Paleo in Melbourne Q&A with Ivy Thompson

Ivy Thompson is the founder of the Paleo in Melbourne blog and is a great friend of ours. She is a mum as well as a blogger so she knows about how to make the paleo diet work day to day as well as being an incredible resource on the science behind the diet and a closet biohacker. We caught up with Ivy for a quick fire Q&A ahead of her Paleo for Blokes & Beginners event in Melbourne

What got you into paleo?

I found myself 25 kilos heavier than normal and with a bunch of brand new food allergies after the birth of my 3rd child in Nov 2010. It took me 7 months to figure out that something had to change. That change become Paleo, and within the first year I slowly lost weight and cleared up the many health-issues I was struggling with.

Tell us about the importance of a healthy hormonal system’s impact on perceptions of success after someone transitions to Paleo

It’s my personal belief, and experience, that major stress will over-ride most of the benefits of a good diet like Paleo if it goes on for a prolonged period of time. Stress causes cortisol, the stress-hormone, to rise in your body, and with that increase, the balance of other important hormones are skewed. Increased cortisol saw me put on a lot of tummy-fat really fast late last year, and it wasn’t until I got to the bottom of the real stressors that I started improving.

Is paleo for everyone?

While the Paleo template is fairly rigid, it’s still room for plenty of individual options within the original “rules” of Paleo. Some people feel best on low-carb, others thrive on a high-carb Paleo-diet, while some people do it FODMAPs, auto-immune or GAPS-style. It all depends on your needs and particular body-type. I have eaten paleo for 2 years and in that time I have done it in at least 3 different ways depending on my goals.

We know you’re a biohacker. What are your top 3 biohacking tips for optimal wellness & peak performance?

My top bio-hacks have to be the cold thermogenesis protocol, taking full blood-work every 3-4 months (to see where your body is at in numbers) and carb-cycling. These 3 approaches have seen me excel and completely change my body, increase strength, clear myself off excess estrogen as estradiol/E2, and getting rid of body fat. I also perform far better in the gym now that I no longer eat very low-carb every day.

Have you heard of the Bulletproof Diet / a.ka. Upgraded Paleo Diet?

I certainly have. It appeals to what I already do, and I have to say I really feel different after drinking a coffee made of Upgraded beans, compared to when I drink normal coffee. Normal coffee always leaves me feeling a bit fatigued and brain fogged, and I can completely see how mycotoxins may be the reason for that. It makes sense to me. That’s also why I find drinking wine makes me feel unwell, but if I drink plain vodka, soda lime I feel fine without any headache, fatigue or hangover the next day.

Have you tried Bulletproof Coffee yet? What do you think?

Ivy: I’m yet to try a proper blended one, but I have added butter and MCT-oil to my coffees (back in my very low-carb days). It tastes good, but I hear it’s even better when it’s blended properly.

OptimOZ: We’ll we will see you in Melbourne this week and we’ll fix you up one at your Paleo for Blokes and Beginners event!

Finally, tell us about your new Podcast, The Primal Shift...

If you have been feeling the disconnect between conventional advice for health and wellbeing and your own real life results, you have come to the right place. The theme of this podcast is relaxed and informal, imagine us sitting around your kitchen table sharing a cuppa and having a chat about the trials and tribulations of modern life. Because we are not scientists, we are not going to fill our conversations with empirical facts and data.  We will endeavour instead, to invite the experts along on a regular basis to share their wisdom and give our anecdotal ramblings a bit of scientific backbone. Above all, we try and keep this podcast simple and practical, because modern life is hard enough as it is!

We’ll be recording a podcast with Ivy later this week in which we will recap her Paleo for Blokes and Beginners event and delve deeper into the topics we have touched on here. Stay tuned :-)