Does the Paleo Diet work?

         I have always told my friends and my clients, “you need to have a nutrition plan to see results, I don’t care if its Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Low Carb Diet, Paleo Diet, etc. If it works for you stick to it!” I have clients that have lost a lot of weight doing weight watchers and the only small adjustment I made was increase their protein slightly because they will be doing weight training so they need the extra protein for recovery and muscle building.” I have come to a conclusion like many of you have, that as we get older the harder and longer it takes to lose weight and get toned. For the past 6-8 years I have been following a low carb meal plan with a high carb day. This is also called Carb Cycling, the whole science to this is that you are shocking your body and not letting it get plateaued! This has been working for me for the longest time until now. I literally tell myself, I don’t eat junk food why in the world am I still fat!! How does that make sense? You guys might not think im fat but we usually are our own worst critics, and with all the sacrifices I have been doing, I better have an 8 pack!!

My Diet Observations:

oatmeal for bodybuilding

        I have noticed lately that certain foods bloat me up. Oatmeal is a staple in every bodybuilders diet. Since Arnolds time it was oatmeal in the morning, high in fiber and a low glycemic carb. Another great carb is brown rice, low glycemic and good fiber. Why are these carbs bloating me up? A lot of my old nutritionist would tell me to be careful with bread because since its processed it loses a lot of its nutritional value, maybe the same thing happens when you eat oatmeal and any other carb that has been man made.That is why Paleo dieting struck an interest in me.

What is Paleo Diet:

          Im going to keep it short and simple so I don’t have to bore you with a super long blog. Paleo Dieting is basically sticking to foods that cave man would eat in the Paleo-lithic Era. Everytime you want to eat something you have to ask yourself, “did the caveman have oatmeal, rice, etc.” the answer to many of these questions is no. The easiest way to keep this plan is to keep it simple. I have people trying to confuse me about certain foods if they are paleo and I tell them, first of all I would never eat that weird food you are telling me, and second I eat very simple foods to make my life so much easier. Working 12 hours a day with clients, 1 hour of marketing for the gym, oh and my facebook/instagram obsession there is no way I can keep a very elaborate menu.

If you do Paleo you are cool!

  I don’t know what it is but when you do Paleo, you feel so cool and you feel like a rebel! Its silly but when I normally would diet I would just tell people I have a low carb diet and it sounded so boring! Now when I tell people that I do Paleo its like if you are part of this hippie cool clan. It is a challenge to find things that are paleo but it’s a fun one. I have applications on my iphone that tell you if certain things are Paleo or not, and even some restaurants around town are known as, “that’s where the crossfit people go eat and hang out!” if you don’t know by now, Paleo Dieting and crossfit go together like organic peanut butter and sugar free jelly! Lol. But the Paleo wasn’t specifically designed for Crossfit people, Wikipedia states that it has been around since the 1970’s made by a Gastro doctor. 

Shanes Paleo version:

            I have been doing a modified version of Paleo Dieting and it has transformed by physique.

Meal #1- 6AM             4-5 organic egg quiche 

Paleo Quiche 

 Snack:- 9:30AM         Green smoothie shake w/ Protein Powder ½ a pear

green smoothie- recipe in last blog

Meal #2- 12:30pm:      8oz Flank Steak w/ ½ of sweet potato

flank and 1/2 sweet potato

Snack: 4:30pm            Green smoothie shake w/ Protein Powder

green smoothie

Meal #3- 9PM             Salmon or Tilapia w/ Asparagus

Salmon/Asparagus

Detailed Instructions:

1.  Do the carbs the same Monday-Friday 
2. Saturday i go Zero carbs cuz that is the day that i can cook something delicious because i don't work the whole day. 
3. Sunday i go back to the menu above. i do this for 1-2 weeks.
4. Shock your body and eat 2-3 sweet potatoes one day and go 0g carbs the following day usually after 2 weeks of this diet. 

This has been doing wonders to my physique and my energy levels! i am not tired anymore like i sometimes would get a with a low carb-cycling diet. 

$1.20 @ Albertsons

I buy those yams/sweet potato that you put in the microwave and they are in a steam bag, and I know that the caveman didn’t have Protein powder. I basically keep all the rules to the Paleo except for protein shakes, skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks, and light cheese on my morning breakfast.

 How many carbs can you have a day on Paleo?  

          Everywhere I have looked it just tells you that it all depends on your level of exercising and how much you exercise. Well…That doesn’t work for me. I need to know! i modified this diet by carb cycling the Paleo carbs and i am still just eating carbs for breakfast and for lunch. No carbs after 3 pm because your metabolism slows down at night. 

Abs are made in the kitchen!

So there you have it, the moral of the story is that not every diet or meal plan works for everyone. God made us all different shapes and sizes and works for me might not work for you. that is why try different meal plans, workout plans, and once you find that sweet formula for success, hold on to it and dont let go. I can meet with anyone of you guys if you need nutritional counseling just send me an email @newyougym@gmail.com 

Thank you so much for reading my blog! i started writing it because i always have so many questions and everybody contradicts each other when giving advice. So I'm writing it to share my experiences!

God Bless you and remember that we honor God by taking care of our bodies!

Shane Martinez