Paleo Diet?

2dogzrule

Hello, I have just started reading about this diet and was curious to hear other people's opinions, successes and/or failures? The plan sounds great, but I am cautious to try it as the fat content is tremendous.

Anonymou5

Meh, keep calories within limit to lose weight, no need to turn into a caveman.

Sidesteal

Hello, I have just started reading about this diet and was curious to hear other people's opinions, successes and/or failures? The plan sounds great, but I am cautious to try it as the fat content is tremendous.

I wouldn't worry to much about fat content and as I understand it you don't need to go excessively low carb on Paleo, but you may want to ask some of the paleo folks about that as I am not one of them.

I will say that the desire to consume less processed foods is a good one, but you don't necessarily need to go Paleo to take that principle and apply it to a diet that includes moderation. I also believe that elimination of certain food items is unwarranted provided you don't have an intolerance to those food items.

But, I'll stop there since people get a bit sensitive about these things.

p0pr0cksnc0ke

Hello, I have just started reading about this diet and was curious to hear other people's opinions, successes and/or failures? The plan sounds great, but I am cautious to try it as the fat content is tremendous.

I wouldn't worry to much about fat content and as I understand it you don't need to go excessively low carb on Paleo, but you may want to ask some of the paleo folks about that as I am not one of them.

I will say that the desire to consume less processed foods is a good one, but you don't necessarily need to go Paleo to take that principle and apply it to a diet that includes moderation. I also believe that elimination of certain food items is unwarranted provided you don't have an intolerance to those food items.

But, I'll stop there since people get a bit sensitive about these things.

Agreed. I lean towards the primal blueprint as much as I can. I ideally shoot for 80% "primal approved" foods. Doesn't happen ALL the time.. but most of the time I am ok.

I couldn't do Paleo only because if I had to give up bread AND dairy.. I would go batpoo crazy.

p0pr0cksnc0ke

Also.. the fat count is usually higher than what you are used to seeing, but most of the time its the GOOD non processed fats from nuts, oils etc

dinosnopro

amy1612

Im currently eating what would be classed as paleo, but I just tell people Im eating 'clean'. I havent eaten any processed foods in almost a fortnight, and I feel great. The first couple of days I had a headache, but it went pretty quickly. Im enjoying a variety of yummy foods, and for once in years not stressing about calories. Im not eating too uch fat either, and what Im eating is 'good fat', like fish, avocados and nuts.

As sidesteal said, the best thing to do is just eat cleanly. I do have an intolerance to gluten,so it works well for me. Ive never tried cutting out dairy before but Im not really missing it so its fine.

Sidesteal

As sidesteal said,

To clarify, I think that consuming "mostly" nutrient dense and minimally processed foods is a good principle. I don't actually think people need to divide foods into clean and/or dirty brackets and adopt an all or nothing approach.

I'm not knocking your methods just to be clear. I'm glad you've found what's working for you. I'm only clarifying your paraphrasing above.

amy1612

Haha, sorry I did paraphrase a little. I just meant I agree with the desire to cut down on processed foods

stuffinmuffin

Urgh it's a fad. There are good principals about eating unadultered meat and vegetables but seriously just find a balance of foods that make you feel good and work for you. If you can say 'no' to bread for the rest of your life then Paleo might be up your street but personally I like to make my own diet that keeps me feeling good and doesn't ban food groups.

hypallage

I think the principles are quite sound - eating food that is "mostly" nutrient dense and minimally processed foods, i couldn't ever see myself taking it to extremes though..

geekyjock76

Julian Bakery out in California is debuting the Paleo Bread this Friday, actually. There are two varieties: one made with Almond flour and the other, Coconut Flour. Everyone in the Paleo community who knows about this can't wait to start eating bread again.

http://www.facebook.com/ThePaleoBread

stuffinmuffin

Julian Bakery out in California is debuting the Paleo Bread this Friday, actually. There are two varieties: one made with Almond flour and the other, Coconut Flour. Everyone in the Paleo community who knows about this can't wait to start eating bread again.

http://www.facebook.com/ThePaleoBread

So that's not a money making spin if ever I saw one....along with Atkin's and Weightwatchers products. Let's look at who's really benefitting here the $60 billion diet industry or the Paleo follower?! :noway:

geekyjock76

They already make a Zero Carb and Smart Carb bread which boasts 0 and 2 net carbs, respectively. In fact, at the Natural Grocer where I buy the stuff, the staff happily admit that those two breads by far outsell every other bread they stock. So much so they added twice the refrigerator space to stock them. But I must admit, with the Paleo bread debuting, it will be quite popular.

stuffinmuffin

But normal bread is so tasty!!!! It's much better not made of cave dust!

bluebird321

Love it and been doing it for 14 months or so. When acquaintances ask what i'm doing, I just tell them i'm eating clean and getting my animal protein from good sources. I've learned not to say "paleo" in mixed company.

It isn't for everybody, but I recommend trying it for a month or two to see if it works for you. If not, then move onto something else and keep researching to find what works best. My opinion is that people have different metabolic profiles based on age, gender and genetics etc.

hothodgie

My brother and his friend are doing this diet. They have been on it a few weeks now. My brother, who doesn't have much to lose, has lost 12 lbs. His friend, who has about 100 lbs to lose, has lost 22 lbs. They both work out daily. Myself, I need a bit more moderation than that, as I love my cheese and ice cream. But I think it is a good choice if you can do it. I may be losing weight much slower than them, but I can live with my choices for the rest of my life.

AEMJones

I've started following Paleo and can tell a huge difference in the way I feel. Last year I had a Dr. diagnose me with Fibromyalgia and I chose to stay away from the medicine and try changing what I was putting into my body. I feel so much better and am loving not having the side effects of the medicine.

Merithyn

Hello, I have just started reading about this diet and was curious to hear other people's opinions, successes and/or failures? The plan sounds great, but I am cautious to try it as the fat content is tremendous.

Does it sound like something you can keep up with after you reach your goal weight? If yes, go for it! If not, find another way to watch what you eat that you can keep up with for the rest of your life.

Personally, I eat what I want when I want just in smaller portions than I did before. I know that I can keep doing that forever, so I stick with it.

msharif71

But normal bread is so tasty!!!! It's much better not made of cave dust!

Amen!

neti_call

Hello, I have just started reading about this diet and was curious to hear other people's opinions, successes and/or failures? The plan sounds great, but I am cautious to try it as the fat content is tremendous.

Don't confuse Paleo with Atkins. Paleo isn't telling you to eat bacon every day. Lean meats are suggested and lots of fruits and veggies. I personally don't follow the "no legume" part of the rule, nor do I avoid dairy 100% (maybe just 90), but other than that, it's a good plan if you have issues with grains like me.

RussianLynx

Paleo isn't just about losing weight, though that is a nice side effect ;o) A lot of which has to due with so many processed foods not fitting into the plan.

It's based on the idea that the agricultural revolution drastically changed how and what we eat. Our bodies, theoretically, are designed to thrive on a hunter/gatherer type diet.

Will it work for you? Maybe. A lot of people function better when they avoid gluten... but it's so hard to avoid. You won't see the benefit from avoiding gluten (or even all grains) unless you do it 100%. It takes a few weeks for your digestive system to calm down and function normally (if it was being upset by gluten in the first place). All it takes is just the tiniest exposure to gluten (something as simple as your steak being grilled on the same grill where someone had used a seasoning that contained gluten) every two weeks to keep your digestive system in turmoil. A tiny exposure like that just once every two weeks is enough to keep a gluten-sensitive digestive system in a constant state of turmoil. Which is why anyone eating gluten-free has to be ridiculously specific about how their food is prepared if they eat out. Many restaurants say something is gluten-free because there is no gluten in that specific food... but many times the food is prepared in the same space or with the same utensils as gluten-containing food. Or the seasoning will contain gluten.

If you're eating out and want to avoid gluten, be relentlessly specific. Going gluten-free is really an all or nothing proposition.

Try it for a month... if you feel better, great! If not... the worst-case scenario is you just went 30 days without some foods you like.

I've never been diagnosed with Celiacs disease or gluten sensitivity... but the difference between how I feel on a grain-free diet and on a "normal" diet is like night and day. No digestion problems. No blood pressure problems, No skin problems. My body just functions optimally on a grain-free and dairy-free diet.

Everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. Paleo works for me. I'm healthier and I sleep better and have to take far fewer medications. Many of my health problems were caused by the standard American diet. Doctors were more than willing to prescribe me all sorts of medications to fix the symptoms... but not one suggested that changing my diet would solve the problem. I like treating the problem, not the symptoms.

My recommendation is just to try it for a month and then have some meal that contains the grains and/or dairy you've been going without. Gauge how you feel. I had a meal containing pasta and cheese and felt like shards of jagged glass were making their way through my intestines. That made it really easy to give up gluten and dairy. I've never had a favorable reaction to dairy, but it's so tasty!

I do admit that it was very hard to give up cheesecake ;o)

If you want to read up on Paleo, I highly suggest The Paleo Diet Solution by Robb Wolf. He also has a website with really good info on it.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

As sidesteal said,

To clarify, I think that consuming "mostly" nutrient dense and minimally processed foods is a good principle. I don't actually think people need to divide foods into clean and/or dirty brackets and adopt an all or nothing approach.

I'm not knocking your methods just to be clear. I'm glad you've found what's working for you. I'm only clarifying your paraphrasing above.

I know you said this earlier.............but some of us have to have the all or nothing approach due to health issues.

Sadly, I am one of those people.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

This is not true. I have no desire to eat bread of any kind again.

Everyone in the Paleo community who knows about this can't wait to start eating bread again.

almostatgoalweight

But normal bread is so tasty!!!! It's much better not made of cave dust!

Normal bread being tasty is one of the reasons why we're on this website. I found bread easy to avoid, I have probably eaten less than a kilogram in the last year.

Shock_Wave

But normal bread is so tasty!!!! It's much better not made of cave dust!

You should try some low carb bread before you knock it, it tastes good. I don't eat much regular bread just because I have only so many carbs I can eat in a day and spending 50 carbs on 2 pieces is a lot when your diet consists of following macros intently. I am a bodybuilder so this can be useful for folks like me or other folks with different moderate to low carb. diets.

Shock_Wave

Urgh it's a fad. There are good principals about eating unadultered meat and vegetables but seriously just find a balance of foods that make you feel good and work for you. If you can say 'no' to bread for the rest of your life then Paleo might be up your street but personally I like to make my own diet that keeps me feeling good and doesn't ban food groups.

and as for this thats great you found your own diet that doesn't ban food groups but just because the ops diet doesn't follow your own doesn't mean its wrong. Maybe you ought to focus on your own positives instead of trying to instill your views on some one else that comes off negatively by making juvenile comments like in post above this one I quoted.

Phaedra2014

How do cholesterol levels stay within normal levels on a Paleo diet?

mrsdavidtennant

Urgh it's a fad. There are good principals about eating unadultered meat and vegetables but seriously just find a balance of foods that make you feel good and work for you. If you can say 'no' to bread for the rest of your life then Paleo might be up your street but personally I like to make my own diet that keeps me feeling good and doesn't ban food groups.




It is not a fad. How can this diet be a fad when it is the diet our bodies were designed for? And yes I do believe that we can stay on this diet for life. I love it, it's easy to stick to, healthy, and I alway lose weight on it.

mrsdavidtennant

And obviously I need to learn how to use quotes properly lol

stuffinmuffin

But normal bread is so tasty!!!! It's much better not made of cave dust!

You should try some low carb bread before you knock it, it tastes good. I don't eat much regular bread just because I have only so many carbs I can eat in a day and spending 50 carbs on 2 pieces is a lot when your diet consists of following macros intently. I am a bodybuilder so this can be useful for folks like me or other folks with different moderate to low carb. diets.

I run and I need carbohydrate, and I like it, I probably go way over my 'macros' for it each day. Personally (each to their own) I refuse to eat fad foods. As far as I'm aware carbohydrates have been a key source of sustenance around the globe. I do agree that modern agricultural methods are questionable and particularly in America (Europe is also coming come up to speed in hugely damaging intensive farming practices) and processed food is bad and full of cr*p for many reasons - mostly economical. However I am fussy when I purchase bread - make sure it's wholemeal...make sure sugar is waaaaay down the ingredient list! Unfortunately there are 2 monopoly bakeries in the UK and they produce everything from most UK mainstream bread, to dough for supermarkets and restaurants and the flour we buy at home to 'make our own from scratch'. There are certain additives that become unavoidable. BUT scratch under the surface and there's a whole more interesting story behind diet and 'fad' foods produced for demand and profit.
If the whole of Western society started eating the Paleo way there would be a food crisis. I'm just doing my part by not being on it... :drinker: