Paleo Diet and Coffee For Fast Results!

Paleo dieting and coffee is one way that I frequently diet to get into excellent shape in a very short time frame.

I really like it because the only stipulation on the diet is food choices and not as much on timing and frequency.

You pretty much eat when you're hungry but you can only eat “XYZ” type of foods.

The paleo diet is a diet that most closely resembles the way our ancestors ate many, many years ago.

But not just that, when you think about it the paleo diet more closely resembles the way bodybuilders ate back in the Golden era.

You have to remember that the Golden era of bodybuilding was before we had conveniences of a microwave or a fast food joint on every street corner.

The only thing that wasn't quite paleo about the Golden era diets was the dairy intake, mainly items such as cream and cottage cheese.

I personally like the paleo diet because it makes life easy.

You no longer worry about meal timing, shopping at the grocery store becomes an easy process, and sometimes dieting this way can even be cheaper because there isn't such an emphasis on the nitty gritty of things like removing chicken skin or eating egg whites instead of whole eggs.

So for someone trying to save money and get shredded at the same time then paleo dieting is a great way to go.

Is the paleo diet enough food to walk around like a 250 lb monster?

In my own personal opinion, no it's not. But that isn't what I'm going for myself.

I like to stay between 200-220 lbs most of the time because I find it a great balance between size, definition, and health.

Health is #1 here and without health there is no physique.

Now, there are two different types of Paleo diets; traditional paleo and paleo that includes carbs such as root veggies like yams, rutabaga, and squash.

Traditional paleo consists of more fruits for your carb source and not complex carbs such as your root veggies.

I include yams as my complex carbs when I go paleo.

The only other carb sources I really eat when dieting like this are apples and grapefruit chunks, and those are mainly around workout time, either pre-workout, post, or often both.

For healthy fats I consume things like nuts, coconut oil, whole eggs, trace fats on steak, salmon, and skin off chicken thighs or bone in breasts.

I have really found that by nature the paleo diet is lower in carbs than other diets.

It's certainly lower for me because I'm honestly not going to spend 2 hours a day preparing squash or yams. Occasionally yams are added, but there are times where I go a few days in a row without them.

It's easy just to eat an apple sometimes as a good source of carbs.

There is one thing about the way our ancestors lived that I feel is very necessary to explain.

There is this common belief that our ancestors chased down saber-toothed tigers on a daily and strangled them with their bare hands, or ran 100 miles every day.

This is such bullshit, and the reality of it was that our ancestors learned to conserve their energy levels when food was scarce.

We come from a hunter/gatherer group of people who lived by feast or famine.

These people were not bodybuilders, and they did not exert the same amount of consistent calories that a modern day bodybuilder exerts between weights, cardio, and regular daily energy expenditure.

This is where caffeine comes into play for me. I drink a few cups of black coffee every day to help keep me going when I'm dieting.

I do it for every bodybuilding show I train for, and it's especially critical in the beginning of a diet when my stomach is still in the process of shrinking down and extreme hunger is still inevitable.

THE BENEFITS OF DRINKING COFFEE AS A BODYBUILDER

The first time I really learned about bodybuilders drinking coffee was when I read about Dorian Yates. Yates used to drink black coffee before a cardio session and I thought to myself that if Dorian Yates drank coffee then maybe it wasn't that bad!

  • There have been studies done with competitive athletes that have shown coffee intake to increase testosterone levels
  • Increased energy output and mental alertness can lead to increased muscle gains, and increased muscle leads to a faster metabolism!
  • Energy expenditure can be increased for 6-8 hours after coffee consumption, which can help with body fat loss.
  • There are studies that show that coffee consumption can lower the risks of strokes and heart attacks
  • Caffeine can act as a natural painkiller (think about what companies put in headache medication) and by acting as a natural painkiller, this may allow you to push further past a pain threshold in the gym
  • Coffee can act as a natural diuretic, helping you shed excess water weight and look tighter/leaner year round
  • Coffee/caffeine can act as an appetite suppressant making a diet more manageable. In most of my competition preps I have found myself drinking a cup in the morning and then a “pick me up” cup mid-afternoon to help bust through times when hunger wants to get the best of me, and I'll put my hand on the bible on that one!
  • The last benefit is simple; coffee is a great social tool and it's pretty cheap!

As I have started getting older I've learned the value of supporting small businesses.

…and I despise large corporate companies who continue to jack up price on products and deliver shittier quality on the regular.

Companies such as one major company from Seattle Washington who jacks up the cost of their coffee when it's usually half burnt, goes with cheaper and flimsier lids despite the fact their revenue has only grown over the years, and no longer treats their customers with kindness and dignity.

You've probably guessed which company I'm talking about, and I'd like to think of them as the overpriced Wal-mart of coffee.

I'd rather give my money to a small coffee company rather than a shitty chain that has forgotten about the value it's providing the customer.

Yes, I talk about different energy drinks here at JDB, but those are things I try to stay away from if I'm going Paleo.

I really try to stay as natural as possible with the foods when dieting this way. I do not always diet like this, but I found myself eating a lot of junk after my last competition.

I finally said enough is enough, “what is the quickest way to jump start myself back into fat loss?”

The answer is natural eating through a paleo diet, and I find that black coffee helps me bust through those times that get tough.

Give Paleo dieting a try!

You may just look better and feel better in no time!

Over and out

-JD

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

12 thoughts on “Paleo Diet and Coffee For Fast Results!”

  1. Great stuff, John. I am a big advocate of the paleo diet for optimal health. Like you said, it can be hard to gain muscle on it simply because the meals are more satiating and lower in carb. Depending on how strict you want to be on it, some paleo gurus (Mark Sisson comes to mind) give the green light for white rice. While it isn’t the most nutritious thing you could eat, it’s considered a “neutral carb” without the downsides that you would find in other high carbs foods (think gluten in bread, etc). Food for thought.

    Reply
  2. I’ve never gave the Paleo diet much thought. After reading this I will look further into it. Currently I am IF everyday and then following something similar to the Atkins diet.

    Thank you John.

    Reply
    • Yea man, honestly I think the word “PALEO” either turns people onto it or turns “bodybuilders” away from it. As soon as you look at it like natural eating or a way of eating that more closely resembled bodybuilders of the golden era, then all of a sudden it’s appealing to people. Good luck with it if you go this route, or whatever diet you use

      Reply
  3. Hi John,

    Great read mate and highly informative.

    I am a huge fan of the paleo diet although have cut down on my consumption of coffee as it gives me the jitters. I much prefer to counter coffee with natural nootropics like Alpha GPC and L Theanine.

    If I ever do have coffee, its in an espresso shot at 5:45am in the morning before my HIIT workout.

    Reply
    • I usually just drink when I’m thirsty and don’t keep track of sodium. I don’t salt my food ever, maybe what little is in some condiments I use

      Reply
  4. Caffeine can increase metabolism and help you to lose weight, but you have to pay attention to the amount of coffee that you consume. If you overdo it, you’ll experince different side effects.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Item added to cart.
0 items - $0.00