Paleo Vegetarian – Finally Found Something That Works
Paleo Vegetarian – The Best Term I’ve Come Up With
Let me start this off by saying something I don’t usually say – I don’t care if you disagree with me. I am certainly open to feedback on my Paleo Vegetarian “lifestyle” but am not open to ignorance, bs, criticism or the like. This amalgamation of a diet has taken me a long time to assemble. It works for me, so please respect that. Also, I’m not a doctor or registered nutritionist. This is simply what works for me. If you follow the Paleo vegetarian principles I lay out here, it’s at your own risk and responsibility.
Going Vegetarian
I went vegetarian about a year and a half ago. Early November of 2010, I think it was. This came after many years of ignoring my heart. I loved to eat meat. In fact, even at that point, I subsisted primarily on meat, fruit and vegetables – I was eating a Paleo diet and didn’t even realize it. (More on what Paleo is later for those unaware). Once I decided to take out the meat, and at that time eggs, things went downhill fast.
Fortunately for my Paleo Vegetarian ways, I like fruits and vegetables.
I didn’t consciously consider how to compensate for the loss of meat. Sure, I upped my protein intake, mostly in the form of dairy, but I ate more than that. I found myself consuming carbs in a way I never had before. Within a couple of months I had no energy and I was getting fat. I couldn’t make it through my CrossFit workouts. Mind you, I wasn’t just recording bad times, I literally got so dizzy and exhausted that I couldn’t finish. It was embarrassing. I tried sleeping more, but that didn’t make any difference.
Paleo + vegetarian = Paleo vegetarian
Once I realized what was going on – that I wasn’t just “more tired than usual” or “not eating enough,” as many suggested it – I knew it had to be my change in diet. This was around 9 months after my move to vegetarianism. I started looking at the way my fellow CrossFit participants ate. They were embracing this Paleo, or Paleolithic, diet. I looked at it, and it resonated with me. The idea that we should eat as our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago made sense. After all, our “developments” in food had come far faster than our body could evolve to handle them. The Paleo diet of meat, vegetables and fruit seemed to fit my body, but not my heart. I wrestled, painfully, with my decision to give up meat. I was genuinely depressed in a deep, deep way.
I talked to a few people about my feelings and they encouraged me to keep researching. I searched the internet to see if anyone else had found an intersection between Paleo and being vegetarian – a Paleo vegetarian if you will. I found little, except for this post on being Paleo vegetarian by Matt Frazier. After reading it several times, I decided to reincorporate eggs into my diet. It was a difficult thing for me to do, as I had considered eggs to be in the camp of meat. But, I felt compromise and my health were important so I started eating eggs. I worked up to having two eggs with both breakfast and lunch, the latter usually as hard-boiled eggs. This did help, though not tremendously.
The next step was cutting out carbs, and that was hard. At the same time I cut back on my dairy intake, dramatically. In one fell swoop I had removed my main meals from my post-meat diet – Mexican food. I’ve always loved nachos and the like, but without meat, they became my core. I’d eat nachos 3 or 4 times a week, sometimes twice a day. While I still believe corn to be superior to wheat, it had to go.
Thus I had a diet consisting of eggs, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I’d throw in a greek yogurt or small piece of cheese on occasion. Sometimes I’d cheat on the carbs part, especially if I was at a restaurant. I was feeling better at this point, getting through my CrossFit workouts, though certainly not with the energy I had before my Paleo vegetarian experiment.
With Thanks to Mr. Brazier
After a few months of this a friend introduced me to the writings and products from Brendan Brazier. He wrote a book, The Thrive Diet, and has some nutritional supplements under the brand name Vega. Loads of people had written reviews on the Vega products, mostly at Amazon. I found a common thread among the people who thought highly of it – they were long-term vegetarians and had suffered from a lack of energy. I bought the book and a tub of the “health optimizer” product; I think it was berry flavored. It worked out to around $3 per serving, which was far more than I was used to paying for protein powder.
I owe a lot to Mr. Brazier and his book.
I started by having one scoop a day, mostly because I’m stingy. Sometimes I’d mix in a scoop of my girlfriend’s Shakeology (from Beachbody, the folks that do the P90x workouts). The flavors were similar so it worked out well. And it worked. I did have more energy. Not dramatically so, but by a noticeable level.
So Long, Coffee
After a couple of months I was disappointed that I hadn’t progressed further. I’d tried many variations but still had this fog in my head, much like the feeling I have when taking daytime cold medicine. Then, one day as I had my second cup of coffee, I felt the fog wash over me. That was the last caffeinated beverage I had, and it made a BIG difference. I’ll write more about caffeine in a later post.
I’ll confess, I miss coffee.
Further Down the Rabbit Hole
As I started to get further into Brendan Brazier’s book, I found a concept popped up that seems to escape most people eating a Paleo diet – the notion of raw foods. Not only did our ancestors eat a certain diet, they didn’t spend a lot of time preparing it. There are enzymes in our food that are good for us, and cooking the food kills them. I now only cook my eggs and the occasional veggie burger or fake sausage patty. (I know, they’re not Paleo, but they’re tasty!)
I’ve also started taking the pre-workout energizer from Vega, and I am doing better in all my athletic endeavors. It pumps me up without caffeine or other unnatural things. In fact, even after a workout, I usually find myself so amped up and focused that I stay up late working!
Paleo Vegetarian in a Nutshell
Here’s what I started and stopped doing that I think is core to a Paleo vegetarian diet.
- I stopped eating most of the breads, beans and other grains I had been.
- I started eating a lot more fruits and vegetables.
- I stopped cooking food unnecessarily.
- I stopped my intake of caffeine.
Conclusions on Paleo Vegetarian
I am happy with my new Paleo vegetarian lifestyle. I’m not preachy about the vegetarian aspects, as I feel that’s an immensely personal decision. I am, however, very passionate about the Paleo aspects of being a Paleo vegetarian. I truly believe that we could solve the majority of our health problems if we took a step back and looked at our diets. I welcome your feedback in the comments below.
[Edit: I received so many questions and comments about what I ate I wrote a couple of follow up posts here and here. I've also started posting some recipes, like my paleo vegetarian burger]
Paleo vegetarian? probably an oxy-moron though a well written article regardless.
Thank you. I suppose it could be… depends on whether you define Paleo as building the diet around meat -or- taking away the crap most of us eat (carbs, processed, etc.)
[...] Paleo Vegetarian – Finally Found Something That Works [...]
Thanks for sharing this post. I am a crossfitter who was following the paleo diet. However, now that my husband is borderline high on his cholesterol I have to change our menu (less to no meat). His family has history of heart disease. We are trying out the Paleo Vegetarian approach for a month until he sees his dr again. I’m hoping this is what he needs. Congratulations on finding out ‘what works for you’!
Thank you so much for sharing! Let me know how he fares.
[...] Paleo Vegetarian – Finally Found Something That Works [...]
[...] Paleo Vegetarian – Finally Found Something That Works [...]
I’ve had a similar experience to you, especially with regard to the carbs (for me, more specifically, wheat). I just finished a 21-day cleanse via the book “Clean” (http://www.cleanprogram.com/), and felt great.
I went back at first to my old eating habits, and immediately began feeling heavy and fatigued. So, I went back on what they call the “Elimination Diet”:
* No dairy, red meat or pork (chicken and wild game are OK)
* No nightshade family plants (tomatoes, potato(e)s, eggplant, peppers)
* Ancient grains and brown rice are OK (no wheat, barley, white rice, or corn)
* Water and green or herbal tea
* 12-hour fast EVERY DAY
I find it very easy to keep up with this diet, because it makes such a difference in the way I feel. And regardless of WHAT you eat, a 12-hour fast every day make a huge difference in your digestive health.
Thanks for the post. I’d love to see some recipes…
Recipes are on the list of things to do. Honestly, most of my food is just a “mix” but that’s due to time constraints as much as anything else. I love to cook! I’ve worked on a paleo veggie burger recipe that isn’t ready yet.
Hello, I’ve read your blog and wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I keep an almost identical diet to you, I worked out the same thing as you using trial and error. Perhaps we are onto something?
p.s. Thank you for the tip with vega supplements. I also take an iron supplement in the form of iron rich mineral water once a week.
You’re welcome – and thank you for commenting! It’s great to hear that I am not alone. If you try the Vega supplements, please let me know what you think of them.
[...] Paleo Vegetarian – Finally Found Something That Works [...]
Thanks for your post… I’ve been eating a raw vegan diet which has given me tremendous levels of health in all areas except for my dental health, which is why I am researching paleo-vegetarianism.
I’m still experimenting, but I think what will work for me is a diet that is mostly raw vegan with a small amount of grass-fed butter, cod liver oil and fish for the fat soluble vitamins.
I first read Brendan’s book at the beginning of my raw journey in 2007 but it’s probably time I gave it another read! Thanks for the inspiration.
You’re quite welcome! There are vegetarian / vegan sources of Omega3 that you might consider. More expensive than fish oil, to be sure, but it might keep you on track as a vegan if that’s important to you. I can personally say that my dentist hasn’t seen anything different in my visits over the time I’ve been vegetarian. I do take a calcium supplement, though.
Feel free to come back with an update in a few months. I’m always interested to hear how this journey progresses for others. Thanks for visiting.
Nice piece. I’ve been a vegetarian since 2000, and began CFing three months ago. I’m trying to learn all I can about eating Paleo vegetarian. It’s so difficult to find like-minded people with the same goals. Please keep posting and I’ll keep reading! Cheers!
I found you blog trying to learn how to deal with a locked up Razermax and lingered around to read this post.
You describe many of the things that plague me. I just turned sixty but refuse to blame it on my age. I’m becoming convinced that carbs are what makes me feel weak but that has not always been the case. Years ago I was convinced that high card intake was the key to high energy and it seemed to be true. Either the carb foods have changed or I have but now it makes me fat and lazy.
I’m trying to beat the addiction and have just started juicing. Problem is I also got into backyard chickens last year so I have five or six fresh new eggs every day.
I think I will try your plan for a while.
Thanks for the information.
You’re quite welcome! Let me know how it works for you. Juicing is great, but so are eggs!
Your posts on Paleo Vegetarian nutrition were incredibly useful finds! I’m a 25 year-old guy who has been a practicing Vegetarian for over 3 years now, and though highly tempted by the Paleo diet, I haven’t been able to find very many helpful resources to explain how it can be done without abandoning some Vegetarian values.
I do have a few quick questions for you, if you don’t mind: How do you acquire your daily allotment of protein? I work out 5 days a week, and I eat organic eggs and dairy, but know dairy’s pretty much out on any Paleo diet. You mentioned in other posts that you include eggs and egg whites in a lot of your meals. How many eggs/egg whites do you typically eat per day to maintain optimum protein levels? I’m nervous about any protein deficiency and want to be careful to start. Also, what else do you use to supplement your protein that would be considered Paleo-friendly? I’m open to bending the rules a bit on the Paleo side of things for sure, but not on the Vegetarian part.
Any clarification you can offer will be a huge help – thanks!
Brett – thanks for reading!
My egg intake can vary anywhere from 0 to 6 eggs in a day. I use egg white protein as well as hemp protein. The vega products, while technically are not paleo, use sprouted grains, so I feel they’re pretty close. I do very little dairy, and consider it a treat rather than a protein source. Don’t forget that there’s protein in a lot of things, even if it’s not the overwhelming macronutrient. Your body will get the protein it needs so long as you’re reasonable about it. Extra protein just turns into excess calories.
jeremy
Thanks Jeremy – really appreciate you taking the time to respond! I’ll keep that all in mind.
Of course! We’re all in this together!
I found you while searching for a Vegetarian Paleo diet with eggs. I’ve been vegetarian for over 20 years but within the last year or so I have developed food allergies. After much stress trying to figure out what was causing this terribly itchy erythematous rash on the back of my hands, I started eliminated different foods. First was wheat.
Within 2 days of eliminating wheat my rash disappeared. Okay, I thought so I’m intolerant or allergic to gluten. I completely eliminated it from my diet but was still eating corn and rye.
Strangely, after being gluten free for a few weeks, I started getting horrible gas pains within minutes of eating a tortilla chip or a rye cracker. Finally associated it to that so I had developed a problem with corn and rye too after being gluten free.
Okay, that got me searching around and I found the Paleo Diet. Did a modified vegan version of that for a few weeks and overall was doing great with no rashes and no gas pains except I was starving all the time and keep feeling like my body wanted and needed eggs.
Long long story short (sorry about that but this is a process lol), the vegetarian Paleo diet without cheese or milk (casein) but with eggs works for me like a charm. It appears to be a perfect balance for my body type.
I hope this might help someone else who maybe is experiencing some of the symptoms I was having. Having food allergies and intolerances is a very difficult thing to pinpoint and very frustrating!
Gina, thank you so much for sharing your story! We’re all in this together!