Paleo - Please

Malgorzata79

Hello everyone!

My name is Margaret. I am bordline diabetic. I lost 50 lbs 2 years ago doing the paleo/primal. However I gained 30 lbs of it back due to going back to old eating habits. I tried eating healthier, counting calories, salt in take, etc but nothing works for me. So I decided to do the Paleo. But it is hard to get this lifestyle going! I need help - advice.

How do you do the Paleo? How many carbs do you consume to lose weight? (I am really confused on the daily intake of carbs). Any success stories of the Paleo lifestyle?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

wilsoje74

I would suggest eating in a way you can sustain long term. If you didn't stick with it before, you probably won't now and will just go back to old habits. Why not just eat what you like and count calories?

naariel

There's a paleo/primal group you can join.

Otherwise, calorie deficit and 70-100g of carbs is low enough to lose without going keto. Lower to much lower than 70 will also help losing quite fast, that's a Keto diet. It basically turn your body into a very effective fat burning machine. But it also gives you bad breath and funny taste in your mouth, acetic urine, etc. I prefer to stay away from that and going a bit more slowly and more "maintenance-like" so I won't have to make big changes again when going to maintenance. Basically my weight loss diet is a bit less of calories, but the ratio or style of diet won't really change once I add some calories. I'll just eat more of what I'm already eating. And I advise to do the same, even if your diet is for a limited period of time (losing weight) it shouldn't be too different from your normal diet/the diet you plan on keeping for maintenance, otherwise you're just going to put the weight back. It's a long-term change, even if the calorie intake is more restricted during a limited period of time, meeting your weight goal doesn't mean you're done with it.
On maintenance I plan to put my carbs limit higher, probably around 70 (no change here, I won't eat more carbs only to eat more carbs) - 120g, to be more flexible. But I don't eat that much carbs to begin with, so I have really no problem staying under. (Usually I even have to eat a bit of fruit for dessert to have my minimum.)

Protein is a "minimum goal", and depends on your lean body mass.
Fat is your energy source, so once your protein goal is met (and your min carbs if you want to stay out of keto mode) you put everything else here until you have your calorie goal.

paige2390

This site has been super helpful to me and my Paleo adventures.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

grrupp

Bump

GlutenFreeWench

My biggest things are - under 150 carbs for me. (I let myself go higher on days I do strength training), and at least 70 grams of protein. Everything else i let slide. Calories take care of themselves.

I also don't hold myself to the strict paleo. I let it slide. I do gluten free (for many many reasons) and have cut out most dairy, but not all. But if I eat 70% of the time paleo, I consider it a win.

DamePiglet

Hello everyone!

My name is Margaret. I am bordline diabetic. I lost 50 lbs 2 years ago doing the paleo/primal. However I gained 30 lbs of it back due to going back to old eating habits. I tried eating healthier, counting calories, salt in take, etc but nothing works for me. So I decided to do the Paleo. But it is hard to get this lifestyle going! I need help - advice.

How do you do the Paleo? How many carbs do you consume to lose weight? (I am really confused on the daily intake of carbs). Any success stories of the Paleo lifestyle?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Margaret,
I'm wondering about what happened when you were counting calories. Were you logging your intake / output on MFP? What your targets (calories, macros, etc)?
Perhaps your targets weren't appropriate and you could try again?

MDChesler

Fad diets are really difficult to maintain long term and many of them leave gaps in nutritional needs. My wife was doing the Paleo diet this summer and lost allot weight rapidly but its wasn't maintainable for her.

KLiK3xs

Hello everyone!

My name is Margaret. I am bordline diabetic. I lost 50 lbs 2 years ago doing the paleo/primal. However I gained 30 lbs of it back due to going back to old eating habits. I tried eating healthier, counting calories, salt in take, etc but nothing works for me. So I decided to do the Paleo. But it is hard to get this lifestyle going! I need help - advice.

How do you do the Paleo? How many carbs do you consume to lose weight? (I am really confused on the daily intake of carbs). Any success stories of the Paleo lifestyle?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Margaret,
Your Dr. should be able to guide you to a class which discusses Diabetes. They will also recommend a carb quantity goal for you.
I too have recently started with the Paleo lifestyle (calling it a Diet makes people think weight loss, i'm in it for healty living) and am in the learning stages.
lots of books, web sites available.
Good Luck!

Sunshine2plus2

No idea sorry! I would suggest a life style change something you can do forever!

MapleFlavouredMaiden

There's nothing magical about Paleo. You lost weight because you created a caloric deficit, that's all. Clearly Paleo isn't sustainable for you and it's socially alienating and restrictive. Ditch the fad diets and learn how to eat sustainably in a healthy way, keep active, lower stress, and the fat loss will be a side effect of your healthy living.

husseycd

I do a Primal (paleo with dairy and some legumes ) diet about 90% of the time. Basically, the only thing I avoid is grains. I really like it and find it easy to stick to. I've done it almost 9 months now. Wheat and corn do seem to upset my stomach, but really what ilike most about the diet is it forces me to make better choices. And I do feel great not eating the grain.

However, I don"t think there's anything magic about it. Cutting grain and high calorie, super starchy items, like potatoes, is a really easy way to cut calories. Many people, like myself, find when they cut bread they cut a lot if cravings.

tfleischer

My doctor suggested the Paleo approach for me.
Read the book, first. I downloaded it to my iPad, so it is with me wherever I go.
I am not so sure if I think the most avid form of Paleo is really doable for me; i.e., cage free eggs, wild caught salmon, grass fed beef, etc., but that seems to be a lot of what you see promoted on the "pale" websites, usually with a neat little ad for those items just to the right of the blog about how important it is that you only eat Salmon that is wild caught on a string made of hemp on Wednesdays before noon (being a bit hyperbolic here).
Find the basics of the approach and stick to it as much as you can, even if that is 80-20% or 75-25%. You will still be doing better (for your diabetes) than mornings of shoving bagels and doughnuts in your face (I have been guilty as charged on both counts).
Try this:
Stay away from grains, i.e. pasta, crusts, donuts, pastries, breads, etc.
Focus on fresh vegetables and fruits.
Focus on lower-fat meats, preferably poultry and fish.
Focus on healthy fats, such as avocado and nuts, but keep in mind that these foods have a super-density of calories and fat content.... So, instead of a "bowl of nuts," try a small handful of 15 or 20.
Plan out, to the best of your ability, your week ahead. Look at your calendar, the family calendar and work calendar and decide when you can eat at home and what you have to do to make that easier.
Take food with you to work, etc.


DAIRY
I am mixed on this. True paleo says no dairy. Some say fermented, full-fat dairy like real GReek Yogurt, is okay. Live with what you can on this. If dairy gives you digestive trouble, avoid it altogether.
I avoid cheese, which is one of my favorite indulgences. But it is more than just an indulgence. I can't just eat a bite of cheese, so it is best to avoid altogether, if at all possible.

Life happens. No one strictly adheres to ANY LIFESTYLE, ANY DIET or ANY EXERCISE philosophy. If they say they are, they are -- perhaps -- deluded. If you can adhere to it 85% of the time, you are doing so much better than not having an approach at all.

Some websites;

marksdailyapple.com
paleoplan.com
paleoiq.com
http://thepaleodiet.com/the-paleo-diet-premise/
The last one is Dr. Cordain's website. He was the first to publish Paleo Diet.

All of these are trying to sell something. Find the good information and sift through the sales pitch.

Good luck and feel free to contact me as a friend.

Tim