Paleo diet...?

omgzstef

Has anyone heard/done/are currently partaking in the paleo diet? I'm a huge carb lover (which is definitely my downfall) & I'm curious about the paleo diet. Thoughts/tips/concerns? Thanks in advance!

Acg67

Has anyone heard/done/are currently partaking in the paleo diet? I'm a huge carb lover (which is definitely my downfall) & I'm curious about the paleo diet. Thoughts/tips/concerns? Thanks in advance!

The basic premise of the diet, which is eating mostly whole nutrient dense foods is a good thing to follow, however if you have no intolerance to grains, legumes or dairy, I don't think cutting them out or severely limiting offers any special benefits for health or weight loss.

Womona

"The basic premise of the diet, which is eating mostly whole nutrient dense foods is a good thing to follow, however if you have no intolerance to grains, legumes or dairy, I don't think cutting them out or severely limiting offers any special benefits for health or weight loss."

I must disagree with that statement. I've done paleo/primal for two months, and I didn't realize how few fruits and veggies I was eating since I was eating so many things in the cracker/bread family. I am gluten intolerant, so cutting out GF bread, pizza and crackers isn't much of a stretch for me (it all tastes like cardboard). Anyway, when I stopped grabbing my bready snacks and had to snack on something else, lo and behold! Oranges and grapefruits already sitting in my fridge! Avocados! Homemade kale chips! Apples! Bananas instead of a cereal bar for breakfast! Cucumbers!

So, I am definitely eating a wider variety of healthier foods. Paleo says get your carbs from fruits and veggie, instead of grain based products. The theory is that corn, wheat, rice, barley, oats, etc are "new" foods (introduced in the last 6000 years) that our bodies are not yet adapted to digesting, so it causes inflammation. Also, even "whole grains" convert to sugar so easily, so we become sugar burners instead of burning our fat cells, where energy is stored.

Legumes and beans are the same thing - too "new" and too "toxic" (inflammatory). I have not cut out dairy yet, and I'm not as strict as my husband is about staying away from grains. I treat grain products and legumes as I would an ice cream sundae - an occasional indulgence. Oh, and wine is perfectly fine! haha!


You CAN eat meat, fish, nuts, seeds and fruits and veggies and tubers. I've lost those last 5 pounds, which is a thrill to me, not to mention my blood sugar, thus energy level, is much more stable. I've never tried any of those other eating plans/diets/fads, but this one gave me the final push I needed.

Check out Mark Sisson's info, or look at his website marksdailyapple.com. He has a book you can get from the library - I do't remember the exact title but it's his 21 day challenge. It's worth a try. Good luck.

Acg67

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Paleo says get your carbs from fruits and veggie, instead of grain based products. The theory is that corn, wheat, rice, barley, oats, etc are "new" foods (introduced in the last 6000 years) that our bodies are not yet adapted to digesting, so it causes inflammation. Also, even "whole grains" convert to sugar so easily, so we become sugar burners instead of burning our fat cells, where energy is stored.

Legumes and beans are the same thing - too "new" and too "toxic" (inflammatory). I have not cut out dairy yet, and I'm not as strict as my husband is about staying away from grains. I treat grain products and legumes as I would an ice cream sundae - an occasional indulgence. Oh, and wine is perfectly fine! haha!

I'm familiar with the rationale and yet what evidence is there to support those claims? And lowering carb consumption and increasing fat consumption will increase fat oxidation, however that doesn't mean you are burning more bodyfat. I n fact holding calories and protein constant the supposed metabolic advantage disappears.

Check out Mark Sisson's info, or look at his website marksdailyapple.com. He has a book you can get from the library - I do't remember the exact title but it's his 21 day challenge. It's worth a try. Good luck.

I'd only advise someone to go to mark's daily apple if they wanted their head filled with a lot of nonsense

onedayillbeamilf

I'm no scientist, but I would like to mention that there was a science article mot long ago about a mummified caveman that the discovered. After much research, they found that this man was in his late 30's or early 40's (I can't remember specific age). Although he was killed in a gruesome death. His arteries were very clogged and had he not been killed, he would have died from a massive heart attack. My memory sucks, so I can't remember all the health crap that was wrong with him, but I clearly remember he would have died from a heart attack at a young age had he not been killed. Something to think about v

chrishgt4

This is something I've been reading a bit on.

I'm still undecided.

It has all the hallmarks of a fad diet, but having read some stuff about it I must admit it makes a certain amount of sense.

However, who knows whether Palaeolithic man was actually healthier? The whole thing seems to hinge around that unknown concept, which to me seems a pretty weak position.

I do agree that we probably eat too much grain based food, as a proportion, but I'm not convinced enough that cutting it out entirely is an appropriate response.

Also there is an argument that it is easier since you can eat as much as you want (the assumption is that by cutting grains it makes it very difficult to overeat as what remains is low in cals compared to how full it makes you) as long as it is paleo, so no calorie counting. To me that doesn't actually seem any easier than the counting calories because i can eat what i want as long as I get the right calorie totals. You are just swapping one restriction for another.

Some interesting stuff -

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/19/paleo-diet-solution/

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

weathergirl320

I sort of do my take on the paleo thing. It's ok. No complaints. I am actually seeing results which never happened before when i was dieting. I plan to stick with my lax idea of paleo forever because I really don't miss most of the foods, and if I am in the mood for something "non paleo" I just freaking eat it and I don't feel guilty and I get back on track later. I try to stick with it about 80% of the time. I also have celiac so I can't eat wheat anyway. So it makes it a little easier for me to stay on track because I couldn't eat that stuff even if I wanted to. I mean I could but I would get a tummy ache so those foods have no appeal to me anymore. I did have gluten free pizza for the first time in 4 motbhs the other night! It was arite, I didn't binge or go into an addictive carb craze. I was sleepy a little later on but that was probably because I was tired lol. Just like any way of eating people take it to extremes. I like the general idea behind of eating natural unprocessed foods. and eliminate foods that without modern technology we probably wouldn't eat much of anyway. But Thats just a general rule of thumb of course. Btw I have lost 38 lbs since December. Good luck to you.

chammich

I am doing Paleo and I love it. For people who are insensitive to grains it's the perfect way to eat. People that I know who are doing it have excellent blood work numbers. The caveman probably didn't have the variety of foods to hunt/gather as we do now. Also genetics play into clogged arteries and heart problems. Overall I think it's the way to go but each to their own

JaceyMarieS

I'm another who does a half-assed paleo/primal. I have allergies to wheat, corn, soy, peanuts and shellfish, plus I'm diabetic, so going grain-free was simple. I don't particularly buy into the psuedo-science behind completely eliminating dairy and legumes (except those pesky peanuts), so I don't, but I also won't argue about the benefits of eating less-processed food and free-range protein sources (we eat venison, elk ..not much beef since my family quit raising cattle) I don't eat unlimited fruits due to the 'betes, but I enjoy berries and melon when in season. Love the non-starchy vegetables. I've found some really tasty recipes whilst browsing paleo/primal blogs.

omgzstef

Thanks everyone for your input.. Much appreciated