PALEO and Calories
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maria_antoinette
Posts: 239 Member
I switched from LOW calorie/ high carb to PALEO... I brought my calories up from like 800-1000 to around 1200-1500 a day and lost a few lbs.. for a variety of reasons.. A+ on PALEO... and i am not hungry anymore like i use to be...
My question is this.. If i wanted to lose 5 more lbs... what should i do.. or i just cant because my weight is allready low at 130... I would love to weigh 125.. will this just happen since this is my new lifestyle and it might take years or will i be forever stuck on 130 which is FINE.. but like i would love to lose 5 more lbs.
My question is this.. If i wanted to lose 5 more lbs... what should i do.. or i just cant because my weight is allready low at 130... I would love to weigh 125.. will this just happen since this is my new lifestyle and it might take years or will i be forever stuck on 130 which is FINE.. but like i would love to lose 5 more lbs.
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Hello. I'm glad you increased your calories because 1000 is too low for anyone but a small child. Actually 1200 - 1500 is too low as well.
The thing about Paleo is that it is not a short-term diet with the goal of losing weight - Paleo is a lifestyle for *health.* A person practicing a Paleo lifestyle/diet is not going to count calories. The focus is on the food and quality of what you are putting into your body. Focus on your health instead of chasing a number on the scale. I don't mean to sound harsh but I think we as a society have become obsessed with the scale and let it dictate our lives. We abuse our bodies chasing after a number and I really wish this wasn't so.
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I would just keep doing what you're doing, maybe add in some light cardio or weight lifting. If the 5lbs comes off, then it comes off. And it might, just slower than you would like. As someone who has the tendency to obsess about the scale number myself, I know it's hard not to be fixated on that magic number you want to see. But I encourage you to focus on the health benefits you are getting from paleo. As you mentioned, they truly are fantastic!! You may find you look better than you thought you could and that '125' number will become irrelevant. I've experienced softer skin, shinier hair, and more energy overall in addition to some fat loss.0
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I agree that 1200-1500 is still low unless you are extremely sedentary and do nothing but sit all day long every single day. If you are that sedentary, then there is your answer...get up and move. If you aren't more than just a bump on a log you may want to consider upping your calories a little bit more. There may be a slight weight gain at first but then things will level off and you'll lose weight again.
Being so close to your goal is difficult and at that point going by how your clothes fit and measurements is a much better way to assess your progress and assign your goals.0 -
I mean this is a lifestyle "permanent" change.. the PALEO thing... so already that's excellent.. i guess 5 lbs. would be icing on the cake for me.............. it will have to come from adding the gym MORE like you said because i cant go back to LOW calorie.. 1) its not healthy AND 2) it does not work.. AT ALL....... I fixed the hunger & "useless food" issue with PALEO\
.. but i i just think LONG term with no sugar or unhealthy starch and no dairy has to result in MORE weight loss in my head............. maybe i am just close to the correct metabolic weight and thats it.... 5'4" 130 lbs. 45 years old.. MAYBE this is the best weight....0 -
You've made a post on this before. If your body needs to lose another 5 pounds and you are eating healthy foods and watching the sugar, you will eventually lose any excess. Might take years though. However, you may not need to lose more WEIGHT (or you may lose muscle instead of fat- not really what you want, I don't think).
No, you may not have more weight loss but you will certainly get a better body composition if you maintain the muscle you have and eat properly most of the time and move your body, including maintaining/building strength.
Please, throw that scale out the window. The idea that you must see a specific number on the scale really is not the way to approach a long term Paleo lifestyle. And 1200-1500 is far far far too few calories. You will lose lean body mass and slow your metabolism by persisting with that.0 -
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And the first part: http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts/
Thanks, Nutmeg, for sharing... I'm reading this and may even post it on my bathroom wall and look at it every single time I think of getting the stupid scale out.0 -
To add to the list of reading material that shows how unimportant the scale is (especially at weights closer to the ideal for a given height/frame) --
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/0 -
Over the past 20 years.. every single time i feel thin (like now) i sometimes have let go of the scale and i suddenly gained 10 lbs..
therefore the BEST way for me personally to not go past 135 is to have that scale..... its just how it goes for me...
i am at goal weight or around goal weight for MANY MANY years now... and loggin in the food i eat is also a way that i keep in check.... i mean it works 100% of the time.... so far has never failed...
Once you are at goal weight or close to it.. i find that maintenance is alot more work... so thats the stage i am in MOST of the time....... Losing weight has always been easy for me.. but maintaining it without CHECKING on myself has been impossible..0 -
BUt, you have also never been paleo before.0
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ahhhh exactly !! and thats why i am so happy :smooched: .. i am hoping after a while with the PALEO makes the scale a non issue...for now i will monitor and little by little i will add more calories and the scale will have normal fluctuations!!!!!!! i would idealy love to eat 1500-1800 calories a day and maintain 130 lbs.. or less.
so slow and steady for me... PALEO is definitely the best thing SO FAR for me..0 -
BUt, you have also never been paleo before.
THIS x a million. Leave the old lifestyle and ideas (all of which failed over the long term or you wouldn't be here) and work to fully embrace the new one that IS working. Read the comments of the above mentioned articles as well; very illuminating. Open your mind to CHANGE and adopting a healthier relationship with food, exercise and one's own body. I'm not just saying this you, but to myself as well.0 -
PALEO is working our great for me... but i only have been on it for 2 months.. not jumping off the scale or stop logging or learning or reading..... this time i am sticking to a strict maintenance that includes weighing myself and logging in my food.. and if after a year this goes as planned.. then i will probably already have given up the scale....
but now.. in the MOST CRUCIAL TIME.. not giving up the scale..0 -
PALEO is working our great for me... but i only have been on it for 2 months.. not jumping off the scale or stop logging or learning or reading..... this time i am sticking to a strict maintenance that includes weighing myself and logging in my food.. and if after a year this goes as planned.. then i will probably already have given up the scale....
but now.. in the MOST CRUCIAL TIME.. not giving up the scale..
Ok, but you have some people here with many years of experience with calorie and scale obsession. Do what works for you; however, if you post in the forums we will give our two cents based on our fails and wins. I've been Paleo two years and I deeply regret the damage done by calorie and scale obsession that I brought from my previous lifestyle, cuz in a way I'm further behind than when I started in regards to body composition/muscle mass/metabolism. If you are already maintaining there is no better time than now to work on the other things and shift focus fully to HEALTH. I'm doing that now just so I CAN get to a healthier state and eventually be the best I can be (not according to the scale). If you keep posting about calories and body weight some of us will keep reminding about Paleo values that focus on health not calories and body weight. Or some of us will give up.
(Thanks to those who didn't give up on me! I'm so grateful.)0 -
My focus is to not gain the weight back, maybe lose some more and at the same time be healthy.. Thats my ENTIRE point of why I like PALEO so far and why i am here...... but I still have alot to learn about it and understand...So this is why i post what i am doing and how its going... its a support group.. and i totally need support to keep this going.. maintenance is HARD0
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My focus is to not gain the weight back, maybe lose some more and at the same time be healthy.. Thats my ENTIRE point of why I like PALEO so far and why i am here...... but I still have alot to learn about it and understand...So this is why i post what i am doing and how its going... its a support group.. and i totally need support to keep this going.. maintenance is HARD
See the bold? This is the part most of us take issue with. This is the root of your scale obsession, and is what we're saying is UNhealthy. Drop that focus and focus on health above all else. Do things that make you healthy, and maintaining will come a lot more easily.
Again, please read http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/ . The scale is not all that matters. In fact, in that article, Staci gained 11 pounds since she started lifting, but it was 11 pounds of healthy weight, and she looks a million times better, because she did things that were healthy and didn't focus so much on an arbitrary number on the scale.Believe it or not, she’s 11 pounds HEAVIER (142 pounds) in the picture on the right (May 2011) compared to the picture on the left (131 pounds, October 2010).
So what the hell happened? How the heck does she look like she weighs less even though she weighs more?
She packed on the right kind of weight while getting rid of the wrong kind.
When you strength train with very heavy weights for low numbers of repetitions, you build incredibly DENSE, tight muscle. It’s funny, but if you really want that toned look in your legs, stomach, and arms – picking up small weights and doing lots of repetitions isn’t doing anything – it’s really heavy weights with low repetition that will sculpt the body you’re after.
On top of super heavy strength training, Staci had to eat between 3000-4000 calories per day (all healthy calories, mind you) to put on the extra weight. Had she not overloaded her system with calories, she wouldn’t have gained an ounce.
As we’ve learned from Mark Twight, trainer for the actors from 300, “appearance is a consequence of fitness.” Rather than worrying about every calorie, every ounce of food, and every pound on the scale, Staci put her focus into getting stronger – she ate to get stronger, she exercised to get stronger, she lived to get stronger.:
“The thing that I really gained the most in all of this is that I’m now comfortable with who I am. I’m comfortable in my skin, I’m not nearly as shy and awkward as I used to be, I’m not afraid to try new things. I stand up for myself. I learned about failure and success, and I’m not afraid to try something (and fail) over and over again even if people are watching. My attitude for life pretty much just changed. I still remember the day I looked at my legs and said “you know what, these are the legs that help me deadlift, so who cares what they look like.
So the whole point in all of this is really that yeah, appearance is one thing, but it’s not the main goal. I would gain ten pounds tomorrow if it meant I could add 50lbs to my deadlift.”0 -
To maintain your goal weight in my opinion is harder then losing weight. Losing weight you can do on any diet...but I have been on maintenance for years... PALEO MIGHT be the answer to STAY at goal weight without trying to hard........ I am logging in what i eat and weighing myself at least once or twice a week to make sure i am on a good path.. slowly adding more calories.. at the same time i am going to doctor to get full checkups and making sure i am 100% A-OK...
IF I DONT go up in weight... SUCCESS!!! so we will see in a few months...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! until then.. its logging and weighing and reading..
this is fun ! I love doing this. I should have done this a long time ago... 0 -
I don't generally say this, but I think you would really benefit from doing a Whole 30. Buy and read the book "It starts with Food". Read it once and then read it again.0
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I don't generally say this, but I think you would really benefit from doing a Whole 30. Buy and read the book "It starts with Food". Read it once and then read it again.
Someone gave me this link. THIS IS GREAT.. has all the answers to all my questions.. I have to find this person to thank them..
It talks about the TIMING of the food.. etc... and the 30 day thing you are saying
http://www.chewfo.com/diets/your-personal-paleo-code-by-chris-kresser-2013-food-list/0
