Q&A: Affording Paleo, Intermittent Fasting and Cortisol, Low Carb and Energy, Raw Meat Starter List

I’ve had so many good questions this week it was tough to choose which should make it into the Q&A. But I think I did a good job picking out a few that a good chunk of readers are curious about. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t more than one of you want to know how to keep up your energy on a low carb diet? And aren’t you wondering how in the world you will ever start eating raw meat? And Peggy, you are asking yourself, how the heck do you afford to eat this way anyway?

Hiya Peggy,

My name is Phil and I just attended the recent Ancestral Health Symposium. I picked up a copy of the Paleo Magazine and read your article, ‘Playing Big, Eating Little’ which was really interesting and have since found your blog where I will slowly make my way through the articles you have posted there! I just have a couple of queries about something in the article which I was hoping you could help me with.
If I were to try IF, how would I know if my cortisol levels were too high?

…any help you can provide would be great.

Thanks again
Phil

Cortisol release is an important biochemical reaction to stress. One of its functions is to raise blood sugar levels so as to give you the energy you need to save yourself in an emergency. You don’t really want this to happen too often, though, if you can avoid it because what goes up must come down and, for blood sugar, that means hypoglycemia. It’s kind of like eating a high-carb meal. Subjecting your body to this repeatedly would cause a host of imbalances including adrenal fatigue.

You should be able to recognize that this is happening because you would feel seriously energized and then your blood sugar would drop. If you are experiencing hypoglycemia while fasting you may want to postpone fasting until you’ve been Primal for long enough to see a change in your sensitivity to insulin. But there is a catch. Including intermittent fasting in your Primal strategy can itself improve insulin sensitivity. So what do you do then, wait to become more insulin sensitive (meaning that your blood sugar doesn’t dip so low) or use intermittent fasting as a way to improve it? In the end, it’s up to the individual.

Hello. I found your blog through Mark’s Daily Apple. I was fascinated by your most recent entry; how you detailed the things you ate for a week. I am curious as to how you manage to stay energized without eating any carbohydrates.

Thank you,

-simon

I do eat a little carbs these days – about 20 or 30 grams on a normal day. That’s still pretty low, though, so clearly I’m not relying on carbohydrates for fuel. But I must be using some energy, right? Or I’d just be sitting on the couch all day too tired to live my life. That is definitely not happening! So what is going on then?

A body can use either fat or carbohydrates as fuel. Most of us use carbs. So, when we don’t give it the fuel it expects, it runs low on energy. However, a body can also function perfectly well (if not better) using fat for fuel (called ketosis) instead of carbs. Until your body makes this metabolic switch, you will feel fatigued as you deprive your body of the carbs it’s used to utilizing for energy. In time, though – up to two weeks on a low carb diet – your energy should sky rocket as J. Stanton described here. (Richard Nikoley will be participating in a podcast on Monday in which they discuss low carb. I have no idea what it’s going to be about but I intend to listen.)

Personally, I don’t utilize carbohydrates well. I get very tired if I eat too much carbs. I am happy and energetic eating a very high fat diet. Maybe my genes came from a cold place where carbohydrates are scarce. I don’t know. We are all different and it’s good to experiment, but realize that for anyone the metabolic switch can be exhausting.

Hi peggy,

The problem I find with eating this way is the fact that it’s so freakin expensive:

A) Are you wealthy with a large inheritance and thats why you can afford to eat this way all the time? Kind of like mark who is rolling in cash or,

B) Just your average 20 – 40 thousand a year person and can somehow still afford to eat this way?

The problem I find is that (especially if you have a child) if I spend all of my money on my food I have none to vacation or do anything else and that makes it difficult to want to stick with it – never having any extra cash.

These are the biggest hurdles I have to accepting doing this all the time, I would really appreciate your thoughts on these things.

Thanks for sharing, Alex

I agree that eating this way is freakin expensive! Thing is, I just accepted this years ago and moved on (mentally). I NEVER think about how much it costs and how much I could be saving if I ate differently. There is no eat differently. There is only this.

A.) No I have no inheritance. My parents were middle class when I was growing up but their bad diet led them to the same fate of millions of other Americans and they are now spending all their money on health care. There have been no rich family members that have ever come to my rescue either. (Awe, boo hoo)

B.) I am poor as shit as a matter of fact. But this is mostly a choice. Partly it is because I spend all my money on food. And partly it is because I have better things to do than work for someone else on their ideas.

I work part time writing and doing various things for a software company. It’s a great job, pays great, and if I worked full time, I’d be doing pretty well. But I never work an hour over 20 per week. I couldn’t write and maintain this blog if I did! I couldn’t read all the books I need to read to write this blog if I did. I couldn’t play, write, and record so much music if I did. I couldn’t spend extra time with my daughter teaching her to kick ass at things like snowboarding and rock climbing because I’d be too busy working during the day and winding down at night. ‘Things’ don’t interest me much, experiences do and you don’t need a whole lot of money to have a good time (I mean it would be nice, maybe someday, but whatever).

So, I make $25,000/year working part time. I don’t have insurance so I take damn good care of myself and see an ND when necessary. I live in just about the smallest apartment you’ve ever seen (about 500sq ft) with my daughter and boyfriend (who makes even less than I do also working part time). I don’t drive very often. I ride my bike to save money and get exercise. I am a minimalist so I very rarely buy anything. About the only stuff I own are a sexy wardrobe and some good music equipment. We can barely fit all of our music equipment into this tiny apartment so the living room doubles as a practice place/recording studio.

I do manage to save a little bit of money despite being broke. And the Christmas bonus that I get each year (included in my yearly salary above) is what I use to pay for vacations. (If you’re not as much of a minimalist as I check out this post for info on raising your family cheaply.)

This next one came from a comment on my post about eating raw meat:

I’m hunting around your site tonight, already a Primal Blueprint convert (in theory if not in practice). I thought I was doing well to get a raw avocado in my smoothie every morning. I just can’t imagine raw meat at this point. But, I’m going to try to remain open. Do you have a comprehensive list of ideas for raw proteins? Like, I would probably go for raw oysters or something like that, just because it is already commonly accepted (and because I wouldn’t have to chew it).

1. Sashimi – either tuna, salmon, or yellow tail
2. Oysters
3. Raw eggs are easy, just gulp them down
4. Raw ground beef with salt and herbs is often preferred to cooked beef by kids
5. Raw milk if you can get your hands on it