Paleo IS expensive?

At the end of today's blog we introduce another new trainer - Rich Millar.

This way of eating, like virtually any way of eating, can be made much more, or mush less expensive. Now, similar to cooking or meal options, I thought this was a pretty straight-forward concept (if you are broke, buy cheap, if you have some cash, kick your heels up a bit) but alas, it is not. So, I’m going to walk through some basic shopping and put an arrow in the head of the “Paleo is expensive” idea, then we will look at some basic finance ideas as I think some folks may benefit from that.

There is ongoing debate, particularly in Sydney, that healthy foods should be made cheaper so that they are accessible to everyone, it is also common to hear the excuse that it is cheaper to feed a family or fill a lunchbox with crap food. Many people also believe that Paleo is too expensive to follow; the grass fed products, fresh local fruit and vegetables, nuts etc. This is 100% true, however you can make Paleo work to suit any budget.. NO excuses!

Today we look at another great article from Robb Wolf, 'Paleo is EXPENSIVE.' The following is a summary, for the full article click here.

** "But I want to save the World, shouldn't we eat grass fed?" Well, grass-fed and organic are certainly optimal, but if you cannot afford it you cannot afford it. If it REALLY matters to you, make sacrifices and make it happen…but you might need to shelve your idealism long enough to survive, and reverting to bagels is not the way to go. Your health will be better served by eating conventional meat & mega-farmed produce than a largely grain based diet.

** "But I'm a Starving Student!!" Ahh…the College Student. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to create some framework here! At the age of 16 my dad became disabled and could not work. It was not until I was 22 that his disability went through and I was freed from largely supporting my parents. Through all of high-school and part of college I worked full time to not just float my families boat, but also to get the things I wanted like a motorcycle, spending money etc. If eating clean is important, you will find a way to make it happen. If you are better looking than you are smart, become a stripper, they make great money. I’m not that smart, I’m not good looking, but I will out-work just about anyone.

** "But I'm really broke!" Everyone’s situation is different. Many folks are out of work and things are legitimately tight. If I was really tight, I’d do my best to follow the above, and add a 50lb bag of rice (prices range from $25-$50). or, I’d eat a LOT of coconut oil as my main calories. Let’s look at some specific numbers:

1. Gallon of coconut oil is $75 with a total calorie content (117 cals per serving x 256 servings per container) of 29,952 cals. Cost: $0.0025/calorie

2. Bag-o-rice is $25-$50 with a total caloric content of a 50lb bag (3600 cals/kg x 22.68 kg/bag) of 81,648. Cost: $0.0003 to $0.0006/calorie.

While, calorie per calorie the rice is indeed cheaper, but both options are pretty damn inexpensive overall.

** CAVEMAN ACCOUNTING **

That first section is concrete in that smart shopping can make Paleo quite affordable, but again, you need to make decisions appropriate for your situation. Unfortunately, some people are not well suited to modern living on a variety of fronts. Case in point: I received a comment a while back that went something like this “I cannot pay my mortgage because of spending money on grass fed meat and organic produce…eating paleo is MAKING me bankrupt.” I was initially pretty cranky with this person because it seemed a remarkable lack of self accountability (and indeed, it is) but I also understand that this is part of a much larger problem. In the same way that we are not genetically well adapted to resisting the wiles of modern foods, so too do many of us fall prey to the lure of conspicuous consumption, credit and the like. Similar to food addictions, when we sit down to talk about the why’s of these situations we can either turn this into a moral quandary (this person is just stupid, bad, lazy etc.) or we can understand this is yet another example of an evolutionary discordance, with some of us navigating spending and finances reasonably well (like carbs) others…not so much.

So, part of the issue whether folks can or cannot afford to eat this way may have some deeper issues related to spending on a macro scale. If this is NOT your issue, fine, ignore all of this, but I know for a fact it’s a pervasive problem based on the emails and communications I receive. If you think this may all apply to you I’d highly recommend checking out Dave Ramsey’s material. He does amazing work and there are a variety of ways you can get started down a better financial path.

Continuing with our new trainer profiles...

Rich Millar

Some of you would have noticed Rich taking a few classes over the last week or so. More so in the afternoon. He may seem like a new-ish face to Norwest but this is only because he trains Tuesday and Thursday mornings and the open gym at 930 Saturdays. The reason Rich can only train at those times is because he runs his own out door personal training business over at he North Shore, but don't hold that against him.

Rich more recently competed at the Never Quit games as part of our Advnaced team with fireman/man model Mike Watts or MWS aka Le Tan. Rich also competed at the strongman comp in Woolongong a few months back at 90kgs lifting against the 105kg guys!

CrossFit Norwest was not Richs' first CrossFit box. He trained at CrossFit Brookvale and CrossFit Athletic (Battle of the beaches CrossFit) as he knew friends that trained there at the time. Rich as previously mentioned runs his PT business but also has his CrossFit cert, strength and conditioning qualifications as well as currently completing a University degree in counter terrorism. Rich is currently an army reservist with aspirations to one day complete special forces selection.

Today's WOD:

21 wall climbs

21 Toes to bar (strict)

5 rope climbs (seated position, no hands, no drop from top-controlled decent)

21 Thrusters 60/40kg

21 Bar facing burpees