Paleo Diet?

Acg67

If it's called "The ________ Diet", I'd advise against it.

This.

And this from "Paleo Diet Is Nonsense Science," by Matthew Yglesias in Slate:

Any sufficiently stringent, somewhat arbitrary set of dietary restrictions is likely to lead you to snack less and be more mindful of what you're eating. But the paleo concept is a marketing gimmick that doesn't have much basis.
(http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/03/12/paleofantasies_marlene_zuk_says_paleo_diet_is_based_on_bad_science.html)

That is not to say that individual food sensitivities are to be ignored nor that processed food is good for you. Whenever I hear we would be better off eating like some conception of how cavemen ate, I think about caveman life span. I think I'll not reject food to emulate people who died very young.

cavemen died young because they... lets see... lived in caves and fought sabertooth tigers.

did you know the current generation of kids is going to be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents? that's what GMO and processed foods are doing. Cutting those things out of your diet and eating whole foods as close to their natural state as possible is nonsensical?

huh.

Lol, fearmongering over GMO and processed foods again. Care to actually substantiate that GMO or processed foods are causing people to have a shorter lifespan?

go troll somewhere else

Personal attacks aren't going to make your statements any more true.

CoachReddy

If it's called "The ________ Diet", I'd advise against it.

This.

And this from "Paleo Diet Is Nonsense Science," by Matthew Yglesias in Slate:

Any sufficiently stringent, somewhat arbitrary set of dietary restrictions is likely to lead you to snack less and be more mindful of what you're eating. But the paleo concept is a marketing gimmick that doesn't have much basis.
(http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/03/12/paleofantasies_marlene_zuk_says_paleo_diet_is_based_on_bad_science.html)

That is not to say that individual food sensitivities are to be ignored nor that processed food is good for you. Whenever I hear we would be better off eating like some conception of how cavemen ate, I think about caveman life span. I think I'll not reject food to emulate people who died very young.

cavemen died young because they... lets see... lived in caves and fought sabertooth tigers.

did you know the current generation of kids is going to be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents? that's what GMO and processed foods are doing. Cutting those things out of your diet and eating whole foods as close to their natural state as possible is nonsensical?

huh.

Lol, fearmongering over GMO and processed foods again. Care to actually substantiate that GMO or processed foods are causing people to have a shorter lifespan?

go troll somewhere else

Personal attacks aren't going to make your statements any more true.

yeah, but I find it's more worthwhile than trying to have a discussion with you.

brower47

i have been Primal, since before christmas, and in my opinion it is the best way to eat out there, ever, and it is not restrictive whatsoever

So you can eat whatever you want? I'm pretty sure it restricts certain foods, thus making it restrictive. :huh:

CoachReddy

i have been Primal, since before christmas, and in my opinion it is the best way to eat out there, ever, and it is not restrictive whatsoever

So you can eat whatever you want? I'm pretty sure it restricts certain foods, thus making it restrictive. :huh:

it's not restrictive if you don't want to eat those foods. restriction = perception

are you restricted from eating whatever foods you don't particularly enjoy eating or is it just a choice?

Abells

Join the Paleo Group or you are going to listen to those two guys go back and forth again unfortunately

Frankenbarbie01

Ive been Paleo/Primal for 1.5 years, feel awesome, sleep great, ton's of energy and lost close to 30 lbs.

Things I avoid :Grains, legumes, dairy (most of the time),alcohol, soy based and manufactured products, added sugar and most foods that have an ingredients list.

What I do eat: Veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, eggs, meat.....and pretty much whatever I want if I'm willing to pay with it in gastro distress.
If you are interested in paleo/primal way of life there is a group board and there are a couple of web sites that I found really helpful:
Marksdailyapple.com
Thewhole30.com
thepaleosolution.com

I can only share my experience and thus far it has been positive
Peace

Abells

Join the Paleo Group or you are going to listen to those two guys go back and forth again unfortunately


will edit to say -- however they both "diet" is working for them individually obviously so "to each their own"

ctpeace

I'm neither for nor against. I'm gluten-free about 90% of the time, and when I do have wheat, I usually feel pretty bloated soon after. I didn't, however, automatically lose weight going gluten free. This diet may be right for you, but just a word of warning: while it will automatically help you cut "junk" out of your diet, you should still count calories.

rybo

Before I ever heard of the words Primal & Paleo to describe a diet, I started making a shift away from processed foods. It just made sense to me to eat real stuff. During that same period I did make a conscious effort as an expirement to reduce my dairy intake, mostly milk, as I pounded the cereal hard. I was never a fan of bread or pasta so limiting my intake of those is not that difficult. And what little I do eat I don't really care about, because in the grand scheme is a very minute % of my diet. I have reduced the amount of cereal I eat and when I do I use almond milk. The changes I noticed will never make me want to eat a diet high in processed foods again. My digestive system problems, that had always given me issues and was a general annoyance, cleared up and went away. My energy levels skyrocketed. No after lunch crash & sleepyness. No exhausted by the end of the day & needing to go to bed early. I like having energy & feeling great.

Now you can nit pick all you want about throwing a slice of cheese on your burger or eating some beans or peanuts, but to deny the over all premise of eating real foods is just ludicrous.

bumblebums

Join the Paleo Group or you are going to listen to those two guys go back and forth again unfortunately

I was really hoping they would wrestle for it, caveman style (Sorry, couldn't resist. It must have been their glorious torso avatars.)

jrose1982

I'm also following Primal Blueprint (though only for a few months). The only real restriction is grains, sugar, processed foods. The concept isn't just about limiting food groups, it's about limiting chemicals the food industry is poisoning us with. There are other "restrictions" but they're more like suggestions. Work them in, one at a time, as you see fit.

Since I quit eating grains (bread, pasta, etc) I find that it takes very little quantities of these foods to aggravate my stomach. I've also found that I'm not as hungry as I used to be, hunger doesn't make me lightheaded and cranky anymore, nor does it make me feel like I'm going to pass out.

And, I'm not sure i would call Paleo or Primal "Low Carb/High Protein". I think they're more "Low Carb/High Fat". Your protein needs don't change much. The idea is to train your body to burn the fat that's already on your body (which it won't do if it's busy burning glucose) and to listen to what your body needs, when it needs it.

I find the hardest part about going Primal is the same as any diet: People bring cupcakes, cookies, etc into the office and it is REALLY HARD to stay out of them. But if I give in to temptation, my stomach tells me after a couple bites to throw the rest away. I never had that help before.

As for support: Go to MarksDailyApple.com for Primal/Paleo support. Mark Sisson writes this blog and wrote The Primal Blueprint books. He provides a lot of support (some for sale, but most for free) to help people make the transition.

HeidiCooksSupper

That is not to say that individual food sensitivities are to be ignored nor that processed food is good for you. Whenever I hear we would be better off eating like some conception of how cavemen ate, I think about caveman life span. I think I'll not reject food to emulate people who died very young.

cavemen died young because they... lets see... lived in caves and fought sabertooth tigers.

did you know the current generation of kids is going to be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents? that's what GMO and processed foods are doing. Cutting those things out of your diet and eating whole foods as close to their natural state as possible is nonsensical?

huh.

I agree with you 100 percent on processed foods. Hidden fats, an over-reliance on sugars, industry-driven federal nutritional recommendations, sneaky ways to keep dangerous chemicals legal, sedentary lifestyle, all problems of importance.

Kids today are much more likely to eat processed foods both at home and at school than when I was a child yet there is little science behind the "paleo" diet, per se, or any other particularly named diet. A well-balanced diet comprised of minimally processed, home-cooked food is the way to go. A diet heavy in maximally processed meat, wheat, corn and soy is not a well-balanced diet.

brower47

i have been Primal, since before christmas, and in my opinion it is the best way to eat out there, ever, and it is not restrictive whatsoever

So you can eat whatever you want? I'm pretty sure it restricts certain foods, thus making it restrictive. :huh:

it's not restrictive if you don't want to eat those foods. restriction = perception

are you restricted from eating whatever foods you don't particularly enjoy eating or is it just a choice?

Most people that follow the paleo/primal diet used to eat the foods that are excluded by this diet and have decided (for various reasons, perceived health benefits, etc.) to go primal. If they didn't like the foods before, they wouldn't have eaten them. The reason a lot of people cannot maintain a primal diet is precisely because of its restrictive nature. Some people just can't give up pizza and beer (or any other personal conform food).

If you hate all the foods the diet doesn't allow, awesome. You're perfect for it, way to go. I'm glad you found the perfect niche. However, 98% of the human population isn't exactly like you.

And restriction =/= perception. If it did, it would be a synonym but since they mean entirely different things, they are not.

Abells

Join the Paleo Group or you are going to listen to those two guys go back and forth again unfortunately

I was really hoping they would wrestle for it, caveman style (Sorry, couldn't resist. It must have been their glorious torso avatars.)

well played!

SanteMulberry

I've been following a paleo/primal way of eating since last July and it's been good for me, for the most part. I didn't start eating this way to lose weight so much as to deal with my health. It's been fantastic for me as far as getting healthier. I've lost a bunch of weight as well, but that's due to calorie counting and exercise. I don't believe these ways of eating are going to magically make anyone lean and thin.

What I dislike about it are some of the more overzealous followers. There are a lot of total weirdos who follow this way of eating (kinda like you see with vegans...and some vegetarians). They can be very unpleasant and self righteous, and have some really f'd up ideas about food, and will try their best to inflict them upon anyone who will pay attention to them for more than two seconds.

Avoid these types like the plague--be very very wary of someone telling you how to do paleo/primal. Find out yourself by reading books, reading websites, doing your own N=1 experiment. The whole point is to eat in a way that is appropriate for your body, not to eat just like Mark Sisson or Robb Wolf or "Grok" or whatever internet weirdo you run across. Be patient, try lots of stuff, don't feel like there are some sort of RULES you must follow or else, etc.

Don't get hung up on how compliant you are or aren't. It's not worth it. Eat in a way that is most pleasing and that works best FOR YOU. For your health, budget, lifestyle, etc. Don't feel bad or discouraged if you can't afford to eat 100% grass fed organic beef all the time, or can't afford organic this, free range that, etc.

Just read a variety of books, do lots of listening/reading on the internet, and find what's best for you. Ignore the nutcases. Ignore the people who tell you fruit is bad/not paleo/not primal etc.

Ignore the people who tell you to eat a diet made up almost entirely of fat and no carbs.

Find your own way!

Totally agree. I try to eat organic for animal products because the pesticides get concentrated in animal products, but totally organic produce isn't even available (unless you raise it yourself, which I used to do). But I don't stress about it if I can't get all-organic produce--it is better to eat the stuff and take the pesticide residue than to not eat it at all. I agree that Paleo or Primal or anything is going to make you slim without working on the exercise end of things. The other thing that many non-gluten people do is load up on non-gluten sweets. And how is that going to help anything?

SanteMulberry

If it's called "The ________ Diet", I'd advise against it.

This.

And this from "Paleo Diet Is Nonsense Science," by Matthew Yglesias in Slate:

Any sufficiently stringent, somewhat arbitrary set of dietary restrictions is likely to lead you to snack less and be more mindful of what you're eating. But the paleo concept is a marketing gimmick that doesn't have much basis.
(http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/03/12/paleofantasies_marlene_zuk_says_paleo_diet_is_based_on_bad_science.html)

That is not to say that individual food sensitivities are to be ignored nor that processed food is good for you. Whenever I hear we would be better off eating like some conception of how cavemen ate, I think about caveman life span. I think I'll not reject food to emulate people who died very young.

cavemen died young because they... lets see... lived in caves and fought sabertooth tigers.

did you know the current generation of kids is going to be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents? that's what GMO and processed foods are doing. Cutting those things out of your diet and eating whole foods as close to their natural state as possible is nonsensical?

huh.

I saw a TED lecture (I forget the name of the lecturer--he was a paleontologist I believe) who said that paleontologists have determined that hunter-gatherer people were remarkably healthy--that death was predominantly caused by accidents or war and they found very few infant or child skeletons in the hunter-gatherer communities that they dug up. He also said that the advent of agriculture (with its turn to grain-eating) saw an overall decline in health and a huge increase in infant and child mortality. Presumably the reason why they went to agriculture in the first place, was because they needed an easily storable, non-perishable food that could tide them over during times of drought. I don't know if we will ever know if that theory is correct, but it is an interesting idea.

Thorbjornn

...they found very few infant or child skeletons in the hunter-gatherer communities that they dug up.

That is interesting, if not even fascinating. It flies in the face of the "common wisdom", which is not really surprising. That says to me that infant mortality rose along with the rise of civilization and agriculture.

NikkiP33

Wow! Those are great results. Keep up the good work.

NikkiP33

Thanks for the great tip! I guess when you really think about it... Losing weight and eating healthy really shouldnt be that hard. I guess in the end the only one we are fighting against is ourselves. Maybe having an endulgence once a week or two is better than every meal. Great Job on your progress.

brower47

...they found very few infant or child skeletons in the hunter-gatherer communities that they dug up.

That is interesting, if not even fascinating. It flies in the face of the "common wisdom", which is not really surprising. That says to me that infant mortality rose along with the rise of civilization and agriculture.

It's actually not surprising when you think about it. Paleolithic man lived in small groups. They ate a wide range of plants and animals (hunter gatherers). Neolithic man began living in much larger groups and often relied on one or two staple foods. Which would be healthier? Primarily eating grains with the occasional bit of meat/fruit/vegetable or a diet which was varied and ever changing?

Also, once our ancestors started relying on one crop, they fall victim to blights, droughts, inadequate food storage and poor food distribution whereas the paleolithic people were better able to adapt to changing environmental and communal living changes (they could pull up and move to better areas, large populations could not).

Luckily today, in most countries where people are using MPF, we have access to an even wider variety of food than ever before. We no longer rely on a small, nutritionally poor ration of bread, day in and day out.

Paleolithic man was healthier than neolithic man but modern man (excluding poor, third world regions) are healthier than either set of timetable ancestors.