It looks like the Low-Carb, High-Fat (LCHF) way of eating literally ate the butter out of Norway. All of it. I haven’t looked too closely into LCHF but from the sounds of it, it’s taking cues from the primal/paleo way of eating.

Still, it’s hard to imagine an entire nation eating through its entire supply.

“grains… Grains… GRAINSSS!!!”

I first imagined myself as a shuffling, carbohydrate addicted zombie when I contemplated transitioning over to a paleo-diet, using the Primal Blueprint as a guideline. I thought that those words would ring over and over in my head like the mantra of something out of a vegetarian-George A. Romero movie. Surprisingly, I was wrong.

For those who aren’t familiar with a paleo-diet, the general rule of thumb is to avoid grain-based carbohydrates and instead stick with foods that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would’ve eaten- nuts, fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs. A balanced paleo-diet should consist of about 50% healthy fats, 30% protein, and 20% good carbohydrates. Of course, it’s impossible to be completely accurate, but as long as that’s what you’re shooting for, it should be good enough.

And, you know what, it’s working out great! When I used to eat cereal in the morning, a sandwich on a hoagie roll for lunch, and then a dinner that on any given night might include pasta, rice, or bread in some fashion, I would usually end up feeling bloated and lethargic. While my consumption was within a normal range according to LiveStrong.com, it was actually too much for my individual body to handle. It lead to some very unhealthy triglyceride and sugar counts, that according to my doctor, placed me as pre-diabetic. As I mentioned in a previous post, she told me to cut my carbohydrate intake from 330g a day to somewhere between 120g - 150g per day. The only way to achieve this number was to try something “old”. Over the past month, I have found that my meals are more satisfying without leaving me bloated and that I eat less but a little more frequently. This, in combination with following the Primal Blueprint fitness guidelines (rather than my traditional workout regimen) has led to the beginnings of a leaner figure.

I have never been “overweight” by most people’s standards. I ate relatively well according to conventional thought, worked out, did regular cardio, and weighed in the 185-190 range. However, according to the height/weight chart, I should actually be in the 160-170 range. This may not take into account muscle mass, but back in college I weighed 170-175 and didn’t lack for muscle. While my goal with this experiment was not to lose weight, that has been a side-effect. On my frame it really doesn’t take much loss to begin noticing a difference. My pants fit better, the small amount belly fat that I have is decreasing, and generally I feel leaner and more fit. Yet, I am taking in just as many calories as I had in the past. I’ve simply changed the composition of that caloric intake.

The entire goal of this is to bring my sugars and triglycerides down to a normal level so that I don’t slip into Type 2 diabetes. I won’t know whether or not my transition to a paleo-diet will achieve this goal until I have my blood drawn and worked up in December. Hopefully it will. Until then, I’ll enjoy the side-effects I’ve felt so far- increased energy level, less bloat, and greater overall fitness.

I am a genetic freak.

Not in the “Lance Armstrong, super-athlete” sense of the term, but rather in the “Casmir Coulson, in good shape but has some sort of metabolic disorder” sense. For the last several years I have struggled with abnormally high LDL cholesterol (400+), triglycerides, and sugars with abnormally low HDL cholesterol (33 and lower). I’ve been on statins and fibrates and neither worked for their intended purposes. Rather, they hurt more than they helped.

Over the last year I’ve been taking Lovaza in combination with Niaspan and while that has helped to lower my LDL cholesterol, slowly but surely, they have done nothing for my triglycerides. They’ve been over 500 at their highest and in the high-200s at their lowest. Currently, they’re floating in at a not-so-dainty 346. In essence, I have the metabolic system of a near-diabetic 500 pound man. This was the natural conclusion after discussing the results of my annual labs with my doctor this morning. Clearly, the carbohydrate and sugar intake of any normal person makes my body want to kill itself.

Which Is Where the “First World Problem” Of This Comes In

I need to figure out a way to eat 2200 calories per day without going over my 150 gram carbohydrate cap. Simple, right? Not until you actually try to do so. So much of our average day-to-day diet is comprised of carbs that it makes it surprisingly difficult to actually meet that caloric intake without going over. Out of the 2200 calories that I should consume per day, I’ve only eaten about 1550 and in doing so, I have already gone over my carb cap by about 18 grams. There is no way I can consume another 650 calories before I go to bed tonight.

Going Primal With My Diet

Given, today’s predicament is the product of not having a plan and I expect that to continue to be the case over the next week. But, what I lack in a plan, I make up for in internet web browsing ability. I periodically read the blog, “Mark’s Daily Apple” and have some awareness of the Primal Blueprint. I don’t know much, but what I do know is that it urges a more primal diet with less refined carbohydrates. Off the top of my head, eating this way sounds a little challenging. But, I’m going to take a stab at it because it’s what I have to do if I plan on living to the ripe old age of 120 without my heart, liver, and pancreas asploding. The Primal Blueprint store offers a “30 Minute Meals” type of cookbook. Being the sucker that I am, I dropped a cool $30 on it after my doctor’s appointment this morning. With any luck I should be able to “Hannibal Smith” a plan once the cookbook arrives next week.

You will be the first to know how that goes!