Assignment #2

Paleo Diet

The paleo diet consist of lean proteins (ideally grass fed beef, free range fowl, and wild caught fish), seasonal vegetables and fruits, and healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil. It excludes grains, legumes (including green beans and peanuts), all dairy products, refined sugar, and processed oils. They do not recommend any foods that have been processed or altered; only natural, fresh ingredients. Unlike most nutritional plans, paleo encourages a larger amount of protein and healthy fats and a lower amount of carbohydrates.

There is also NO limit on calorie intake or serving size. The fruit intake is recommended at about 1-2 servings a day until the desired amount of fat is lost, then its up’d to 2-3 servings. Because of the higher fructose content in fruit, it’s limited because it can spike your insulin levels and cause your body to store unwanted fat. It’s also recommended to limit your nut and nut butters because of the high fat content. While these are healthy fats, as with all food, too much of anything is bad. Other than these two things, if you are eating the correct type of foods, then you eat when you are hungry and you eat until you are full.

The paleo diet boast a lot of health improvements including weight loss, reduced acne, improved athletic performance, slower progression of autoimmune diseases, and reducing your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and the vast majority of all chronic degenerative diseases. Fortunately, the Paleo diet has stood not only the test of time, but also the rigors of scientific scrutiny.

A meal within the Paleo diet may consist of a Thai Sweet & Sour Stir-Fry with Shrimp. The Paleo tastes good and it works.

The Zone

This diet is made to reduce inflammation, which ultimately leads to weight loss. Also it is said to reduce risk of chronic disease and allow you to live longer. It is built to put you in “the zone”, which is the ability to control diet induced inflammation. In this diet, women should only be eating 1200 calories a day, and men should be eating 1500.

The zone diet doesn’t have any foods you cannot eat, it is more about staying away from eating certain foods in certain food groups. For example, it is recommended to stay away from fruits and veggies high in sugars, such as bananas, carrots and grapes. You also should stay away from fatty proteins, such as red meat or egg yolk. Also, dairy is allowed in this diet but it is suggest you eat low fat dairy.

A sample menu for the zone diet would include; 2 egg white omelet with asparagus for breakfast. A kiwi for snack. A wrap (turkey, romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado) for lunch. For snack, sliced bell peppers with hummus. And for dinner, chicken breast and green beans. However, in the meals there is also a huge amount of emphasis on the size of all the food. For example, your dinner can only be a 4oz chicken breast, you can only have one kiwi for snack, and only 4 asparagus with your breakfast.

Other Questions

I think that I would be able to follow the Paleo diet easier, this is because there is no calorie limit. You are able to eat when you are hungry, as long as they meet the Food restrictions. The Low 1500 Calorie limit would be very difficult for me to stay under.

would recommend the paleo diet for someone who is involved in crossfit. This is because the paleo diet places an emphasis on completing tasks to the best of your abilities, and allowing your body to help you reach its goals, like it was meant to back when we were hunters. Crossfit is not designed for weight loss, and so because of that I don’t think it makes as much sense to focus on the zone diet. Where the paleo diet will help you fuel your body with the things you need to maintain your activity level, and get strong while remaining a healthy diet, which I believe is an important part of crossfit. It’s not just about working out, or eating, it’s about how they blend together and I think paleo and crossfit work the best together.