Anyone either PALEO or WHOLE30 experience?

BrianGriff66

I'm considering trying either the paleo or whole30 diet. I've lost approx 60 lbs so far and have another 80 to go. I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or helpful information. Thanks!

rainbowbow

The most helpful information I can provide you would be to find a sustainable and enjoyable diet which you can maintain forever and to let go of the idea that fad diets are going to help you in your endeavours.

snowflake954

Paleo was a big fad on here when I started 3 and a half years ago. We rarely hear how that turned out. It's difficult to sustain. Good luck to you.

livingleanlivingclean

Whole 30 is not a diet plan - it has its own benefits, but losing weight is not necessarily one. If you feel the need to restrict your food, or want to see if eliminating foods highlights say intolerances, go for it! I did it for 100 days, as I needed a logging break and it gave me the opportunity to stress a bit less from how I had been dealing with food (obsessively "clean" to the point of being orthorexic, along with pedantic about macros)..... I then went to an IIFYM approach which was mentally refreshing and helped me a lot, along with being maintainable and in my opinion, healthier overall.

kgeyser

Paleo and Whole30 users don't tend to be too active on the main forums as many people view their ways of eating as fads, so your best bet for information is Groups.

There's an active Paleo/Primal group here on the site, some of those users have been eating that way for years. Good place for questions about that diet and examples of how people eat:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/37-primal-paleo-support-group

I don't know of a specific Whole30 group, but the Clean Eating group might be a good place to start. That group encompasses a lot of different approaches, including Whole30, and there are people currently following the plan there:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133-clean-eating-group

missmegs1908

Neither Paleo or Whole30 are for losing weight specifically. Whole30 is about finding out what foods do not react well with your body. Paleo is about the assumption that most people will react poorly to certain foods and you will "feel better" if you don't eat those foods. I've done 2 rounds of Whole30 which DID help me to see what foods I react poorly to. And I did find that most of the foods were the foods restricted on Paleo. So, I do a modified Paleo as that's what works for me and my body. I generally don't eat Gluten, Corn, Dairy, Soy or Sugar. I feel best when I eat this way and I did experience that added benefit of losing weight. If you are interested in finding out if certain foods are making you feel unwell, then do a round of Whole30 (or possibly even 30 days of Paleo as they are close enough) and see how you feel. If your body is reacting poorly to any of those foods and you take them out, you will likely loose weight. But it can be difficult (not impossible to sustain). I do eat some restricted foods every once in a while, but I do find a gain weight extremely quickly when I do, and end up feeling like crap.

terricherry2

Whole 30 has just been ranked the worst of all the fad diets.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/whole-30-worst-diet-fad-health-ranking-health-experts-sugar-alcohol-dairy-free-a7510766.html

livingleanlivingclean

missmegs1908 wrote: »

Neither Paleo or Whole30 are for losing weight specifically. Whole30 is about finding out what foods do not react well with your body. Paleo is about the assumption that most people will react poorly to certain foods and you will "feel better" if you don't eat those foods. I've done 2 rounds of Whole30 which DID help me to see what foods I react poorly to. And I did find that most of the foods were the foods restricted on Paleo. So, I do a modified Paleo as that's what works for me and my body. I generally don't eat Gluten, Corn, Dairy, Soy or Sugar. I feel best when I eat this way and I did experience that added benefit of losing weight. If you are interested in finding out if certain foods are making you feel unwell, then do a round of Whole30 (or possibly even 30 days of Paleo as they are close enough) and see how you feel. If your body is reacting poorly to any of those foods and you take them out, you will likely loose weight. But it can be difficult (not impossible to sustain). I do eat some restricted foods every once in a while, but I do find a gain weight extremely quickly when I do, and end up feeling like crap.

Do you think it really shows if foods make you unwell.... Or that avoiding certain foods leads to the development of intolerances? I have less issues with food now that I eat a bigger variety of all food groups...

kgeyser

terricherry2 wrote: »

Whole 30 has just been ranked the worst of all the fad diets.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/whole-30-worst-diet-fad-health-ranking-health-experts-sugar-alcohol-dairy-free-a7510766.html

That ranking was done by US News and World Report, and there was nothing about "fads" in their report. It was ranked 38th of the Best Diets, not "worst of the fad diets."

http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-diets-overall

Here's their methodology for how they ranked diets:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/01/07/us-news-best-diets-how-we-rated-32-eating-plans

butterfli7o

I've done both and didn't lose weight or 'feel better' on either. But then again, they are not really geared towards weight loss.

rainbowbow

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

missmegs1908 wrote: »

Neither Paleo or Whole30 are for losing weight specifically. Whole30 is about finding out what foods do not react well with your body. Paleo is about the assumption that most people will react poorly to certain foods and you will "feel better" if you don't eat those foods. I've done 2 rounds of Whole30 which DID help me to see what foods I react poorly to. And I did find that most of the foods were the foods restricted on Paleo. So, I do a modified Paleo as that's what works for me and my body. I generally don't eat Gluten, Corn, Dairy, Soy or Sugar. I feel best when I eat this way and I did experience that added benefit of losing weight. If you are interested in finding out if certain foods are making you feel unwell, then do a round of Whole30 (or possibly even 30 days of Paleo as they are close enough) and see how you feel. If your body is reacting poorly to any of those foods and you take them out, you will likely loose weight. But it can be difficult (not impossible to sustain). I do eat some restricted foods every once in a while, but I do find a gain weight extremely quickly when I do, and end up feeling like crap.

Do you think it really shows if foods make you unwell.... Or that avoiding certain foods leads to the development of intolerances? I have less issues with food now that I eat a bigger variety of all food groups...

Both. An elimination (not "whole30") is often recommended if you suspect you may have an intolerance. This usually follows a LOW FODMAP diet PLUS others to eliminate said substance for 4-6 weeks and slowly introduce them again one by one.

You may experience more intense symptoms when re-introducing said foods into your diet.

In any case, whole 30 is not the diet to follow should you need confirmation of food intolerances as it includes some of the most common triggers: onions/leeks/garlic, berries, apples, etc. Don't even get me started on other foods it includes that are not allowed on a true elimination diet.

P.S. i've done a 2 month long doctor-monitored elimination diet and it was hell. I would have killed to eat the things allowed on the whole 30 diet.

stephmph16

I don't think they're sustainable. Maybe something more along the lines of 'clean eating' would be better. I know, gimmicky name but basically just try to eat unprocessed, whole foods.

livingleanlivingclean

rainbowbow wrote: »

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

missmegs1908 wrote: »

Neither Paleo or Whole30 are for losing weight specifically. Whole30 is about finding out what foods do not react well with your body. Paleo is about the assumption that most people will react poorly to certain foods and you will "feel better" if you don't eat those foods. I've done 2 rounds of Whole30 which DID help me to see what foods I react poorly to. And I did find that most of the foods were the foods restricted on Paleo. So, I do a modified Paleo as that's what works for me and my body. I generally don't eat Gluten, Corn, Dairy, Soy or Sugar. I feel best when I eat this way and I did experience that added benefit of losing weight. If you are interested in finding out if certain foods are making you feel unwell, then do a round of Whole30 (or possibly even 30 days of Paleo as they are close enough) and see how you feel. If your body is reacting poorly to any of those foods and you take them out, you will likely loose weight. But it can be difficult (not impossible to sustain). I do eat some restricted foods every once in a while, but I do find a gain weight extremely quickly when I do, and end up feeling like crap.

Do you think it really shows if foods make you unwell.... Or that avoiding certain foods leads to the development of intolerances? I have less issues with food now that I eat a bigger variety of all food groups...

Both. An elimination (not "whole30") is often recommended if you suspect you may have an intolerance. This usually follows a LOW FODMAP diet PLUS others to eliminate said substance for 4-6 weeks and slowly introduce them again one by one.

You may experience more intense symptoms when re-introducing said foods into your diet.

In any case, whole 30 is not the diet to follow should you need confirmation of food intolerances as it includes some of the most common triggers: onions/leeks/garlic, berries, apples, etc. Don't even get me started on other foods it includes that are not allowed on a true elimination diet.

P.S. i've done a 2 month long doctor-monitored elimination diet and it was hell. I would have killed to eat the things allowed on the whole 30 diet.

I know what proper elimination diets entail.... And I don't think a whole 30 is one! I think it probably causes more problems and just makes more issues...

trigden1991

Keep doing what you're doing until weight loss stalls. Then lower calories. Don't do a fad diet!

vvokey13

I did the Whole30 last May. I found it online and thought it was a cool idea. I purchased the book (which was almost $40...) and planned for about a month. The idea behind the Whole30 like other users have pointed out was to limit yourself from certain foods known to have a negative effect on the body and after the 30 days you bring each group back slowly to see which is having the negative effects.

I didn't go into it trying to lose weight but more seeing if I could do it and if I would feel differently. I don't have any health problems like some of those who have done the Whole30 but figured why not.

I ended up doing 21 days and lost 6 pounds but saw no increase in health aspects. My sister and boyfriend both said I became "extremely agitated"... that was there nice way of putting it. I couldn't go out and do barely anything since I couldn't eat anywhere or drink anything and that is something that I love to do. Deciding to quit early sucked but was definitely the best choice for me.

Ultimately, I saw no positive differences in my life except I actually saw how much my diet can effect my weight (By not eating any bread products, processed foods or sugars). However, once I quit I gained all the weight back but went back to actually being happy!

Eating healthy (and having some off days) along with working out really is the best and most attainable thing you can do!

lemurcat12

I posted this in another thread here, but it's relevant here too:

I did paleo for a while because I was curious about it and in some ways it seemed like it would be good for me (I don't care about grains that much so figured they'd be easy to cut). I liked it and found it easy (and lost easily, but no more easily than I did not doing paleo), but was bugged by the bad science/rationales -- I don't see why dairy is bad for me if I react well to it, think legumes are probably healthy things to include in your diet for most, and don't see why cutting out whole grains is especially helpful if you don't overeat them (plus I love corn on the cob which I only eat fresh and in season and wasn't going to cut that out). I came to realize that the things I liked about that way of eating -- the way I was doing it focused on eating lots of vegetables, making food from whole ingredients, sourcing meat from local farms (or hunters, if possible, or wild fish) and eating the whole animal, stuff like that -- were all things that I tended to do independent of paleo (and for reasons not directly related to health), and I could do them without giving up foods that seemed fine to me. I also realized that the reason paleo was easy for me -- I can take or leave grains -- meant that it was kind of pointless, I wasn't going to overeat them. And, admittedly, I missed dairy or being able to buy a quick lentil soup if out and wanting a lunch with some protein.

So I kept the things I liked (which don't strike me as particularly paleo or different from what I was doing when not paleo, but I do like the greater emphasis on eating the whole animal, although I'm still not as good about that as I could be), and ditched the rest. I tend to eat grains more sparingly than some, still (I went through a phase where I was doing a lot of pasta, as that's an easy base for a healthy dinner for me, but cut back on that), but that's more because for me when I think about how I want to spend my calories grains usually don't make the cut (personal preference). I think dairy is a good source of protein and taste (cheese), and legumes are something I would be better off eating more of, so I ignore those elements of paleo entirely. I mostly cook from whole foods, but that's something I did anyway and is not paleo specific.

Paleo plans do seem to differ a lot -- from my reading I saw it as no grains, legumes, dairy, added sugars (and as little premade as possible), but NOT low carb, nothing about limiting fruit. Some versions limited potatoes, which I couldn't see any justification for even within the diet (a tuber is a tuber) so ignored that. Most bacon or sausage from the store wouldn't seem to fit, but some paleo followers eat lots of it. For me the sourcing of meats was a quite important element, as was including organ meats, and yet again some ignore that. Similarly, I understood the diet to include LOTS of vegetables (one reason I liked it) and yet some ignore that bit too, so there's no really consistent element except (IMO) no grains, legumes, and dairy ("primal" is with dairy, but more Mark Sisson's personal thing that also involves low carbing, I guess).

So tldr -- I did it, liked it well enough, don't really see the point of it for me, but if you enjoy it/it helps you eat better it could be a good way to eat, too bad it's often justified with some nonsense about eating like paleo man (when it seems people did eat grains and legumes).

aashleyanniee

I am currently on the whole30 and love it. The first two days i definitely went through "sugar withdrawals" and felt like i had an intense hangover - usually only effecting me at night, right after work when i would sit down and relax.

It seems im over that slump. I thoroughly enjoy being creative in the kitchen. i like spending more time in the grocery store and reading labels - its really opening my eyes to what is in my food. I feel full.

my advice is to strictly follow the program and read the book, it honestly explains everything you need to know and why the plan is the way it is.

meal prep: make big dinners that you can use for lunch the next day. make a weeks worth of chicken breast sunday night and dish it out into containers for the week.

3 meals per day no snacking: eat hearty breakfast, lunch and dinner... use healthy fats and lean proteins so you feel full.. if you have a craving after a meal, drink a large glass of water and have a few almonds!

this program is doing wonders for me thus far, after the full thirty days i plan on sticking to paleo, but without dairy. ive noticed with the whole30 program i have an intolerance to dairy, and my skin is clearing up !

AngInCanada

I have done 2 full round of whole 30 and felt amazing on it both times but for me it's not easily maintained. I also developed a "fear" of eating certain foods because I'm afraid I'll have a reaction. It sounds really dumb but I get anxious if I try and eat them.

patsypooter

I eat very strictly, I have (or I guess, HAD) terrible, awful painful IBS. I found out I have a lot of food allergies/intolerances and cut them all back. I eat very limited foods and all paleo.

I feel great and would recommend it to ANYONE!

lks802

Whole 30, paleo and primal are not "diets" for the purpose of weight loss. They are nutritional styles of eating that focus on eating whole unprocessed foods. Some people experience weight loss bc it's a healthier style of eating.

Whole 30 is a 30 day elimination diet to help you identify which foods you may be reacting to. It is NOT for weight loss or long term.

I have been paleo/primal for a few years (when I don't fall off and eat SAD). I love it. But it's not for weight loss. You can easily overeat if you consume too many "paleofied" foods (I.e making cookies, treats, etc out of paleo ingredients)