Hard to eat enough calories on the Paleo Diet

djicon

Hi, I've been doing the Paleo diet for the last couple weeks and although I really like it, I haven't been able to eat enough calories to reach my daily goal. To solve this, I've been eating more nuts, avocados, protein shakes - but protein powder is made from whey or soy, both not accepted for Paleo. I don't want my body to go in a catabolic state from not eating enough, my goal is to lose body fat while still building lean muscle mass as I don't need to lose any more weight. Anyone have any pointers?

darkangel45422

You could try eating more carb heavy foods such as yams or sweet potatoes (still Paleo approved but minimized for those trying to lose weight). Since you're not trying to lose weight your carbs can be a bit higher, and thus you'd intake a few extra calories than if you were eating just veggies or other low-cal options.

twinmom01

Instead of shakes - what about some jerky? you get the added protien without it being in a shake...grab some hard boiled eggs or a pouch of tuna?

I found the first week I was doing strict it was hard for me to get calories in and my body needed it (I wouldn't FEEL hungry but I knew I needed to eat something)...this week I am going a different route and going to try and up my jerky intake (luckly my husband hunts and makes his own deer jerky (and I make him use Coconut aminos instead of soy sauce with the marinade to make sure it is pure Paleo) ) and have decided for my afternoon snack - baby carrots dipped in guacamole with chopped tomatoes - so combo of protien/fats and a little bit of carbs...

MikeFlyMike

I would suggest a slightly different tactic. Eat 1g of protein for each lb of muscle mass (you probably have a good enough guess).
Then do some solid resistance training 3x a week.
You kind of need to think about burning fat and growing muscle as two separate events.

Doing both simultaneously is a difficult task.
If you have extra fat on your body, it needs to go - muscle will get built by ensuring enough protein and proper resistance training (and rest).

rebeccap13

I take whey when I need it. Dairy doesn't bother me like gluten does so I have no problem supplementing with a relatively junk free protein supp like the whey isolate I use. That being said, I try really hard to get my protein from natural sources and then supplement after my last meal if I have to.

Jerky is a good suggestion but it is difficult to find paleo jerky at the store.

ganesha303

I am not familiar enough with Paleo vs Primal, but I supplement with Whey and Casein and it works great for me.

mrselbow

Fat, fat, fat! Include Ghee and oils in all of your cooking....

Why are you counting calories on Paleo? It sort of goes against the overall goal..?

Smonks00

I take whey when I need it. Dairy doesn't bother me like gluten does so I have no problem supplementing with a relatively junk free protein supp like the whey isolate I use. That being said, I try really hard to get my protein from natural sources and then supplement after my last meal if I have to.

Jerky is a good suggestion but it is difficult to find paleo jerky at the store.

just wanted to share.. that there is yummy paleo jerky at www.stevesoriginal.com. there is one store in my town that sells it, and they mark it up pretty high. So i buy it on line. but it is sooooo good! i would recommend getting that Jerky

rebeccap13

I take whey when I need it. Dairy doesn't bother me like gluten does so I have no problem supplementing with a relatively junk free protein supp like the whey isolate I use. That being said, I try really hard to get my protein from natural sources and then supplement after my last meal if I have to.

Jerky is a good suggestion but it is difficult to find paleo jerky at the store.

just wanted to share.. that there is yummy paleo jerky at www.stevesoriginal.com. there is one store in my town that sells it, and they mark it up pretty high. So i buy it on line. but it is sooooo good! i would recommend getting that Jerky

I've seen that online, I was going to crunch the numbers and see how much more expensive it really is. I also might try to make some with the elk steaks I have.

ganesha303

I just made my own jerky last weekend from London broil and it came out amazing!

djicon

thank you for the recommendation! i just ordered the sampler to try out some of the products, it all looks great! wish i had known about this before i took this trip, all airport food is inedible and definitely not paleo friendly. i will be glad to have these for my next trip in a couple weeks.

djicon

Fat, fat, fat! Include Ghee and oils in all of your cooking....

Why are you counting calories on Paleo? It sort of goes against the overall goal..?

doesn't matter what diet i'm on... i need to be eating enough calories to sustain my BMR to avoid going into a catabolic state from all the training i do.