Weight loss with Paleo diet?

witchtea

Hey everyone, I'm a new poster here. Been using the website for a while but never chatted with anyone!

I'm curious about the paleo diet and have heard a lot of good things about it. Has anyone on here used it and lost weight with it? I would imagine that at the very least cutting out the wheat and gluten would bring weight down a little. Any feedback?
Many thanks!
/wt

ldula88

It's amazing I lost 15-20 pounds in the first month, and now I'm seeing gradual but steady loss. The idea behind it is that once you go VLC (very low carb) your body stops burning glucose as your primary energy source, and starts producing ketones to burn instead (aka "Ketosis"). When you don't eat enough carbs to fully fuel your body's energy needs, it turns to the fats and proteins as fuel instead, so fat gets used, not stored away. Also an awesome benefit, you will never go hungry. Eating a diet high in good fats and protein keeps you really full, so you never feel deprived. Most Paleos don't even bother to count calories. I do because I want to make sure I keep losing until I reach my goal. I could honestly go on and on about the benefits of Paleo, haha.

ldula88

For more info on Paleo in particular, this is the site I'm a member of in addition to MFP: http:// paleohacks.com

I_Will_End_You

Hey everyone, I'm a new poster here. Been using the website for a while but never chatted with anyone!

I'm curious about the paleo diet and have heard a lot of good things about it. Has anyone on here used it and lost weight with it? I would imagine that at the very least cutting out the wheat and gluten would bring weight down a little. Any feedback?
Many thanks!
/wt

Cutting calories in general will bring weight down, not cutting out certain food groups or types of food. Wheat & gluten doesn't make you fat, eating too many calories does.

ldula88

Hey everyone, I'm a new poster here. Been using the website for a while but never chatted with anyone!

I'm curious about the paleo diet and have heard a lot of good things about it. Has anyone on here used it and lost weight with it? I would imagine that at the very least cutting out the wheat and gluten would bring weight down a little. Any feedback?
Many thanks!
/wt

Cutting calories in general will bring weight down, not cutting out certain food groups or types of food. Wheat & gluten doesn't make you fat, eating too many calories does.

While it's definitely true that calories in vs. out do matter, it's also important to look at what kind of calories they are. Carbs are a non-essential energy source for the human body. We can make our own glucose, we don't actually need to eat many carbs to survive. However, the Standard American Diet has us eating hundreds of grams of carbs a day. Paleo focuses on getting your calories from good fats (avocados, nuts, etc.) and protein, necessary sources of energy which the body actually needs to function. Counting calories while eating Paleo is the best of both worlds for your body, IMO.

AJ_G

Hey everyone, I'm a new poster here. Been using the website for a while but never chatted with anyone!

I'm curious about the paleo diet and have heard a lot of good things about it. Has anyone on here used it and lost weight with it? I would imagine that at the very least cutting out the wheat and gluten would bring weight down a little. Any feedback?
Many thanks!
/wt

Cutting calories in general will bring weight down, not cutting out certain food groups or types of food. Wheat & gluten doesn't make you fat, eating too many calories does.

While it's definitely true that calories in vs. out do matter, it's also important to look at what kind of calories they are. Carbs are a non-essential energy source for the human body. We can make our own glucose, we don't actually need to eat many carbs to survive. However, the Standard American Diet has us eating hundreds of grams of carbs a day. Paleo focuses on getting your calories from good fats (avocados, nuts, etc.) and protein, necessary sources of energy which the body actually needs to function. Counting calories while eating Paleo is the best of both worlds for your body, IMO.

The entire basis for the paleo diet is ridiculous, and any diet that has you cutting out foods is not optimal. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wheat. Sure most Americans eat waaaay too many carbs, but it is possible to set proper macro goals and just eat whatever you want to hit them.

ldula88

The entire basis for the paleo diet is ridiculous, and any diet that has you cutting out foods is not optimal. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wheat. Sure most Americans eat waaaay too many carbs, but it is possible to set proper macro goals and just eat whatever you want to hit them.

Hey, if Paleo's not for you, that's cool, but no need to discount it completely or tell us that we're ridiculous. It's completely healthy when followed correctly, and it makes a lot of people feel great, especially people with dairy and grain intolerances. For those of us who tolerate grain, once you go through the first 30 days you can add grains back in on an occasional basis, as long as they aren't the focus of your diet. This is the 80-20 version of Paleo. A lot of us just really don't believe in eating processed foods. For instance, instead of buying bread loaded with preservative and high fructose corn syrup, I make my own bread on the occasion that I do have grains. Much healthier.

richardheath

Hey everyone, I'm a new poster here. Been using the website for a while but never chatted with anyone!

I'm curious about the paleo diet and have heard a lot of good things about it. Has anyone on here used it and lost weight with it? I would imagine that at the very least cutting out the wheat and gluten would bring weight down a little. Any feedback?
Many thanks!
/wt

Cutting calories in general will bring weight down, not cutting out certain food groups or types of food. Wheat & gluten doesn't make you fat, eating too many calories does.

While it's definitely true that calories in vs. out do matter, it's also important to look at what kind of calories they are. Carbs are a non-essential energy source for the human body. We can make our own glucose, we don't actually need to eat many carbs to survive. However, the Standard American Diet has us eating hundreds of grams of carbs a day. Paleo focuses on getting your calories from good fats (avocados, nuts, etc.) and protein, necessary sources of energy which the body actually needs to function. Counting calories while eating Paleo is the best of both worlds for your body, IMO.

The entire basis for the paleo diet is ridiculous, and any diet that has you cutting out foods is not optimal. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wheat. Sure most Americans eat waaaay too many carbs, but it is possible to set proper macro goals and just eat whatever you want to hit them.

^ This.

Paleo is based on pseudoscience, cherry picking, mumbo jumbo and a good dose of the "noble savage" mythos.

If it makes you feel good, then eat that way. But don't expect it to be any kind of magic bullet for weight loss. If you eat too many calories, your body is quite capable of making it's own glucose from sources other than carbs (look up gluconeogenesis) and then storing that as fat.

ldula88

^ This.

Paleo is based on pseudoscience, cherry picking, mumbo jumbo and a good dose of the "noble savage" mythos.

If it makes you feel good, then eat that way. But don't expect it to be any kind of magic bullet for weight loss. If you eat too many calories, your body is quite capable of making it's own glucose from sources other than carbs (look up gluconeogenesis) and then storing that as fat.

Like I said, if it's not for you, that's fine, but our way of life is not without it's own research to back it up. No need to get nasty. As I stated earlier, yes, the body is capable of making it's own glucose. This is why we don't need to eat as many carbs as we tend to do on the SAD. No one claims it's a magic bullet for weight loss, by the way. Most Paleos don't switch to lose weight, it just happened to work for me, which I also stated. The original question asked if anyone had experience with the lifestyle. I simply gave my personal experience.

thefragile7393

Seems to be a lot of armchair nutritionists on this site which is ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with Paleo just as there isn't anything wrong with vegetarianism, clean, low carb, whatever.....there are a lot of ways to eat healthy and none of them are wrong, just what works or appeals to different people. Same with exercise, as long as you exercise safely who CARES if it's at the gym, with Beachbody products, ZCUT, or walking or jogging! The point is to MOVE! Same with diet...the point is to have a healthy body and working to achieve whatever you like....however someone wants to eat in a healthy way is fine! No need to criticize or act like there is ONE way to do things (which ends up being the critic's way of course). If someone does not want to eat gluten..so WHAT???? No dairy?? BIG DEAL! The world will not end if someone chooses not to eat something.

To the OP, yes I have lost weight on it but I don't eat this way to lose weight, I eat it to be healthy. I will occasionally eat non-paleo things like cheese (I adore it) and hummus, and sometimes wild rice. I feel a lot better and have a lot more energy. I noticed a big change when I cut out gluten alone, and a lot of icky things when I tried to add them back. Not everyone notices things..I have met people who have noticed big time changes and some not at all. What matters is how you feel and what you are able to do.

ldula88

Seems to be a lot of armchair nutritionists on this site which is ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with Paleo just as there isn't anything wrong with vegetarianism, clean, low carb, whatever.....there are a lot of ways to eat healthy and none of them are wrong, just what works or appeals to different people. Same with exercise, as long as you exercise safely who CARES if it's at the gym, with Beachbody products, ZCUT, or walking or jogging! The point is to MOVE! Same with diet...the point is to have a healthy body and working to achieve whatever you like....however someone wants to eat in a healthy way is fine! No need to criticize or act like there is ONE way to do things (which ends up being the critic's way of course). If someone does not want to eat gluten..so WHAT???? No dairy?? BIG DEAL! The world will not end if someone chooses not to eat something.

To the OP, yes I have lost weight on it but I don't eat this way to lose weight, I eat it to be healthy. I will occasionally eat non-paleo things like cheese (I adore it) and hummus, and sometimes wild rice. I feel a lot better and have a lot more energy. I noticed a big change when I cut out gluten alone, and a lot of icky things when I tried to add them back. Not everyone notices things..I have met people who have noticed big time changes and some not at all. What matters is how you feel and what you are able to do.

well said.

IronSmasher

Eating more whole foods is good.

The entire premise of trying to eat foods that simply haven't existed for 10000 years is ridiculous. The palaeolithic didn't have a specific diet anyway, they were all completely a mercy to what was in their very small part of the world. Whoever is deciding what is, or isn't paleo is just plain pulling it out of their backside.

There's no proven advantage over any other whole food diet so it's a lot more difficult to follow this diet for no good reason.

mmipanda

1. Paleo is not necessarily low-carb or ketogenic, though some people choose to eat keto paleo for health problems etc. I don't watch my carbs at all.

2. There is a paleo & primal group full of information and helpful, happy people. You will find overwhelmingly negative responses on the main forums.


I love eating paleo style. It wasn't until I actually cut out grains for a bit that I realised how rubbish they make me feel. It makes me sad because I bread, but its not worth the stomach issues that come with it. Weightloss is a pleasant side effect, and not something that I've had to put any effort into at all with paleo food. Last night I watched a movie and ate a ridiculous amount of home-made banoffee pie, this morning I registered a new low on the scales. *shrug*

ldula88

Eating more whole foods is good.

The entire premise of trying to eat foods that simply haven't existed for 10000 years is ridiculous. The palaeolithic didn't have a specific diet anyway, they were all completely a mercy to what was in their very small part of the world. Whoever is deciding what is, or isn't paleo is just plain pulling it out of their backside.

There's no proven advantage over any other whole food diet so it's a lot more difficult to follow this diet for no good reason.

lol, trust me, we're not running around trying to find and gather what cavemen actually ate. Pretty sure you can't get mammoth burgers at the drive-through. It's a whole foods based lifestyle that cuts out grains, legumes, and dairy (common foods that cause problems), although many of us chose to add back occasionally in once we know we're okay eating it. I don't know where everyone get the idea that we're actually trying to replicate the diet of a caveman literally. Definitely NOT our mission.

mmipanda

Eating more whole foods is good.

The entire premise of trying to eat foods that simply haven't existed for 10000 years is ridiculous. The palaeolithic didn't have a specific diet anyway, they were all completely a mercy to what was in their very small part of the world. Whoever is deciding what is, or isn't paleo is just plain pulling it out of their backside.

There's no proven advantage over any other whole food diet so it's a lot more difficult to follow this diet for no good reason.

lol, trust me, we're not running around trying to find and gather what cavemen actually ate. Pretty sure you can't get mammoth burgers at the drive-through. It's a whole foods based lifestyle that cuts out grains, legumes, and dairy (common foods that cause problems), although many of us chose to add back occasionally in once we know we're okay eating it. I don't know where everyone get the idea that we're actually trying to replicate the diet of a caveman literally. Definitely NOT our mission.

probably because its easy to argue against if you pretend 'paleo' means 'we think that you have to eat exactly what would have been available in the paleolithic period' rather than a catchy name for eating hunter-gatherer type foods instead of agricultural/mass produced food.

ldula88

Eating more whole foods is good.

The entire premise of trying to eat foods that simply haven't existed for 10000 years is ridiculous. The palaeolithic didn't have a specific diet anyway, they were all completely a mercy to what was in their very small part of the world. Whoever is deciding what is, or isn't paleo is just plain pulling it out of their backside.

There's no proven advantage over any other whole food diet so it's a lot more difficult to follow this diet for no good reason.

lol, trust me, we're not running around trying to find and gather what cavemen actually ate. Pretty sure you can't get mammoth burgers at the drive-through. It's a whole foods based lifestyle that cuts out grains, legumes, and dairy (common foods that cause problems), although many of us chose to add back occasionally in once we know we're okay eating it. I don't know where everyone get the idea that we're actually trying to replicate the diet of a caveman literally. Definitely NOT our mission.

probably because its easy to argue against if you pretend 'paleo' means 'we think that you have to eat exactly what would have been available in the paleolithic period' rather than a catchy name for eating hunter-gatherer type foods instead of agricultural/mass produced food.

lol, silly neolithic humans. Grok is shaking his head

richardheath

^ This.

Paleo is based on pseudoscience, cherry picking, mumbo jumbo and a good dose of the "noble savage" mythos.

If it makes you feel good, then eat that way. But don't expect it to be any kind of magic bullet for weight loss. If you eat too many calories, your body is quite capable of making it's own glucose from sources other than carbs (look up gluconeogenesis) and then storing that as fat.

Like I said, if it's not for you, that's fine, but our way of life is not without it's own research to back it up. No need to get nasty. As I stated earlier, yes, the body is capable of making it's own glucose. This is why we don't need to eat as many carbs as we tend to do on the SAD. No one claims it's a magic bullet for weight loss, by the way. Most Paleos don't switch to lose weight, it just happened to work for me, which I also stated. The original question asked if anyone had experience with the lifestyle. I simply gave my personal experience.

Actually, the OP asked if it was good for weight loss. The answer is that, if you are in a calorie deficit, then you will lose weight. Whether you eat Paleo or any other way.

Statements (by yourself) such as "When you don't eat enough carbs to fully fuel your body's energy needs, it turns to the fats and proteins as fuel instead, so fat gets used, not stored away" are simply wrong. Excess calories are converted to glucose, which is then converted to fat and stored. You can get fat over eating paleo, just as you can over eating on any diet.

ldula88

^ This.

Paleo is based on pseudoscience, cherry picking, mumbo jumbo and a good dose of the "noble savage" mythos.

If it makes you feel good, then eat that way. But don't expect it to be any kind of magic bullet for weight loss. If you eat too many calories, your body is quite capable of making it's own glucose from sources other than carbs (look up gluconeogenesis) and then storing that as fat.

Like I said, if it's not for you, that's fine, but our way of life is not without it's own research to back it up. No need to get nasty. As I stated earlier, yes, the body is capable of making it's own glucose. This is why we don't need to eat as many carbs as we tend to do on the SAD. No one claims it's a magic bullet for weight loss, by the way. Most Paleos don't switch to lose weight, it just happened to work for me, which I also stated. The original question asked if anyone had experience with the lifestyle. I simply gave my personal experience.

Actually, the OP asked if it was good for weight loss. The answer is that, if you are in a calorie deficit, then you will lose weight. Whether you eat Paleo or any other way.

Statements (by yourself) such as "When you don't eat enough carbs to fully fuel your body's energy needs, it turns to the fats and proteins as fuel instead, so fat gets used, not stored away" are simply wrong. Excess calories are converted to glucose, which is then converted to fat and stored. You can get fat over eating paleo, just as you can over eating on any diet.

Since I stated that calorie intake did in fact matter, although most Paleo eaters don't bother to count because they do fine without counting, I assumed that the OP was able to put two and two together and come to the conclusion that she would still have to be at a certain level of intake to lose weight, even on Paleo. Obviously you don't intend to give her that much credit... TBH, I don't much care if you think I'm wrong or not. You've obviously not taken the time to read through all the material in my comments before making your statements. Now that I've turned snarky, which I try never to do, I think I'll head back over to the Paleo/Primal forums. Much less aggressive over there...

richardheath

OP - as agreed by even the paleo supporters apparently, all that is required for weight loss is a calorie deficit. If you want to cut out wheat in order to help achieve that deficit, then by all means do so. Atkins and other low carb diets (probably Paleo too) work initially as there is usually a large calorie deficit from cutting out the starches. Over time, people tend to either find ways around this, or to simply cheat, however, and the weight comes back, often plus some. This is why I believe overly restrictive diets are not good in the long run. They are simply not sustainable for most people.

But it seems that you have lost 17 lbs already by doing whatever you have been doing, so why change? Eat the foods you enjoy, just eat them in moderation. Yes, whole, unprocessed foods are good, but bread is not going to kill you (unless you have celiacs or something).



And hopefully that wasn't too combative! :flowerforyou:

mmipanda

from personal experience, i disagree that caloric deficit is the sole contributor to successful weightloss - the circumstances that result in that caloric deficit are important too. I find sticking to a caloric limit much more restrictive than limiting certain foods - so for me personally, paleo is the better option mentally. now i just track days here and there to see if i'm getting an ok macro balance. I like the food i am eating and don't feel the urge to cheat it. i am having more success eating this way than in an 'everything in moderation' style.

edit: also, i'm eating a lot more calories now than EIM-diet, and as stated before, paleo is not low carb (but some people choose to make it ketogenic) so your comments comparing it to atkins are quite inaccurate.

richardheath

But you are eating at a deficit, right? Or are you telling me you eat over your TDEE and lose weight?

Compliance is important, of course, in any diet. If you eat this way and are happy and can keep doing it then good for you. I'm not saying you should stop.

The Atkins comment was directed to the OP, who wondered if cutting out bread etc would help with her weight loss. Many people who start a restrictive diet do lose initially due to the fact that they suddenly cut out a major source of calories. As they (most, not all) find ways to "get around" that, they eat more, and will stop losing/regain that weight. Cutting carbs will also potentially lower your glycogen reserves, leading to loss of water weight.

As long as you are hitting your macro and micro goals, Paleo can be healthy. Focusing on whole foods has to be a good thing, but you don't have to eat paleo (or "clean") with the other arbitrary restrictions, and the demonizing of other healthy (to most people) foods, to eat wholesome foods. I'm just saying that it isn't required for weight loss (and isn't as scientifically founded as some people think).

So, eat what you want. Follow a diet plan you can stick to (even Paleo!). And as long as you have a moderate deficit, you will lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way. :flowerforyou: