Should I Go Paleo?

I never really gave the Paleo Diet much thought until recently.

If you’ve been reading my posts, you’d know that I’ve been preparing for a Men’s Physique competition on November 2nd here in Los Angeles. Some of the things I’ve been talking about in my posts have been about my workouts, as well as my diet. I guess that is to be expected, this is a fitness website after all. A lot of what I’ve learned in the past year about prepping for these competitions has been from older trainers at my gym who have, combined, competed in over a hundred Muscle Building Competitions. They offered a great source of information that certainly helped me for my first competition. But something didn’t seem right to me.

Here’s where I was having a problem. These competitions aren’t about being healthy, they’re about looking ripped. Duh! I know, but now I have to ask myself, am I happy living a life that’s all about looking good and not necessarily about being healthy? Not so much. This is not to say there isn’t much to be learned by training and preparing for these events, but the final few weeks are not going to be the healthiest.

Here’s how I’m eating now to prep for this event.
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with 1/2 banana
or
2 Eggs & Avocado with 1 Slice Ezekiel Bread & Grass Fed Butter

Snack/Post Workout:
Jay Robb Protein Shake with Creatine and BCAA (Branch Chain Amino Acids)

Lunch:
Usually left over dinner
or
Grilled Chicken with green veggies
or
Other protein source with veggies

Afternoon Snack:
Raw Almonds or other raw nuts
or
TJ’s Low Sodium Turkey slices(Not my favorite choice, but it’s good in a clinch)

Dinner:
Steak, Chicken, Pork, Fish – Usually grilled (I kill it on the BBQ!)
Green Veggies either sauteed, roasted or grilled

Late Night Snack:
Plain Greek Yogurt
or
Carbo Almond Clusters – They taste like candy bars, but they’re only sweetened with one raisin. They’re probably not good for me, but hey, I love them and I’m still losing weight while I’m eating this way, so screw it!

Now, I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m eating a mostly Paleo Diet. I actually like this way of eating, mostly because I love to eat meat all the time, but also because my energy levels are ridiculously high. Once I cut highly processed carbs out of my diet, I started feeling so much better. I know what you’re thinking, “Rob, Ezekiel Bread is a process carb!” I know, I know, but for some reason it doesn’t mess with me. That’s not to say I won’t eliminate it from my diet soon, but for now, it stays. I also realize that yogurt and the protein shake is not on the Paleo diet as well. Baby steps.

Anyway, my point being. As I move closer to this event on November 2nd, I’ll start cutting down on all carbs, salt and even water. This is where this style of dieting isn’t healthy in my opinion. I understand it’s nice to look good, but at what cost? My plan is to get through this event and make the shift to a predominately Paleo diet for a while. For vanity purposes, I’d still like to look good, but I’m not sure these Men’s Physique competitions are my kind of sport.

I’ll give it some thought as to how I’d like to challenge myself in the near future, but I’ve got a month to think about it. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Here’s a great source of information about the Paleo Diet. I happen to really like Robb Wolf, but there are other Paleo experts out there like Mark’s Daily Apple.