Paleo/whole 30

sawaguespack

Has anyone here tried paleo or whole 30? If so, what are your thoughts on it.

jpena412

Yes, I've done Whole 30. It was helpful to see how I had "dependencies" on quite a bit of unhealthy food (processed food, sugars, etc) and it also taught me a lot about self control. I learned that it was my decision what I did/ didn't eat and forced myself to learn some level of willpower (just because I WANTED the cookie didn't mean I NEEDED the cookie). I will say, it's extremely restrictive and I personally couldn't find it sustainable long term. I prefer to eat 3 meals a day plus a snack in between if needed. Whole30 focuses on 3 meals a day with no snacking. Though I haven't done another Whole30 or live the "lifestyle", I do often find myself referring to healthier alternatives I had learned about while reading about it. I also still refer to quite a few recipes I made during the Whole30 month.

Pollychrome

I followed paelo before I fell off the wagon. I'm working towards getting back on. For the months I was on paleo, I lost weight almost effortlessly. It was perfect for me, because I do much better on a high protein, low carb diet. I never felt hungry, in fact is seemed like I was eating all the time. In three months I lost 25 lbs. without thinking much about it. I hadn't weighed myself in a long time, and when I stepped on the scale, I was very surprised.

I knew I had been losing because my clothes were super loose, but I didn't expect it to be that much. Even more importantly though, I felt better. Less tired, less achy. I'm a total sugar addict, and that's what finally derailed me. Well, major stress was the beginning, then the sugar addiction kicked back in.

The thing I did find a little hard on paleo was the amount of preparation it takes. I like cooking, and food prep, but it was quite a lot. Most convenience foods are out, eating at restaurants can be difficult. Paleo is so different from the average American diet that it's a quite a big change. It made me especially aware of the amount of grains most Americans eat. In fact, I'd say our usual diet revolves around grains. If you are someone who loves veggies, and meat/fish, paleo might be right for you. One other bonus I loved was you don't eat ANYTHING low fat, or no fat. If you have dairy, eat full fat (but watch the amount of dairy). Saturated fats are fine.

I'd say paleo is what I consider "real" food.

Holly

Pollychrome

One more thing I forgot to mention about paleo. There is no restriction, or rules about how many meals you eat each day. No counting calories. If you're hungry, eat. I loved that a lot. If you eat, just be careful about how much sugar, or grains you have. Carbs aren't labeled as bad. We need carbs. It's the type of carbs that count. When I realized that a piece of toast had the same effect on my body as if I had eaten a candy bar, that was the day I decided to try paleo. And I ate avocados almost every day!

mikehull14

I would strongly recommend against this diet. Their book and website are filled with unscientific information. I've reviewed many of the cited claims in the Whole30 book and found that a majority were very misleading or completely false. This diet can substantially mislead people about what proper and healthy eating looks like due to this inaccurate information. You can read some of my chapter reviews of the book here:
http://nutritionasiknowit.com/whole30/

The Whole30 approach to elimination and reintroduction of foods is also not appropriately designed in a way that would allow accurate and reliable identification of food sensitivities. For a more evidence-based approach to an elimination diet, you might want to try the one set out by Precision Nutrition found here:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet-infographic