Paleo not working

stephm112

Hi all
I've been following paleo for the past 2 months as it's meant to help with hormonal lady issues (ovary stuff, won't go into detail)
Overall it has definitely helped with the hormonal side of things, my hair loss has stopped, I feel healthier, however I'm not losing weight on it. I would like to lose about 15lbs but for the past 2 months I've been gaining and losing the same 3lbs it's so frustrating. I work out about 4 times a week as I'm currently training for a 166.4KM non stop hike in 36 hours. I've still allowed myself a few things like porridge and organic milk on training days.
I'm not sure if I should just try a different way of eating, but if I'm honest I really enjoy paleo and find it really easy. I rejoined mfp a few days ago to see if maybe I'm over doing it on certain things but can't seem to find a reason.
It's making me want to give up and try something else but I honesty don't know what else I can try.
I want to lose weight but I also want to feel healthy. I'm not losing inches either.
Any tips welcome

yesimpson

From my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) but I thought Paleo was more about the types of food you ate, rather than having a calorie restriction built in, which is ultimately what will make you lose weight. I can see how Paleo is an improvement if you were living on donuts and Doritos (exaggerating for effect) but it's still possible to eat more calories than you need in nuts and bananas, and therefore not lose weight. I could quite happily eat over 3000 calories in dates and hummus and oily fish and avocados - all of which is good for me. I'd still get fatter.

Nony_Mouse

Can you make your diary public? People aren't going to be able to answer you without seeing what you are eating. Are you weighing all your solid food and measuring liquids? Logging absolutely everything? Eating at a deficit?

How low carb have you gone? Maybe you need more? I eat what would be considered moderate carbs (around 100g a day) for the same reasons and it seems to work just fine, but we're all different.

Sometimes with hormonal issues no matter what you do the weight just doesn't seem to want to budge, and then suddenly, bam! Off it comes. It's frustrating as hell, believe me I know!!

LeenaGee

You can definitely gain weight whilst doing Paleo so it is important to log your food and see exactly what you are eating. You mentioned hair loss so I am going to assume your hormones were a bit of a mess so it is vital that you get yourself healthy first by eating healthy food and exercising and then you may find things improve once your hormones balance. Make sure you are eating enough and pay attention that you are getting enough nutrition and reaching your calorie allowance.

TavistockToad

if you're not losing weight its because you're not in a calorie deficit.

water weight could be masking some weight loss if you're eating a lot of sodium or have been doing mroe exercise recently?

Whitezombiegirl

I've been paleo since 2008 as it really helps with my IBS. At the start i gained weight weight as I wasn't used to the foods and did'nt count the calories. To lose weight on paleo you still need to eat a deficit, so you need to be aware of energy intake and output.

(P.s I'm not 100% strict paleo- I eat greek yogurt and the odd splash of cows milk in my tea. I also add in rice cakes, oat cakes and oats soaked in almond milk during PMS time as I get really carby and need to munch!)

neanderthin

Your probably not in a deficit. Hormones are accounted for on the outside of the EBE.

ndj1979

you are eating at maintenance level …paleo does not defy the laws of math and physics….

eat less and you will start losing…

yomikeya

Even if you're eating "healthier" foods you still need a caloric deficit to lose weight...

This is one thing that's lost in all of the different diets. Your body type may change if you eat different ratios but in order to actually lose pure weight, you have to take in less calories than you use.