Paleo - Pros/Cons

NeverGivesUp

I think it all comes down to personal preference. But why stick by a way of life where someone else decided what you should be eating? Quinoa is not a grain so I am not sure why that is in the list. I pick and choose what I want to have in my diet based on the way foods make me feel. I would not follow something like this because I like to do things my own way. If legumes don't give you issues, why take them out? If this is an excuse to eat cleanly, then why not just eat cleanly? I do know of a couple people that have specific food allergies that are on this and swear by it. I guess where I have the problem is following someones idea about what I should be eating. I would rather make my own decisions and listen to my own body but that is just me. I wouldn't want to admit that I was following a specific food plan because that seems temporary and not a permanent solution. Moderate approaches are always the best in my opinion. Just like politics and religion, we all cut and paste what works for us.

cheesy_blasters

So basically you don't understand.....thanks for proving my point.

Grow up. I am familiar with Paleo. I have never followed a Primal diet so I have never read about it in depth. Knowing about one thing isn't dependant on being familiar with the other. Considering people know like to create specialty diets for just about every deviation, expecting to be familiar with them all is ridiculous. I have read books about Paleo, followed blogs and followed the diet. How would I not understand it?
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Ignore the rude comments, cheesy_blasters.
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Thanks

weathergirl320

What is your point? Yes people have misconceptions about the diet, yes people think its restrictive, and yes people get Hung up on the name. And? Your point?

Every diet has restrictions. Even calories in out...you still have to eat less. So how is paleo any more restrictive? Instead of counting every morsel and eating less of everything, you eat different foods. So what's the problem? Why the controversy? Why the restrictive label? I can say that if I had to count and track and weigh and measure every morsel I ate I would lose it. THAT is restrictive to me. I have lost weight by changing what I eat, not how much volume wise. I haven't logged anything I mean look at my diary I rarely log. I listen to my body and eat when I feel hungry and stop when I feel full. How on earth is that more restrictive than counting and measuring and weighing all my calories???

cheesy_blasters

I think it all comes down to personal preference. But why stick by a way of life where someone else decided what you should be eating? Quinoa is not a grain so I am not sure why that is in the list. I pick and choose what I want to have in my diet based on the way foods make me feel. I would not follow something like this because I like to do things my own way. If legumes don't give you issues, why take them out? If this is an excuse to eat cleanly, then why not just eat cleanly? I do know of a couple people that have specific food allergies that are on this and swear by it. I guess where I have the problem is following someones idea about what I should be eating. I would rather make my own decisions and listen to my own body but that is just me. I wouldn't want to admit that I was following a specific food plan because that seems temporary and not a permanent solution. Moderate approaches are always the best in my opinion. Just like politics and religion, we all cut and paste what works for us.

Very well said

victoria4321

I think it all comes down to personal preference. But why stick by a way of life where someone else decided what you should be eating? Quinoa is not a grain so I am not sure why that is in the list. I pick and choose what I want to have in my diet based on the way foods make me feel. I would not follow something like this because I like to do things my own way. If legumes don't give you issues, why take them out? If this is an excuse to eat cleanly, then why not just eat cleanly? I do know of a couple people that have specific food allergies that are on this and swear by it. I guess where I have the problem is following someones idea about what I should be eating. I would rather make my own decisions and listen to my own body but that is just me. I wouldn't want to admit that I was following a specific food plan because that seems temporary and not a permanent solution. Moderate approaches are always the best in my opinion. Just like politics and religion, we all cut and paste what works for us.

Quinoa is one of the paleo grey areas you find. Same with eating white rice. Some people will eat properly prepared grains and some will avoid them all together. The issue with quinoa is the presence of saponins before processing. If you prepare them right and remove all the saponins, then its generally regarded as safe.

pants77

Pros:

Effortless weight loss

:laugh:

Gotta love the snake oil drinkers on these forums...if you believe ANYTHING, be it Paleo or anything else, will give you "effortless weight loss", I have a couple bridges and some swamp land to sell you.

I found cooking my own meals gave me effortless weight loss. How much are you selling those bridges for?

So you didn't measure or count any ingredients or calories or macros, you didn't exercise, etc - those things all consititute "effort".

Nothing related to health and fitness is effortless. Even the most genetically blessed among us have to put effort in to get results. Anyone who suggests otherwise is selling something.

bigpenguin570

I think anything in life that does not let you enjoy "a little bit of everything" can't be all that great for you. I don't see how anything so restrictive can help in the long run. Keep word: moderation

atla_moves

I have to be gluten-free for medical reasons. Paleo through choice.

My personal pros:

- No more debilitating joint pain
- No more sleep paralysis
- No more afternoon naps
- I get full faster, stay full longer
- No more heartburn
- No more foot pain (meaning I can wear girly shoes!)
- losing weight easily
- No more hypoglycemia
- No more depression
- More energy & better moods
- No counting calories


Personal cons:

- I have to be very careful about gluten because I've become very sensitive to it, and that can be difficult. But that's a gluten-intolerance con which I'd have to deal with regardless of paleo
- I love milk and yogurt and cheese like whoa.
- It is HARD to beat the sugar demon
- Relatively difficult/expensive to eat out and be paleo (or GF, for that matter)
- My grocery bill has sky-rocketed
- People are pushers.. constantly telling me "just one cookie won't hurt you." And I'm like "Oh really? WTF do you know? One cookie will land me joint pain for 3-4 days. Piss off." That's my gluten-intolerance problem, but a lot of paleo people discover they at least have digestive discomfort after ingesting grains when they've been off them awhile.
- It takes some creativity in the kitchen. Grilled meat & steamed veg gets boring after awhile.. gotta do some fancy paleo recipes to keep it rockin.
- People think you're crazy. Yet they envy your weight loss / health resurgence. They're still usually unwilling to try it.

To me, at least, the pros FAR outweigh the cons.

bionicrooster

pros: makes you think you are better and smarter than everyone else :-)

cons: Paleo man had an average lifespan of 33 years :-)

victoria4321

Pros:

Effortless weight loss

:laugh:

Gotta love the snake oil drinkers on these forums...if you believe ANYTHING, be it Paleo or anything else, will give you "effortless weight loss", I have a couple bridges and some swamp land to sell you.

I found cooking my own meals gave me effortless weight loss. How much are you selling those bridges for?

So you didn't measure or count any ingredients or calories or macros, you didn't exercise, etc - those things all consititute "effort".

Nothing related to health and fitness is effortless. Even the most genetically blessed among us have to put effort in to get results. Anyone who suggests otherwise is selling something.

I always played sports so I was already exercising and still a little over weight. I enjoy cooking so I don't consider it to be any extra effort. Pretty much the only change I made was to stop eating convenience foods and to start cooking my own food. I also save a lot of money doing that as well. You know it takes some effort for me to get out of bed every morning too, but I don't consider that to be anything significant enough to be worth mentioning.

Sidesteal

What is your point? Yes people have misconceptions about the diet, yes people think its restrictive, and yes people get Hung up on the name. And? Your point?

The point is that the OP asked about pros and cons. Dietary restrictions are cons and since we're discussing the paleo diet it makes sense to list the cons, since that's part of what the OP asked about.

Every diet has restrictions. Even calories in out...you still have to eat less. So how is paleo any more restrictive?

One restriction of the paleo diet is that you are eliminating food items without considering whether or not the individual needs to eliminate those food items. Arbitrary elimination is a restriction.

How on earth is that more restrictive than counting and measuring and weighing all my calories???

Regardless of whether or not you are counting calories, you still need to eat the appropriate amount of food and paleo is not special in this regard.

Sidesteal

So basically you don't understand.....thanks for proving my point.

That wasn't nice. Did the person you are quoting make a personal attack on you or did you just feel the need to be rude because someone doesn't agree with you?

DrBorkBork

cons: Paleo man had an average lifespan of 33 years :-)

this wasn't due to diet though
this was due to being stomped on by critters bigger and badder than paleo dude, if you were able to survive birth even. Those 2 together pretty much average out the life span.

jsuaccounting

So this intro from Wikipedia is wrong?

The paleolithic diet (abbreviated paleo diet or paleodiet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era —a period of about 2.5 million years duration that ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. In common usage, such terms as the "Paleolithic diet" also refer to the actual ancestral human diet.

Yes, sometimes Wikipedia is wrong:))
Check out some of the paleo books from the library or Mark Sisson's blog. Also, ignore the food police - it is ok to modify any plan based on what your body tolerates. This is not some kind of moral dilema. Some people can tolerate dairy/some cannot. There is nothing wrong with not eating grains either.

jsuaccounting

cons: Paleo man had an average lifespan of 33 years :-)

I looked this up on Wikipedia (which - I am not sure how accurate it is). It does show 33 years, but shows only 30 years after agriculture (mideivil Britian) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time
However, the aristocracy lived significantly longer; as did Paleo's who survived through the age of 15. (I assume we are all over 15)

kimimila86

The straw man arguments being made on this thread are really annoying... It's best to do your own research instead of asking people's opinions. HUGE emphasis on opinions. OP - it would do you well to open a book or read some articles online. Some people have the luxury of having balanced hormones, no digestive issues and no food allergies, so why would they touch paleo or any other low carb lifestyle if they didn't have to? Peace.

meggawatt

I have a friend who has been on this diet and exercise plan for a little over a year now. Physically he looks absolutely amazing. I haven't asked him about what his doc says but I'm sure it must all be on the up & up because he has a ton of energy and is the picture of health. So I would count these things as pro's.

However, for the con's: As a father of 2 small children he no longer eats meals with them and his wife (who is also thin and very health conscious). His meals are prepared separately and he does not feed them the same foods as he is eating. It works for them, but as an outsider here's my 2 cents, if you won't feed your own children this diet why would you yourself eat it?

Also, when venturing out of the house for a meal - he brings his own. Imagine inviting people over for a summer BBQ and one guy/gal shows up with a tupperware container of his chicken & berries to put in your cooler? We're accomodating and could care less, but now you be that guy/gal.

For me personally, if I can't live without it forever I simply will not give it up for a diet.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I think anything in life that does not let you enjoy "a little bit of everything" can't be all that great for you. I don't see how anything so restrictive can help in the long run. Keep word: moderation

I personally don't find this way of eating restrictive in the least. I get to eat FULL fat foods, don't count calories and enjoy the earthy tasting natural vegetables, fruits and grass fed meats, etc.

Low fat, high carb calorie counting is restrictive because most people complain continuously about being hungry. That is no way to live.

So while I enjoy a big juicy rare ribeye, salad with full fat caesar dressing and some berries and fresh whipped cream.......You can continue eating your 35 calorie bread with your dried out bland boneless, skinless chicken breast and 100 calorie snack pack for your snacks and such.

Also moderation = excuse. Plain and simple.

RonSwanson66

fresh whipped cream.....

So that's paleo now too.

Adorable.

Also moderation = excuse. Plain and simple.

A significant proportion of the paleo community are heavy sermonizes who hold their noses high and belittle those that don't follow the almighty path of paleo.

almc170

I think anything in life that does not let you enjoy "a little bit of everything" can't be all that great for you. I don't see how anything so restrictive can help in the long run. Keep word: moderation

I personally don't find this way of eating restrictive in the least. I get to eat FULL fat foods, don't count calories and enjoy the earthy tasting natural vegetables, fruits and grass fed meats, etc.

Low fat, high carb calorie counting is restrictive because most people complain continuously about being hungry. That is no way to live.

So while I enjoy a big juicy rare ribeye, salad with full fat caesar dressing and some berries and fresh whipped cream.......You can continue eating your 35 calorie bread with your dried out bland boneless, skinless chicken breast and 100 calorie snack pack for your snacks and such.

Also moderation = excuse. Plain and simple.

But it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There is a middle ground between low-fat, high-carb calorie counting and Paleo. Grains and dairy can be part of a nutritious, well-balanced diet that facilitates fat loss.

Also, I’m a little confused about your statement that moderation is an excuse. An excuse for what?