long term effects of paleo diet

dadoffo

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so i have two questions:

1, has anyone here done and been sucessful with the paleo diet for a long period of time? (years and years)

2, has anyone tried paleo/primal, i mean REALLY tried it and not liked it?

thanks!

p.s. if you start a debate on here or reply with anything besides what i asked i will report you immediatly

Warning from the staff. Be careful guys.

weathergirl320

so far no one has tried it who didnt like it? and not many long-term practitioners on here? im asking here because if i go to a specific "paleo" website, of course its going to be full of people who love it. but here there is more of a general community in the message boards so i wanted to see how many people a, could or couldnt keep it up long term or 2, did it and just didnt like it.

One of your first responders did it and didn't like it, but has friends that were on the diet and do like it.

got it. i looked back and re-read. sorry i missed that one through the madness lol. thanks!

UsedToBeHusky

I've lost almost 70 lbs in about 10 months by exercising and eating a strict Paleo diet in addition to grains, legumes, and dairy.

I've lost over 80 lbs in the same amount of time by exercising and eating what I want.

Jeff92se

I've lost almost 70 lbs in about 10 months by exercising and eating a strict Paleo diet in addition to grains, legumes, and dairy.

I've lost over 80 lbs in the same amount of time by exercising and eating what I want.

I dunno. I try get fit so I can eat what I want. Not to get fit and be a slave to my diet for the rest of my life.

Acg67

so far no one has tried it who didnt like it? and not many long-term practitioners on here? im asking here because if i go to a specific "paleo" website, of course its going to be full of people who love it. but here there is more of a general community in the message boards so i wanted to see how many people a, could or couldnt keep it up long term or 2, did it and just didnt like it.

it sounds like you are starting a discussion, and by the standard you set forth in your OP....REPORTED!

i was attempting to elaborate on the original questions i asked that have gotten pushed aside by random commentary and pictures of hitler. oh well. my mistake for expecting reasonable answers to completely legitimate questions.

Interesting, I tried to do the same thing once and it was hijacked by people making lots of arguments against something no one ever claimed

i think i know what you are referring to, and as i recall i was one of the few who actually gave you the scientific studies you asked for. you were the one who deemed them "not meaningful". so i was one of the few who posted a legit answer to the question you posted. and although our opinions differ on few points, i appreciate that you were one of the few on here who gave me an actual legitimate answer and not just making a fool of themselves. thanks

your welcome, however you do realize that there was never an actual debate on if saturated fat was bad and those were the studies you were posting with. But you did at least try to keep it high level and for that I can respect

killagb

I've lost almost 70 lbs in about 10 months by exercising and eating a strict Paleo diet in addition to grains, legumes, and dairy.

I've lost over 80 lbs in the same amount of time by exercising and eating what I want.

Which is what the person you quoted did...being that 'strict Paleo' is no grains...legumes...or dairy. :laugh:

Soon2BeMrsThomson

1, has anyone here done and been sucessful with the paleo diet for a long period of time? (years and years)

I have not. I have no desire to.

2, has anyone tried paleo/primal, i mean REALLY tried it and not liked it?

I've tried atkins. Does that count? I couldn't get past the induction phase. I hated being in ketosis. I was MISERABLE. I think paleo has an induction phase too... with the goal of putting you into ketosis. The physiological effects will be the same for everyone- how they respond to those physiological effects will be different. Physiological might not be the right word.... hmm... well it does the same thing on a cellular level to everyone. But some experience nausea, weakness, brain-fog, etc... to a greater extent than others.

p.s. if you start a debate on here or reply with anything besides what i asked i will report you immediatly

I found this particular comment extraordinarily rude. You don't own the site. You aren't a moderator. And there's nothing wrong with good, healthy debate. I have learned a lot on this forum from some very intelligent folks who actually do their homework. You'd benefit from a more open approach- even if people say things you disagree with/don't like- you might actually learn something useful from them. If you read what they have to say, think about it, do your own research, and still disagree with them? Rather than report them, why don't you just say "I disagree", state your reasons, and go on with your life? Alternatively, you can just ignore them. That works wonders too.

The report button is for people who actually violate the rules of the site. It's not for people who violate your own personal rules or for people who disagree with you.

thanks!

You're welcome. Good luck with your journey.

Actually nearly did a wee at this post - HILARIOUS!!!

weathergirl320

I've lost almost 70 lbs in about 10 months by exercising and eating a strict Paleo diet in addition to grains, legumes, and dairy.

I've lost over 80 lbs in the same amount of time by exercising and eating what I want.

I dunno. I try get fit so I can eat what I want. Not to get fit and be a slave to my diet for the rest of my life.

yes i like that however i was recently diagnosed with celiac and i have had thyroid disease for about 9 years. and when i found out i couldnt eat wheat products anymore, and finding alternate wheat free lifestyles, i stumbled upon the paleo diet. i had been dieting for about 7 of those 9 years doing everything "in moderation" and balooned to 170 lbs. so anyways, when i found the whole paleo concept, it spoke to me because what i was doing didnt work, and i had to cut wheat anywyas. i mean i know there are gluten free options out there but a chocolate chip cookie made with wheat or rice flower is still a cookie and not necessarily "healthy". thats how i found palo but havent been doing it for very long, and the paleo/primal websites are of course loaded with stuff promoting it. i just wanted to see a general consensus of how many people have given it a try, and of those people, how many have stuck with it and how many liked/didnt like it.

twinmom01

so i have two questions:

1, has anyone here done and been sucessful with the paleo diet for a long period of time? (years and years)

2, has anyone tried paleo/primal, i mean REALLY tried it and not liked it?

thanks!

p.s. if you start a debate on here or reply with anything besides what i asked i will report you immediatly

Seriously I wish people would behave like grown-ups...the OP asked a simple question knowing the controversy it causes...and how people who don't know a darn thing about it chime in with "well i heard...." "from what I know"

Here is the basic gist of the Paleo LIFESTYLE in a nutshell - eat meat, eat veggies, eat fruit, eat good fats, eat nuts...if you want to swing to the Primal LIFESTYLE - add in dairy - use natural sources of sugars, like honey and maple sugar sparingly

what to basically leave out - added sugars, grains, beans

Does it work for everyone - NOPE....does everyone want to drop certain things from their way of eating NOPE....

IT IS NOT LOW CARB...my goodness - everytime I see someone complaining about not wanting to try Paleo because they have to watch thier carbs or they won't get enough fiber I want to bang my head in...veggies and fruits have carbs and fiber....

IT IS NOT A DIET either...it is a lifestyle way of eating...

I can eat 3000 calories a day and rack up 400 grams of carbs and still be eating within the Paleo lifestyle...

Maybe it is the NAME - Paleo - yes it comes from the idea of eating what our ancestors ate before the invention of crops...yes I am sure they ate grains at some point...the basic gist is that the basic diet of today simply does not work for some people...so some of us have read and researched and decided to try this lifestyle way of eating and found that not only do we feel better, but we find it is sustainable over the long haul....

Obviously it isn't for everyone and if someone feels they can't or won't give up something they are eating then that is their own perogative and decision for thier own eating habits.

to answer your questions....

1) There have been a number of people who have eaten a Paleo/Primal lifestyle over a number of years and they do just fine. Personally I have only begun my journey and have been eating with a Paleo/Primal slant for the past 6 months and spent the past month doing a strict Paleo - I found no problem eating this way at all, but then again I was open to trying new food and making some switches to what I was eating.

2) I have had some friends try and simply could not "give" up pasta or beans and felt like they were being deprived because they "couldn't" eat something like ice cream...My opinion is you are an adult that makes your own decisions...because you choose to make decisions about what you will or will not eat you can't blame that on the eating style...

I have been on a 2 year journey to clean up my diet...after trying different eating styles - low fat, low carb, vegetarian, etc...and reading and reading and reading and all along the way slowly cutting out things here and there it got to a point where I was eating clean about 80% of my diet and that 80% pretty much followed the Primal blueprint...after reading more I decided to cut down that remaning 20 % which lead me to eating strict Paleo for the past 30 days - first to see if I had the willpower and dedication within myself to do it...after all it is only 30 days...and 2nd to see if I found it doable and sustainable within my current life structure.

My conclusion is FOR ME it is doable and sustainable for a long haul...however, I have decided to add back in some of the dairy things I like - butter, some cheeses and if and when I decide I may want a treat (like some popcorn or a fancy starbucks drink ) then by god I'm going to eat a treat

Since I am looking for some weight loss with my eating style it is the same as anyone else who is watching thier intake...just on a more narrower perimeters - for example I DO want to watch my carbs for the time being...for me it was easy enough for me to look back a week on my food diary and see where I was getting the bulk of my Carbs - humm from my 2 servings of fruit a day...ok easy enough cycle that down to one a day and choose a lower carb/sugar fruit...so I now eat a lot of frozen blueberries and fresh strawberries and upped snacking on things like red pepper strips, nuts, jerky, cucumber...an easy switch for me...

The thing is at least for me - I don't MISS the sugary snacks or the big bowl of pasta - so i don't feel deprived....

With any way of eating the only way you know if it will work for you is to try it out for yourself because everyone is different - everyone is going to have a different reaction...

weathergirl320

so far no one has tried it who didnt like it? and not many long-term practitioners on here? im asking here because if i go to a specific "paleo" website, of course its going to be full of people who love it. but here there is more of a general community in the message boards so i wanted to see how many people a, could or couldnt keep it up long term or 2, did it and just didnt like it.

it sounds like you are starting a discussion, and by the standard you set forth in your OP....REPORTED!

i was attempting to elaborate on the original questions i asked that have gotten pushed aside by random commentary and pictures of hitler. oh well. my mistake for expecting reasonable answers to completely legitimate questions.

Interesting, I tried to do the same thing once and it was hijacked by people making lots of arguments against something no one ever claimed

i think i know what you are referring to, and as i recall i was one of the few who actually gave you the scientific studies you asked for. you were the one who deemed them "not meaningful". so i was one of the few who posted a legit answer to the question you posted. and although our opinions differ on few points, i appreciate that you were one of the few on here who gave me an actual legitimate answer and not just making a fool of themselves. thanks

your welcome, however you do realize that there was never an actual debate on if saturated fat was bad and those were the studies you were posting with. But you did at least try to keep it high level and for that I can respect

i dont care to discuss it on this thread. you can message me if you really care to hear my reasoning. thanks!

ArroganceInStep

i think i know what you are referring to, and as i recall i was one of the few who actually gave you the scientific studies you asked for. you were the one who deemed them "not meaningful". so i was one of the few who posted a legit answer to the question you posted. and although our opinions differ on few points, i appreciate that you were one of the few on here who gave me an actual legitimate answer and not just making a fool of themselves. thanks

Some of the later responses in that thread had claimed (and I agree) that the evidence quoted didn't directly prove that earing a Paleo diet was better physiologically than some other non-Paleo diet with comparable caloric and nutritional intake.

From what I've seen, the diet is very polarizing. It does promote a healthy lifestyle insofar as it's not bad for you, and for some people it helps substantially as it curbs hunger cravings and binge tendencies. For others it's a very difficult diet to maintain as it restricts so many foods that many people really enjoy.

Ultimately it comes down to preference, if you can sustain Paleo long term it's great for you. If you can't, find another diet that has comparable nutritional intake and you'll be fine.

I personally would have to give up far too much that I really enjoy to truly follow the Paleo guidelines, though I do eat more whole, natural foods now that I'm on a diet.

thankyou4thevenom

No and no.

Sp1nGoddess

I have been trying the Primal version since Sept of last year. ( I still eat cheese but have eliminated wheat, other grains & beans and almost all sugar) So I have not been on it for years & years but I have noticed that when I do have a cheat and eat some wheat I have digestive distress...one cracker is Ok but a bowl of pasta is not. It could be that the body forgets how to digest wheat or that people who are successful on this diet had some version of wheat intolerance to begin with.

You should do some research. I read Wheat Belly by William Davis and The Primal Blueprint my Mark Sisson. There are lot's of books out there. I've also ready other points of view such as Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman who advocates a vegetarian diet. The evolution theory posed by the paleo/primal diets appealed to me. I think in general if you eat non-processed/minimally processed foods you will be better off whatever eating style you choose.

Good luck!

questionablemethods

so far no one has tried it who didnt like it? and not many long-term practitioners on here? im asking here because if i go to a specific "paleo" website, of course its going to be full of people who love it. but here there is more of a general community in the message boards so i wanted to see how many people a, could or couldnt keep it up long term or 2, did it and just didnt like it.

Question: Why does it matter if there are people who have tried it and not liked it? The only person who matters as far as finding a diet that works for you is YOU. (And, I suppose, your family if it is important that you eat the same as a spouse/kid/etc.)

If I took a survey about the number of people who have tried brussels sprouts and didn't like them, I might find that 80% of people on this site have tried them and didn't like them. But should that stop ME from liking them and eating them about once a week?

You might like it, you might not. But the only way to know is if you try it. All the surveying of MFP in the world isn't going to tell you that.

Jeff92se

Has anyone considered when humans were on this type of diet, they were also hunting for food and probably dedicating a great amount of time and energy for food gathering? ie.. exercise?

Weren't the Native Indians fit? They invented farming in North America right?

UsedToBeHusky

I've lost almost 70 lbs in about 10 months by exercising and eating a strict Paleo diet in addition to grains, legumes, and dairy.

I've lost over 80 lbs in the same amount of time by exercising and eating what I want.

I dunno. I try get fit so I can eat what I want. Not to get fit and be a slave to my diet for the rest of my life.

yes i like that however i was recently diagnosed with celiac and i have had thyroid disease for about 9 years. and when i found out i couldnt eat wheat products anymore, and finding alternate wheat free lifestyles, i stumbled upon the paleo diet. i had been dieting for about 7 of those 9 years doing everything "in moderation" and balooned to 170 lbs. so anyways, when i found the whole paleo concept, it spoke to me because what i was doing didnt work, and i had to cut wheat anywyas. i mean i know there are gluten free options out there but a chocolate chip cookie made with wheat or rice flower is still a cookie and not necessarily "healthy". thats how i found palo but havent been doing it for very long, and the paleo/primal websites are of course loaded with stuff promoting it. i just wanted to see a general consensus of how many people have given it a try, and of those people, how many have stuck with it and how many liked/didnt like it.

Well I'm going to jump out on a limb and gauge from the responses that the answer to your question is that very few have been able to sustain it long term.

Birder150

so i have two questions:

1, has anyone here done and been sucessful with the paleo diet for a long period of time? (years and years)

2, has anyone tried paleo/primal, i mean REALLY tried it and not liked it?

thanks!

p.s. if you start a debate on here or reply with anything besides what i asked i will report you immediatly

Seriously I wish people would behave like grown-ups...the OP asked a simple question knowing the controversy it causes...and how people who don't know a darn thing about it chime in with "well i heard...." "from what I know"

Here is the basic gist of the Paleo LIFESTYLE in a nutshell - eat meat, eat veggies, eat fruit, eat good fats, eat nuts...if you want to swing to the Primal LIFESTYLE - add in dairy - use natural sources of sugars, like honey and maple sugar sparingly

what to basically leave out - added sugars, grains, beans

Does it work for everyone - NOPE....does everyone want to drop certain things from their way of eating NOPE....

IT IS NOT LOW CARB...my goodness - everytime I see someone complaining about not wanting to try Paleo because they have to watch thier carbs or they won't get enough fiber I want to bang my head in...veggies and fruits have carbs and fiber....

IT IS NOT A DIET either...it is a lifestyle way of eating...

I can eat 3000 calories a day and rack up 400 grams of carbs and still be eating within the Paleo lifestyle...

Maybe it is the NAME - Paleo - yes it comes from the idea of eating what our ancestors ate before the invention of crops...yes I am sure they ate grains at some point...the basic gist is that the basic diet of today simply does not work for some people...so some of us have read and researched and decided to try this lifestyle way of eating and found that not only do we feel better, but we find it is sustainable over the long haul....

Obviously it isn't for everyone and if someone feels they can't or won't give up something they are eating then that is their own perogative and decision for thier own eating habits.

to answer your questions....

1) There have been a number of people who have eaten a Paleo/Primal lifestyle over a number of years and they do just fine. Personally I have only begun my journey and have been eating with a Paleo/Primal slant for the past 6 months and spent the past month doing a strict Paleo - I found no problem eating this way at all, but then again I was open to trying new food and making some switches to what I was eating.

2) I have had some friends try and simply could not "give" up pasta or beans and felt like they were being deprived because they "couldn't" eat something like ice cream...My opinion is you are an adult that makes your own decisions...because you choose to make decisions about what you will or will not eat you can't blame that on the eating style...

I have been on a 2 year journey to clean up my diet...after trying different eating styles - low fat, low carb, vegetarian, etc...and reading and reading and reading and all along the way slowly cutting out things here and there it got to a point where I was eating clean about 80% of my diet and that 80% pretty much followed the Primal blueprint...after reading more I decided to cut down that remaning 20 % which lead me to eating strict Paleo for the past 30 days - first to see if I had the willpower and dedication within myself to do it...after all it is only 30 days...and 2nd to see if I found it doable and sustainable within my current life structure.

My conclusion is FOR ME it is doable and sustainable for a long haul...however, I have decided to add back in some of the dairy things I like - butter, some cheeses and if and when I decide I may want a treat (like some popcorn or a fancy starbucks drink ) then by god I'm going to eat a treat

Since I am looking for some weight loss with my eating style it is the same as anyone else who is watching thier intake...just on a more narrower perimeters - for example I DO want to watch my carbs for the time being...for me it was easy enough for me to look back a week on my food diary and see where I was getting the bulk of my Carbs - humm from my 2 servings of fruit a day...ok easy enough cycle that down to one a day and choose a lower carb/sugar fruit...so I now eat a lot of frozen blueberries and fresh strawberries and upped snacking on things like red pepper strips, nuts, jerky, cucumber...an easy switch for me...

The thing is at least for me - I don't MISS the sugary snacks or the big bowl of pasta - so i don't feel deprived....

With any way of eating the only way you know if it will work for you is to try it out for yourself because everyone is different - everyone is going to have a different reaction...

+1
You are a class act. :flowerforyou:

JDMPWR

I've lost almost 70 lbs in about 10 months by exercising and eating a strict Paleo diet in addition to grains, legumes, and dairy.

I've lost over 80 lbs in the same amount of time by exercising and eating what I want.

I dunno. I try get fit so I can eat what I want. Not to get fit and be a slave to my diet for the rest of my life.

yes i like that however i was recently diagnosed with celiac and i have had thyroid disease for about 9 years. and when i found out i couldnt eat wheat products anymore, and finding alternate wheat free lifestyles, i stumbled upon the paleo diet. i had been dieting for about 7 of those 9 years doing everything "in moderation" and balooned to 170 lbs. so anyways, when i found the whole paleo concept, it spoke to me because what i was doing didnt work, and i had to cut wheat anywyas. i mean i know there are gluten free options out there but a chocolate chip cookie made with wheat or rice flower is still a cookie and not necessarily "healthy". thats how i found palo but havent been doing it for very long, and the paleo/primal websites are of course loaded with stuff promoting it. i just wanted to see a general consensus of how many people have given it a try, and of those people, how many have stuck with it and how many liked/didnt like it.

The whole problem with this is you are assuming that what you call moderation was within your caloric needs. I can overeat in moderation and the food I eat may still look good and healthy but if it's over your caloric needs be it if it's ice cream and cake or steak and fish it's still over.

I think you latched on to something before you actually went by your caloric needs and what fits into your macronutrients.

Soon2BeMrsThomson

so far no one has tried it who didnt like it? and not many long-term practitioners on here? im asking here because if i go to a specific "paleo" website, of course its going to be full of people who love it. but here there is more of a general community in the message boards so i wanted to see how many people a, could or couldnt keep it up long term or 2, did it and just didnt like it.

it sounds like you are starting a discussion, and by the standard you set forth in your OP....REPORTED!

i was attempting to elaborate on the original questions i asked that have gotten pushed aside by random commentary and pictures of hitler. oh well. my mistake for expecting reasonable answers to completely legitimate questions.

Interesting, I tried to do the same thing once and it was hijacked by people making lots of arguments against something no one ever claimed

i think i know what you are referring to, and as i recall i was one of the few who actually gave you the scientific studies you asked for. you were the one who deemed them "not meaningful". so i was one of the few who posted a legit answer to the question you posted. and although our opinions differ on few points, i appreciate that you were one of the few on here who gave me an actual legitimate answer and not just making a fool of themselves. thanks

your welcome, however you do realize that there was never an actual debate on if saturated fat was bad and those were the studies you were posting with. But you did at least try to keep it high level and for that I can respect

i dont care to discuss it on this thread. you can message me if you really care to hear my reasoning. thanks!

See this kind of attitude is just not nice and probably why people started going off topic straight away - did no one ever teach you manners? Demanding that people don't do something is really not going to get you anywhere in life, you would have been better ignoring the posts of the 'off topic' people and concentrating of the people who wanted to help you.

Glad I got that off my chest :-)

hdroddy

so i have two questions:

1, has anyone here done and been sucessful with the paleo diet for a long period of time? (years and years)

2, has anyone tried paleo/primal, i mean REALLY tried it and not liked it?

thanks!

p.s. if you start a debate on here or reply with anything besides what i asked i will report you immediatly
[/quote]

1) I do not follow a strict paleo. I consume some grains and dairy, in moderation. I've been doing that for years and find it works best for me.
2) I haven't tried primal, but I tried strict paleo and found that I couldn't sustain it.

Without some carbs I felt loggy and low on energy. On the other hand, I feel loggy and bloated with too much of the same, so a balance is important. The dairy is just a choice; I could live without milk easily, but I love cheese and ice cream. I stick to the low-fat or non-fat, but I do eat it. I've found that completely denying myself the things I enjoy makes any kind of eating regimen difficult to sustain, so I allow myself some leeway with moderation.

I understand your frustration with having topics go off on tangents, but I believe you may have miscalculated in the way you worded that last thing. You'll end up with the direct opposite of what you wished for.