So I gave it a month and...

JDRBT

I'm up 15lbs.
My Sailor stayed the same and he couldn't go full Paleo because the food on the Submarine just isn't paleo friendly.

As for me being up so much -
My doc looked at my food journals and said it's probably REALLY only about 5lbs due to carbs.

The rest probably has to do with the facts that I just got off "the pill" (aka a hormone) for the first time in 13 years, and my ovarian cysts and endo hate me basically. We're pretty sure the endo has spread to my gastric system, but since my sailor wants to try for bio kids, I've compromised. We'll pull the goalie for 1 year and see where we end up, unless it becomes too painful for me to stand, and then we'll just rip everything out (there is no other curative treatment for endo).

Losing weight will be a never-ending up hill battle for me. One that is currently very discouraging, as I'm 2lbs away from my heaviest weight in 3 years. But what has worked for me in the past is to focus on eating a good breakfast (which includes some high fiber grains), and focusing on protiens (including greek yogurts, protien shakes). Outside of that, I usually eat fresh anyway.

So I guess the hard core Paleo style isn't for me right now, but it was a great month that made me very aware of what is in my food!

I'm encouraged to know that my mom (who ended up adopting my brother and I), struggled with Endo too. But she managed to fight through the pain to control her weight, and TAUGHT 3-4 Jazzersize classes/day. With that in mind, it's obviously going to take me A LOT to get into fighting form, and, though my spirit is struggling currently, I'm ready for a challenge.

sethandjane

Hey there,

I just looked at your diary, (and believe me, I'm definitely NOT trying to slam you/anyone seeing that I am FAR from perfect), but it seems to me you didn't give it a month -

I think you did an awesome job in getting in veggies and protein, but having bread everyday, and orange juice, smoothies, regular candy bars, etc. doesn't exactly fall under Paleo.

I am certainly not a doctor, but your carb level seemed super high because of those items - I wonder if you gave it another month - or heck, even two weeks - and strictly did Paleo what the results would be.

I agree with you that it's not for everyone - for me, with PCOS (not endo), this way of eating has helped, but I understand it's not for everyone.

Best of luck to you guys, and congrats on the upcoming big day!

--Jane

JDRBT

I was bad about adding it to my diary here every day. So that's probably a good chunk of what you're seeing, and once we realized that it wasn't a lifestyle we could commit to long term (he can't because the Navy doesn't allow them Paleo friendly food on the boat, and I simply don't have time to cook every meal and work 12 + Hrs/day).

In fact, oddly enough, I've had MORE pain this month than every with my Endo.

But it did help us focus on veggies more. When it boils down to it, I know what works for me - why I get bored with it and try other things, I can't quite figure out, but I just need to keep doing what works and tough it out.

GalaxyDuck

I have to agree with the above poster. Apart from the fact that you didn't log each day (not a huge deal really), almost all the days you do log include non-paleo items like thin crust pizza, english muffins, cheese, egg "substitutes", soy lattes and multi-grain thins or breads. That means you definitely did not try paleo-eating for a month. Perhaps you mean that you tried "clean eating" (zero - a few processed foods) instead?

To say that you tried the paleo diet for a month and it didn't work, when you continued to eat things that weren't paleo doesn't seem accurate.

jellerose

Seriously, if you ate as mentioned by the previous posters you really didn't try hard core paleo or even paleo "lite" for a month. And no wonder you gained weight. Barely clean eating. And even if you did, evaluating a way of eating while your body is making other adjustments is hardly a valid evaluation on how the eating approach would work for you overall.

It seems it'd be better to say ok, I gave it a month to try to try but I couldn't get onboard ; ).

Before I leapt off the wagon (can't claim to have fallen, ha) I know I got great results when eating well, more 'primal' than hardcore paleo. But add in grains and sugar crap and it's all over, just doesn't work to eat that way and still lose or keep it off. And feel like crap as well.

Zeromilediet

It's discouraging dealing with endo and if thinking about having kids, it's natural to want to eat in a way that has worked for you in the past. On the other hand, many people have experienced real results by digging in and eating a strict diet. I know for me, it gas made a huge difference and even now, over a year later, I'm still tweaking my diet--what works for some may not be suitable for you; for instance, I'm finding food from the allium family (onions, garlic) gives me the same gut rumble as grains. From readings I find this may ge a FODMAP issue, something you might look into. Point is, there's no 'one' perfect way of eating for all.

What *does* work is giving it a genuine shot before throwing in the towel.
No grains (no corn, rice, spelt, wheat etc etc), no dairy (no, not even yogurt), no legumes (including soy, peanuts, peas or any beans), needless to say no sugar and easy on high fructose fruits, fat/oil should be animal (bacon grease, beef tallow, chicken fat, duck fat--omg! yum!, coconut oil, ghee, olive oil, avocado oil) This for 30 days ... longer if you can. I noticed a cascade of changes 3 months in, especially hormonal--our bodies don't change overnight.

You can check out Robb Wolf's website http://robbwolf.com/ or It Starts With Food http://whole9life.com/itstartswithfood/ and, here is one woman's experience with endo http://paleononpaleo.com/endometriosis-paleo/ Chris Kresser http://chriskresser.com/ has published a book for women seeking to get pregnant and addresses the hormone issues that result in PCOS and endo--the Healthy Baby Code.

This is not easy to do, this changing a whole way of eating.

jackalope37

Holy crap. I didn't realize peanuts were out of bounds. I just opened up my full bag of trail mix and dumped it in the trash.

jamk1446

I was diagnosed with endo back in 2004. I discovered that avoiding r-BST treated dairy and beef SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the pain from my endo, I'd say 85% reduction within 3 months, and my PMS symptoms reduced significantly as well. Ditching gluten-grains and eating low carb overall had a further positive impact as well (though I made those changes for other health reasons). I don't know what effect it has had on my fertility, luckily by the time of my dianosis my baby-making days were done. But living 8 years virtually pain-free has been worth it.

I hope you will reconsider another review of your diet.