Hi guys,

Just wanted to introduce myself.  I first discovered low-carb around 2003 sometime (i think), after reading Protein Power.  I was in graduate school and had always carried about 20 pounds of extra bacon and wanted to do something about it.  The things revealed in that book and some of Atkins teachings started to open my eyes.  I lost the 20+ pounds (was 205-210) and pretty much have maintained the weight since.  The one major thing I permanently removed from my diet was chips (or crisps), fries (or chips), cereal and soda/juice and that seems to have worked for maintenance.

I was pretty happy with this homeostasis, but the last two winters I noticed a huge shift in body fat.  I would only put on 5-10 pounds, but it was clear my body was shifting for a "lean" time and trading lean tissue for fat.  I would also be a lot more hungry than in the warmer months--sometimes insatiably so--and have a lot less energy. 

The whole seasonal thing really got me interested in the actual details of nutrition rather than just simple macronutrient ratios. I started to get a thirst for knowledge and read studies and articles, all of Taubes' stuff and just finished Primal Body--Primal Mind.  The stuff in this literature is purely paradigm shifting.  It literally blows my mind that we could be fleeced for over 50 years!  Even with the facts at hand it's almost impossible to convince people that need it most.  One of my colleagues is a scientific genius (and total skeptic) and still isn't convinced about the cholesterol and sat fat myths. I digress.

Anyway, I've decided I want to improve my overall health to a optimum level instead of just "maintaining" and am leaning towards a paeleo-diet. I don't really like veggies, or even fruit for that matter--sure, who doesn't like the sugary/starchy stuff. But, Kale, Spinach, raw cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli.  The actual thought of them makes me a little nauseated, so I'm probably just going to stick to meat, fish, eggs, nuts and the occasional fruit and salad.

I'm going to get started reading some of the recommended caveman books, but I've already started my diet.  Currently I'm still including raw/grass fed cheeses and yogurts, but will probably eliminate them soon since I'm not really getting any satisfaction from them anyway.

I do have one question, is anyone on here restricting protein?  I know people have different goals (bulking up, etc.), but after reading Gedgaudas' book it seems worthwhile to me.  When I've done low-carb before I've eaten mainly "cheaper" lean-meats (fish, chicken, porkchops, etc.) and a lot of it.  According to Gedgaudas, I should limit my protein to about 65g/day (I'm not working out currently).  That's only about 300 calories.  Let's assume that I'm going to be eating near 0-carbs...that leaves a fat to protein ratio (by weight) of about 2-1 to get to any reasonable caloric intake.  I like a fatty cut of meat as much as the next guy--err caveman, but this just seems impossible without eating straight fat, eskimo style. Anyone getting 80% of their calories from fat here want to chime in with a few tips?

Anyway, been lurking a bit so I'm familiar with a few of you big posters.  Best of luck to the rest.

Hello and welcome, TwoSouls

If you could be a superhero, what would your alias be and what sort of powers would you have?

I am curious about Gedgaudas' view of limiting protein. Would you be able to provide some more information about it?

Gedgaudes' view about protein appears to be primarily based on research into the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) metabolic pathway by Cynthia Kenyon and others.

Personally I think Gedgaudes tends to jump to conclusions with a certainty not justified by the research.  Kenyon herself limits carbohydrates rather than protein.

There are some links to journal articles in this thread:

http://cavemanforum.com/index.php?topic=1814.0