Paleo diet, crazy or worth it?

But I do hope she talked it over with her husband before doing it so he has a say in what he eats.

LOL. That is funny.
Little sexist, no?

In what way is that sexist? Two adults in the home, one decides to go on a specific diet. Shouldn't the other adult be consulted before being "put on" said diet, as stated in the OP? Or is the woman autimatically in charge of what the man eats?

lol umm...my hubby eats anything i put in front of him. if i ask him anything about groceries/dinner? "whatever you want honey!" so no, in my house, i do not need to consult him. he consults me. (my 2 cents ;P)

{{Peanut butter}}

The only peanut form I don't like is boiled. People love those down here, but I find them icky.

I eat peanut butter pretty much every day, with my dark chocolate. Yum.

I have never tried them boiled. But yes, peanut butter and chocolate is the best treat ever. I also like sprinkling peanuts on my ice cream with melted peanut butter. Yum!

I LOVE melted peanut butter with Hershey's hot fudge (not syrup!!!) over chocolate ice cream. Best thing ever. And if that's what's going to kill me, I'll die happy.

Boiled peanuts is a Southern thing. Or at least a Georgia and north Florida thing.

Definitely agree on the fudge vs. syrup. :drinker:

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.

I would never last either! I'm also a vegetarian (20+ years) and there's no way I could give up beans, nuts or cheese!!!! I'd starve!!:laugh:

So, lots of scientific mumbo jumbo about contaminants that are toxic in exorbitant amounts without siting any actual studies or evidence to back up the suggested notion that anywhere near these amounts exist in the amount of peanuts or peanut butter that the average person would eat. Then saying it doesn't really matter as most of the toxins are negated during processing. Then ending with the real reason you shouldn't eat peanut butter is that I can't eat it without binging. Is that about it?

Does he site even one actual nutrition scientist that agrees that peanuts or peanut butter is unhealthy?

If you actually click on the link to the article, he has lots of links to studies. And, where things are not conclusive, he states that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22405700
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/sep/2004/aflatox/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1512792

Those are just the first few. You can click on the links yourself if you're interested. I'm not that interested.

Peanuts. People reject Paleo because of Peanuts? That's crazy. It's not one of those things that gets Paleo folks passionate about their diet... but the question was raised, so I answered it through MDA's post, because he writes better than I.

It's just one of those foods that probably makes you less healthy rather than more healthy, and therefore is eliminated. I personally have not had an issue substituting almond butter when I want my fix of nut butter on an apple. And, I even still get my favorite flavor ice cream, chocolate peanut butter, as a treat from time to time. I just prefer not to consume globs of it every day, and that goes for almond butter AND peanut butter. But by all means... if someone want to improve your health through Paleo with everything EXCEPT peanut butter, I think that's just fine. Really. But... if you REALLY can't give up peanut butter... you have to ask yourself why. Sometimes the things you say you "could never give up" are the things you should really be taking a second look at. For me, that's currently coffee. Which is not, technically, Paleo. I drink 2 mugs a day.

I like the way they taste. Is that not enough? Ok, then I also love the healthy fats in them as well as the supplement of protein. I didn't start eating a lot of peanuts on a daily basis until I started MFP. They are cheap and easy and packed with nutrition. I could choose something different, certainly. I could eat cashews or almonds instead, but peanuts fit my budget better.

It's not that I *can't* give them up. They are not addictive or anything. I simply don't want to. They are an excellent addition to my baked oatmeal that I eat every morning. I also add hemp seeds to it. I may decide that I'm bored with peanuts and peanut butter. Who knows? Sometimes I go through phases.

Incidentally, as I've lost weight, he's gained. Partially because he started a new job and is consuming a lot more fast food at lunch. And then, since I still serve his rice/bread/pasta with dinner (which I skip), and I cook our meat and veggies with full fat (important for me), he ends up consuming a lot more calories. I hope eventually, he'll get sick of gaining, and will "Go Paleo" with me.

Don't you think he might stop gaining if he simply ditched the fast food and instead packed a healthy lunch, and maybe started trimming some of the fat from his meat?

Incidentally, as I've lost weight, he's gained. Partially because he started a new job and is consuming a lot more fast food at lunch. And then, since I still serve his rice/bread/pasta with dinner (which I skip), and I cook our meat and veggies with full fat (important for me), he ends up consuming a lot more calories. I hope eventually, he'll get sick of gaining, and will "Go Paleo" with me.

Don't you think he might stop gaining if he simply ditched the fast food and instead packed a healthy lunch, and maybe started trimming some of the fat from his meat?

Yes, I would be THRILLED if he did that. And if he did that, he wouldn't need to trim the fat from the meat. And if he replaced the bread/rice/pasta he eats with the lots of veggies, I'd be even happier.

YEAH for feeling better!!

I like the way they taste. Is that not enough? Ok, then I also love the healthy fats in them as well as the supplement of protein. I didn't start eating a lot of peanuts on a daily basis until I started MFP. They are cheap and easy and packed with nutrition. I could choose something different, certainly. I could eat cashews or almonds instead, but peanuts fit my budget better.

It's not that I *can't* give them up. They are not addictive or anything. I simply don't want to. They are an excellent addition to my baked oatmeal that I eat every morning. I also add hemp seeds to it. I may decide that I'm bored with peanuts and peanut butter. Who knows? Sometimes I go through phases.

By all means, eat up. Enjoy. Viva la peanut for you. If it's working for you, great.

For myself, I have not found giving up grains or legumes hard at all. I haven't missed them. What was hardest for me was giving up things with added sugars. Those were the things I tended to abuse. I've posted this before, but I'll say it again here. I think there are 2 kinds of people. The "moderators" who can easily limit foods, just take one bite, enjoy without overindulging crowd. For them, it's an easy cal in / cal out equation. Then there are the "abusers" who have a hard time moderating... one bite turns into 12 cookies, a bag of Doritos, ice cream every night on top of all the other stuff they've had. For those people, setting limits can be much easier to maintain. Paleo, with it's elimination of the very things that many people tend to overeat, works really well for that type of person (me).

It's much easier for me to say "no" than to say "just one". That has nothing to do with the anti-nutrients in legumes, the gluten in grains, the phytoestrogens in soy, the insulin resistance triggered by lots of added sugars, etc etc. I strongly believe in the benefits of eliminating those foods for those reasons. But when it comes down to it, I really like Paleo because it helps me make better food choices and stick to them.

So, I'll choose my 2 eggs fried in coconut oil and half an avocado for breakfast over a bowl of oatmeal with peanuts any day. Not saying oatmeal is bad (well, for me it would be) but It works better for me. I can stay full for hours on eggs and avo, and not feel like I'm "dieting". I thought I could NEVER give up my morning bagel. I discovered that I don't even miss it.

If you actually click on the link to the article, he has lots of links to studies. And, where things are not conclusive, he states that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22405700
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/sep/2004/aflatox/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1512792

Those are just the first few. You can click on the links yourself if you're interested. I'm not that interested.

I checked these out and none of them suggest that peanuts are unhealthy or will cause binge eating.

:flowerforyou:

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.

A natural diet based on animals and plants "didn't stand the test of time". Really? You win the award for the most brilliant comment ever. :noway:

You are not exactly describing "paleo" when you say a natural diet based on plants and animals. Don't peanuts come from plants? Does cheese and milk come from animals?

You are completely looking over the point.

Peanuts can not be consumed in their natural state. You can not dig up a peanut and pop it in your mouth and eat it like you can say almonds. You can eat RAW almonds.

Also, many Paleo people eat RAW dairy. This means they consume raw cheese, raw milk, butter made from raw cream, etc. Like milk a cow raw dairy.

That is what Paleo is. Eating for health and nutrition and eating foods that can be eaten in their natural state as well as cooked.

So you can eat meat in its natural state (uncooked)?

YES!!! With wild meat, I eat it raw quite regularly, so do my Inuit family and friends! Raw meat is the ideal form for best nutrition, however, i'm not talking factory farmed livestock here. First, the meat must be from a healthy animal and then it depends on how it is handled before it gets to your plate. The more it's handled (processed) the more likely it is to be contaminated. I think we've seen proof of that in the many recalls lately, and it's not just meat but produce too.

I've seen Inuit very sick (hospitalized) from eating bear they had caught in the wild; semi cooked on the fire.
Just saying.

Incidentally, as I've lost weight, he's gained. Partially because he started a new job and is consuming a lot more fast food at lunch. And then, since I still serve his rice/bread/pasta with dinner (which I skip), and I cook our meat and veggies with full fat (important for me), he ends up consuming a lot more calories. I hope eventually, he'll get sick of gaining, and will "Go Paleo" with me.

Don't you think he might stop gaining if he simply ditched the fast food and instead packed a healthy lunch, and maybe started trimming some of the fat from his meat?

Yes, I would be THRILLED if he did that. And if he did that, he wouldn't need to trim the fat from the meat. And if he replaced the bread/rice/pasta he eats with the lots of veggies, I'd be even happier.

What I understand from others who do 80/20 paleo is that on high carb days you should go low fat. I don't think its a good idea to be feeding him high-fats with high carbs. My understanding is (and its not based on science just what I've read in the forums and web re paleo) is that grains + high-fat = health problems.

Totally agree. I think he's fully enjoying his crappy canola-soaked high carb food and the pounds are creeping on him as they fall off me. He can choose to cut back / eliminate the fast food and 2 servings of pasta/rice/bread at dinner. That's more of the problem than the TB of grass-fed butter on his broccoli or the macadamia nut oil I put on the green beans.

I know some people do 80/20 with low carb and high carb days. For me, I shoot for 100% and figure when I'm not perfect (either knowingly or because that bad sh** is everywhere) that equals out to the 80%. I actually don't track my carbs during the day, but I see where they fall out at the end of the day and it's usually between 50-100g. That way I don't stress if I can't control exactly what oils are used in a restaurant, or I decide to treat with a dessert. I do try to stay gluten-free even when I "treat" because otherwise I feel pretty bad the next day. We went to dinner at a farm-to-table restaurant this weekend. I took one bite of a goat cheese puff thing, and decided it wasn't worth a gluten belly. I skipped dipping bread in the curried mussels sauce. The waitress was not happy that I wasn't eating the sauce, and kept pestering me. My hubby finally said "She doesn't eat bread", and then the waitress assumed that meant I wanted Gluten Free and brought me that, which tasted AWFUL. I ate the heck out of the roasted beets, greens, and lamb meatballs. And believe me, I thoroughly enjoyed my dark chocolate flourless pot au chocolate with heavy whipping cream which I poured into the center. Not Paleo because of the sugar, but... YUM! I got to eat that and not feel guilty. That's my 80% approach.

But I do hope she talked it over with her husband before doing it so he has a say in what he eats.

LOL. That is funny.
Little sexist, no?

In what way is that sexist? Two adults in the home, one decides to go on a specific diet. Shouldn't the other adult be consulted before being "put on" said diet, as stated in the OP? Or is the woman autimatically in charge of what the man eats?

I thought that was a weird statement too. I suppose whoever cooks is in charge of what everyone else eats, if the others don't care to cook something different. But who knows what the dynamic is in that family, so why are we speculating?

Before switching to Primal, my hubby and I did about equal cooking. We were both very proficient at opening boxes, dumping them in water, adding the powder, and stirring. We were really good at poking forks into plastic and nuking things for 3 minutes. And our best trick was takeout. At first, hubby was not supportive of my "new diet" because he didn't think it would last. Now he realizes that this is a lifestyle change, and he's loved all the new things I'm cooking up. He has to "suffer" through home-cooked meals made from whole ingredients. Poor guy. Those packages of Ramen are going stale. Well, maybe not yet.

Incidentally, as I've lost weight, he's gained. Partially because he started a new job and is consuming a lot more fast food at lunch. And then, since I still serve his rice/bread/pasta with dinner (which I skip), and I cook our meat and veggies with full fat (important for me), he ends up consuming a lot more calories. I hope eventually, he'll get sick of gaining, and will "Go Paleo" with me.

I agree that whoever cooks decides if no one else is going to cook. It was just the way she said it.

Obviously, if the husband has a problem, he can cook for himself or eat what she makes. In most homes, I assume, anyway. I'm vegetarian and the boyfriend isn't. But he cooks for himself no problem. I would never "put him on" a vegetarian diet. He's welcome to join me, though, if he chooses.

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.

I would never last either! I'm also a vegetarian (20+ years) and there's no way I could give up beans, nuts or cheese!!!! I'd starve!!:laugh:

I agree. While there are some Paleo vegetarians, it is VERY DIFFICULT. I would not recommend Paleo for someone who want to remain a vegetarian.

Sometimes I border on a Paleo Vegetarian with my eating. I don't find it difficult at all.

However, I could not a vegan Paleo - that would be very hard to do and I do like meat. I just like vegetables and fruits more.

I eat a lot of fat from coconut on those days and my protein comes from Hemp hearts and then eat loads of vegetables, nuts and some fruit. Home made yogurt is also a good protein source.

Wait, didn't you say you eat raw meat??? Hardly what I'd call vegetarian...

my doctor put me on it with no dairy because I have digestion problems and I have hashimoto's disease which gave me a hypothyroid. I must say that it has been the easiest most successful diet I have ever been on. Take it one step at a time and don't be so strict all the time with it and it will make you feel good. I think everyone needs to try it out seriously and see how it makes them feel. Getting healthy isn't just about losing weight but I really got over my weight loss platue with the paleo.

I really can't believe how well this diet works when I have tried so hard with just counting calories and "eating right". I have learned that what the gov tells you is healthy for your heart really is bad for it. I was on the diet very strictly for a month and my heart rate and blood pressure got much healthier than before I started the diet, and I could tell the difference when I would work out. i did not feel faint when running like I use too and it was much easier to build muscle.

If someone like me with all the medical conditions I have can feel so good on it and become a fit person than I think it can benefit just about anyone.

It gets very tiring when people who know nothing about this way of eating, never researched it, never tried it, feel compelled to argue so strongly against it. If one disagrees with something, it should at least be based on EXPERIENCE, otherwise, keep an open mind about things you don't know about. That's what I do.

Lol, so you must have first hand experience with something to be knowledgeable on a subject? Guess in your opinion there are no experts on WWI or any historical matter

Did you miss the "keeping an open mind" part? I'm pretty sure historians keep an open mind and examine things from all angles. New evidence leads to new theories. And, no, anyone who wasn't in WWI can never fully understand what it would be like to be there.

Yes, first-hand experience is the most powerful knowledge available.

How do you know what you think you know?

Do all people think rationally that first hand experience is the most powerful knowledgeable available? Take a look around at this forum or anywhere and see what people swear is true because it works for them yet in reality they are making illogical assumptions based off of personal experiences

Why are they illogical assumptions? Empirical evidence + personal experience (testimony) = illogical assumptions? Yeah, that adds up, said no one.