paleo plateau

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Hello fellow cavemen (and women)!
I have been following a primal diet for the last 5 weeks, with what I think is minimal cheating and I am not really seeing a big difference on the scale. Especially recently, since I have seem to have plateaued for the last two weeks.

When I look at the break down of my daily calories, they tend to be about 55-65% fat, 15-25% carbs (between 50 and 100g), and 15-25% proteins. I am not sure if this is the ideal, or what is.

I also workout out quite a bit doing a mixture of Insanity, rushfit, running, walking, and a more cardio intensive style yoga class.

Just wondering if anyone can suggest why I may be stuck.

I appreciate your feedback and I am always looking for more primal/paleo friends for support. Please add me!

Thanks!

P.S. My food and exercise diary is completely open so feel free to have a look at where I might be going wrong.

Replies

  • AmIhealthyyet
    AmIhealthyyet Posts: 361 Member
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    I am far from an expert but have read the ratio of 5/70/25 is optimal. Carbs/fat/protien! I would suggest less carbs! At least until it kicks in again.
  • freckled_lady
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    I would also make sure you are getting plenty of water (I drink a gallon a day) and good sleep. Without those two things your body goes into fight/flight mode!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    It could just be that your metabolism is so out of whack that it will take some time. Remember that it took years to get there. It will take some time to get back. And your body might never go back to "normal".

    And stalling is normal on all types of diets. The body is just so good at adjusting.

    Try backing off of all that cardio a bit. Have you read about "chronic cardio" over at Mark's Daily Apple? Head over there and search using those key words. Your macros actually look pretty good. There's no "exact" ratios. And Paleo isn't really about low-carb. It's about eating real, whole foods. Have you looked into Primal Blueprint Fitness.

    The first and most important thing about Paleo/Primal is fixing your health (your metabolism, your hormones, etc). Fix your health and your body will do what it needs to. And while exercise is good for the body (the human body is designed for movement) it really doesn't do much for weight loss.

    Paleo is a template, not a strict eating style that applies exactly the same to all people.

    You can try going under 50g of carbs for a bit and send your body into ketosis and see if that helps with anything. OR - with all that cardio you might need to increase them a bit. (even Mark Sisson says the more exercise you do the more carbs your body can handle and not all carbs are bad - unless you're diabetic or have Reactive Hypoglycemia - like me).

    OR - you could try adding in a high carb, low fat day once a week or every other week. (Yet another article at Mark's Daily Apple - http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-mark-should-i-increase-carb-intake-for-weight-loss/#axzz22EV0wCHR)
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    http://chriskresser.com/hydration-101-how-much-water-do-you-really-need

    I had to back off of a gallon of water a day. I was getting tired of running to the bathroom every half hour. If you have to pee within 10 minutes of drinking water then you are well hydrated.

    And my cats drink when they're thirsty and they pee a nice bright yellow. I try to follow their lead and only drink when I'm thirsty.

    And those 6-8 glasses of water per day also include the water you get from food. You get quite a bit of water from food following Paleo. :drinker:

    And remember that when you sweat you lose more than just water - you lose electrolytes. Primalgirl.com has a nice sports drink: http://www.primalgirl.com/2011/02/28/free-sports-drink-recipe/

    Sorry, just my 2 cents...

    http://www.paleoforwomen.com/the-evolutionary-perspective-liberating-and-empowering-a-womans-self-hood/ (this is a great female oriented site, too). This article is amazing.
  • sheilabeila66
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    Thank you for all the feedback. I will try a few of your suggestions and see how it goes!
  • sheilabeila66
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    I love mark'sdailyapple and have also read his book! I know that my exercise regime is not really in line with the whole primal take on it but I find it is crucial for my mental health. Nothing like going for a good run to relieve some stress. I am also training for a half marathon in October and plan on easing back a bit after that. I try to follow it as much as possible but some of my other goals don't always fit in!

    I had a closer look at my food diary over the last couple weeks and I think your suggestion to increase carbs might be bang on. I recently reduced my carbs to be in the 50-100 weight loss range but maybe it's what's not working for me. Will increase a bit and see how it goes.

    Thanks also for the links! I will check them out tonight!
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    I think if you are eating more or less primal (I'm not a purist by any means) it's really hard NOT to lose weight. In fact, my issue now is getting enough calories in my body while continuing to eat healthy (meat, fish, veggies, fruits). I don't want to lose any more!

    I think you need to continue what you're doing. The beginning is always the hardest.

    --P
  • mmarcy7
    mmarcy7 Posts: 227 Member
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    For some reason I tend to have plateaus for 2-3 weeks, then lose 4-5 lbs rapidly, then plateau again. It's frustrating, but when you look at the weight loss overall it is a normal rate of weight loss, 5ish lbs a month. I don't know if it's my body adjusting to the new weight or what. I'm ok with it though since I'm not really on a diet, just eating the way I will eat from now until I die, and seeing what weight I end up at while following this way of eating.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I love mark'sdailyapple and have also read his book! I know that my exercise regime is not really in line with the whole primal take on it but I find it is crucial for my mental health. Nothing like going for a good run to relieve some stress. I am also training for a half marathon in October and plan on easing back a bit after that. I try to follow it as much as possible but some of my other goals don't always fit in!

    I had a closer look at my food diary over the last couple weeks and I think your suggestion to increase carbs might be bang on. I recently reduced my carbs to be in the 50-100 weight loss range but maybe it's what's not working for me. Will increase a bit and see how it goes.

    Thanks also for the links! I will check them out tonight!

    Have you tried doing something else, like weight lifting or martial arts or anything that isn't "chronic cardio"? Obviously, it may take a little more work than just going out and running for an hour, but you can always swap out a couple of your "scheduled" cardio stuff for weight lifting, so you can keep the "stress-relief" run.

    And no, you won't turn into she-hulk by weight lifting (before you ask). Remember Mrs. Grok, the swimsuit model. ;)
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
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    I am far from an expert but have read the ratio of 5/70/25 is optimal. Carbs/fat/protien! I would suggest less carbs! At least until it kicks in again.

    This is going to send you in to Ketosis which isn't really the point. Primal recommends 50-100g of carbs a day more if training hard.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I am far from an expert but have read the ratio of 5/70/25 is optimal. Carbs/fat/protien! I would suggest less carbs! At least until it kicks in again.

    This is going to send you in to Ketosis which isn't really the point. Primal recommends 50-100g of carbs a day more if training hard.

    This. Hell, the "Kelly Korg" example meal in PB puts carbs at something like 20% (a max goal of about 100g of carbs in a diet with 100g+ of protein).
  • greenlj77
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    I would be interested to hear more about this. I wonder sometimes if MY metabolism is "out of whack" or just broken. I have severe ulcerative colitis which has put me in the hospital several times, with the attending giving a secondary diagnosis of anorexia (at 5'8", 119 lbs.) which just means I simply cannot eat or retain what I am force-fed. They have threatened me with TPN. Boo to that! I drop weight like a rock during a flare, most of which I am sure is muscle mass. To recover they put me on long term corticosteroids which of course make you EAT, but most of the weight gain tends to be fat it you aren't able to exercise as you recoup.

    I am currently on biologic drug therapy which eliminates the need for pred, and I eat grain/soy/lactose free as much as possible which helps eliminate sources of GI inflammation. So I feel lots better these days but have the worst time trying to shed the weight I gained from the pred in the first place. My primary concern is to rebuild muscle mass, I guess. Perhaps the weight will sort itself out eventually?
  • lostredsock
    lostredsock Posts: 24 Member
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    I would be interested to hear more about this. I wonder sometimes if MY metabolism is "out of whack" or just broken. I have severe ulcerative colitis which has put me in the hospital several times, with the attending giving a secondary diagnosis of anorexia (at 5'8", 119 lbs.) which just means I simply cannot eat or retain what I am force-fed. They have threatened me with TPN. Boo to that! I drop weight like a rock during a flare, most of which I am sure is muscle mass. To recover they put me on long term corticosteroids which of course make you EAT, but most of the weight gain tends to be fat it you aren't able to exercise as you recoup.

    I am currently on biologic drug therapy which eliminates the need for pred, and I eat grain/soy/lactose free as much as possible which helps eliminate sources of GI inflammation. So I feel lots better these days but have the worst time trying to shed the weight I gained from the pred in the first place. My primary concern is to rebuild muscle mass, I guess. Perhaps the weight will sort itself out eventually?

    I have IBD as well (Crohn's) and was on steroids as well. Those little buggers take quite a bit to get out of your system and return to normal. Not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I would stay stick with what you are doing, it will sort itself. Weight training is important for muscle building/strengthening as soon as you feel better.

    Glad to hear of others with IBD finding some relieve in the paleo/primal stuff.

    Best of luck to you.