The first line of the article said: "A heaping pile of protein with a little fat on the side. That about sums up the diet of the average American male." Is that really the average American male diet? I would say it is a heaping pile of carbs and fat with a little protein on the side. Look at all the fast food, processed foods, fried foods the average American male eats. Another interesting point the article raises is: "Dahl says the popularity of gluten-free and anti-grain diets is partly to blame for our paltry fiber intakes. People who adopt these diets without a compelling medical reason (like celiac disease) are cutting off one of the largest and healthiest sources of fiber in their diets, which is whole grains, she says." This my biggest pet peeve with the "experts" who peddle the keto/paleo diets of meat, butter and bacon. If you get your hands on solid medical grade research that cover these diets, they all say that in some form at lunch and dinner you need 2 cups of fiberous vegetables (brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc...). Basically a minimum of 4 cups of vegetables daily and the real minimum recommendation is closer to 6. 2 cups of brussel sprouts is 8 grams of fiber. If you eat your 4 cups a day of the right vegetables alone you are eating more fiber than maybe 75% of Americans. In addition to trying to hit those 4 cups I also take Fiber supplement and get it where I can. Many Paleo people are encrouaged to eat fiberous fruits as well. I know most people hate eating their greens but then they are depriving themselves of good source of nutrition. If you are gonna choose to cut out most carbs and grains, you have to do it responsibly, not because a douche on TV says you can eat all the bacon you want. So people who go gluten free and avoid the vegetable component are really not following correctly the diet as it should be. This is the biggest problem I have with the so called experts who sell books on paleo and keto, because they really are half assing the information. The advocation for whole grains in studies always works because it forces people away from the refined carbs, blood sugar spikes and lack of satiety to something more dense with fiber and protein. It is a strong step in the right direction for the average American male.
How many sets per muscle group and how many total sets per workout? Also, are the exercises mostly compound, isolation or a balanced mix? Finally, you mentioned heavy sets. What are your thoughts on Henneman’s size principle, as referred to by Carpinelli in Bass's article on the topic: https://www.cbass.com/Carpinelli.htm Again, I'm not criticizing the 3x/day meal plan, I just don't favor it. I prefer smaller meals. For example, schedule permitting (which is usually), I break my breakfast up into 3 small parts over a 90-minute period or so. Lunch is fairly light. In the mid-afternoon, I have a homemade trail mix (and fruit) to get more fats in, and sometimes I break up supper into 2 parts if I am having a large salad that day. Eating only 3 times a day would likely cause me to get fairly hungry in the interim unless the meals were ~large. That poses 2 problems for me. First, the hungrier I am, the more likely I am to overeat. And, second, by keeping my meals small, I am less likely to distend my stomach somewhat as I am more likely to do with a large(r) meal. And I have found that a distended stomach is harder to please the next time at the table.
Remember, the conclusion of the article is: The take-home message here is that fat is a critical dietary ingredient, while sugar — despite being omnipresent in dozens of every day foods — is not. That means while it takes more work to curb your sugar intake, the available evidence suggests it's a more worthwhile fight than trimming the fat. The article is NOT advocating copious amounts of saturated fats or eating Flintstone amounts of meat daily. We have to be careful to not take an article or research and extrapolate an argument/theory not being conveyed for the discussion. Fat being a critical dietary ingredient does not equal load up ad lib on saturated fats.
Yeah, I get some of your criticism about the article but the conclusion is a good one. Keep in mind that the writer is not saying the paleo diet is necessary a butter & bacon thing, but rather that some people who adopt it see it that way. And make no mistake, I love my vegetables, although I unfortunately have to avoid the cruciferous variety because they give me grief. But what I see is that you get most or all of your fiber from vegetables and you are the one with a higher propensity to have cheat days that I am. And i'm guessing that you "cheat" with foods that I don't even touch.
What I find interesting is that articles who focus on fiber always talk about whole grains. If fiber was really so important, why don't they ALSO talk about fruits and vegetables? Where is the industry wide push for Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables? The approach is that people who cut out gluten are deprived of fiber but that is true for people who eat poorly in my opinion. Even people who eat whole grains, usually still fall way short of the 25 - 30grams of fiber required daily. Having 2 slices of whole wheat bread with a sandwhich or oatmeal maybe gets them to 10 -15 grams at best. No matter your personal opinion on eating whole grains, I would like to see more "nutritionists" talking about leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, fiberous roots etc. You find it when you dig deep into research but the Men's Health level is all about whole grains and let's be honest, the average diet has very little whole grains and close to 0% vegetables and mostly sugar/water fruits low to no fiber. I wish the vegetable lobby was as big as the grain lobby because we all know a kid would rather have mac n cheese as a side than anything green....
The problem now with people sensitive to the FODMAPS is they cannot digest cruciferous veggies and avoid them completely, fruit as well. Most of it just may be normal gas and we just have to deal with it. Others get bloated and uncomfortable. For me it is just the next piss smells horrible but I can live with that haha. As for cheats? I lose my mind for fresh baked soft pretzels.... I would kill you to get to this:
Because vegetables and fruit are a given. Every normal nutritionist recommends them. The reason recent mainstream articles are stressing whole grains is specifically because the neo-paleos are demonizing them. An act of counterbalance, if you will.
Cruciferous vegetables give me cramps that keep me up at night. Those are the only ones I avoid. Wouldn't you if you were me?
So basically you consume more empty carbs on your paleo diet than I do on my non-paleo diet. Who knew.
I am not sure I agree because the articles often say that eliminating whole grains gets rid of a traditional source of fiber and people are not getting any fiber in their diets. Fruits and vegetables are not a given in today's American diet unless you count Potato chips and fruit snacks. Remember the article says "....that neglects a dietary component most health researchers agree is a MUST: fiber from whole grains." It does not say fiber, it says fiber from whole grains. I would agree if it says health researchers all agree you need fiber. But it says Fiber from whole grains. Not saying you should not eat whole grains if you want, but the slant is always you need whole grains to get fiber. I am reading it exactly the way the article presented it and the way I have seen it numerous times. Now I don't demonize whole grains, they are way better than refined carbs, and you would see the obesity, heart disease and diabetes epidemic cut in half if all people ate were whole grains. But why is the article focused on fiber as being so important but no mentioned of some of the best natural sources of fiber out there that require no processing at all.