Paleo... Love it? Hate it?

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jasharp021
jasharp021 Posts: 54 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey!

Wanted to know how many of you out there follow the or have tried the Paleo (aka "caveman") way of eating.

What did you think of it? Pros/Cons? How active are you?

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Pros- Basic premise of eating mostly whole, nutrient dense foods is solid.

    Cons- Eliminating perfectly healthy foods from your daily diet
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Pros- Basic premise of eating mostly whole, nutrient dense foods is solid.

    Cons- Eliminating perfectly healthy foods from your daily diet

    ^ Agreed.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Pros- Basic premise of eating mostly whole, nutrient dense foods is solid.

    Cons- Eliminating perfectly healthy foods from your daily diet

    Agreed. I am not down with cutting out entire food groups to mimic our Neanderthal ancestors- mind you they also died by their late 20s. However, following a Paleo diet doesn't appear to be unhealthy either, so I am firmly in the "whatever works for you" camp.
  • jasharp021
    jasharp021 Posts: 54 Member
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    So would you say follow some aspects (eating cleaner) but don't dive all the way in?
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    So would you say follow some aspects (eating cleaner) but don't dive all the way in?


    In my opinion:


    The idea of eating mostly whole and minimally processed foods is generally a good plan. Taking it to an all-or-nothing level where you divide foods into good/bad, or clean/unclean, or paleo/not paleo and making your food selection always depend on that variable, is probably not a good idea.

    The above isn't a dig on paleo specifically, just to be clear. I'm simply suggesting that you don't need to adopt a rigid approach to eating as long as you're able to use some common sense and apply some moderation.



    Create a calorie deficit, get exercise, let yourself have a few treats among a mostly nutrient rich diet and win like a boss.
  • Mmmary212
    Mmmary212 Posts: 410 Member
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    It's the only way to go, for me.

    Eliminating certain foods entirely is essential for many people who follow the paleo diet...If I eat any sort of grain, I get bloated, my arthritis flares up, I get depressed, etc, all within a day of eating something like a slice of pizza. So these perfectly healthy foods are not perfectly healthy at all. The longer I go without the grains, the more disastrous the reaction is. I'm at the point where peanut butter is causing me harm (I dont eat it often because it's not "paleo" but have a taste here and there). I'm okay with that....just goes to show my body does not want those foods and is speaking loud and clear.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    So would you say follow some aspects (eating cleaner) but don't dive all the way in?

    http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
  • eireannyoung
    eireannyoung Posts: 154 Member
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    It's the only way to go, for me.

    Eliminating certain foods entirely is essential for many people who follow the paleo diet...If I eat any sort of grain, I get bloated, my arthritis flares up, I get depressed, etc, all within a day of eating something like a slice of pizza. So these perfectly healthy foods are not perfectly healthy at all. The longer I go without the grains, the more disastrous the reaction is. I'm at the point where peanut butter is causing me harm (I dont eat it often because it's not "paleo" but have a taste here and there). I'm okay with that....just goes to show my body does not want those foods and is speaking loud and clear.

    I'm the same way. I didn't cut grains out because I was following a dietary trend: I did it because I had to. I accidentally ate some wheat flour a couple months ago (I'm gluten intolerant/Celiac), got really sick and started losing weight really fast (I'm underweight already). I found that cutting out grains stopped the weight loss and alleviated other things like apathetic depression and digestive problems. I also developed (temporary?) lactose intolerance after eating the wheat flour, so cutting out dairy was an easy matter. Wasn't too long before I realized that the foods I couldn't tolerate were also the foods that Paleo recommends cutting out. I'm not totally strict... I still tend to eat a lot of sugar and peanut butter. I'll probably try goat cheese sometime, too. And I couldn't live without salt! :)

    I also wouldn't recommend that other people cut out food groups that are healthy for THEM, so I'm not like "everyone should go Paleo!" However, it has been really good for me. I have almost zero digestive issues now and I'm absorbing more nutrients from the food I do eat, so am slowly gaining back to a healthy weight. My depression/anxiety has become way minimal, and my motivation and energy level has gone up. It's a win!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,399 MFP Moderator
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    My wife and i recently started the paleo diet as she needs to be gluten free. I eat 85/15. So 85% of my meals are paleo. I love the recipes so far and plan on staying on it. I will say its not necessary to cut breads or grains or dairy.

    You can always try it and if you dont like it then stop.
  • TXHunny84
    TXHunny84 Posts: 503 Member
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    I've been doing the Paleo diet about 6 weeks and I feel and look much better. I've had some slip ups and I will eat cake at parties when it's there....but I'm not going to go back to the way i was eating then bread items or prepackaged items or sugary junk were a daily thing.
  • Specialk988
    Specialk988 Posts: 3
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    I look at my approach to Paleo like this...how on earth can eating more natural foods be a bad idea? Ive replaced cereal and toast breakfasts with scrambled eggs w/ salmon and fresh fruit. Snacks are now apples with almond butter or carrot sticks and chicken not processed string string cheese and reduced fat wheat thins or 100 calorie packs. I am far less hungry now that I was when I was eating regular foods and I cant tell you how great I feel! I try to limit the fats/natural sugars (honey, maple) and try to use them only when baking paleo treats which are nice for the occasional indulgence. All in all I implore you to focus more on the premisis of the diet, not the specifics. My goal is not to eat like a caveman but to follow the guidelines that what is naturally available to us is the best choice. Focus on lots of veggies and fruits, lean meats and some fats and I dont see where you can go wrong!

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