Paleo, Crossfit, and counting calories

mariesa00
mariesa00 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Who eats paleo, does Crossfit, and counts calories? I Crossfit 3-4X a week, and am trying to figure out my diet. I'm seeing mixed thoughts on "just eat paleo" vs "count your macros". Not counting calories freaks me out as I think I'd go overboard. Just curious on what the general consensus is.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Counting calories is how you lose weight. Paleo only specifies how you eat.
  • antennachick
    antennachick Posts: 464 Member
    You can do both...eat paleo and count calories. Be sure to add calories for working out though
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I use to think if I ate paleo I could consume as much as I wanted (because that's what I was told on countless occasions) I did lose weight at first... but towards the end I started gaining. If you are eating paleo you do have to count calories as well.
  • BeckyKSmith
    BeckyKSmith Posts: 212 Member
    I agree. BUT, eating 1200 calories of crapfood makes you feel like crap. Eating 1200 calories of paleo makes you feel like a unicorn! Freaking amazing!
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited October 2015
    BeckyKSmith wrote: »
    I agree. BUT, eating 1200 calories of crapfood makes you feel like crap. Eating 1200 calories of paleo makes you feel like a unicorn! Freaking amazing!

    Are those the only two options? Cause I do neither and I feel pretty dang amazing. One might even say I'm unicorn-like.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    mariesa00 wrote: »
    Who eats paleo, does Crossfit, and counts calories? I Crossfit 3-4X a week, and am trying to figure out my diet. I'm seeing mixed thoughts on "just eat paleo" vs "count your macros". Not counting calories freaks me out as I think I'd go overboard. Just curious on what the general consensus is.

    I think you answered your own question there. You can do paleo and count calories. You can mind your macros and count calories. You can eat donuts and pastries all day and count calories. There's no limit to whether you can count calories, only how many noms you get to enjoy by picking foods that are lower calorie.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    BeckyKSmith wrote: »
    I agree. BUT, eating 1200 calories of crapfood makes you feel like crap. Eating 1200 calories of paleo makes you feel like a unicorn! Freaking amazing!

    And this.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    BeckyKSmith wrote: »
    I agree. BUT, eating 1200 calories of crapfood makes you feel like crap. Eating 1200 calories of paleo makes you feel like a unicorn! Freaking amazing!

    Are those the only two options? Cause I do neither and I feel pretty dang amazing. One might even say I'm unicorn-like.

    Exactly...I don't do paleo...I prefer lots of carbs in my diet and starches and less elk meat and berries and foraging...

    chocolate makes me feel special like...and 1800 calories of chicken, potato, french fries, rice, beef, pork, noodles and chocolate gives me more energy than I know what to do with most of the time.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    BeckyKSmith wrote: »
    I agree. BUT, eating 1200 calories of crapfood makes you feel like crap. Eating 1200 calories of paleo makes you feel like a unicorn! Freaking amazing!

    Are those the only two options? Cause I do neither and I feel pretty dang amazing. One might even say I'm unicorn-like.

    This.

    (Also, I don't eat 1200, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone working out a lot.)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    paleo is just a way of eating...just like being a vegetarian or vegan or whatever...it doesn't guarantee weight loss or anything like that; my BIL has done paleo for years and hasn't lost a pound.

    Weight management is about energy (calories). regardless of your eating plan, if you consume more energy than your body requires to maintain the status quot, you're going to gain weight as that excess of energy is stored for later use as body fat. When you consume less energy than your body requires then your back up generator kicks on to make up the difference and you burn body fat. When you consume a balance of energy, you maintain.

    All diets work on this principle...there's about a million and one ways you can create an energy deficit to lose weight...calorie counting is one of them...but ultimately an energy deficit is what is required to burn fat.
  • rebeccaEsmith
    rebeccaEsmith Posts: 1,136 Member
    I cross fit 4 x per week and eat no carbs after lunch and that works for me
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    i wanted to like paleo because I do have crohns disease and like 20 supposed food intolerances so dr recommended it. But I am Italian, like both grandparents off the boat. My veins are probably just long Bucanti noodles. I have been losing thanks to all these lovely vets and i eat all the carbs.

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