Question time with Luke and Scott

In my journey of reaching and maintaining good health I have come across some great people, recipe books and speakers.  I am loving the path I am on and love being able to share what I have learnt with others.

When I received a copy of Clean Living Cookbook by Luke & Scott 

for my birthday I was rapt.  

I have said previously what a fabulous book it is, filled with amazing recipes.  

I have since got their Paleo Sweets book (OMG!) and their Paleo Breakfasts book,both of which I would thoroughly recommend.

But, I wanted more.  I emailed the guys and told them how much I appreciated their books and asked if they would like to answer some reader questions.   These guys are awesome and very kindly agreed to not only a question/answer session but also a give away of their newest book Clean Living Quick & Easy.  

How great is that!!

So, to get the ball rolling, here are the answers 

to your questions.

1. Were you eating a paleo diet completely before MKR or did you develop more afterwards?

Luke: I was eating what I considered to be healthy, but certainly not paleo. It was a great and exciting learning curve for me once the show finished, as I really wanted to regain my health and look and feel my best, so I 100% completely embraced paleo upon completion of filming. My physical and mental transformation was quick and really quite exceptional. 

Scott:  Prior to MKR I was paleo but arguably not as purist as i now am.  My understanding of nutrition has evolved over the last 2-3 years and so has the foods I include and don't include in my diet.

2. Many sporting people will insist on eating carbs for energy.  What are your views on this?

Luke: I have trained my body to use ketones for energy. Which in its simplest form is when our body uses fat as energy as opposed to carbohydrates. If I need to exert myself in an intense way and need more of an energy burst, I will make smart carb choices such as a banana or some berries for the added boost my body needs. At the end of the day, you need to listen to your body and do what works for you.

Scott: Generally speaking we fixate on carbs being the source of our energy for training and sport. The fact of the matter is we can perform exceptionally well on a ketogenic diet, I would say that if you training volume include considerable amount of high intensity training then some safe starches are fine.

3. Will your sweets book come out in hard copy?

Luke: All of our books will be released in the same format as the others in the Clean Living Series. We look for uniformity across the brand. One day down the track we might bring out a massive hard copy collection. You will have to wait and see.

Scott: Our next book FAST FOOD has heaps of amazing sweet recipes, all of which can be made in no time, with little fuss.

4. You use a huge amount of seafood in your current book.  Will the next book have more land animals?

Luke: Yes, you will see lots of land animals ranging from grassed beef, organic free range chicken to free range pork, and of course, lots of different varieties of sustainable seafood choices.

Scott: It's not deliberate to include more seafood vs land animals, I guess it just works out that way.  We do try to keep the sources of protein as varied as we can and include some cheaper cuts to keep budgets low.  We feel its important that if you do choose to eat meat then you should respect the animal and eat nose to tail. 

5.  You seemed a bit reluctant to use high fat in MKR.  Do you still follow this principal as strictly or have you changed your views?

Luke: We were very reluctant to use bad quality food sources, but have always been really excited to use good quality fats that come from meat, avocados, nuts and seeds. On the show we really wanted to reflect making the healthier choice with the options on offer. And we certainly steered away from sugar.

Scott: I don't recall being reluctant to use fat - we often spoke of the benefits of eating full fat over reduced fat products.  Im a huge advocate for the high fat diet; we have lived in a world where saturated fat has been the bad guy for 40-50 years and now the tide is slowly turning which is good news for health.  The sooner we pull away from vegetable oils and trans-fats the better off we'll be. 

6. Will you be doing a book tour with the next book?  How about a visit to Tasmania?

Luke: We will be doing a series of pop-up restaurants around the country. Melbourne and Sydney are first of the block and we will announce more dates to follow. We love being able to reach our fan base and connect with people who really embody our clean living lifestyle.

Scott: We would absolutely love to come to Tasmania to do book tour.  Tasmania is one of my favorite places to visit and boasts some of the best scenery I've ever seen.

7.  Eating a paleo inspired diet isn't the norm for most people, particularly those who are active. What prompted the shift from a high carb diet to this for you?

Luke: In fact, we have seen the opposite to this statement. We have seen that highly active people are more so switched on to how they fuel there bodies and what effect food has on their performance. It is sometimes the supermarkets and advertising campaigns in health and fitness magazines that tell a different story that we still need high amounts of carbs to function. To me, it seems the healthier more active people are the more educated and informed, because they care.

Scott: The shift came from listening to my body and witnessing the telltale signs of a high carb diet - lethargy, mood change and energy dips.  The shift was also a consequence of reading as most as i could around the subject - arming myself with as much info to make informed choices around nutrition.

8. What are your thoughts on electrolyte replacements such as Hydralyte during sustained physical activity (eg 4+ hours of cycling, tri, ironman etc). Do you have any ideas on alternatives?

Luke: My choice is always to go natural. Coconut water is natures superfood sports drink, 100% natural and so good for you. A way better option.

Scott: Its imperative to ingest some form of electrolyte replacements during sustained exertion, otherwise performance will be impaired and diminish.

9. What are your thoughts on the HCG Protocol and the concept of reaching leptin sensitivity.

Luke: Not my specialty thanks x

Scott: My thoughts are that we should shift our focus from weight management to health.  Once we start eating for health then our weight will naturally revert to its optimum.  Forget quick fixes, fads and short cuts - food should be enjoyed with an eating plan which has longevity and one you can sustain indefinitely.  I encourage people that are hoping to lose weight to eat real food, minimise their intake of carbs/sugar and embrace a high fat diet.

Thanks to both Luke and Scott for helping out here and their generous offer of donating a copy of their latest book for a competition.  

Keep your eye on this space

 if you 

would like to win your own copy.