Paleo?
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I doubt the OP is still reading this since it has turned into drivel and mostly just insulting each other. If you are just looking for something to try for a month, I'd look into the Whole30. It's strict paleo, and it can be pretty difficult to stick to (and the people who run the website don't suggest doing it for longer than 30 days). But, you'd get a very good idea of what paleo is, plus it's a free website with a free list of "do eat" foods and "don't eat" foods. It's clearly laid out.
Then, after 30 days, assess your experience. If you couldn't follow strict paleo, then strict paleo probably isn't for you. If you found recipes you really liked, incorporate those into your diet. If you mostly liked it except that it was too strict, try an 80/20 approach. If there were foods on the "do not eat" list that you miss and can't do without, incorporate those back into your diet.
This was helpful. Thank you
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Alright, I've been a little afraid to post this because I heard it will start "forum flame wars," but I've just heard different things about it and I was wondering exactly what it is and why it may be good/bad for you. What are the pros/cons? Have any of you tried it?
Sorry in advance for any arguments this thread may cause....
i dont understand why it should start any wars anyway. we are all here for a common goal of weight loss and/or getting healthy. there are 1,001 meal plans out there. The main focus, just in my opion, is that we should eat REAL/UNPROCESSED foods and that is the focus of Paleo mostly. I have only read up on it a little, so I'm no expert, but I know people that do it and love it. I have tried a few plans that are VERY similar such as the Virgin Diet and 21 Day Tummy. Both focus on REAL foods and help identify some foods that 1. Our bodies are not intended to digest or 2. Food is NOT made like it used to be by REAL farmers and there is SO SO SO much junk in it. Period.
CLEAN EATING - FOCUS ON THAT IF YOU CAN.
DISCLAIMER - i am not a doctor. just another lady that has tried several things and so far the best is.... CLEAN 'REAL FOOD' EATING! :-)
wars - why do we get into wars when we all the the same goal? HA.
THIS ^0 -
I think this should definitely be a personal choice regardless of the label. I have been mostly "Paleo" for about two months. For the past two years, I have dealt with major digestive issues and after major food journaling and miserable belly issues, decided the more grains (especially wheat) I consumed, the more miserable I felt. I don't follow it strictly, and I definitely don't call myself a cavewoman. I still eat dairy in moderation (it doesn't like me that well either) and when I get caught in a situation where Paleo type food isn't an option (this doesn't happen often since most anywhere will have a salad, I will have whatever I think is the best choice for me at that moment--not a junkie eater so it's usually the salad...:P
I am a distance runner and have actually discovered I feel better in general and recover faster. I don't feel the need to carb-load with anything, and, surprisingly, manage longer runs better then ever. I no longer have the sluggishness throughout the day (I'm a teacher) and never have the blood sugar crashes (this was a persistent issue for me) that even "whole" grains would give me. Eating minimally processed foods is the key to any way of eating. I would really suggest you keep a food journal and do what makes you feel the best each day
Per bolded above:
Can you really be 'mostly' paleo? I have an in-law that claims she's 'mostly' vegetarian until she's eating that bratwurst. Doesn't being paleo, like being vegetarian mean you have to follow certain guidelines? Aren't you just eating what you want if you 'cheat'? It should be, "I've been trying to be paleo for two months now though I often find myself failing." That seems way more honest though it might interfer with a person's ability to tell other people how awesome it is while maintaining a straight face.
Or is it based on a percentage? If you eat according to the diet 90% of the time, you can still claim the title and use it to tell people how much better you are than your friends because you're taking part in a way of eating that requires a name and specific guidelines with specifically claimed health benefits?
I think you should be all or none and you have to go all the way for at least a year before you are allowed mention how amazing it is to a single person without being specifically asked about it first. I would prefer never but I suppose if you stick to it for a year you might as well get something out of it (honestly, this goes for any diet, no matter it's name or conditions).
this is what I was referring to earlier about the "verbal gymnastics" people do to claim they are "paleo" …if it is really so great then commit to it 100% ….the fact that so many really can't seems to indicate it is too restrictive or just not as beneficial as the paleo/primal/80/20 paleo/maybe primal/et al crew claim...0 -
and drank wine...Hmm... I think Jesus did paleo, and he was *ripped*.
No. He ate bread.
Yes, this.
And then He said not live on *just* bread alone.
I think the word of God is allowed on all diets
True.
(tee hee)0 -
and drank wine...Hmm... I think Jesus did paleo, and he was *ripped*.
No. He ate bread.
Wines allowed on primal.
I have a feeling given enough time so will bread...
What sort of bread? Maybe when they discover it's amazing nutritional properties they will let it in! Lol
Unleavened, made from wheat.0 -
Not all brain function requires glucose. Some brain function absolutely requires glucose, but it's only something like 25%. The rest is more than happy to use ketones as its fuel source.
But why bother?
Some people have a harder time with carbs, so for them, it's easier to eat a high fat low carb diet. That's especially true for people with issues like insulin resistance.
It is not true for most people, and it silly to suggest to someone who has no health issues.0 -
It's april- apparently I need God in my life.
:laugh:0 -
and drank wine...Hmm... I think Jesus did paleo, and he was *ripped*.
No. He ate bread.
Wines allowed on primal.
I have a feeling given enough time so will bread...
What sort of bread? Maybe when they discover it's amazing nutritional properties they will let it in! Lol
It's most valuable nutrient is pleasure... and make no mistake, pleasure is a nutrient.
Sorry but it doesn't ring my bell, Now a big bowl of chilli, that the most nutrient rich food for me (that's if pleasure is the nutrient of choice). Lol
Yep... as long as there are beans in there and I have a nice piece of italien bread to sop up all the juice
How about smoked salmon, goat cheese on two slices of sprouted whole wheat bread.... oh yeah!
True chili does not have beans in it. :bigsmile:
True chili has chilies and three kinds of beans. :laugh:0 -
Hi, [Nutrition student at UC Davis, currently taking 4 different nutrition classes taught by doctors who specialize in fields like 'fad diets'. United States medical and nutrition journals have shown the paleo diet to be a success in individual's weight loss goals, however it is not sustainable and should be monitored very carefully. It's also important to understand how the paleo diet works physiologically. If you are consuming (in general, varies by person due to genetic variation) less than 130g of carbohydrates a day (carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes) in 4-7 days your body will become ketonic and you may experience dizziness, loss of appetite and weight loss. So what is ketonic and why are you losing weight? - Carbohydrates are broken down into thousands of glucose units and stored at 'glycogen' in your muscles. Glycogen is a huge energy source for your body and is used during physical activity. Glycogen is also stored with water. So when you go on a paleo diet your body starts to become depleted of its glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with water you also lose lots of water weight - which can be anywhere from 5-10lbs of water. Your brain NEEDS glucose for energy, glucose is the ONLY energy that the brain uses and the recommended 130g of carbohydrates a day is based off of what your brain uses per day (again varies person to person). So if this diet is prolonged your body will start to become ketonic - which means that because you have no stores of glycogen, and limited blood glucose available as fuel, your body will start to break down proteins - you will feel lethargic, have bad breath, offensive flatulence, ect. Again these results MAY vary from person to person, however the research is solid on how you body deals with under consuming carbohydrates. Which is why any nutritionist, dietician would not recommend a diet, but rather a mixed diet. If you are however a professional athlete or competitor, doing the paleo or the now popular high fat diet may be advised to you by your athletic coaches.
you should ask for a refund
^Agreed
Drive by silliness, she never came back to argue her position on how all those doing paleo are brain dead. <130 g of carbs you go crazy. Srs?
It's the RDA. Why should she argue it?0 -
Not all brain function requires glucose. Some brain function absolutely requires glucose, but it's only something like 25%. The rest is more than happy to use ketones as its fuel source.
But why bother?
Some people have a harder time with carbs, so for them, it's easier to eat a high fat low carb diet. That's especially true for people with issues like insulin resistance.
It is not true for most people, and it silly to suggest to someone who has no health issues.
Well, some groups estimate that 25% of the US population -- or 80 million people -- have insulin resistance. And that takes quite a threshold to become insulin resistance. So, it's not absurd to think that there are quite a few people with carb sensitivity issues, even if they don't rise to the level of Celiacs, Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.
And, there are many that didn't think they had any issues (myself included) and were shocked at how much better they felt after eliminating grains from their diet. As I said, I've known quite a few people who had this experience and it's not an uncommon experience among those that have tried Paleo/Primal -- you see other MFPers having said the same thing. So, it doesn't seem all that silly to me.0 -
Hi, [Nutrition student at UC Davis, currently taking 4 different nutrition classes taught by doctors who specialize in fields like 'fad diets'. United States medical and nutrition journals have shown the paleo diet to be a success in individual's weight loss goals, however it is not sustainable and should be monitored very carefully. It's also important to understand how the paleo diet works physiologically. If you are consuming (in general, varies by person due to genetic variation) less than 130g of carbohydrates a day (carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes) in 4-7 days your body will become ketonic and you may experience dizziness, loss of appetite and weight loss. So what is ketonic and why are you losing weight? - Carbohydrates are broken down into thousands of glucose units and stored at 'glycogen' in your muscles. Glycogen is a huge energy source for your body and is used during physical activity. Glycogen is also stored with water. So when you go on a paleo diet your body starts to become depleted of its glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with water you also lose lots of water weight - which can be anywhere from 5-10lbs of water. Your brain NEEDS glucose for energy, glucose is the ONLY energy that the brain uses and the recommended 130g of carbohydrates a day is based off of what your brain uses per day (again varies person to person). So if this diet is prolonged your body will start to become ketonic - which means that because you have no stores of glycogen, and limited blood glucose available as fuel, your body will start to break down proteins - you will feel lethargic, have bad breath, offensive flatulence, ect. Again these results MAY vary from person to person, however the research is solid on how you body deals with under consuming carbohydrates. Which is why any nutritionist, dietician would not recommend a diet, but rather a mixed diet. If you are however a professional athlete or competitor, doing the paleo or the now popular high fat diet may be advised to you by your athletic coaches.
you should ask for a refund
^Agreed
Drive by silliness, she never came back to argue her position on how all those doing paleo are brain dead. <130 g of carbs you go crazy. Srs?
It's the RDA. Why should she argue it?
I don't think it's the 130 g number that is the issue but her claims of what happens when you eat less than 130 grams.
Eta - paleo is not necessarily low carb. Many people who do it end up low carb since a lot of common high carb foods are not permitted, but you can still get higher levels of carbs.0 -
The number was chosen due to the brain's energy requirement. However, in the presence of sufficient protein and fat, the effective floor is zero.0
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Not all brain function requires glucose. Some brain function absolutely requires glucose, but it's only something like 25%. The rest is more than happy to use ketones as its fuel source.
But why bother?
Some people have a harder time with carbs, so for them, it's easier to eat a high fat low carb diet. That's especially true for people with issues like insulin resistance.
It is not true for most people, and it silly to suggest to someone who has no health issues.
Well, some groups estimate that 25% of the US population -- or 80 million people -- have insulin resistance. And that takes quite a threshold to become insulin resistance. So, it's not absurd to think that there are quite a few people with carb sensitivity issues, even if they don't rise to the level of Celiacs, Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.
And, there are many that didn't think they had any issues (myself included) and were shocked at how much better they felt after eliminating grains from their diet. As I said, I've known quite a few people who had this experience and it's not an uncommon experience among those that have tried Paleo/Primal -- you see other MFPers having said the same thing. So, it doesn't seem all that silly to me.
you got an official stat on that?0 -
Hi, [Nutrition student at UC Davis, currently taking 4 different nutrition classes taught by doctors who specialize in fields like 'fad diets'. United States medical and nutrition journals have shown the paleo diet to be a success in individual's weight loss goals, however it is not sustainable and should be monitored very carefully. It's also important to understand how the paleo diet works physiologically. If you are consuming (in general, varies by person due to genetic variation) less than 130g of carbohydrates a day (carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes) in 4-7 days your body will become ketonic and you may experience dizziness, loss of appetite and weight loss. So what is ketonic and why are you losing weight? - Carbohydrates are broken down into thousands of glucose units and stored at 'glycogen' in your muscles. Glycogen is a huge energy source for your body and is used during physical activity. Glycogen is also stored with water. So when you go on a paleo diet your body starts to become depleted of its glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with water you also lose lots of water weight - which can be anywhere from 5-10lbs of water. Your brain NEEDS glucose for energy, glucose is the ONLY energy that the brain uses and the recommended 130g of carbohydrates a day is based off of what your brain uses per day (again varies person to person). So if this diet is prolonged your body will start to become ketonic - which means that because you have no stores of glycogen, and limited blood glucose available as fuel, your body will start to break down proteins - you will feel lethargic, have bad breath, offensive flatulence, ect. Again these results MAY vary from person to person, however the research is solid on how you body deals with under consuming carbohydrates. Which is why any nutritionist, dietician would not recommend a diet, but rather a mixed diet. If you are however a professional athlete or competitor, doing the paleo or the now popular high fat diet may be advised to you by your athletic coaches.
you should ask for a refund
^Agreed
Drive by silliness, she never came back to argue her position on how all those doing paleo are brain dead. <130 g of carbs you go crazy. Srs?
It's the RDA. Why should she argue it?
I don't think it's the 130 g number that is the issue but her claims of what happens when you eat less than 130 grams.
Eta - paleo is not necessarily low carb. Many people who do it end up low carb since a lot of common high carb foods are not permitted, but you can still get higher levels of carbs.
Also, it's moot when you are talking about normal diets. She was probably taught the needs in the context of starvation/VLCD.0 -
Not all brain function requires glucose. Some brain function absolutely requires glucose, but it's only something like 25%. The rest is more than happy to use ketones as its fuel source.
But why bother?
Some people have a harder time with carbs, so for them, it's easier to eat a high fat low carb diet. That's especially true for people with issues like insulin resistance.
It is not true for most people, and it silly to suggest to someone who has no health issues.
Well, some groups estimate that 25% of the US population -- or 80 million people -- have insulin resistance. And that takes quite a threshold to become insulin resistance. So, it's not absurd to think that there are quite a few people with carb sensitivity issues, even if they don't rise to the level of Celiacs, Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.
And, there are many that didn't think they had any issues (myself included) and were shocked at how much better they felt after eliminating grains from their diet. As I said, I've known quite a few people who had this experience and it's not an uncommon experience among those that have tried Paleo/Primal -- you see other MFPers having said the same thing. So, it doesn't seem all that silly to me.
you got an official stat on that?
If you're referencing insulin resistance, yes. CDC estimates 35% of the adult US population (or 79 million) have prediabetes based on fasting A1c numbers -- that's insulin resistance in the pre-diabetes stage. If it breaks a threshold (which I think is 6.5) then it's full on type 2 diabetes. 8.3% of the population has diabetes itself -- so put those together, and you have 43.3% of the adult population with the issue in various degrees.
And that's of the total adult population, if you were talking about the total overweight adult population, I bets it's even higher as such conditions are so strongly linked with being overweight.
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf0 -
Hi, [Nutrition student at UC Davis, currently taking 4 different nutrition classes taught by doctors who specialize in fields like 'fad diets'. United States medical and nutrition journals have shown the paleo diet to be a success in individual's weight loss goals, however it is not sustainable and should be monitored very carefully. It's also important to understand how the paleo diet works physiologically. If you are consuming (in general, varies by person due to genetic variation) less than 130g of carbohydrates a day (carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes) in 4-7 days your body will become ketonic and you may experience dizziness, loss of appetite and weight loss. So what is ketonic and why are you losing weight? - Carbohydrates are broken down into thousands of glucose units and stored at 'glycogen' in your muscles. Glycogen is a huge energy source for your body and is used during physical activity. Glycogen is also stored with water. So when you go on a paleo diet your body starts to become depleted of its glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with water you also lose lots of water weight - which can be anywhere from 5-10lbs of water. Your brain NEEDS glucose for energy, glucose is the ONLY energy that the brain uses and the recommended 130g of carbohydrates a day is based off of what your brain uses per day (again varies person to person). So if this diet is prolonged your body will start to become ketonic - which means that because you have no stores of glycogen, and limited blood glucose available as fuel, your body will start to break down proteins - you will feel lethargic, have bad breath, offensive flatulence, ect. Again these results MAY vary from person to person, however the research is solid on how you body deals with under consuming carbohydrates. Which is why any nutritionist, dietician would not recommend a diet, but rather a mixed diet. If you are however a professional athlete or competitor, doing the paleo or the now popular high fat diet may be advised to you by your athletic coaches.
you should ask for a refund
^Agreed
Drive by silliness, she never came back to argue her position on how all those doing paleo are brain dead. <130 g of carbs you go crazy. Srs?
It's the RDA. Why should she argue it?
I don't think it's the 130 g number that is the issue but her claims of what happens when you eat less than 130 grams.
Eta - paleo is not necessarily low carb. Many people who do it end up low carb since a lot of common high carb foods are not permitted, but you can still get higher levels of carbs.
Also, it's moot when you are talking about normal diets. She was probably taught the needs in the context of starvation/VLCD.
The brain runs as effectively on a mixture of ketones and glucose (approx 30g) in the absence of sufficient glucose levels.
This can be as a result of starvation, fasting or LCHF.
I think the claim of the brain can ONLY run on glucose is the main questioning of the post IMO.0 -
Is the reason hypothesized for these results correct? I don't know. It seems plausible to me. And, more importantly, the results are confirmed in my life.
For others, they notice no difference. I think those folks are super lucky. I wish I could feel the exact same eating grains, sweets and lots of carbs. I just don't. But, man o man, do I wish I could eat all the pastries, desserts, breads, etc. so long as I stayed within my calorie goals --- but, it just doesn't work for me nearly as well.
This0 -
Hi, [Nutrition student at UC Davis, currently taking 4 different nutrition classes taught by doctors who specialize in fields like 'fad diets'. United States medical and nutrition journals have shown the paleo diet to be a success in individual's weight loss goals, however it is not sustainable and should be monitored very carefully. It's also important to understand how the paleo diet works physiologically. If you are consuming (in general, varies by person due to genetic variation) less than 130g of carbohydrates a day (carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes) in 4-7 days your body will become ketonic and you may experience dizziness, loss of appetite and weight loss. So what is ketonic and why are you losing weight? - Carbohydrates are broken down into thousands of glucose units and stored at 'glycogen' in your muscles. Glycogen is a huge energy source for your body and is used during physical activity. Glycogen is also stored with water. So when you go on a paleo diet your body starts to become depleted of its glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with water you also lose lots of water weight - which can be anywhere from 5-10lbs of water. Your brain NEEDS glucose for energy, glucose is the ONLY energy that the brain uses and the recommended 130g of carbohydrates a day is based off of what your brain uses per day (again varies person to person). So if this diet is prolonged your body will start to become ketonic - which means that because you have no stores of glycogen, and limited blood glucose available as fuel, your body will start to break down proteins - you will feel lethargic, have bad breath, offensive flatulence, ect. Again these results MAY vary from person to person, however the research is solid on how you body deals with under consuming carbohydrates. Which is why any nutritionist, dietician would not recommend a diet, but rather a mixed diet. If you are however a professional athlete or competitor, doing the paleo or the now popular high fat diet may be advised to you by your athletic coaches.
you should ask for a refund
^Agreed
Drive by silliness, she never came back to argue her position on how all those doing paleo are brain dead. <130 g of carbs you go crazy. Srs?
It's the RDA. Why should she argue it?
As the magical limit of ketosis. And the clear misunderstanding of ketone metabolism (hint she's talking about protein breakdown) and gluconeogenesis. So much win in that post.0 -
Hi, [Nutrition student at UC Davis, currently taking 4 different nutrition classes taught by doctors who specialize in fields like 'fad diets'. United States medical and nutrition journals have shown the paleo diet to be a success in individual's weight loss goals, however it is not sustainable and should be monitored very carefully. It's also important to understand how the paleo diet works physiologically. If you are consuming (in general, varies by person due to genetic variation) less than 130g of carbohydrates a day (carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes) in 4-7 days your body will become ketonic and you may experience dizziness, loss of appetite and weight loss. So what is ketonic and why are you losing weight? - Carbohydrates are broken down into thousands of glucose units and stored at 'glycogen' in your muscles. Glycogen is a huge energy source for your body and is used during physical activity. Glycogen is also stored with water. So when you go on a paleo diet your body starts to become depleted of its glycogen stores and because glycogen is stored with water you also lose lots of water weight - which can be anywhere from 5-10lbs of water. Your brain NEEDS glucose for energy, glucose is the ONLY energy that the brain uses and the recommended 130g of carbohydrates a day is based off of what your brain uses per day (again varies person to person). So if this diet is prolonged your body will start to become ketonic - which means that because you have no stores of glycogen, and limited blood glucose available as fuel, your body will start to break down proteins - you will feel lethargic, have bad breath, offensive flatulence, ect. Again these results MAY vary from person to person, however the research is solid on how you body deals with under consuming carbohydrates. Which is why any nutritionist, dietician would not recommend a diet, but rather a mixed diet. If you are however a professional athlete or competitor, doing the paleo or the now popular high fat diet may be advised to you by your athletic coaches.
you should ask for a refund
^Agreed
Drive by silliness, she never came back to argue her position on how all those doing paleo are brain dead. <130 g of carbs you go crazy. Srs?
It's the RDA. Why should she argue it?
As the magical limit of ketosis. And the clear misunderstanding of ketone metabolism (hint she's talking about protein breakdown) and gluconeogenesis. So much win in that post.
Yeah. I got her a couple sources.0 -
Not all brain function requires glucose. Some brain function absolutely requires glucose, but it's only something like 25%. The rest is more than happy to use ketones as its fuel source.
But why bother?
Some people have a harder time with carbs, so for them, it's easier to eat a high fat low carb diet. That's especially true for people with issues like insulin resistance.
It is not true for most people, and it silly to suggest to someone who has no health issues.
Well, some groups estimate that 25% of the US population -- or 80 million people -- have insulin resistance. And that takes quite a threshold to become insulin resistance. So, it's not absurd to think that there are quite a few people with carb sensitivity issues, even if they don't rise to the level of Celiacs, Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.
And, there are many that didn't think they had any issues (myself included) and were shocked at how much better they felt after eliminating grains from their diet. As I said, I've known quite a few people who had this experience and it's not an uncommon experience among those that have tried Paleo/Primal -- you see other MFPers having said the same thing. So, it doesn't seem all that silly to me.
Insulin resistance is no reason to eliminate grains entirely.0
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