Let's talk about...the Paleo Diet

StarkLark

And just to clear up all the "ignorance" I've been spreading in this thread...

Owning a wooly mammoth and defending it from saber tooth tiger attacks IS IN NO WAY a required part of the paleo diet!

Carry on!

LorinaLynn

I am not grumpy in the least. I do not like ignorance.

I don't go around making fun of others, I don't get pleasure from doing so.

I prefer to treat others as I want to be treated, so I don't delve myself into ignorance.

Calling the food others eat "crap" is kinda making fun of them, no? I mean... I love pasta, pizza and cupcakes, and none of them are made of fecal matter.

twinmom01

That ties into where I said "different shapes and sizes." None of that changes the way the body functions. You burn more calories than you take in, weight decreases, you take in more calories than you burn, weight increases. You match intake with burn, weight maintains. Individual set points vary, but the concept doesn't change.

How does one explain those that do seem to rev up thier bodies metabolism and loose weight when removing the vast majority of processed, grain foods....

Just saying - I had a diet that included complex carbs from grain sources and some processed foods and I was lucky if I saw a weight loss of about a lb a month -

Once I dropped all processed foods and carbs from grain sources I started loosing more all while intaking and expending out the same amount of calories...

For SOME people it isn't a matter of simply calories in - calories out - WHERE those calories come from and how it fuels your body is far more important...

A lot of the people who choose the Paleo lifestyle do so for a variety of reasons - some have health issues and need to be on a low carb/low sugar - which Paleo is easily adjustable to do...others like myself have tried the "traditional" way and found it doesn't work - so they read...I READ A LOT to come to the conclusion to try it - I figured it couldn't hurt if the "traditional" way wasn't working so great for me either...

Acg67

I have no doubt many people have lost weight, feel better etc while following the Paleo diet, but instead of anecdotal evidence let's try and delve into the scientific backing of the diet

Oh wait

I...I...I...

[img]http://img822.imageshack.us/ img822/6366/gdfgde.th.png[/img]

kikih64

Bump...can't wait to see where else this thread goes!

LillysGranny

The idea of the Paleo diet goes against what we have all heard all of our lives--that alone is not a good reason to knock it. What i do question is what is Paleo food. My thought would be that when the agricultural revolution came around and people decided to start growing grains, it was because they were already eating wild grains. So maybe their diets were NOT grain based, but I just can't beleive that one day about 10,000 years ago out of the blue some dude just said, "You know what, I think I can plow the earth and grow this stuff. And even though we've never eaten it before, I think we should start."

Sofithomas

For me 'Paleo' isn't a diet or way to lose weight, its a way of feeling energised and healthy. Ever since giving up grains for the most part I feel sooo much less sluggish and happier, and is the only 'diet' for me that I have been able to maintain. I actually can see people gain a lot easier on paleo, as they may disregard calories an think 'oh, this is natural, so its fine' and eat 3k cals worth of nuts haha!

Admittedly paleo has helped me shed body fat but EVERYBODY is different, at the end of the day its calories in calories out, no magic formula of low carb or diet (btw my carbs are fairly high ue to the amount of veg I eat) so regardless of the way you want to eat/spread those calories is completely your choice. For me I just need as much energy and liveliness as possible for my A Level exams so I choose this way of eating

RonSwanson66

You don't see Paleo lifestyle people creating forums just to bash those of you eating your processed crap.

If you really believe this, then you haven't been paying attention.

RonSwanson66

I have no doubt many people have lost weight, feel better etc while following the Paleo diet, but instead of anecdotal evidence let's try and delve into the scientific backing of the diet

Oh wait

I...I...I...

[img]http://img822.imageshack.us/ img822/6366/gdfgde.th.png[/img]

Reading comprehension? On this board?

Good luck with that.

Acg67

I have no doubt many people have lost weight, feel better etc while following the Paleo diet, but instead of anecdotal evidence let's try and delve into the scientific backing of the diet

Oh wait

I...I...I...

[img]http://img822.imageshack.us/ img822/6366/gdfgde.th.png[/img]

Reading comprehension? On this board?

Good luck with that.

Low carbs...

ElPumaMex

I have no doubt many people have lost weight, feel better etc while following the Paleo diet, but instead of anecdotal evidence let's try and delve into the scientific backing of the diet

Oh wait

I...I...I...

[img]http://img822.imageshack.us/ img822/6366/gdfgde.th.png[/img]

Reading comprehension? On this board?

Good luck with that.

Low carbs...

Yes.

What attracted me to make comments on this thread, was the premise of finding out a scientific basis for the Paleo diet.
Same way as the author of this thread, I know there is plenty of anectdotal information, but what interests me are Scientific studies, or at least arguments based on scjence.

Also, as expresed before, I realized the larger question was:
Why even care of how the Paleo men ate? What makes you think they knew best, or that their diet was optimal?

No one here has responded to that question.
Anyone? :huh:

CptCappie

All this diet bashing is just shameful. Just sayin'

Oh and to the person who posted the historical art (LorinaLynn), The first image was a fertility goddess. Not a representation of a "Paleo woman".

modernmom70

Ok what I don't get is why paleo people think everyone else is eating crap and unethically?
I eat clean, buy local in season, try hard to only eat grass fed ethically raised meat and dairy, and I eat no processed foods. Yet I am not paleo, nor would I ever wish to be....anyones choice is theirs.....I go by the addage Eat food, not much and mostly plants.
And don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. HOWEVER....I don't shove this opinion down anyones throat or say my way is better(I may think it but keep it to myself)...except of course my children who I am responsible for feeding!

fieldsy4life

ACG, I want to come out and say that I do like your posts. You don't let emotion affect your delivery (which I have a problem with) and you also more often than not back up your statements with published studies.

I'm just curious about what your goal is. Are you genuinely concerned that practitioners of the Paleo diet are going to die at age 30? (2 years to go for me, nice knowing you all)

Also, most of us are following the Primal diet, which is defined by Mark Sisson. He has a published book and a fantastic blog - http://marksdailyapple.com. It is less restrictive. I also tell everyone to cheat once in a while, especially if it's affecting your social life. Will eating peanuts and cashews kill you? Nope. Cream in your coffee? Nope, totally safe. I just used blue cheese dressing and I feel fine.

However, going gluten free has been a god-send for me. No more digestive troubles. No more "food comas" after lunch at work. No more feeling wiped-out when I get home, which has allowed me to crush it in the gym (and get me even more results). You and I have spoken about Ketogenic diets in the past, and I respectfully agree to disagree on your stance. Ultimately, I'm happy with the results, and will post pictures in May when I finish up this last round of Keto.

Let's face it - Paleo/Primal are new and there won't be decades worth of research into them. But I encourage people to give it a shot IF THEY WANT TO. I wanted to - and I'm glad I did. I also encourage all my Paleo/Primal practitioners to supplement with a multivitamin since there is a good chance they aren't eating enough vegetables and enough variety.

I'm going to send you a friend request though - I'd like for you to check out my diary and feel free to hit me up anytime with specific questions.

Acg67

ACG, I want to come out and say that I do like your posts. You don't let emotion affect your delivery (which I have a problem with) and you also more often than not back up your statements with published studies.

I'm just curious about what your goal is. Are you genuinely concerned that practitioners of the Paleo diet are going to die at age 30? (2 years to go for me, nice knowing you all)

Also, most of us are following the Primal diet, which is defined by Mark Sisson. He has a published book and a fantastic blog - http://marksdailyapple.com. It is less restrictive. I also tell everyone to cheat once in a while, especially if it's affecting your social life. Will eating peanuts and cashews kill you? Nope. Cream in your coffee? Nope, totally safe. I just used blue cheese dressing and I feel fine.

The goal was to actually delve into the claims of the Paleo diet being the diet for optimal health and it's supposed superiority to other diets in areas of weight loss, health and athletic performance. And instead of focusing on anecdotal evidence, is there any scientific backing to these claims.

Silverkittycat

I also encourage all my Paleo/Primal practitioners to supplement with a multivitamin since there is a good chance they aren't eating enough vegetables and enough variety.

Shouldn't an ideal diet provide enough that there'd be no need for supplementation?
Not trying to argue with you, I'm just curious.

fieldsy4life

Ahhh gotcha. Well, I'm going to say that it is not the Golden Diet. It is by no means appropriate for everyone.

Personally, I think I always suffered from some form of gluten intolerance, so going grain free could be the reason why I feel so much better. I also do have lactose intolerance to some degree as well, so while I can eat a cheeseburger or use butter in my eggs, cream in my coffee - I could never drink a glass of milk or eat a bowl of cereal without paying for it afterwards.

I have a friend who is a strict vegetarian - and her diet is working great for her. I also a friend with Celiac disease, who is grain-free, but that's where her ties to Paleo end.

To me, a diet is only as effective as the individual practicing it. I found that by following the Paleo/Primal archetype (and making a few tweaks to fit my lifestyle), I've been able to eat cleaner, which has helped my gains at the gym and body-fat reduction.

I'm just glad that your investing time into researching the subject, and not basing your views off of something you saw on Dr. Oz (I like his show, but he hates Paleo from what I can gather).

fieldsy4life

One last thing: if anyone has been dieting for months and it isn't working, it could be worth looking into Paleo/Primal or low-carb; or just switching up your routine altogether. I've said this before - don't knock it till you try it.

If what you're doing is working, and you're content with the results, then stick with it! Suggesting that there is 1 golden diet is not realistic though, and I will not back up any Paleo/Primal practitioners who force feed it down the throats of other users. We are all different, and respond differently to what we put into our bodies. You just need to find what fits you.

LorinaLynn

All this diet bashing is just shameful. Just sayin'

Oh and to the person who posted the historical art (LorinaLynn), The first image was a fertility goddess. Not a representation of a "Paleo woman".

Yeah. I know. I'm an artist. It's a joke... but also evidence that humans have been enjoying grains and dairy for thousands of years. You know... "processed crap."

I wouldn't be surprised, though, if the fertility goddess was their ideal woman. It's only been in very recent history that a slender woman was desirable. Having a woman with ample body fat was proof that you were a good provider. In good times, when there was a lot of food to be had, I'm sure people were pretty darn big, no matter if they ate an excess of bison or grains. In times of famine, they were lean.

Edited to add: I don't care how anyone wants to eat. I just don't think there's any magic way any of us should eat. My sister does great on low carb. I do great on lots of carbs. A friend with a gluten allergy avoids gluten. A friend with a dairy intolerance avoids dairy.

I'll totally concede that I might have a flatter stomach if I didn't like breads so much... but I'm perfectly happy with both my stomach AND the foods I eat. The amount of happiness that I might get from having a six-pack would not outweigh the happiness I get from my breakfast bagel or weekly pizza. And one happiness is not any more or less valid than another.

vim_n_vigor

bump for later.