What is Your Definitions of the RPD?

[Chris]

There is such vagueness on the definition of being Raw Paleo on this site. I'm asking you, each and every member on this forum here, to give me your opinion on what the RPD is to you?

We have people, and I find out moderators that still cook foods. I'm curious, what makes these people think they are Raw Paleo's? Just because you eat a little bit of your food raw, does that make you raw paleo (in your eyes)? Does eating 50% of your food raw, makes you a raw paleo? 60%, 70%, ect? I'm sure you all know, there is a cooked version of the Paleo Diet? If your in transition, what is your ultimate goal with this diet? How far are you willing to take it? I mean, this is not the anything goes diet (I'll just follow my own set of rules, and call myself RP)? This is suppose to be the Raw version of the Paleo Diet. Am I right, or am I wrong to assume that?  The RFD is a diet that is based on the principle of eating RAW meat, fruits, vegetables, and fats in their natural uncooked state, am I right?

When you (members) have followed a diet in the past. Do you follow it to a tee? Or do you just make up your own rules as you go along? I'm curious to how many of you are following the TRUE Raw Paleo Diet out there? Or are you one of the members, who incorporate partial/variation of the RFD for yourself? But, associate yourself as Raw Paleo?

It just sounds like there is a lot of confusion on this site, when it come to the RFD on this Forum. We have people that post, that still eat cooked foods. But, for some reason think they are Raw Paleo? This is not a Test people! This is a Poll of your opinions/definitions of the RFD. Please be honest.

Where do you (members) categorize yourself in this diet, and at what percentages are you RAW?
1. Omnivore
2. Carnivore
3. Wai
4. Instincto

[cherimoya_kid]

I prefer to not even give the diet a name to outsiders.  I just talk about concepts, like not overcooking your food, not eating unhealthily-raised animals, avoiding grains, etc..

I prefer it not even have a name at all.  Names create groups and group identification, and people start getting dogmatic instead of fact-based, and it becomes group versus group, instead of idea versus idea.  That's just never good, when that happens.

[ys]

i do not associate myself with anything.  i don't even count how much food i eat raw and how much cooked.  i also don't care about RPD label.  i only care about my own health and what works for me and try to spend least amount of time thinking about food.  no hard set rules.  the only rule - stick with whatever works.

i try to eat raw wild animals from ecologically clean environments.  when those are not available i try sourcing grass fed animals.  when both are not available i'd eat homemade cooked food until i get raw supplies.  i also do not mind occasional social events.  cooked vegetables and rare meat do not give me any issue so once in a while it is totally acceptable.

[Adora]

    Raw paleo diet is as it is defined on the home page, but the forum is good if you eat any raw animal foods, or are honestly considering eating them.
    I'm 100% today, last week I was 98%.  I don't eat much cooked, chocolate has been Adora enemy #1. To approximate my cheating:  I ate pizza 3x, chips maybe 5x, cooked meat/ pasteurized dairy  50x, and grain (bread, cookies, cake, etc) 20x  since Oct 2011. Sometimes, I crave a cooked food and it feels good for me. Other times it is poison - had reactions from severe to none. I think there may be a benefit to eating some cooked foods like bone broth, and herbal tea. Food temperature can be important to me. I was lucky enough to be present once during a butchering and I ate a few bites of warm heart and sipped the warm blood on a cold spring morning. It was my favorite raw food experience. 100% better than cold food out of the fridge. The words paleo and primal  = fresh warm kill to me. I am mostly/categorically eating instinctive for the last 2 months and loving it.
   I started raw paleo then, primal,  low carb 80-90% carnivore (that was a big flop for my system carb adapted system). Now by volume I eat about 50% vegetables, 20% fruit, 20% dairy and eggs, and 10% fish and meat. I eat everything according to instinctive stops and starts, but instincto's  don't eat dairy. I also eat a little high meat every day, some pre-frozen food, the tea, and bone broth.
   How about you Chris? You didn't put yourself in your own poll.

     

[eveheart]

I eat unprocessed foods. Seasonal and social variations really don't fall into the four categories you mentioned because I'm not 100% anything. I get much of my "unprocessed" concept from instinctotherapy (GCB). I live in a small house with no cooking facilities (no stove, no oven, no microwave). I adore my butcher.

I believe there is no definition of RPD. We can approximate the diet of paleolithic man, but who's to say exactly when that first hunk of meat fell into the fire? My life is too short and my interests too diverse to spend time defining what I will eat for the rest of my days.

[Chris]

Interesting replies. Not what I was expecting. I'm a good way, that is. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions on the subject. It helps me understand more in regards to what this website is all about. I've been scratching my head recently about it.

    How about you Chris? You didn't put yourself in your own poll.

I've been currently on the RPD for going on three months now. My diet is currently 100% carnivore (a loose term, but I currently only eat meat for now). I mostly eat lamb/beef(grass fed of course)/black cod and wild salmon. I stick to mainly the fattier cuts, as most of you do in this forum. I also incorporate organ meats including heart/liver and most recently kidney in my diet. I'm very disciplined when it comes to diet and nutrition. I've tried many diets in the past, with at best marginal results. Learned about the raw paleo diet, and immediately made the switch. I started cold turkey! I never had an issue with raw fish, so that was easy. Plus, I've always enjoyed my meats cooked very rare. So the transition was very easy for me. I find myself sensitive to fruits and vegetables for some reason. So I decided to omit them from my diet for now. Always experimenting! I'm allergic to soy, and pasteurized dairy. Funny, because I've never really had a negative reaction to raw dairy. But, right now I avoid all dairy. I really feel like I found a home with this diet. I have seen so many positive changes since I've made the switch. I don't have hunger cravings like I use to. My digestion is much improved. My skin looks so much better. I feel much more energetic and alive. I seem a lot more focused and assertive too on the RPD. My only regret is not finding this diet sooner.

[Alive]

... I really feel like I found a home with this diet. I have seen so many positive changes since I've made the switch. I don't have hunger cravings like I use to. My digestion is much improved. My skin looks so much better. I feel much more energetic and alive. I seem a lot more focused and assertive too on the RPD. My only regret is not finding this diet sooner.

I really agree with these statements Chris, and I'm just starting to realise that I need to do things right in the present rather than dream about changing the past : )

A more technically correct way to ask your question, since we have already established that 'carnavores' may eat large amounts of plant matter (eg Brown Bear), would be to ask % of main food groups (by weight):
30% Raw Animal, high fat (meat, fish, offal, eggs)
40% Raw Fruit & starchy tubers
25% Raw Vegetation (leaves, shoots, flowers etc)
4% Raw Nuts & seeds
1% non-RPD drinks and seasoning

As above for 2 days now I have been 99% RPD and loving it Yipeee
RPD is the best way for me to thrive and be fully alive.

[Chris]

I'm just starting to realise that I need to do things right in the present rather than dream about changing the past : )

Good for you! I hope you make your necessary changes/adjustments, and find the success your looking for with the RPD.

A more technically correct way to ask your question, since we have already established that 'carnavores' may eat large amounts of plant matter (eg Brown Bear), would be to ask % of main food groups (by weight):

Good point and suggestion. PaleoPhil pointed that out on one of his posts recently if memory serves me correct. Thank you for addressing that. I hope that clears up any confusion regarding the term "Carnivore".

[joej627]

Just be careful to listen to your body always man.  The seasons change.  We change.  You get older, you switch jobs, you switch locations.  Don't fall for the trap of getting locked into a "diet" and thinking you have "found" it.  Some days I eat as a vegan, some days I eat a lot more meat and eggs and butter.  Summer has been hot here.  I have ate a lot more fruits and plant fats (avocados, coconut/olives oils, etc) with smaller amounts of animal foods.  In the winter that will probably flop.  More bone marrow and fatty meats.  There is a reason there is so much disagreement about "diet" in the world.  We are all different, we all change, and we all just need to be taught to eat real food, listen to our bodies, and acclimate appropriately.

[William]

We've known what paleofood is since someone found a modern with the same bone chemical composition as that of our paleolithic ancestors.
Wild African lions, and we know how much fruit, nuts and vegetables they eat.

To be honest, this should be named the Cordain forum after the well known troll.

[CitrusHigh]

William, you sound like you would benefit from studying epigenetics. Or maybe you've already studied but still think that way, if so I'd like to know for what reasons?

[cherimoya_kid]

Just be careful to listen to your body always man.  The seasons change.  We change.  You get older, you switch jobs, you switch locations.  Don't fall for the trap of getting locked into a "diet" and thinking you have "found" it.  Some days I eat as a vegan, some days I eat a lot more meat and eggs and butter.  Summer has been hot here.  I have ate a lot more fruits and plant fats (avocados, coconut/olives oils, etc) with smaller amounts of animal foods.  In the winter that will probably flop.  More bone marrow and fatty meats.  There is a reason there is so much disagreement about "diet" in the world.  We are all different, we all change, and we all just need to be taught to eat real food, listen to our bodies, and acclimate appropriately.

Yep.  Clinging to dogma in this area is not a survival trait.

[CitrusHigh]

Wow, have you read anything on epigenetics at all? Anything?

[PaleoPhil]

i do not associate myself with anything.  i don't even count how much food i eat raw and how much cooked.  i also don't care about RPD label.  i only care about my own health and what works for me and try to spend least amount of time thinking about food.  no hard set rules.  the only rule - stick with whatever works.

Couldn't have said it better myself, but I'll jibber jabber a bit anyway, to try to help. I don't count anything either and don't care about labels. I do what works for me and let others do whatever they want.

A related question would be, why do people read and join this forum? For me, it's largely because this forum is one of the few sources on the entire fecking Internet of info on raw animal foods; plus it provides kindred spirits, which are rare in the noncyber world (instead, one tends to encounter only raised eyebrows, criticisms and insults). Try getting info or talking about raw animal foods anywhere else, such as conventional "Paleo" (in other words, cooked Paleo) forums, and you'll find little info and instead plenty of critical comments, snide remarks, etc. Critics love to try to pigeonhole anyone who does anything unconventional into some sort of category of crazy folk, so they can just dismiss us. When they do this, you know they've never tried raw animal foods, because if they had, they would not regard them as crazy at all.

[sabertooth]

I eat whole lamb, eggs, lemon,coconut butter, there is also the occasional tomato, or avocado but that's about it. My diet is an adaption of the raw paleo diet,but has no definite definition. It is as unique as I am. Its almost as close to totally raw paleo as you can get, with a little bit of processed coconut added in.  Some people may think that the 6 or so tablespoons of Raw coconut butter I eat a day isn't raw paleo, but I have had such good results with it, that it doesn't matter. The coconut butter is basically raw coconut that has had its moisture and some of its fiber removed through a low temperature mechanical process. 


 

[Alive]

In my opinion the defining difference of RPD over most other diets is the consumption of raw animal products, so someone who ate RAF could be said to have a partially RP diet.

My easiest definition of the raw paleo diet would be that foods are selected from animal and plant products that have not experienced significant heating, so that their molecular structures have not been damaged by heat or radiation.

 

[cherimoya_kid]

Wow, have you read anything on epigenetics at all? Anything?

Who were you asking? 

[CitrusHigh]

lol, William must have deleted his comment.

[Löwenherz]

..Some people may think that the 6 or so tablespoons of Raw coconut butter I eat a day isn't raw paleo, but I have had such good results with it, that it doesn't matter.

Sabertooth,

would your diet without coconut fat (a Lex Rooker ZC style diet) also work for you?

I was just thinking about members of ZC forums who reported thyroid problems in the long-run on strict animal based ZC diets. Coconut fat is said to stimulate the thyroid gland. So I wondered if you just like the taste of coconut butter or if you feel a need for it, in addition to lamb meat, fat and organs.

Löwenherz

[aLptHW4k4y]

For me it's the wai diet, which is essentially raw paleo with a few recommendations on energy management, which I find very essential when you're not doing low carb.
Plus cooked rice for which I absolutely don't care if it fits in raw paleo or not.

[svrn]

my few criteria for what i eat are 1) raw 2)fairly organic produce / always wild or 100%grass fed totally organic dairy 3) it gives me no bad reaction.