Would like some opinions...

AuntieKT

As I am sure many of you know because I have been posting here excessively since joining the group recently, I am new to the "somewhat" paleo lifestyle. I started looking into eating this way because I noticed that I feel much better when I don't eat any grains or sugar and I noticed the paleo lifestyle supports this. I have lost 102.2 pounds over the last 10 months and am looking to clean up my diet so I am feeling my best and so that I can lose the last of the weight I want to. I have pretty much been enjoying the way I have been eating, but I am having some problems following all of the paleo "rules" and I was just looking for some opinions on what I am doing from people that are following this diet. I have cut out grains, dairy, and beans. I have almost totally removed all sugar from my diet except for the post workout protein shake that I drink on mornings that I workout (It has a little artificial sweetener in it, but is still 0 grams of sugar on the label). My problem is that I eat a lot of fuits and vegetables which tends to put me over on my carb intake (that you are supposed to eat less than 100 carbs if you are trying to lose weight). I also am struggling a little to get in over 100 grams of protein (I am shooting for 114 grams which is because I have 114 pounds of lean body mass). Doing all of this, I am eating around 1450 calories a day and I workout for at least an hour with some kind of HIIT training at least five days a week. I guess my main question is because I am still sticking to a calorie deficit, is it that big of a deal that I am over on carbs every day? I would think that it would probably be fine because I am doing what I have been doing, just cutting out a bunch of crap and processed foods. What do you paleo people think about the way I have been eating? Do you think its stupid? Not too bad? Just looking for some thoughts on what I am doing because I am always open to suggestions and tips for improvement.

Thanks a lot for any and all input I get. I look forward to what you all have to say!

-Katie

SweetxCatastrophe

If you're over on the carbs, are you still losing weight? If so, you're fine. If you're not, try cutting some of the fruit and see what happens.

Have you read Primal Blueprint or any of the paleo books (I like Loren Cordain's The Paleo Diet)? The reason I ask is because they go in depth about what you should and shouldn't be eating, and would probably give you helpful information if you think your diet needs adjustment

Dmkolls

With Paleo, you don't really count calories. It's more about carbs, fats, and other nutrients. You listen to your body and eat until satisfied.

I would suggest getting off of artificial sweetener. It turns into formaldehyde in your body, and just messes with your hormones.

Check out the Balanced Bits blog and podcast. Those ladies know their stuff and can guide you into figuring this out.

Congrats on the weight loss!

twinmom01

You didn't say how much you weigh now...

If you are focused on eating clean and working out - your best bet would be to find out what your body fat % is rather than focusing on a number on a scale.

As your fat % has decreased and you are working out 5 times a month you may actually start to see a stall in weight loss and may actually see an increase as your muscles adjust and begin to build up slowly.

Read this http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

justaspoonfulofsugar

With the amount of exercise you are doing,I would say to increase your calories.With the primal blueprint(marks daily apple),he is not a fan of working out doing heaps of cardio..move slowly 3-4 hours a week,play and do sprints every 7-10.This does not need to be running.If you have lots of weight to lose,really low carb can benefit but if you are only needing 10lbs I wouldn't go too low.
I would take a look at Mark's website as there is LOTS of helpful info on there.
Make sure you are getting enough fat in your diet as well as this will keep you fuller longer.
good luck!
ps,as for counting calories and paleo/primal..Rob Wolf has some interesting information on this subject that he just posted a 3 part piece about calories with regards to low carb.Also,Mark will say that if things aren't working out calories in still matter.
When I have been doing primal/paleo in the past,I wasn't watching calories and while Initially,eventually it stopped because I was overeating. I think calorie counting for me(and probably for others,especially women)is important for now.

AuntieKT

All great suggestions! Thank you very much. To answer some of your questions... I actually just got my body fat percentage tested on Tuesday and I am 26.8% body fat. I would like to at least get down into the fitness range which I think would be another 20 pounds for me or so. Due to obsessive compulsive tendencies, I try to only weigh myself like every month, so it is hard to say whether I am losing weight following this new way of eating or not. Also, please know that when I say "losing weight" I really mean losing fat. I have no interest in losing any lean body mass and any that I have lost so far has not been on purpose. I have pretty much been grain free for a few months now, but it has been only in the last week or two that I decided to try cutting out sugar, dairy, and legumes after seeing multiple posts about the paleo lifestyle and wanting to see how my body reacts. I definitely feel good, that is for sure. I am thinking that though I am not following the paleo rules to the letter, that what I am doing now will AT LEAST be an improvement over how I used to eat in how I feel and my fat loss. This whole process for me has been little by little cutting out all the crap that my body doesn't need. I have been losing weight just fine this whole time (even when I was eating a ton more "crap" than I do now), I guess I just want to make sure that now that I am getting close where I want to be that I keep making progress and feel as physically good as I can. I have lost a lot of weight a few times in the past, but I have never felt as fit, happy, and passionate about my health as I do right now. My continued passion to continue to try and improve and live a healthy lifestyle has been more of a triumph than even the weighloss itself. I have previously read most of the links that you guys have provided (but will be checking out the ones that I haven't) and was especially inspired by the one on the nerdfitness blog about Staci the power lifter. I am actually trying to get into power lifting myself a little these days. This story was the reason why I decided to keep the protein shake in my diet, but I changed it to the one that Staci uses. I realize that I am going to have to get over my calorie fears and start eating more if I want to see the kind of gains that she has. Eating more is just something that I am not very comfortable with right now. I actually surpassed my initial goal weight about ten pounds ago, but kept going not only because I am not totally satisfied with how my body looks, but because deep down I am scared about gaining back any of the weight I have lost. I have gained back all my weight every other time that I have lost weight and I just REFUSE to do that this time. I understand that when truly following the paleo lifestyle to the letter, that you don't worry about counting calories, but I am just not there yet. I guess I am saying that at least for right now, this is where true paleo and I differ. I used to try to just eat "clean", but after seeing how much better I feel after cutting out most of what paleo tells you (grains especially), I guess eating clean just wasn't enough for me. I just have a really hard time limiting fruits and vegetables. I guess I'm kind of on my own plan. Not following paleo strictly by the book, but not really following any other diet lifestyle either. I look forward to more comments, suggestions, and opinions about what I am doing. Thank you so much for the responses that I have already recieved. They are much appreciated.

NicoWoodruff

I've found a lot of success doing what I think of as "paleo-esque on a budget" and here's what that means to me as far as my tweaks of the "rules" whoever's rules you follow.. the numbers here are just to organize it in my own mind.

The Paleo type rules I follow strictest are

#1 The "no sugar" Rule, including esoteric weird sources of sugars that we don't think about like condiments, high glycemic fruits, vinegar, and alcohol. I save any sugar intake for special occasions and tiny portions with the exception of a once a day at most meal of low glycemic fruit. If I'm trying to lose weight though I will avoid the fruit altogether for as long as 2 weeks at a time.

#2 The lots and lots of veggies rule. I'm constantly roasting or flash boiling veggies and enjoy making all sorts of salads. And raw almonds, pecans, and roasted pumpkin seeds have become "go to" snacks.

#3 Like many who follow Paleo I have become pretty strictly no dairy with the exception of butter. However I can't be bothered to buy expensive grass fed butter so I just get regular unsalted butter and keep some frozen on hand all the time. I love Blue Diamond unsweetened almond milk and I use it everywhere I would use milk. I avoid cheese whenever possible although I love it. Once in a blue moon I'll have something cheesy usually at an Italian restaurant special occasion with friends, but otherwise cheese has become off the menu for me because I see such a benefit to my health without it. One exception is sometimes if I'm cooking at home something that would call for a small dollup of sour cream I'll let myself use a dollup of greek yoghurt instead as a small splurge. As far as eggs, I love em cooked almost any way.. but again I'm on a budget so I just get regular fresh medium eggs from the grocery and try not to consume more than 3 to 4 per week.

I find cooking my own home cooked meals at home this way really satisfying and pretty easy/affordable..

Where I diverge a bit..

#4 with meat I worry less about whether the meat was grass fed, I can't afford the fancier meats so I opt for what's really fresh and as good a price as I can get for the meat portion of the diet. My local grocers are good though because there's a large local Amish community here that they get a lot of their meats from. I cook a lot of split breasts of chicken then use the bones and skin to make broth for soups. I also bake wild salmon, boil large raw shrimp, and occasionally have pork chops or steak but I try to stick to the poultry and fish a bit more than the red meat.

Also on #5 grains. I allow whole grains and even occasionally might have something that's not whole grain when I'm dining out, like a croissant sandwich at a cafe' with a friend for example.. but I especially limit refined grains wherever possible and eat only small portions of whole grains occasionally when paired with something they make a whole protein with. Like home made long grain brown rice pilaf with black bean soup as an example. I do watch and limit my portions of grains more than I used to though.

Which brings me to #6 the bean question. Personally I love to make my own bean soups that I feel are pretty nutritious especially when paired with something like brown rice (or a slice of sprouted "Ezekial" bread which is one thing I will spend the extra money on.) It seems to me beans digest much better when paired with corn/rice/grain to make a "perfect protein". So yes I do eat some beans, but I alternate my bean and rice soups with veggie/chicken and veggie/beef soups as a rotation so that I'm not getting too many beans which I do notice will give a bit of bloat. I love peanuts and do occasionally but rarely now have them boiled or in my own home made peanut sauce.. but I don't go out of my way to eat peanuts now as I did before starting a paleoesque regimen.

(Same as with fruits, If I'm trying to lose weight; I will avoid grains and beans altogether for as long as 2 weeks at a time.)

This is what has become my ideal diet and what I go back to when I get off track and it's amazing how much better I feel. If I didn't feel so good eating this way I don't think I'd have stuck with my own version of the rules as much as I manage to do.

:flowerforyou: Thanks to the O.P. AuntieKT for a thought provoking post.

bdotshaw

This is all great stuff. Currently loving this group!

AuntieKT

I agree. Lots of great responses. That is the reason why even though I don't follow paleo 100% I still joined the group. Because it is so active, I follow most of the rules, and everyone seems so nice and helpful!