Paleo-Man
I've been on the Cave Man Diet for 34 days now. I didn't blog about it when I started because I thought I might "cave" and not stick to it. But I have. And the results have been very good. Not great, but very good.
Background
I decided to do it right after Christmas. I had just bought Art De Vany's new book, The New Evolution Diet. I hadn't read it yet and wasn't even sure when I would, but I was interested in it for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that Nassim Taleb provided a postscript.
But then after Christmas, my mild health problems kicked in hard: three straight days with migraines, upset stomach, rashes, foot problem. I decided that I had to try something radical or die, so I read the book over the course of 48 hours and thought De Vany made a compelling case. I then rode out my holiday pain and partying, then started the diet on January 1st, at 4:00 p.m.
I'm not looking back.
The Diet
The diet is austere. You'd have to read the book to understand the full approach, but I think I can sum up 75% of it by providing a positive list and a negative list. The positive list consists of the things you can have: vegetables, eggs, most fruits, most nuts, most meats, coffee, tea, water, and very small amounts of dairy. The negative list contains the things you can't have: no grain or seeds (wheat, oats, corn, rice, etc.) and their derivatives, no sugar, no peanuts, no cashews, no bananas, no strawberries, no beans, no peas, no alcohol.
De Vany also recommends supplements, which do a lot of things, like stifle your cravings and increase your will power. The supplements I take: branched chain amino acids, fish oil, antioxidants.
The Benefits
In the past 35 days, I haven't had a bad migraine. I've had two mild migraines, but one came after I went to bed without eating for awhile. I think I simply let my blood sugar drop too low. The headache, though, subsided fairly quickly in the morning. The second migraine started the morning after I let myself have pizza last Friday. I felt horrible Saturday morning, but I knew I was taking a calculated risk and, quite frankly, I wanted to experiment.
My stomach problems have gone away. As of now, I'm not taking my stomach medicine. I suspect I'll have to start taking it every other day eventually, but I'm going without it for awhile and see how it goes. Even if I have to take it 3-4 times a week, though, that's a big improvement from taking it every day for the past three years (and even then, experiencing stomach problems).
And then there's my foot. It started feeling better. A lot better. I've even sprinted on it a few times, something I wouldn't have even considered just two months ago.
Those are benefits that I know I've enjoyed, but there are others that appear to have crept into my life. (1) I'm in a better mood. Like everyone, I still have ups and downs, but the downs aren't very down. (2) I seem to weather tiredness better. I wouldn't say I have extra energy, but tiredness doesn't affect me as much as it used to. (3) I definitely weather hunger better . . . far better. Some days, I feel as though I could go the entire day without eating a thing (yes, the feeling eventually leaves, but not until I've skipped a meal and the extra calories). (4) I sleep better, both at night and during naps. (5) My dreams are more vivid and I remember them better in the morning. (6) I've discovered Jarlsberg cheese, a low-diary cheese that Art recommends. It's great. (7) My right shoulder might be healing. It's an injury that occurred over twenty years ago. It's been a nagging injury that doesn't cause me much trouble, but I think it's getting even better recently.
Just One Problem
So, after all those benefits, why did I say earlier that the results have not been great?
One reason only: I haven't lost weight.
It's really bizarre. I have hovered at 190 pounds for the past ten years, and I'm hovering there now. De Vany said I could expect to lose five pounds during the first week. Hardly. I may have lost five pounds of holiday bloat, but I'm not moving past the 190 point of resistance that I've had for a decade.
Now, I think I have added muscle (the book calls for weight lifting, which I've been doing) and I'm pretty sure I've dropped a half-inch or so around my waist, but that's not much when you consider the austerity of the diet. If someone had told me that I would cut out all pop (about one a day, normally Mountain Dew), all chips (at least one small bag a day), all fast food and pizza, potatoes, chocolate, and all that other stuff, but I wouldn't drop a single pound, I woulda scoffed. But I be hanged: it has happened.
I'm optimistic that the weight will come off eventually (heck, I'm optimistic in general these days). And regardless, I'm not going back to the migraine/spastic colon/ailing foot/bum shoulder days. If the weight comes off, excellent. If it doesn't, oh well. I'm content with these results.
In short, if you have lots of minor health problems and nothing seems to work, give this a shot. I suggest you just plunge in for a month and see what happens.
But if you're blessed with good health, have a sunny disposition, and don't have all the little problems that have plagued me for years (if you, for instance, are my wife), don't hassle with it. Enjoy the delicious foods.
