The evidence
It’s clear to me now. I shouldn’t eat gluten. That’s the evidence. Pasta and bread begone.
I’ve been good about eating limited qualntities over the last year. I consume it about once a week, usually at a Tapas bar, dipping some rich bread into some gambas al ajillo, or to carry some mushrooms and cheese. But in the last two weeks I’ve been eating more sandwiches, ziti and cake.
I even ate a chocolate chip cookie. Not an awesome one by Tates, but one of these industrial ones made from Nabisco.
I thought I should pat myself on the back: I had only one, after all. But it was still an unsatisfying cookie if taste was the requirement.
But at my 10th anniversary, I drank more beer, cake and pasta in one setting than I’d had in a few weeks. I took the keg home and felt the obligation to finish it.
And I felt like sh!#.
I can’t promise a completely new leaf. I’m convinced flour and sugar and enemies, especially after reading Waistland, a semi-academic book by Professor Dierdre Barrett. The challenge for me is a variation: beer and rice. I bet that if I gave up the two completely, the weight would drop off. She makes it sound easy – Just take a bag of spinach and put tuna on it. And it’s like she’s telling me to turn my back on my Indian heritage: stay away from anything that stimulates the palate.
However, what I could do is restrict my beer intake. I’ve done this before when I was losing. Using the theory of smaller portions, I would order half-pints vs pints and drink water while also drinking alcohol. It worked before, but I didn’t make it a regular habit. I could move from white rice to brown rice. Although the evidence is sketchy about the benefits of brown rice, it satiates me more quickly.
My current report.
At my last gym workout did a combination of Christian Finn’s 5×5 doing Mark Rippentoe and Crossfit’s basic total.
Bench Press: 5×135, 5×165, 5×175, 5×185, 5×195PR, 5×155
Press: 5xbar, 5×65, 5×75, 5×85, 5×95, 5×105, 5×95
Squat: 5×135, 5×165, 5×185, 5×205, 2×215, 5×165
Deadlift: 5×135, 5×155, 5×185, 5×205, 5×225, 2×245, 5×185
I finished with a few bicep curls, pull ups, chin ups, back extensions, and leg extensions at lighter weights.
Today I ran for 1/2 hour and for the first time in recent memory I ran for six minutes straight. It was slow, but consistent.
Old Stone Epicurean 
Padre,
First of all, great to see you back in the game…along with Dr. Baldwin, you have been a constant source of inspiration, fitness- (and other) wise.
Second, as for the whole idea that no grains makes Paleo less than savory, I find that the fat you can eat more than makes up for the lack of grains, especially when you factor in how completely awful they make you feel once you’ve been off them for more than 30 days. A bag of spinach with chicken sounds repulsive, but a roasted chicken, rubbed in olive oil and spices, with carrots sauteed in chicken drippings and some kale wilted in the same drippings followed by a small bowl of cold fresh fruit sounds divine.
Third, instead of beer, take this as an opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the unmitigated joys of a neat glass of quality Scotch.
Anyway, keep up the good work…lots of folks out here are rooting for you and drawing inspiration from you for their own fitness journeys!
Dr. Shepley