolved in the relatively short time period between the agricultural revolution and now, meaning that we should still be eating similar to Paleolithic man or Caveman. Evolution theoretically takes a very long time and since the advent of farming, grains, bread, pasta, dairy and all the other food marvels of the current times, the mindset I am trying is that we are just not equipped to process those foods just yet and our bodies have a negative reaction to eating them. Heart disease, diabetes, etc. could really be caused by insulin resistance and other negative effects that are directly related to the high carbohydrate diet comprised of these “modern” foods and possibly going back to the ways of our ancestors could improve not only health but athletic performance.

This has been pretty difficult for me to fathom as both in my athletic career and my college studies have almost preached the opposite: low fat, high carbohydrate, careful consideration of meat intake, low cholesterol, etc. You know the drill. The Caveman diet is almost the opposite. Eat like a hunter-gatherer: meats, fish, veggies, fruit and nuts. Really high protein, moderate carbohydrate and by today’s standards, high fat (animal sources at that!). Depending on what version of the Caveman diet you study, sometimes there is no distinction between saturated and unsaturated fats and cholesterol may be ignored altogether. You can see why this dietary theory goes against so much that has been taught and pounded into our heads in the last 25 years. If you start to really scrutinize all the government recommendations and the food/agriculture industries, it gets kind of scary. Like there is some sort of dietary-industrial food complex or something. At least I would have thoughts about it.  Again, this dietary philosophy has been very difficult for me to accept let alone do and preach.

Well instead of just researching to no end (I am still studying it daily), I am just going to give it the good ‘ole college try. I have put myself on a modified Caveman Diet of my own making. It’s basically 80% Cavemen Diet with some concessions towards today’s athletic training and modern life. I am adding in some more carbohydrate (although the whole diet is still pretty low in carbs) but still avoiding grains, breads, pasta, etc. Mostly fruits and veggies plus maybe potatoes and legumes (not on some Caveman Diets because they came with farming). I am also timing the carbohydrate to match the timing of training and recovery.  I am doing this because it’s my thought that the training that I do with my clients exceeds the duration/intensity of Mr. Cavemen walking around and hunting/gathering. I am also allowing myself to “fall off the wagon” when necessary during travel for work as I would rather eat off the diet than nothing at all; I will still attempt to stay as close to it as I can even during those times. I am currently not paying attention to saturated/unsaturated fats and cholesterol even though every brain cell is screaming to avoid the “bad” stuff.  Oh, yeah, I am still going to have my one cup of black coffee a day. I think some very productive and alert caveman figured that out and kept it a secret haha.

I am three days in right now. I am not going to lie, the first two days were almost unbearable as I felt pretty bad when I exercised at an intensity any higher than low aerobic. I also craved carbohydrates bad from grain sources. I had a dream the first night about breakfast; rowing through a lake of oatmeal on my giant Clif Bar raft.  I can also feel my innards having to adjust. Just feel sort of bloated/slow inside at times. Even my gaming is suffering I think. Call of Duty hasn’t been the same since going to what seems  low carbohydrate. But, in the name of research and my clients, I press on! Today is better already. Time to go fire up the grill for some good old charred animal protein. Stay tuned for more results of my one man study!