Paleo diet, crazy or worth it?

NicoWoodruff

Paleo-esque on a budget worked for me.

Troll

Look at a list of the foods you wont be allowed to eat. beans, etc. now ask yourself if you can handle that long term.

If you can, go for it.

i read this list of no-go foods and laughed. my main proteins in about half my meals are on the ban list. beans, nuts, cheese-im a vegetarian and that would leave me eating very little.

Pedal_Pusher

My thoughts are if it works for you, use it. If it doesn't work for you, don't use it.

Akimajuktuq

Yeah, it's so "crazy" to choose to eat healthy food that is ancestrally appropriate and not processed in a factory. It's so crazy that I resolved all of my health issues (including some severe ones) within two weeks of cutting out grains, legumes and limiting fruit and dairy.

Hard to give up toxic food (imo)? No, not very, but I had to finally get sick of being sick. Even my child is getting on board and thinks "eating like a dinosaur" (of course we didn't really exist with dinosaurs) is very cool.

Hearts_2015

I have a close friend who has recently transitioned her family to a completely paleo diet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet

For me Im a mom and it sounds SO hard to change my entire families way of eating and cutting out foods that I thought were good for me.You have to cut out beans, and dairy, and gluten among other things.

Basically what are your thoughts on this new way of eating? It seems to be very healthy and beneficial but I just wanted to see what everyone else thought?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/766477-paleo-diet-thoughts - current thread on Paleo on the boards

medennison123

Pick up the book on amazon and give it a shot. You never know.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Seems rather pointless to me unless you have specific medical reasons to do so. I don't have any reason to do so. My family is gluten free because my doctor confirmed that we have gluten intolerances, but other than that we're cool (well with everything except soy, which we only consume while devouring sushi). Yumm . . . . sushi.

WendyTerry420

I don't do Paleo, but I'm pretty sure it's not a "fad diet".

My sister in law and her husband started on this diet. She has lost a lot of weight in the month she has been on it. I personally don’t think it’s good to go on a diet. I believe diets are to short term. I believe it’s better to change your outlook on food and listen to your body. I don’t think fad diets work in the long run.

I pretty sure that the term "fad" describes it appropriately. It's the latest thing in dieting and will not stand the test of time. It's much better than some of these silly single-food diets and such, but indeed, it is a fad.

castlerobber

It seems to be a healthful way to eat. I read Mark's Daily Apple every day. While I don't go for all the caveman stuff, "what would Grok do," Mark does provide plenty of links to scientific studies, and good explanations of the concepts.

I wouldn't call my way of eating Paleo, or primal, or Atkins; just a generic "lower carb" approach. There's type 2 diabetes in my father's family--my father was diabetic by his late 50s--and I don't want to go there.

laciz

I've eaten Paleo for almost 2 years. My hubby is 100% in, the kids are 80%, but always gluten free. I keep a blog if you would like to check it out www.picketfencepaleo.com

Pros: Feel amazing
Clearer skin
Conquered sugar addictions and cravings. I really don't even see most processed food as "food." Makes it easy to go without.
Less anxiety & stress
Fewer headaches, aches, pains

Cons:
Must spend the time shopping and preparing for yourself
You can still eat out at restaurants. Breakfast is easy. Bunless burgers, etc...Steak, baked sweet potato and side of broccoli anyone? Skip the bread
The caveman thing gets stretched out a bit. It isn't about trying to recreate the past. It is about trying to recreate good health.
It doesn't have to be low carb, high protein, no fruit. You can tailor it to meet what works for you, just eating real foods.

I loved beans pre-paleo! They were a hard thing to give up. However, I tried to eat them once after I went Paleo and couldn't believe the stomach distress they caused. Ugh. Felt gross, wasn't worth it. It is hard to describe unless you give it an honest trial, but you just feel amazing with Paleo, and when you add back some of the suspect foods you realize that they don't agree with you like you thought they did. Not worth it and you don't miss them.

alysa521

Totally agree with your list of pro and cons, I love the paleo way of eating and don't think of it as a diet. I feel a million times better not eating dairy and gluten, and pretty much just focusing on meat and veggies. I’m not perfect and do slip up, but the way I feel afterward reminds how much better I feel without those things in my diet.

I definitely recommend marks daily apple or the book/website It starts with food (google whole 9).

Fitby31

I've only been Paleo for 6 weeks today. I love it. I wasn't able to stick to calorie counting, south beach, or Adkins. But this is pretty easy & well worth it.

I have all the pros that Iaciz mentioned above.

try it, can't hurt you.

ETA: Look at it as eating clean, gluten / dairy free. I think people get hung up on the caveman swing they put on it.

WendyTerry420

It seems crazy to me that evolved people want to try to eat like prehistoric, unevolved people.

the whole caveman or prehistoric idea of the paleo way of eating is just the marketing idea of identifying with this style of eating.

It should be thought of as a way of eating that gets away from what we have "evolved" into as far as our food. We have evolved and are focused not on nutrition but on mass production of preservative filled crap laced with fake sweeteners.

the haters of a paleo diet often pull out the caveman analogy but for many paleo type eaters, it is about cleaner nutrition and not emulating the caveman.

That may be true, but it still makes no sense to me, all that "grains causes cancer" business that they tout. I also think that the very fact that it would use such a marketing ploy makes it rather unappealing to me. The "evolution" of the "modern diet" that lacks nutrition is more of a recent trend, not exactly a product of evolution. When I speak of the evolution of humans, I am referring to the thousands of years, not the last 50-100 years.

WendyTerry420

Hard to give up toxic food (imo)?

This is the kind of comment that really makes me roll my eyes. The idea that grains, legumes, and dairy are "toxic" to humans is simply absurd. Eat what you want, but don't make false claims. It is only "toxic" if you have some sort of medical condition.

Julesjhj

Try it for 30 days just for yourself and see how you feel. You don't have to switch/make your family eat that way "cold turkey". I have had wonderful results incorporating many of the paleo/primal principles to my lifestyle. My husband and kids.....not so much. Overall I do prepare healthier fare for them to eat and they have seen my success (50+ pounds).

Feel free to friend me and look at my diary. I tend to eat what I want, when I want...I like the 80/20 principle. I try to keep my carbs around 75-100mg for weightloss. I have cream in my coffee every morning but I don't eat as much dairy as i used to. I love cheese but I don't crave it anymore I eat it in smaller quantities like sprinkled on eggs or in salads. I used to eat yogurt but I have found that cutting the way back on dairy and grains totally eliminated the bloat. I didn't even know I was bloated until I started eating this way.

I have so much more energy and I can think clearer. When I started I was a size 14-16. At 5'8, I always considered myself a big-boned large woman. I am now a size 4. I have tiny wrists!! Who knew?? The american food pyramid is a CROCK and is killing us!!

Chief_Rocka

The american food pyramid is a CROCK and is killing us!!

Americans are fat, but it's not because they're following the food pyramid.

jofjltncb6

I wouldn't exactly call it a "new way of eating". Think of it more as a return to an old way of eating...(just how "old" is the subject of a different argument).

And I disagree with those who call it a fad already. Increasing popularity =/= fad. But ultimately determining if something is or is not a fad is easier done looking backwards instead of forwards. As they say, time will tell.

The "marketing angle" claim is interesting too since a strict adherence to it doesn't really benefit any one particular seller financially. It isn't like people are buying WW meals, or SlimFast shakes, or something like that. Perhaps local producers/farmers are most in line to benefit, but that isn't exactly a well-organized group (and they likely aren't the ones behind the "push"). I guess the book-sellers have an angle on it, but that is true of every diet/lifestyle/hobby/interest/subject/etc.

All that said, it seems very likely that we are heading that direction though. More and more paleo cookies, paleo this, and paleo that...in their ironically pre-packaged packages...are inevitable.

amy1612

Hard to give up toxic food (imo)?

This is the kind of comment that really makes me roll my eyes. The idea that grains, legumes, and dairy are "toxic" to humans is simply absurd. Eat what you want, but don't make false claims. It is only "toxic" if you have some sort of medical condition.

Beans can indeed be 'toxic'. They contain a toxin which can be harmful if they're not prepared properly

WendyTerry420

The american food pyramid is a CROCK and is killing us!!

Americans are fat, but it's not because they're following the food pyramid.

I have never heard of anyone who got fat from following those guidelines or even coming close to it. People get fat from eating too much and not moving enough, or from medical conditions that alter their metabolism.

hwasylchuk

Because if she didn't talk it over with her husband she would be in the wrong?