Have any of you tried the Paleo Diet? Success???

Marll

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when paleo junk-food goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While products will show up from people that are trying to be enterprising, true Paleo/Primal people will reject these items as garbage, because that's what a lot of the diet is based on, the fact that processed, packaged foods are part of the downfall of health in most people.

I think that is the same issue that most vegetarians and vegans face too, there are far too many garbage products out there that are vegan that do nothing nutritionally for anyone. While I 100% disagree with the idea of cutting meat, Paleo and Veganism have something in common, they both generally tend to instruct people to eat more, whole natural foods and consume a lot of vegtables.

PhilyPhresh

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when paleo junk-food goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While products will show up from people that are trying to be enterprising, true Paleo/Primal people will reject these items as garbage, because that's what a lot of the diet is based on, the fact that processed, packaged foods are part of the downfall of health in most people.

I think that is the same issue that most vegetarians and vegans face too, there are far too many garbage products out there that are vegan that do nothing nutritionally for anyone. While I 100% disagree with the idea of cutting meat, Paleo and Veganism have something in common, they both generally tend to instruct people to eat more, whole natural foods and consume a lot of vegtables.

I thought about saying this exact same thing, but didn't really care to give her the time of day as she is obviously vegan and just pops up in all the Paleo threads to try and make herself feel better about her choices... I am just about to the point of posting pictures of steak in all the Paleo threads so they'll go away... :laugh:

charliefitness

I started a paleo last fall and developed gout by spring. Doc says genetics, but there's no family history. I did go from 194 to 175 pounds, gained back 11 since the gout flare.

Tread cautiously with this type of diet or any diet that excludes, to a significant degree, any food group.

When talking to the HMO Nutritionist I learned that rapid weight loss while on a high purine diet contributes significantly to gout - which is more painful than being shot (I know), and I wouldn't wish on anybody!

jofjltncb6

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when junk-food paleo goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While my knee-jerk reaction was to jump all over you for equating paleo with Atkins (a common comparison), I re-read it more carefully and see what you're saying...and unfortunately, I agree*, at least as to where "mainstream paleo" seems to be going. Fortunately, I believe enough people have found such substantial benefits from a "paleo" approach *without* these paleoesque abominations that I believe it has the potential for real staying power, but only time will tell.

(*Hey, look at that! You and I found something where we agree. )

_VoV

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when paleo junk-food goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While products will show up from people that are trying to be enterprising, true Paleo/Primal people will reject these items as garbage, because that's what a lot of the diet is based on, the fact that processed, packaged foods are part of the downfall of health in most people.

I think that is the same issue that most vegetarians and vegans face too, there are far too many garbage products out there that are vegan that do nothing nutritionally for anyone. While I 100% disagree with the idea of cutting meat, Paleo and Veganism have something in common, they both generally tend to instruct people to eat more, whole natural foods and consume a lot of vegtables.

I agree that widely available vegan junk foods erode the dietary advantage of being vegan. But, many vegans eat that way because of their wish to reduce animal suffering, not for personal health.

emtjmac

I don't really believe in any sort of fad diet. I tried paleo, didn't work for me. I lost weight over the three weeks I was on it but it's definitely not for me.

Marll

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when paleo junk-food goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While products will show up from people that are trying to be enterprising, true Paleo/Primal people will reject these items as garbage, because that's what a lot of the diet is based on, the fact that processed, packaged foods are part of the downfall of health in most people.

I think that is the same issue that most vegetarians and vegans face too, there are far too many garbage products out there that are vegan that do nothing nutritionally for anyone. While I 100% disagree with the idea of cutting meat, Paleo and Veganism have something in common, they both generally tend to instruct people to eat more, whole natural foods and consume a lot of vegtables.

I agree that widely available vegan junk foods erode the dietary advantage of being vegan. But, many vegans eat that way because of their wish to reduce animal suffering, not for personal health.

True, and I can totally get behind someone that does it for what they believe to be ethical reasons, even though I disagree with the diet nutritionally.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that most people that eat Paleo don't want animal suffering either. Sure we still eat them, but that doesn't mean that an animal should EVER be mistreated or abused while being raised for such a purpose. Seeing videos of cattle being mistreated really makes me sick...I strive to buy only local meat from farmers that actually care about the animals. I don't want any of that grain fed meat anyway.

This is a different discussion all together though, so I'll just stop here

jofjltncb6

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when paleo junk-food goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While products will show up from people that are trying to be enterprising, true Paleo/Primal people will reject these items as garbage, because that's what a lot of the diet is based on, the fact that processed, packaged foods are part of the downfall of health in most people.

I think that is the same issue that most vegetarians and vegans face too, there are far too many garbage products out there that are vegan that do nothing nutritionally for anyone. While I 100% disagree with the idea of cutting meat, Paleo and Veganism have something in common, they both generally tend to instruct people to eat more, whole natural foods and consume a lot of vegtables.

I agree that widely available vegan junk foods erode the dietary advantage of being vegan. But, many vegans eat that way because of their wish to reduce animal suffering, not for personal health.

Reducing animal suffering was a byproduct of my paleo approach to eating too. I've significantly reduced my reliance on the CAFO system and instead am primarily obtaining my beef from a cow raised almost exclusively grass fed on a family farm. While they were very lightly supplemented with grains that were likely grown in a large commercial field that included a high animal kill rate in its harvest, it is almost certain the same could be said of the crops grown for consumption by vegetarians.

So the final death toll for me is:

cows: 1 (seemingly happy life in a pasture with room to roam)
crop field critters: some

I'm comfortable with that.

Akimajuktuq

I don't like the low fat focus of paleo and primal includes legumes (if I remember correctly) and more fruit than I am able to eat.

The LOW fat focus of paleo?! You mean the high fat? I'm confused. Paleo is definitely not a low fat diet!

Loren Cordain's version promotes low fat quite strongly. Lean meat this, lean meat that, no chicken skin, rarely eat eggs, etc. I don't necessarily think it is "wrong" or "bad" and I actually understand his reasoning (modern industrial farming creates animal products that are higher in fat than what wild animals naturally have) but for me, I need more fat. I eat dark meat chicken, higher fat cuts of beef, eggs frequently etc, because that's what's working for me right now.

_VoV

Paleo is a way of life not a diet. There is a Paleo/Primal group here on MFP.

Paleo appears to be the latest incarnation of the Atkins diet. It's only a matter of time before paleo cupcakes and bread can be found along side the Wonder bread. And when paleo junk-food goes mainstream, paleo will cease to be an effective weight loss method for the majority of people. Then a new diet will gain popularity.

While products will show up from people that are trying to be enterprising, true Paleo/Primal people will reject these items as garbage, because that's what a lot of the diet is based on, the fact that processed, packaged foods are part of the downfall of health in most people.

I think that is the same issue that most vegetarians and vegans face too, there are far too many garbage products out there that are vegan that do nothing nutritionally for anyone. While I 100% disagree with the idea of cutting meat, Paleo and Veganism have something in common, they both generally tend to instruct people to eat more, whole natural foods and consume a lot of vegtables.

I agree that widely available vegan junk foods erode the dietary advantage of being vegan. But, many vegans eat that way because of their wish to reduce animal suffering, not for personal health.

Reducing animal suffering was a byproduct of my paleo approach to eating too. I've significantly reduced my reliance on the CAFO system and instead am primarily obtaining my beef from a cow raised almost exclusively grass fed on a family farm. While they were very lightly supplemented with grains that were likely grown in a large commercial field that included a high animal kill rate in its harvest, it is almost certain the same could be said of the crops grown for consumption by vegetarians.

So the final death toll for me is:

cows: 1 (seemingly happy life in a pasture with room to roam)
crop field critters: some

I'm comfortable with that.

I understand what you are saying, but I draw the line differently. I agree this is tangential to the discussion here, so that's all I'll say about it.

Akimajuktuq

My only problem with a primal diet is the fact it seems to encourage the eating of saturated fats. Why?? They clog your arteries and give you heart attacks, that is a fact.
Also they says eat what our ancestors and cavemen ate... The average lifespan of a caveman was about 25. Why? Because they either got eaten by dinosaurs and if they didn't fall foul to that fate - because their diet was crap and they couldn't fight diseases...
I totally agree with adding nuts and cutting out processed foods but primal or paleo are so not for me.

You have some major misinformation in there. It's acceptable for you to think saturated fats are bad because the research that you have done says so, but there is also research that says the opposite. It is NOT fact that healthy saturated fats cause heart disease or negatively impact health at all. Actually, some people who increase their saturated fat from healthy sources, have the opposite experience.

Very wrong about blaming hunter/gatherer diets for their often, but not always, early demise. Humans wouldn't even be here today if natural foods were "crap" for our bodies. And yes, they did fight off diseases very effectively or again, none of us would be here!

I live in a community where people are only just now changing from a diet based on animal meat and fat to a grain/sugar/vegetable fat diet. Prior to this change there was no dental decay, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. There certainly were accidents and starvation but it had nothing to do with their natural diet being "crap".

So annoying to see our ancestors not afforded the respect that they deserve; for SURVIVING and passing their superior genes into future generations.

gailmelanie

"My only problem with a primal diet is the fact it seems to encourage the eating of saturated fats. Why?? They clog your arteries and give you heart attacks, that is a fact. " Quote.

Actually, it's not a fact. It wasn't until about 60 years ago when the prevalence of heart disease began to seriously increase. People ate natural animal and vegetable fats prior to that. I don't dispute that heart disease and cardiovascular disease probably have been around for the history of the human race, and it is a serious health issue for many people, but it wasn't until we started to replace natural fats with hydrogenated vegetable oil, aka margarine and shortening, that things got really bad. Unless you have a genetic tendency to accumulate cholesterol (your liver performs make cholesterol from dietary fats) it probably doesn't matter much to your arteries if you eat a lot of naturally-occuring fats, other than the fact that they add a lot of calories and tend to make some people store them as fat under their skin. My husband and I eat nearly identically every day, meat included, mostly chicken, but some beef and pork, too. He has high cholesterol that he needs medication to keep at an acceptable level and I don't. His father and grandfather had the same problem. As far as I know my relatives have not had this problem either. There is also a relationship between the consumption of fat and carbohydrates together that contributes to the formation of excessive adipose tissue, high blood sugar and arterial plaque. This is partly why different ethnic groups have different rates of coronary artery disease and diabetes than others. There is something about the consumption of corn and all of it's byproducts being consumed with fat of any kind that contributes to metabolic syndrome to a certain extent. The same may be true of the consumption of other grain and grain products in conjuction with fat. Everyone does and has done that, you say? Yes, and in our modern society where portion sizes are large and larger, and where it's easy not to move one's body circulation and metabolism are compromised . Hence the rise in heart disease and diabetes.

gailmelanie

My only problem with a primal diet is the fact it seems to encourage the eating of saturated fats. Why?? They clog your arteries and give you heart attacks, that is a fact.
Also they says eat what our ancestors and cavemen ate... The average lifespan of a caveman was about 25. Why? Because they either got eaten by dinosaurs and if they didn't fall foul to that fate - because their diet was crap and they couldn't fight diseases...
I totally agree with adding nuts and cutting out processed foods but primal or paleo are so not for me.

You have some major misinformation in there. It's acceptable for you to think saturated fats are bad because the research that you have done says so, but there is also research that says the opposite. It is NOT fact that healthy saturated fats cause heart disease or negatively impact health at all. Actually, some people who increase their saturated fat from healthy sources, have the opposite experience.

Very wrong about blaming hunter/gatherer diets for their often, but not always, early demise. Humans wouldn't even be here today if natural foods were "crap" for our bodies. And yes, they did fight off diseases very effectively or again, none of us would be here!

I live in a community where people are only just now changing from a diet based on animal meat and fat to a grain/sugar/vegetable fat diet. Prior to this change there was no dental decay, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. There certainly were accidents and starvation but it had nothing to do with their natural diet being "crap".

So annoying to see our ancestors not afforded the respect that they deserve; for SURVIVING and passing their superior genes into future generations.

Amazing we said almost the same thing at the same time!

Marll

One of the most interesting things that I've found through research, is that an anthropolgist can tell if the skull of a human is a real "caveman" or something from that general era because the teeth are generally all in place and still white even after being dug out of the ground.

Dental decay is something that was unheard of until grain agriculture took hold in western civilizations.

Same goes for animals. I have a dog that had horrible dental tartar, and the vet kept saying that he needed to get his teeth cleaned profesionally or he'd lose them eventually. I thought to myself "huh, I bet wolves don't have this problem, what do they eat?" Switched my dog to raw meat and grain free dog food...dental problems are now 85% gone and his teeth get whiter each month.

Leeanne1974

Dinosaurs eating cavemen! Lol

Dinosaurs have been extinct for around 65 million years, unless you consider birds to be dinosaurs.

Cavemen...well I'm not an expert in anthropology but I think maybe 50-100k years. Slight difference.

Oh, and saturated fat has never been proven to lead to heart disease.

Jeezzeeee...... It was quite apparent to anyone normal that my post was actually semi ironic... It was a kind of joke.... Poking fun. Seriously, some people hahah!
You know what they say, a diet severely lacking in carbs affects the seratonin levels in the brain, which leads to grumpiness and so on.
Soooooooo many clear cases on some of the MFP threads

Here are a few links. It is hard to find anything that is unbiased... I am trying to find something here that isn't actually a pro-paleo or pro-low fat link
http://lowfatcooking.about.com/b/2006/08/07/what-just-one-high-saturated-fat-meal-can-do.htm

http://www.umm.edu/features/transfats.htm
(^^ concerning trans fats)

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-1876936.html

There are 3 there.

At the end of the day, different health professionals will say different things. It is believed by most however (well in the UK) that saturated fats are bad for your health and heart.

The biggest Heart disease charity in the UK Is called The British Heart Foundation... Here is their take on Saturated Fats.
http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/prevention/healthy-eating/saturated-fat.aspx

Mels707

Ok fine...your post was sarcastic.

My real problem was that you are spouting things off as "fact" that most definitely have not been proven. I don't eat paleo, nor do I intend to, and I also don't KNOW that sat fats arent harmful, but there is definite controversy. Here is an interesting link.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/80/5/1102.full

Also, trans fats and sat fats are completely different things

DrBorkBork

If you're convinced saturated fats are bad, please watch Fat Head. It's very entertaining and informative. Paleo does not allow dairy (ghee is a gray area). If you consume dairy, you are Primal, not Paleo. Accept the fact. It's not such a bad thing. *steps off soap box and walks away cuz these threads always get out of control quickly*

_VoV

Ok fine...your post was sarcastic.

My real problem was that you are spouting things off as "fact" that most definitely have not been proven. I don't eat paleo, nor do I intend to, and I also don't KNOW that sat fats arent harmful, but there is definite controversy. Here is an interesting link.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/80/5/1102.full

Also, trans fats and sat fats are completely different things

I agree that the jury is still out.

Marll

Dinosaurs eating cavemen! Lol

Dinosaurs have been extinct for around 65 million years, unless you consider birds to be dinosaurs.

Cavemen...well I'm not an expert in anthropology but I think maybe 50-100k years. Slight difference.

Oh, and saturated fat has never been proven to lead to heart disease.

Jeezzeeee...... It was quite apparent to anyone normal that my post was actually semi ironic... It was a kind of joke.... Poking fun. Seriously, some people hahah!
You know what they say, a diet severely lacking in carbs affects the seratonin levels in the brain, which leads to grumpiness and so on.
Soooooooo many clear cases on some of the MFP threads

Here are a few links. It is hard to find anything that is unbiased... I am trying to find something here that isn't actually a pro-paleo or pro-low fat link
http://lowfatcooking.about.com/b/2006/08/07/what-just-one-high-saturated-fat-meal-can-do.htm

http://www.umm.edu/features/transfats.htm
(^^ concerning trans fats)

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-1876936.html

There are 3 there.

At the end of the day, different health professionals will say different things. It is believed by most however (well in the UK) that saturated fats are bad for your health and heart.

The biggest Heart disease charity in the UK Is called The British Heart Foundation... Here is their take on Saturated Fats.
http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/prevention/healthy-eating/saturated-fat.aspx

The problem is the "Fact" that fat is bad for you is all based off of the Lipid Hypothesis, of which it's been noted that Ancel Keys either fabricated his data, or threw out data that didn't fit what he already believed to be true....which is bad science to say the least. Unfortunately idiots in the US Government jumped all over that and decided it was fact as well, and the rest is history. It's been a long downward slide since then.



Trans fats are garbage, I'll agree there...but guess what trans fats come from? That's right vegtable oil, soybean oil, canola oil, etc. You will NOT find transfats in animal fat....shocking. Another reason why paleo people eat animal fat (not to mention it tastes better. McDonalds even used to fry the french fries in BEEF FAT, before idiots forced them to start using vegtable oil....a transfat) and the fact that many vital nutrients and vitamins are fat soluable...meaning you NEED fat to absorb them properly.

jofjltncb6

Dinosaurs eating cavemen! Lol

Dinosaurs have been extinct for around 65 million years, unless you consider birds to be dinosaurs.

Cavemen...well I'm not an expert in anthropology but I think maybe 50-100k years. Slight difference.

Oh, and saturated fat has never been proven to lead to heart disease.

Jeezzeeee...... It was quite apparent to anyone normal that my post was actually semi ironic... It was a kind of joke.... Poking fun. Seriously, some people hahah!
You know what they say, a diet severely lacking in carbs affects the seratonin levels in the brain, which leads to grumpiness and so on.
Soooooooo many clear cases on some of the MFP threads

Here are a few links. It is hard to find anything that is unbiased... I am trying to find something here that isn't actually a pro-paleo or pro-low fat link
http://lowfatcooking.about.com/b/2006/08/07/what-just-one-high-saturated-fat-meal-can-do.htm

http://www.umm.edu/features/transfats.htm
(^^ concerning trans fats)

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-1876936.html

There are 3 there.

At the end of the day, different health professionals will say different things. It is believed by most however (well in the UK) that saturated fats are bad for your health and heart.

The biggest Heart disease charity in the UK Is called The British Heart Foundation... Here is their take on Saturated Fats.
http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/prevention/healthy-eating/saturated-fat.aspx

Yeah, right. (And way to double-down with yet another "fact" that paleo is low carb.)

For what it's worth, we have similar recommendations from the experts here in the US, all of which were likely the result of the same old flawed research. Only now are they starting to unravel the real reasons behind the issues, and they are most likely not the saturated fats themselves.

Perhaps someday enough of the right kind of research will be completed that we will know for certain. Until then, I've seen enough evidence (clinical and anecdotal) to be entirely comfortable with my dietary choices.

Best of luck to you on your journey, whatever path you choose.