Does paleo work?
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dudebro200 wrote: »dudebro200 wrote: »I am not well read in the subject but I believe some studies have shown that the human body metabolizes each macro nutrient in a different way.
Carbs and fats eaten in excess are more likely to end up in fat cells than excess protein for example.
Also, refined sugars aren't simply calories and have some significant negative effects on one's body.
Bodybuilders are experts at losing and gaining weight and maintaining lean muscle mass. The rampant drug use complicates things, but overall, most bodybuilders, natural or enhanced, cut carbs and increase protein to lean down.
nope, excess calories get stored as fat and there is nothing wrong with refined sugar in the context of a diet that is hitting micro/macro needs.
where do people get this stuff?
Read a reddit post that linked to a study. The study found that protien eaten in excess wasn't processed int he same way as carbs and fats. I don't have time to look for it.
The refined sugar issue came from an article I read here on MFP news feed. Again I don't have time to find this either.
So I guess that's it.
are you referring to TEF as in Thermatic Effect of Food? If you are referring to that, then yes your body does break them down differently. However, excess fat is stored as fat. So if you eat protein in a surplus guess where it gets stored, as fat. If you eat carbs and are in a deficit you body burns that for fuel..you can't store excess calories in a deficit...its just math and physics.1 -
The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to find a way of eating that is sustainable - that you can follow for the rest of your life. It has to be convenient and easy to figure out. Ultimately, weight loss is about calories, while the labels such as Paleo, IF, etc are styles of eating. I dont know if Paleo will work for you, you have to try it. But from what I know of it, it wouldnt work for me, because it is too restrictive in the variety of foods that are "allowable". Both my son and daughter have tried this style, with mixed results - again, the restrictive nature of the style is what sunk it - never having birthday cake again? Or their mothers home made bread?
Actually there was an article in todays paper in my area that spoke to the "real" Paleo diet:
Caveman teeth show real paleo diet
Scientists’ findings smash the idea that Neanderthals relied mainly on meat
PALEOANTHROPOLOGY GROUP MNCN-CSIC
Scientists found traces of poplar, a source of Aspirin, on the teeth of one young Neanderthal.
WASHINGTON— Eating like a caveman meant chowing down on woolly rhinos and sheep in Belgium, but munching on mushrooms, pine nuts and moss in Spain. It all depended on where they lived, new research shows.
Scientists got a sneak peek into the kitchen of three Neanderthals by scraping off the plaque stuck on their teeth and examining the DNA. What they found smashes a common public misconception that the caveman diet was mostly meat.
They also found hints that one sickly teen used primitive versions of penicillin and Aspirin to help ease his pain.
The dental plaque provides a life- long record of what went in the Neanderthals’ mouths and the bacteria that lived in their guts, said study co-author Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA in Adelaide. “It’s like a fossil,” he said. While past studies showed varied Neanderthal diets, genetic testing al- lowed researchers to say what kind of meat or mushrooms they ate, Cooper said. The 42,000-year-old Belgian Neanderthal’s menu of sheep and woolly rhino reflected what roamed in the plains around the Neanderthal’s home, he said. The research is in Wednesday’s journal Nature.
“I do wonder what rhino tastes like,” said study lead author Laura Weyrich, a paleo microbiologist at the University of Adelaide. “I’m not a big fan of sheep. I think I’ll take the rhino.”
There were no signs of meat in the diet of the two 50,000-year-old Spanish Neanderthals, but calling them vegetarians would be a stretch, Cooper said. Their own bones showed that they were eaten by cannibals.
The two specimens in Spain were a female adult and a teenage male, who wasn’t a son or brother but may have been some other relative ac- cording to their DNA, Weyrich said.
The young male was obviously sick, with an infected mouth and other injuries, she said.
But on his teeth — and only his — were two residues. One was from the poplar tree where doctors would later get a key ingredient in Aspirin, and the other was from mould that had a version of the antibiotic penicillin.
The primitive penicillin was a surprise, Cooper said. It’s too premature to say the mould was being used for that purpose, but “it does make me wonder,” he said.
The research gives direct evidence for what was already suspected about their diverse diets and use of medicine, said University of Colorado Museum’s Paola Villa, who wasn’t part of the study. She called the new study “very significant.”
Neanderthals went extinct about 37,000 years ago, about 26,000 years before their dinners, the woolly rhinos, she said
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@cross2bear I just read that article incidentally. Found it to be quite interesting.0
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I follow a mostly paleo diet and have had great results. My skin cleared up after years of adult acne, and I've lost 30 pounds (in conjunction sigh an intense exercise regimen). However, following a paleo diet correctly is really hard if you don't like to cook and aren't willing to spend an exorbitant amount of money on groceries. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.0
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Stella3838 wrote: »@cross2bear I just read that article incidentally. Found it to be quite interesting.
Me too, especially the parts about the poplar tree/aspirin and the mold/penicillin.1 -
I can't stand it when people try to say it doesn't matter if you eat sugar or vegetables, as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll still lose weight.
Yeah, maybe, but if you want to make a lifestyle change and not be on a "diet" your whole life, then you need to put down the addictive processed crap and start feeding your body actual nutrients.
Eating paleo/low carb/etc is not hard or expensive. I buy a couple pounds of chicken breasts/tenders a week, cook them all at once and put them in the fridge. Hardboil some eggs to stick in there too. Buy frozen veggies that you can cook quickly.
You don't have to go all or nothing on it. Small changes help. Sometime when you want sugar, instead eat some carrot sticks with peanut butter. If you're hungry for pizza, make a modified chicken parmesan with skinless chicken breasts, pasta sauce, and cheese. Don't worry about "never eating birthday cake again" or whatever the one person said. It's not like if you eat one gram of sugar your body will explode.
The less you eat junk food, the less you want it.2 -
cross2bear wrote: »The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to find a way of eating that is sustainable - that you can follow for the rest of your life. It has to be convenient and easy to figure out. Ultimately, weight loss is about calories, while the labels such as Paleo, IF, etc are styles of eating. I dont know if Paleo will work for you, you have to try it. But from what I know of it, it wouldnt work for me, because it is too restrictive in the variety of foods that are "allowable". Both my son and daughter have tried this style, with mixed results - again, the restrictive nature of the style is what sunk it - never having birthday cake again? Or their mothers home made bread?
Actually there was an article in todays paper in my area that spoke to the "real" Paleo diet:
Caveman teeth show real paleo diet
Scientists’ findings smash the idea that Neanderthals relied mainly on meat
PALEOANTHROPOLOGY GROUP MNCN-CSIC
Scientists found traces of poplar, a source of Aspirin, on the teeth of one young Neanderthal.
WASHINGTON— Eating like a caveman meant chowing down on woolly rhinos and sheep in Belgium, but munching on mushrooms, pine nuts and moss in Spain. It all depended on where they lived, new research shows.
Scientists got a sneak peek into the kitchen of three Neanderthals by scraping off the plaque stuck on their teeth and examining the DNA. What they found smashes a common public misconception that the caveman diet was mostly meat.
They also found hints that one sickly teen used primitive versions of penicillin and Aspirin to help ease his pain.
The dental plaque provides a life- long record of what went in the Neanderthals’ mouths and the bacteria that lived in their guts, said study co-author Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA in Adelaide. “It’s like a fossil,” he said. While past studies showed varied Neanderthal diets, genetic testing al- lowed researchers to say what kind of meat or mushrooms they ate, Cooper said. The 42,000-year-old Belgian Neanderthal’s menu of sheep and woolly rhino reflected what roamed in the plains around the Neanderthal’s home, he said. The research is in Wednesday’s journal Nature.
“I do wonder what rhino tastes like,” said study lead author Laura Weyrich, a paleo microbiologist at the University of Adelaide. “I’m not a big fan of sheep. I think I’ll take the rhino.”
There were no signs of meat in the diet of the two 50,000-year-old Spanish Neanderthals, but calling them vegetarians would be a stretch, Cooper said. Their own bones showed that they were eaten by cannibals.
The two specimens in Spain were a female adult and a teenage male, who wasn’t a son or brother but may have been some other relative ac- cording to their DNA, Weyrich said.
The young male was obviously sick, with an infected mouth and other injuries, she said.
But on his teeth — and only his — were two residues. One was from the poplar tree where doctors would later get a key ingredient in Aspirin, and the other was from mould that had a version of the antibiotic penicillin.
The primitive penicillin was a surprise, Cooper said. It’s too premature to say the mould was being used for that purpose, but “it does make me wonder,” he said.
The research gives direct evidence for what was already suspected about their diverse diets and use of medicine, said University of Colorado Museum’s Paola Villa, who wasn’t part of the study. She called the new study “very significant.”
Neanderthals went extinct about 37,000 years ago, about 26,000 years before their dinners, the woolly rhinos, she said
Neanderthals aren't homo sapiens sapiens and are actually quite different.
Even homo sapien sapien from paleolithic era are quite different.
There have been 100s of genetic changes in homo sapiens sapiens since the paleolithic era, and the Neolithic era brought a host of different selective preasures. For one, dairy consumption genes took over the European region in under 2000 years.
You can't use paleothic people as a guidepost for what modern humans should eat. They are different people, and the vast majority of paleolithic humans don't have lineages that live on to modern humans.
The people that remained the paleolithic era until recently (Australian Aborigines, artic native Americans etc.) have a whole host problems when they are introduced to modern diets. It's because their bodies aren't designed for high amounts of process grains. During the Neolithic era, Dogs developed many digistive genetic changes to allow them to eat higher amounts of grain-based carbohydrates. You can bet the bank the neothilic humans in Asia, Africa and Europe developed the same traits.
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stripeybelly wrote: »I can't stand it when people try to say it doesn't matter if you eat sugar or vegetables, as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll still lose weight.
Yeah, maybe, but if you want to make a lifestyle change and not be on a "diet" your whole life, then you need to put down the addictive processed crap and start feeding your body actual nutrients.
Eating paleo/low carb/etc is not hard or expensive. I buy a couple pounds of chicken breasts/tenders a week, cook them all at once and put them in the fridge. Hardboil some eggs to stick in there too. Buy frozen veggies that you can cook quickly.
You don't have to go all or nothing on it. Small changes help. Sometime when you want sugar, instead eat some carrot sticks with peanut butter. If you're hungry for pizza, make a modified chicken parmesan with skinless chicken breasts, pasta sauce, and cheese. Don't worry about "never eating birthday cake again" or whatever the one person said. It's not like if you eat one gram of sugar your body will explode.
The less you eat junk food, the less you want it.
Whatever you do, do not look at my diary.
You don't have to deprive yourself of treats and delicious to be fit and lean. You don't have to get rid anything and can still improve metabolic markers with just weight loss alone. But concentrating on whole foods can definitely help with satiety. Personally, I focus on protein.. and I don't care how I get it.. processed or not.
ETA: whole grammar batman.0 -
stripeybelly wrote: »I can't stand it when people try to say it doesn't matter if you eat sugar or vegetables, as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll still lose weight.
Yeah, maybe, but if you want to make a lifestyle change and not be on a "diet" your whole life, then you need to put down the addictive processed crap and start feeding your body actual nutrients.
I eat a diet of around 55% carbs. In addition my diet is around 50% whole food, 50% convenience food. I have never been technically overweight, but I did get to the upper limit of the healthy weight range for my height. So I lost 15 lbs over the course of a year by eating the exact same foods I always had, just 250 cals less per day, plus I increased my activity a little. I didn't kill myself in the gym, and I was never hungry. I'm not addicted to junk food, I just enjoy it. I get plenty of nutrients, I feel great, I get compliments on my skin, and have always had excellent results on my blood work.
Paleo works wonders for some people, but for others it is not optimal. When I accidentally have a lower carb day I feel like crap. Eating more than 3 or 4 oz of meat at a time makes me feel heavy and sluggish. And the cost of different types of food varies wildly depending on where in the world you live.
It's awesome that you found a way to eat that makes you feel good, but that's no reason to draw false conclusions about the ways other people eat.2 -
Neanderthals aren't homo sapiens sapiens and are actually quite different.
Even homo sapien sapien from paleolithic era are quite different.
There have been 100s of genetic changes in homo sapiens sapiens since the paleolithic era, and the Neolithic era brought a host of different selective preasures. For one, dairy consumption genes took over the European region in under 2000 years.
You can't use paleothic people as a guidepost for what modern humans should eat. They are different people, and the vast majority of paleolithic humans don't have lineages that live on to modern humans.
The people that remained the paleolithic era until recently (Australian Aborigines, artic native Americans etc.) have a whole host problems when they are introduced to modern diets. It's because their bodies aren't designed for high amounts of process grains. During the Neolithic era, Dogs developed many digistive genetic changes to allow them to eat higher amounts of grain-based carbohydrates. You can bet the bank the neothilic humans in Asia, Africa and Europe developed the same traits.
Take it up with the scientist bro - I just reproduced the article.0 -
stripeybelly wrote: »I can't stand it when people try to say it doesn't matter if you eat sugar or vegetables, as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll still lose weight.
You will.
However, I didn't notice people saying eating vegetables doesn't matter. I certainly think it matters a lot for nutrition, etc.
What I don't think is that eating paleo means you eat more vegetables. I ate lots before I did paleo, while I was doing paleo, and now. I think my diet is healthier now, not doing paleo, since I was cutting out foods that are helpful for me in creating a healthful diet (especially legumes, but also dairy and whole grains).
So stop pretending like paleo or not means healthful diet or not.1 -
stripeybelly wrote: »I can't stand it when people try to say it doesn't matter if you eat sugar or vegetables, as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll still lose weight.
Yeah, maybe, but if you want to make a lifestyle change and not be on a "diet" your whole life, then you need to put down the addictive processed crap and start feeding your body actual nutrients.
Eating paleo/low carb/etc is not hard or expensive. I buy a couple pounds of chicken breasts/tenders a week, cook them all at once and put them in the fridge. Hardboil some eggs to stick in there too. Buy frozen veggies that you can cook quickly.
You don't have to go all or nothing on it. Small changes help. Sometime when you want sugar, instead eat some carrot sticks with peanut butter. If you're hungry for pizza, make a modified chicken parmesan with skinless chicken breasts, pasta sauce, and cheese. Don't worry about "never eating birthday cake again" or whatever the one person said. It's not like if you eat one gram of sugar your body will explode.
The less you eat junk food, the less you want it.
But their choices aren't "get nutrients" or "eat processed food." You can do both.
For lunch today I had a bunch of vegetables and then some mini oatmeal cookies. The cookies didn't cancel out the vegetables and the cookies themselves contain some nutrients that my body can use.3 -
I came across this article which was quite information in regards to whether a calorie is just a calorie.
In a nutshell, if you only want to lose weight then eat at a deficit. If you are more concerned with your body composition then you need to pay attention to your macros. If health is what you are after then you need to make sensible food choices.
The conclusions to the article were this:
What method is truly the best? The answer is the same as the answer to the question “What’s the best workout plan?” – the one that you’ll actually FOLLOW THROUGH WITH!
For some people, they eat 100% paleo and LOVE it. For others, it’s two weeks of misery before falling off the wagon and returning to old habits.
For some people, counting macros is either the easiest thing ever, or will create an eye twitch on their first day.
So, we don’t get caught up in the “perfect” debate. Perfection doesn’t exist. The perfect diet doesn’t exist; we only care what happens in reality, with real people, who have busy lives, bad habits, and need help.
What I care about is what diet or nutrition plan will result in the following for the greatest number of Rebels:
A strong, functional body.
A happy, confident person who doesn’t freak out about food.
A clean bill of health from the doctor.
Life long success!
Let’s keep it simple: Our bodies are complex pieces of machinery, and although a calorie might make a simple equation for weight loss, every other factor of “healthy” can be affected by the quality and nutritional makeup of that calorie.
For that reason, we want you to eat real foods, cut back on sugar, and think long term (habits) rather than in short bursts.
https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/is-a-calorie-really-just-a-calorie/1 -
stripeybelly wrote: »I can't stand it when people try to say it doesn't matter if you eat sugar or vegetables, as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll still lose weight.
Yeah, maybe, but if you want to make a lifestyle change and not be on a "diet" your whole life, then you need to put down the addictive processed crap and start feeding your body actual nutrients.
Eating paleo/low carb/etc is not hard or expensive. I buy a couple pounds of chicken breasts/tenders a week, cook them all at once and put them in the fridge. Hardboil some eggs to stick in there too. Buy frozen veggies that you can cook quickly.
You don't have to go all or nothing on it. Small changes help. Sometime when you want sugar, instead eat some carrot sticks with peanut butter. If you're hungry for pizza, make a modified chicken parmesan with skinless chicken breasts, pasta sauce, and cheese. Don't worry about "never eating birthday cake again" or whatever the one person said. It's not like if you eat one gram of sugar your body will explode.
The less you eat junk food, the less you want it.
How long have you been successfully maintaining your weight loss?2 -
dudebro200 wrote: »I am not well read in the subject but I believe some studies have shown that the human body metabolizes each macro nutrient in a different way.
Carbs and fats eaten in excess are more likely to end up in fat cells than excess protein for example.
Also, refined sugars aren't simply calories and have some significant negative effects on one's body.
Bodybuilders are experts at losing and gaining weight and maintaining lean muscle mass. The rampant drug use complicates things, but overall, most bodybuilders, natural or enhanced, cut carbs and increase protein to lean down.
Yes, in pre-contest prep bodybuilders often do cut down on carbs. Wanna know why?
Because carbs are hydrophilic - every molecule of carbohydrate attracts 3 molecules of water along for the ride. By cutting carbs, they're cutting water weight. Water manipulation is a huge part of pre-contest prep to "dry out" for that paper-thin skin and maximal muscular definition.
For the average person who isn't a bodybuilder and isn't 3%-5% bodyfat and is trying to lose actual fat instead of water, how much good do you suppose it does them to cut carbs and "dry out" subcutaneous water weight?2 -
dudebro200 wrote: »I am not well read in the subject but I believe some studies have shown that the human body metabolizes each macro nutrient in a different way.
Carbs and fats eaten in excess are more likely to end up in fat cells than excess protein for example.
Also, refined sugars aren't simply calories and have some significant negative effects on one's body.
Bodybuilders are experts at losing and gaining weight and maintaining lean muscle mass. The rampant drug use complicates things, but overall, most bodybuilders, natural or enhanced, cut carbs and increase protein to lean down.
Yes, in pre-contest prep bodybuilders often do cut down on carbs. Wanna know why?
Because carbs are hydrophilic - every molecule of carbohydrate attracts 3 molecules of water along for the ride. By cutting carbs, they're cutting water weight. Water manipulation is a huge part of pre-contest prep to "dry out" for that paper-thin skin and maximal muscular definition.
For the average person who isn't a bodybuilder and isn't 3%-5% bodyfat and is trying to lose actual fat instead of water, how much good do you suppose it does them to cut carbs and "dry out" subcutaneous water weight?
Okay0 -
A word for Paleo:
i'm seeing this same effect from keto too with a guy in my lifting club, who eats [his words] 'like a raccoon'. or 'a garburator' - also his words. idk what 2018 is going to be like for him, but as of right now he and his husband are both determined to keto for a whole year just to find out what happens.
one thing that's happened so far is he no longer eats 'crap'.
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