Paleo... your take

tnm7760

I think the focus on whole foods, lots of veggies, less processed crap/additives, less added sugar, etc. is fantastic.

Personally, I'm not sure I subscribe to the idea that all grains/legumes/dairy are bad or have a negative affect on me. I've read dozens of books on the subject, I've done Whole30 four times (and loved it), and while I still eat grains, dairy, some added sugar and even some legitimate crap foods, I will say that the "paleo" and "sugar is poison" movements have positively influenced my eating and I have made changes for the better.

I did not lose weight on Whole30 (maybe 2-4lbs during two of the rounds). But that wasn't my goal, so I was okay with it. I ate amazingly delicious foods and was NEVER hungry, and I did feel fantastic--but I think that had more to do with all the veggies and amazingly nutritious foods I was eating (protein, fats, along with no "junk" food). I'm not sure I have any intolerances, although I do notice beans and grains make me feel extremely bloated if I eat more than a reasonable serving.

If anything, my experience reaffirmed how important it is to choose real, unprocessed foods as often as possible. And even now, I do best with counting calories when I'm full of REAL food and keep my "crap food" indulgences to an occasional treat. But I have no desire live that way 100% of the time, and sometimes it's worth it to eat processed/less nutritious food more frequently. I still eat crackers, ice cream, frozen convenience foods, etc. But less of it. And I make veggies and whole foods a priority, especially for my kids.

redrobot5050

I've heard Paleo as described as "healthy for you by coincidence" . As in, Paleo is that stopped clock that happens to be right twice a day.

Pretty much ALL the health claims by Paleo have been debunked. That a Paleo diet will stop heart disease in its tracks is laughable. We have found evidence of arterial plaque in mummified remains of nomadic hunters and Egyptian noblemen. What you ate or how hard you worked for your food does not seem to factor into how our ancestors developed precursors to heart disease.

Also, how are tequila and red wine Paleo but other alcohol isn't? Primitive man, who wasn't even growing his own wheat yet (one of the earliest staple crop) is somehow drinking some of the most processed alcohols? Sure.

Third, in terms of life expectancy, the data points more towards the Mediterranean diet if you want longevity.

Basically here is where Paleo succeeds:

1. Don't eat a ton of processed food, it's mostly crap.
2. Eat a balance of meat and fresh veggies/produce supplemented with a unsalted nuts/dried fruit.

They're not the only diet that preaches that, but doing those two things is like 80% of a modern healthy diet. Its your body, your choice, but I'd just stick to CICO and IIFYM.

veggiecanner

It raised my brothers colesteral, so his dr. told him to try something else or he would start having strokes.

raven56706

for me i have eaten so many eggs and a healthy fat that its annoying and getting a bit much. i have learned to eat cleaner but it sucks of the limit i have. The only thing im allowed is oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and ezekiel bread. it isnt terrible but annoying.

i have carb days and non carb days.

All i want to do is attempt to reverse the effects of my anxiety pills(weight gain) and get cut

raven56706

and i put my food in here and my calorie deficit wont be a deficit as i will be going over. i did weight lift this morning but unsure if it will make any dent to the deficit

AnvilHead

redrobot5050 wrote: »

I've heard Paleo as described as "healthy for you by coincidence" . As in, Paleo is that stopped clock that happens to be right twice a day.

Pretty much ALL the health claims by Paleo have been debunked. That a Paleo diet will stop heart disease in its tracks is laughable. We have found evidence of arterial plaque in mummified remains of nomadic hunters and Egyptian noblemen. What you ate or how hard you worked for your food does not seem to factor into how our ancestors developed precursors to heart disease.

Also, how are tequila and red wine Paleo but other alcohol isn't? Primitive man, who wasn't even growing his own wheat yet (one of the earliest staple crop) is somehow drinking some of the most processed alcohols? Sure.

Third, in terms of life expectancy, the data points more towards the Mediterranean diet if you want longevity.

Basically here is where Paleo succeeds:

1. Don't eat a ton of processed food, it's mostly crap.
2. Eat a balance of meat and fresh veggies/produce supplemented with a unsalted nuts/dried fruit.

They're not the only diet that preaches that, but doing those two things is like 80% of a modern healthy diet. Its your body, your choice, but I'd just stick to CICO and IIFYM.

That pretty well sums it up for me.

Nothing wrong with the diet, per se, if it's your thing. But it's unnecessarily restrictive and the premise behind it is ridiculous BS designed to sell books/programs.

Kimberly_Harper

raven56706 wrote: »

for me i have eaten so many eggs and a healthy fat that its annoying and getting a bit much. i have learned to eat cleaner but it sucks of the limit i have. The only thing im allowed is oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and ezekiel bread. it isnt terrible but annoying.

i have carb days and non carb days.

All i want to do is attempt to reverse the effects of my anxiety pills(weight gain) and get cut

Then maybe try to just stick to the calories that MFP gives you for eating at a deficit, and eat what isn't annoying but does fulfill your daily nutrition requirements?

lemurcat12

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I like that it introduces people to more whole foods...I do not like that it then turns around and demonizes certain whole foods and unnecessarily eliminates other things for basically being inherently evil...like, there's nothing wrong with a good quality bread...so in that RE, I think it's stupid.

I agree with this, and would add that some of the things demonized, like whole grains and legumes and dairy, are often healthful parts of a good overall diet, and there's no reason one can't eat well and focus on whole foods and vegetables and protein without the nonsensical "paleo" reasoning behind the diet.

But for some people it does help them improve their diet or is an easier way to cut calories than counting. I tried it for a while since I don't care much about bread and figured cutting out grains would be easy and I was curious if I would feel different. I did not, and I realized it was silly to cut out foods I wasn't tempted to overeat or thought were positives in a diet (like legumes), so stopped it.

Sued0nim

raven56706 wrote: »

for me i have eaten so many eggs and a healthy fat that its annoying and getting a bit much. i have learned to eat cleaner but it sucks of the limit i have. The only thing im allowed is oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and ezekiel bread. it isnt terrible but annoying.

i have carb days and non carb days.

All i want to do is attempt to reverse the effects of my anxiety pills(weight gain) and get cut

Sounds fairly grim to me

Food is important you should be able to lose weight by adjusting your diet and CICO rather than following a fad.

What would you like to eat? Why don't you eat that ...just count calories

Alatariel75

Here is Australia, it's mostly pushed by Pete Evans who makes me want to put my face in a blender and put it on and make a delicious paleo face-smoothie. He's pushed such idiocy around the diet (such as a cookbook which recommends feeding a bone broth to toddlers which may have actually been fatal - it's ok, he put a disclaimer but said to do it anyway) that I don't trust a word that comes out of his stupid mouth. Plus recent studies have suggested it really isn't all it's cracked up to be, and really - who wants to live like our paleo ancestors?

Plus it's so flipping arbitrary - paleo brownies? really? The way it gets twisted to suit peoples wants make it meaningless.

kommodevaran

raven56706 wrote: »

for me i have eaten so many eggs and a healthy fat that its annoying and getting a bit much. i have learned to eat cleaner but it sucks of the limit i have. The only thing im allowed is oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and ezekiel bread. it isnt terrible but annoying.

i have carb days and non carb days.

All i want to do is attempt to reverse the effects of my anxiety pills(weight gain) and get cut

Why would you let anyone "allow" you to eat this but not that? Why don't you just eat what you want? The weight gain will be reversed if you eat at a deficit, it doesn't matter for weight loss what you eat. It's good to eat healthy, but healthy eating is also about variety and eating things you likes.

psuLemon

Op, maybe it will be better if you concentrate on whole foods and incorporate some treats to maintain your mental health, which is important. Personally, i would rather follow more closely to the Mediterranean diet which has been proven to be one of the healthiest. So a diet high in unsaturated fats, lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and veggies

Panda_Path

raven56706 wrote: »

so i hired a trainer/competing bodybuilder to help me lose weight due to the side effects of my anxiety medication.

Perhaps a dietitian would be better to get food advice from? Consider once you lose the weight this time and the program with your bodybuilder is done, how will you eat? IMO it is better to avoid the fad diets and speak to someone who can give you a plan for sustained health.

shaumom

Best study I ever saw, for just general weight loss, found this: the best diet is the one you can stick to.

So if this one is looking like it's not working for you, it's probably good to re-evaluate.

Me - that's what I eat due to allergies, essentially, anyway. It's not so bad once you get used to it, in my opinion, but like has been said, it's not what 'all' primitive humans ate. People in the tropics vs. people in Alaska had exceedingly different diets, but also very different nutritional requirements to survive in their environments anyway.

Hornsby

raven56706 wrote: »

for me i have eaten so many eggs and a healthy fat that its annoying and getting a bit much. i have learned to eat cleaner but it sucks of the limit i have. The only thing im allowed is oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and ezekiel bread. it isnt terrible but annoying.

i have carb days and non carb days.

All i want to do is attempt to reverse the effects of my anxiety pills(weight gain) and get cut

I'm cut, and it didn't take Paleo to get there... Just sayin'

LINIA

OP, it sounds like your Trainer/Coach suggested this particular WOE to you because the foods involved in Paleo are the best foods for your health. Is your condition aggravated by a mid to high range level of carbs?

I ask because, in your case, it isn't what anyone thinks..it seems as though anyone who advises you to drop the paleo way of eating is going against what you were told by your trusted professional.

Wetcoaster

raven56706 wrote: »

for me i have eaten so many eggs and a healthy fat that its annoying and getting a bit much. i have learned to eat cleaner but it sucks of the limit i have. The only thing im allowed is oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and ezekiel bread. it isnt terrible but annoying.

i have carb days and non carb days.

All i want to do is attempt to reverse the effects of my anxiety pills(weight gain) and get cut

Paleo is not special. All diets rely on calorie deficit

AnvilHead

LINIA wrote: »

OP, it sounds like your Dr suggested this particular WOE to you because the foods involved in Paleo are the best foods for your health. Is your condition aggravated by a mid to high range level of carbs?

I ask because, in your case, it isn't what anyone thinks..it seems as though anyone who advises you to drop the paleo way of eating is going against what you were told by your Dr.

Did you read his post? It wasn't suggested by a doctor, it was suggested by a bodybuilder who's helping train him.

mk2fit

Whatever works for you!

lemurcat12

AnvilHead wrote: »

LINIA wrote: »

OP, it sounds like your Dr suggested this particular WOE to you because the foods involved in Paleo are the best foods for your health. Is your condition aggravated by a mid to high range level of carbs?

I ask because, in your case, it isn't what anyone thinks..it seems as though anyone who advises you to drop the paleo way of eating is going against what you were told by your Dr.

Did you read his post? It wasn't suggested by a doctor, it was suggested by a bodybuilder who's helping train him.

And he's specifically asking for opinions. "whats your take on the diet? my goals are to loose weight and breakdown my body fat."