[PALEO LIFESTYLE] Exercise BEFORE or AFTER meal?

[DennisD]

Recently I've gotten really interested in human evolution and early-human lifestyle. This actually was born out of me trying to increase conversions and raise sales by tapping into primitive instincts, but that's a story for another thread.

I've been thinking a lot about emulating hunter-gatherer lifestyle/diet in some way. How did exercise fit into their day to day lifestyle? Was it in long bursts? Short bursts? How did the timing of eating enter the equation? How does this compare to other species.

I know a little bit about the eat/sleep cycle of felines (both big and small). In nature, they follow this process:
-Wake
-Socialize
-Hunt
-Eat
-Groom
-Sleep.
They're designed to follow this process twice a day.. aligning so their 'hunts' happen at both dawn and dusk. The process sticks when they became domesticated.

They'll wake up, become super needy for attention, play, eat, groom, nap. If a cat's acting out aggressively, you just make sure you play with it before you feed it and you can solve 90% of cat social/behavioral problems.

Humans MUST have some sort of evolved internal schedule. In theory, we would also eat right after we hunt, right? Or at least right after doing the physical activity of 'gathering' vegitation/avoiding predators.

I think that maybe waking up, running for half an hour, followed by a paleo breakfast would be 'best', whatever that means.

So let me ask you this question...
Is it best to exercise before or after you eat?
What do YOU do? Why?

 

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[XOthermic]

What are your goals for PaLEO?
Why are you doing paleo? Are you looking to lose alot of weight?
Do you feel it is healthier?
Do you want to lower your body fat percentage?

I like to work out in the morning. At 5:30 am I take a few supplements and eat a bagel, bannana, or have some yogurt. Something light that is going to allow me to power through an hour and half workout. My workout would be some type of Ironman training. 7-10 mile runs, 1 mile swims or 20 mile bike rides. Or a smaller run, swim and bike ride all combined for an hour and a half workout.

I have friends that are only concerned with Competition bodybuilding and they workout in the morning (cardio on stairmaster) without eating. There main concern is to burn bodyfat. My concern is to extend my endurance capabilities.

 

[FutureWorldDominator]

Dude whats up with these Paleo threads....... you can look up a whole bunch of studies, on nitrogen, spacing of food, when to eat, when not to eat....you should understand the basic principles of fat,protein,carbs, macro nutrient break down before jumping into the "Paleo diet".... The Paleo diet are the types of foods you eat... not when to eat, it sounds like your more referring to intermittent fasting, having an certain eating window and then fasting till the next day. Personally most diets are bullshit unless you have a certain medical condition to tend too... simply knowing your maintenance calories and breaking it down so you know how many carbs,proteins and fats you need in order to gain weight or lose weight is all you need to know. If you break down your calories properly you will only consume "healthy calorie dense foods"...

 

[FutureWorldDominator]

And to answer your questions... do whatever feels better to you... I work out at 5am in the morning with only coffee in my stomach and I feel great... I know plenty of guys who work out at the end of the day whichever makes YOU FEEL BETTER. The body doesn't have a mindframe for time( the one hour eating window after workingout is bullshit)... as long as you eat your calories for the day your good... no matter when... some people like one huge meal, others divide it up

 

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[parkerscott]

IIFYM brah

 

[DennisD]

you should understand the basic principles of fat,protein,carbs, macro nutrient break down before jumping into the "Paleo diet"

I'm not talking about a "paleo diet", I'm talking about a "paleo lifestyle".
Even if it's not popular vernacular... to clarify what I mean when I say "paleo lifestyle" I mean: eating, exercising, mating, socializing, and LIVING the way in which we evolved as a species.

I don't care about what some guy wrote in a book, I don't care about the blog posts about the diet or following any specific rules. I care about attempting to mimic the natural human evolved cycle. Software apps like "Flux" fit right into the Paleo Lifestyle, by making our computers mimic the color temperature of the setting sun.

I understand that each person is different, that there are different approaches for each goal/intended result. I understand that person' genealogy creates different biological responses. If it makes any difference I'm not actively trying to loose weight, or gain muscle, or whatever. I'm just trying to live in a way which is most efficient for my biological programming.

Does anybody have any hard data on the lifestyle of paleolithic humans as it regards to eating/exercise?
Has anybody pursued a modern lifestyle based on their findings?

XOThermic, FutureWorldDominator, When do you eat in relation to your workout? How does it make you feel?

 

[FutureWorldDominator]

Your contradicting yourself by saying you want "to live in a way which is most efficient for my biological programming" and then saying your trying to follow the paleolithic lifestyle ... all though you "don't care" about the blogs or books about the paleo diet you are subconsciously agreeing with the false presumption that the paleo diet contends that our functions and systems(primarily digesting) haven't evolved... if your trying to simply mimic the natural human evolved cycle.... since our bodies have evolved simply following what works for you TODAY in terms of exercise,eating and all that other stuff that's listed is the best way to make most of your biological programming. P.S unless your going to become a hunter/gatherer...... the only thing you can mimic is the diet, you don't want to have the social ability of the paleolithic humans do you?

"Proponents of the Paleo diet follow a nutritional plan based on the eating habits of our ancestors in the Paleolithic period, between 2.5 million and 10,000 years ago. Before agriculture and industry, humans presumably lived as hunter–gatherers: picking berry after berry off of bushes; digging up tumescent tubers; chasing mammals to the point of exhaustion; scavenging meat, fat and organs fromanimalsthat larger predators had killed; and eventually learning to fish with lines and hooks and hunt with spears, nets, bows and arrows."
‘Paleofantasies’ call to mind a time when everything about us—body, mind, and behavior—was in sync with the environment…but no such time existed," Zuk wrote in her book. "We and every other living thing have always lurched along in evolutionary time, with the inevitable trade-offs that are a hallmark of life.”
On his website,Sisson writesthat "while the world has changed in innumerable ways in the last 10,000 years (for better and worse), the human genome has changed very little and thus only thrives under similar conditions." This is simply not true. In fact, this reasoning misconstrues how evolution works. If humans and other organisms could only thrive in circumstances similar to the ones their predecessors lived in, life would not have lasted very long."

 

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[FutureWorldDominator]

But to answer your question: I work out in the morning no meal before hand... only my preworkout and/or some coffee lift weight and then do some cardio... I have a protein shake and fruit afterwards and then have two large meals later in the day... I like it this way i feel good, if I work out to late in the day after all my meals I feel weak and lethargic... but everybody is different

 

[DennisD]

you are subconsciously agreeing with the false presumption that the paleo diet contends that our functions and systems(primarily digesting) haven't evolved...

I CONSCIOUSLY agree that the way we evolved has 100% consequences on how we live and thrive now. In the paleolithic times, as well as since then. Neanderthal evolution is just as important to me as more recent modern evolution. I'm interested in the paleo theory but I don't look at anything that "experts" write as fact.

Yes, our digestive system has evolved in the 10K years since hunter/gatherer times.. I agree, but it's inconsequential to this conversation.

P.S unless your going to become a hunter/gatherer...... the only thing you can mimic is the diet, you don't want to have the social ability of the paleolithic humans do you?

There are many things you can mimic. I already mentioned the exercise/diet relationship.. how about number of times per day/week/month to have sex? How about the best time to wake up in relation to sunset? How about interactions with children, or breathable clothing, or sun exposure, or sleeping on a hard surface vs soft surface?

Non-diet related "paleo" research has it's merits. In "The Tipping Point" Malcolm Gladwell discusses Dunbar's number, which is the number of people we evolved to form stable relationships with. The number of people is around 150. It's shown that business buildings are MOST efficient when you limit the number of co-workers to ~150. After 150, it's best to open another building.

This is the type of non-diet paleo lifestyle design I'm interested in. Small changes in my life that have a great effect on hapiness productivity and mood.. I believe that something as simple as when I choose to exercise in relation to eating can make a huge difference in my daily happiness levels. I don't expect a magic answer, just a conversation about the concept.

 

[quickdrawyall]

This is the type of non-diet paleo lifestyle design I'm interested in. Small changes in my life that have a great effect on hapiness productivity and mood.. I believe that something as simple as when I choose to exercise in relation to eating can make a huge difference in my daily happiness levels. I don't expect a magic answer, just a conversation about the concept.

Then it seems the simplest answer is to see for yourself. Everyone's different and reacts differently, obviously. The same is true in lifestyle. Some people wouldn't even feel comfortable in a 150 person office, some would probably be fine in offices larger than that. You're talking the average, but no person is really ever average in all regards, so try for yourself.

Personally I don't enjoy working out on an empty stomach, but some people do fine with it.

I mean some people are introverted and some are extroverted, the environment that would produce their best work productivity and make them the happiest would obviously be completely different, regardless of what the average "paleo" lifestyle would be.

 

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[Likwid24]

Hey Dennis, I'll try to get you a detailed answer be tonight. On the run now. Look into Intermittent Fasting. I've been doing it for over a year now. I drink a cup of coffee in the morning with grass fed butter and MCT oil, then takes some BCAA's pre-workout. I eat my largest meal of the day post workout. Usually 4-5 eggs, bacon, veggies and an avocado.

IF has worked great for me, but it's not for everyone. I thought it would be difficult to workout on an empty stomach, but I've never gotten better workouts in my life. I actually can't workout with any food in my stomach anymore. It makes me lazy.

Also, look into Robb Wolf.