Kaleo! It's the Magic Pill!

Did you hear? I'm starting a new fad diet! It's called Kaleo. Kale + Paleo = Kaleo. It's a plant based Paleo diet. Genius, no? I'm going to write a diet book and exercise program, hawk them on my blog, badmouth everyone else's way of eating, cherry pick and post a few outlying studies that support my philosophy, get lots of advertisers to pay me to pimp out their products, and make a million dollars. No one has EVER done anything like that before, after all.

Food:
B: green smoothie (watermelon, blueberries, spinach, kale, cucumber, avocado, raw protein)
L: 2 rice cakes with natural peanut butter, cubed tofu with olive oil and salt and pepper, small peach/strawberry/cucumber/kale smoothie
S: 2 rice cakes with avocado, apple, peach
D: 2 Praegers' california burgers (speaking of pimping out products, I gotta plug these guys, they're pretty decent for convenience food. They're made almost entirely of vegetables, vegetables that still look like vegetables. Other than some 'soy flakes' pretty far down the list, there's no franken-food in them. They're FAR better than the standard boca/morningstar meat substitute offerings, although still inferior to homemade), 2 whole wheat tortillas, sliced heirloom tomato, mustard.

Cal: 2629
Carb:334
Protein: 135
Fat: 104

Workout:
AM: 30 minute bodyweight circuit
PM: worked on OHS, freestanding handstand, and clean and jerk. Got up to 115, only 5 pounds off my PR. I'm almost back, guys!

My Beef (hardy har har) With The Primal/Paleo Crowd

I think Primal/Paleo is a really healthy way to eat, and far, FAR better than the Standard American Diet. I don't think my diet is superior to the Primal/Paleo diet, and I fully respect anyone who wishes to improve their health by adopting a Primal/Paleo way of eating. I think most people will see a dramatic improvement in their health by going Primal/Paleo. In fact, almost everything I eat (save the legumes) would be right at home in a Primal/Paleo kitchen, and I am quite certain that I wouldn't go hungry at a Primal/Paleo dinner party.

I read a lot of Primal/Paleo blogs and here are some of the things I've read recently:

-a plant based diet will result in high triglycerides

(mine were 33 last time they were checked)

-a plant based diet will result in low HDL

(mine was 68 at last check)

-a plant based diet will lead to accumulation of body fat

(mine is 12.5%. I hate to be all arrogant about that, but that's lower than any paleo woman I know personally. In fact, it's lower than most paleo MEN I know personally))

-a plant based diet will prevent gains in lean body mass

(I've got about 140 pounds of lean body mass, that's as much as a fit MAN my height and weight)

-a plant based diet will limit strength gains

(this MAY be true? but I'm pretty damn strong. Sure, I could be stronger. But I'm pretty damn strong for a 40 year old soccer mom with a arthritis, a day job, and a social life)

-phytates in legumes cause mineral deficiencies

(my mineral levels are so pretty you'd cry)

-lectins in legumes cause leaky gut and poor digestion

(well, first of all I'm not convinced leaky gut exists, but more importantly, my digestion and elimination are, by the standards I see in paleo blogs, perfect)

-vegans are emaciated

(:-/)

-vegans claim mucus in stool are worms

WTF?

Basically, NONE of the things I hear the Primal/Paleo crowd claim are the dangers of a plant based diet hold true for me, and I've been eating this way for 3 years. In fact, the longer I eat this way, the further away from their vegan stereotype I get. I get stronger and leaner, my triglycerides get lower and my HDL higher. When I mention this, I invariably get an answer along the lines of "well, you're obviously a genetic anomaly". If I were a genetic anomaly, why would my body have responded to the Standard American Diet and sedentary lifestyle the way everyone else's body does: obesity and metabolic syndrome? There's nothing extraordinary or anomalous about me. I'm quite average, I assure you.

So what I'm left with is: why do they feel the need to make shit up about plant based diets to get people to believe in their philosophy? Their philosophy is sound, why undermine their own credibility with, well, made up shit? All those things I listed above are true of crappy diets, not plant based diets.

Primal/Paleo people: more power to you. I respect your dietary choices. I don't go around making shit up about your diet. I believe you are healthy, and your diet is health promoting.

Stop making shit up about mine, and maybe you'll find out we can accomplish more together. Promoting a healthier lifestyle is our common goal, no? Maybe?