Day 1

January 6, 2014 Day 1

Today I embark on a new dietary practice for at least the next 30 days. I will be adhering to the eating principles outlined in the book "The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. The premise, based on scientific facts, is that our human bodies have been accustomed to eating a diet high in protein, fruits, vegetables, and nuts with almost no grains or legumes (beans). It surmises that by switching back to a diet that our human ancestors have eaten for all but the last 10,000 years of our 2.5 million year existence, we can lose weight and be healthier. I will leave the reader to explore the data and draw their own conclusions as to the validity of these claims. This journal is to chronicle my trials, tribulations and hopefully triumphs in implementing this change in eating habits. I am hoping that this journey will allow me to become more disciplined in my eating and reverse a trend in weight gain that is not out of control but not where I want to be going.

I am a 50 year old male, about 5' 8'' tall (with a strong tail wind) and currently 174 pounds. Many people indicate that I do not need to lose weight but this is heavier than I have been in many years. I think a healthy, feel good weight for me is between 155-160 pounds. The weight has been increasing over the last 3 years. I work out regularly, normally strength training 3 days a week and doing some sort of cardio exercise 2-3 days per week. My Body Mass Index, BMI, is 26.5. A BMI of 25-29.9 is considered overweight and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.  I need to be at 164 pounds to have a BMI of 24.9. So, I am not doing all that poorly according to the BMI numbers and I am in pretty good physical condition for my age. I just don't feel all that great where I am and would like to get my eating under control. I felt I needed to shake things up and try something different and out of my comfort zone.

For the next 30 days at least I will eat like a caveman.  I am also changing my workout routine to 2 days of strength training (full body workout) and 3-4 days of cardio.  One of the cardio days will be a 45-60 minute swimming workout. I am blogging this undertaking to relate my experiences with the paleo dietary practice for myself and others. I also want to see if I can journal for 30 days.  That, I think, will be the real challenge in this endeavor!