PALEO (Cavemen) Eaters...

I've been on it since last Thanksgiving. I figured if I could get through the holidays, I could get through anything. I haven't looked back since. I started at 172lbs and down to 149lbs. Body fat went from 23%+ to about 15%. Yes, it's tough the first three weeks but then it's just habit. Was I 100% strict? Hell no. I just went the Tim Ferris route and had a dedicated cheat day/meal. Otherwise, I haven't had a problem keeping to this. I love meat and veggies are easy. Do I miss breads? Not really. I used to but after about a month I honestly didn't even miss them. Obviously, everyone is different but any lifestyle change is more of a mental thing. You have to want it. I wanted it. Clearly some less than others. I gave up beer which was so hard but the results I got from one month were substantial that I never looked back. Besides, I'd rather my scotch on the rocks any day over a beer! I think the biggest problem for people on this is that they try/tried to go 100% in. I know myself too well and didn't. The first two weeks I cut out soda. Then the following two weeks added grains, and progressed that way eliminating foods till I was 90% paleo. The rest is history. Best of luck!

Some of the others have left great replies, so I'll just toss in my own experience/approach for extra info - I tried going strict paleo and found it was a bit exhausting always trying to be on my guard and eat (or NOT eat) certain things.

Over time, I've learned that I just do better on whole, natural foods (meats, eggs, nuts, fruit, veggies, some dairy), but that's not to say I don't ever eat bread or sugary things...I just have those on a very limited basis, and as much as I'm able to, cook from scratch and buy things with super-short ingredient lists. When I mindlessly eat something that falls outside of those parameters, my stomach will usually remind me that I just do better avoiding what I loosely term as "baked goods." People who hear me order from a menu often comment on how I must be going low carb or following some wacky diet, but the truth is that I'm just finding ways to eat well but not eat the things I know I'll regret later.

I suspect you'll find your own happy middle ground as well.

snipped

This was fantastic reply. Thank you for that sir.

I've mostly been going for bulk for the last few months, so now just finding a way to lean-out without sacrificing calories since I will still want to do a lot of lifting and maintain what I have. I'm in an office environment 5-6 days of the week, so getting used to a new pallet of foods doesn't seem that difficult to adhere to.

There will be those who say that the paleo diet is right for everyone, and there will be some that say it is right for no one.

That said, based on your situation, it really sounds like it may be an ideal approach for you. Even (many of) the anti-paleo people will admit that if you are exiting a bulk phase and looking to cut, a generally lower-carb, higher protein approach is ideal...and the paleo diet naturally gives you that (or at least more likely leads you to it).

And even if you don't stick to it strictly forever and ever from this day forward, trying new/different whole foods, ethically raised meat, etc. isn't a bad thing. Myself as an example, even though I'll probably be kicked out of the tribe (or at least kicked off of Paleo Island) for some of the foods I eat now, my overall diet is still so much healthier than it was before (when I relied heavily on boxed foods).

Cavemen ate primarily nuts and berries with some random amounts of meat thrown in - usually scavenged (i.e. carrion), There is also documentation of them being cannibals. Good luck with that.

This, the so-called paleo diet is literally the opposite of what paleo humans actually ate. They were mostly vegetarian and over half of their calories came from carbs, with very little protein and fat. The entire marketing scheme is just silly.

I am starting out the paleo diet...and by starting out, I am easing myself into it - finding what works, what doesn't, what habits need forming and which ones need breaking. I figure this approach I will be more in control of different factors as I find out what works for me and what doesn't. Even starting out, though, with more veggies and proteins, I already feel better and more easily satiated. I see this as something I can continue, with occasional cheats along the way...because if I cheat small, I know I won't cheat big

Cavemen ate primarily nuts and berries with some random amounts of meat thrown in - usually scavenged (i.e. carrion), There is also documentation of them being cannibals. Good luck with that.

This, the so-called paleo diet is literally the opposite of what paleo humans actually ate. They were mostly vegetarian and over half of their calories came from carbs, with very little protein and fat. The entire marketing scheme is just silly.

Agreed. Also, insects probably were a regular feature of the daily menu, too. While the title is truly misleading, this is an interesting article on paleo:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/07/23/human-ancestors-were-nearly-all-vegetarians/

Edited to add: I wish you success no matter what you decide to do. Sometimes, mixing things up and doing something new is valuable in and of itself.

I would say the author's footnote #6 is a problem. His definition of "vegetarian" more closely resembles a common interpretation of a "paleo" diet than a common interpretation of a "vegetarian" diet. (In other words, I think he redefined the word "vegetarian" to better support his title.)

Also, I think the author may have went back just a little *too* far in history.



(And VoV, I see what you did there with your ETA. Very subtle. And nicely played.)

Cavemen ate primarily nuts and berries with some random amounts of meat thrown in - usually scavenged (i.e. carrion), There is also documentation of them being cannibals. Good luck with that.

This, the so-called paleo diet is literally the opposite of what paleo humans actually ate. They were mostly vegetarian and over half of their calories came from carbs, with very little protein and fat. The entire marketing scheme is just silly.

Agreed. Also, insects probably were a regular feature of the daily menu, too. While the title is truly misleading, this is an interesting article on paleo:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/07/23/human-ancestors-were-nearly-all-vegetarians/

Edited to add: I wish you success no matter what you decide to do. Sometimes, mixing things up and doing something new is valuable in and of itself.

I would say the author's footnote #6 is a problem. His definition of "vegetarian" more closely resembles a common interpretation of a "paleo" diet than a common interpretation of a "vegetarian" diet. (In other words, I think he redefined the word "vegetarian" to better support his title.)

Also, I think the author may have went back just a little *too* far in history.



(And VoV, I see what you did there with your ETA. Very subtle. And nicely played.)

The Scientific American article is absolutely mistitled, and is admittedly flawed, but makes some interesting points. I'm not sure I would characterize my ETA as a 'play', since I was sincerely reacting to earlier posts on this thread which suggested that if paleo wasn't the OP's longterm goal, he shouldn't try it. I read that mixing things up periodically is a good thing in the National Weight Control Registry--probably the best data on people in that 5% of successful weight maintainers.

Edit: Typos, and syntax errors.

I did this intensely (as in no cheating) and I lost 6 lbs in one week. I've somehow managed to keep that off, which makes about 15+ lbs that I've lost in the past couple months.

The truth hurts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zVxA6yipv4

That's pretty funny, although ridiculously correlated. My diet is mostly plant based but I also eat animal protein and I'm fairly lean and toned. I did find that most of the plant based authors looked quite skeletal and anemic, so who ever produced this probably had their rose colored glasses on, personally I would have photo shopped then to look healthier.

The truth hurts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zVxA6yipv4

Is this in any way related to "paleo"?

Cavemen ate primarily nuts and berries with some random amounts of meat thrown in - usually scavenged (i.e. carrion), There is also documentation of them being cannibals. Good luck with that.

This, the so-called paleo diet is literally the opposite of what paleo humans actually ate. They were mostly vegetarian and over half of their calories came from carbs, with very little protein and fat. The entire marketing scheme is just silly.

Agreed. Also, insects probably were a regular feature of the daily menu, too. While the title is truly misleading, this is an interesting article on paleo:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/07/23/human-ancestors-were-nearly-all-vegetarians/

Edited to add: I wish you success no matter what you decide to do. Sometimes, mixing things up and doing something new is valuable in and of itself.

I would say the author's footnote #6 is a problem. His definition of "vegetarian" more closely resembles a common interpretation of a "paleo" diet than a common interpretation of a "vegetarian" diet. (In other words, I think he redefined the word "vegetarian" to better support his title.)

Also, I think the author may have went back just a little *too* far in history.



(And VoV, I see what you did there with your ETA. Very subtle. And nicely played.)

The Scientific American article is absolutely mistitled, and is admittedly flawed, but makes some interesting points. I'm not sure I would characterize my ETA as a 'play', since I was sincerely reacting to earlier posts on this thread which suggested that if paleo wasn't the OP's longterm goal, he shouldn't try it. I read that mixing things up periodically is a good thing in the National Weight Control Registry--probably the best data on people in that 5% of successful weight maintainers.

Edit: Typos, and syntax errors.

Indeed.

And I meant absolutely nothing negative about my "nicely played" comment. I thought your suggestion that OP consider "mixing things up and doing something new" was a hint towards some other ways of eating. (Or maybe it was so subtle that you yourself didn't see what you did there. =P )


Edit: if I'm going to quote myself, I should at least use the right words.

Or maybe you are seeing something that isn't there? Just maybe.

"Clean" eating 100% of the time wouldn't work for myself (or many others here I'm sure). It's a commitment that you make and I'm not that committed to not eating ice cream or cake.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Wow - BOOM....

Paleo to me is simply a form of clean eating...it is NOT a low Carb way of eating...love the misconception that if you eat this way you will loose weight...also the misconception that all you do is eat meat.

As a pp stated there are many different variations out there in describing what exactly Paleo is - you have a bunch of people who have thier finger in the "Paleo pot" whose livelyhood depends on spouting off information about what they envision Paleo to be. I have read a lot of diffent books, blogs and articles...I don't anything as absolute but rather as information I choose to apply how I see fit to my daily lifestyle.

I "follow" a paleo/primal way of life - I find it easier to give myself a set of perimeters in which to choose the foods to fuel my body....does that mean I never eat "bad" things - no...I do...I simply don't make it easy to fit it into my life - it becomes the exception rather then the rule.

My perimeters are
Meats - usually turkey, chicken, venison, some pork and some beef (mainly cause I am not a big beef fan)
Veggies - all sorts of veggies - raw, roasted, blended, etc...
Nuts - almonds, pecans, fresh almond butter
Fruits - I do try to stick to lower sugar fruits like berries or small apples
Dairy - little dairy in the form of half and half, cheeses from time to time and greek yogurt on occassion (This is why I consider myself Primal because I include dairy)
Fats - olive, coconut and avocado oils

I drink water, coffee and tea - maybe a few times a year I will have some alcohol

to me eating "Paleo/Primal" is a form of clean eating in which I choose not to make certain foods a regular part of my diet - much like someone who is a Vegan....

Is it a good way of eating for everyone - heck no - people are different.

A few things...

1) Changing your eating style form one of no -conscience to one of thought - chances are you are going to loose weight because you become more aware of what you are eating and limiting what you are eating...in the end if you burn more than you take in you are probably going to loose weight. So when you hear stories of someone loosing 10-20-30 pounds on a diet is it truely the "diet" or is it because they are limiting their intake vs what they ate previously (and chances are when people decide to take control of thier eating they usually become more active as well) and therefore the calorie burn is higher in relation to what they put in thier body

2) Your body becomes accustom to what you put into it and will change to accomodate what you feed it. Food can be an addiction - just like alcohol and cigarettes. Making any sort of significant change in your eating style all at once is probably going to make you feel like crap for a little while as your body adjusts....a few people on here stated they "tried" it for a week and felt awful....yeah if you are used to eating a tone of heavy grain foods, processed foods, chemical laden drinks and then gave all that up for a week your body will go through a "withdrawl" period and you will feel like crap - just like now if I were to spend a week eating processed food and sodas I would feel like crap because my body is now not used to all that stuff. A general rule for any change is 30 days...give something 30 days to see if it makes any sort of difference in your life...be it diet, exercise, etc...it galls me to hear people say "Oh I tried that for a week it didn't work so I wouldn't do it"....that's like me saying "I worked for a week but it didn't make me rich so I guess I will stop working"

3) so many misconceptions about Paleo abound -
IT IS NOT LOW CARB - sure you can make it low carb and in many cases people will reduce their carb intake quite a bit because you are choosing to give up grains as part of your daily diet - but you can easily eat a ton of carbs via higher sugar fruits and veggies - fo me PERSONALLY in order to loose weight I do have to keep my carb count fairly low - but this is not true for everyone...I know a lot of people IRL that follow the same eating style as myself and they eat a fair amount of carbs everyday
IT IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS "DIET" - yes it can help you loose weight...but like I said above a bulk of that is probably because you become more aware of what you are putting into your body. Furthermore by changing your diet to incorporate a lot of nutrient dense veggies and good for you meats and fats - you get a lot more food for less calories and can be satitied for a longer period of time which leads to less grazing. Like the above...some of the people I know eat a Paleo way to actually bulk up and gain weight
YOU DO NOT NEED TO EAT EVERYTHING ORGANIC - While I do shop at local Farmers Market and do buy things liek grass fed beef from time to time I dont' buy everything with an organic seal on it. If I can get something organic at a comparable price I will buy it but I am not going to pay $2 more for organic broccilli or rasberries then the other counterparts

I found Paleo after slowly taking things out of my daily eating...started with getting rid of sodas, then really lessened my dependance on packaged convience food, then cut out most crappy snacks, and got to a point where I wanted to give my body the best I could - Does this mean I don't eat outside the Paleo realm - no - I do but like I said at the beginning it is an exception and not a rule - I dont' "build in" ice cream everyday/week - but hey if I am out with my kids and we decide to stop for ice cream I'll have a few bites (I actually find it too much for me now - 2-3 bites and I am satisfied) - if I am out with friends and the place we go has amazing bread - I'll have a piece.

My suggestion is to read and read and read some more and see if eating ANY CERTAIN WAY works for you, your body and your lifestyle try it - but try it for 30 days...if you see differences (and be aware differences may not be seen on a scale...they could be in how you feel or how you sleep or your skin, your hair, maybe it's internal and you are lowering your cholesterol) then yeah for you - if you feel it doesn't work for you and it is more a hinderence than a help then choose something different...

The truth hurts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zVxA6yipv4

That's pretty funny, although ridiculously correlated. My diet is mostly plant based but I also eat animal protein and I'm fairly lean and toned. I did find that most of the plant based authors looked quite skeletal and anemic, so who ever produced this probably had their rose colored glasses on, personally I would have photo shopped then to look healthier.

Agreed with this assessment. I watched the vid and at first I was like WTF but then I started LOLing.

All the physiques in that vid are good examples of why you should probably do some resistance work while dieting. Another reason why Taubes is a plague --- although I still don't think a low carb diet is dangerous or promotes obesity, that's just total nonsense.

My perimeters are
Meats - usually turkey, chicken, venison, some pork and some beef (mainly cause I am not a big beef fan)
Veggies - all sorts of veggies - raw, roasted, blended, etc...
Nuts - almonds, pecans, fresh almond butter
Fruits - I do try to stick to lower sugar fruits like berries or small apples
Dairy - little dairy in the form of half and half, cheeses from time to time and greek yogurt on occassion (This is why I consider myself Primal because I include dairy)
Fats - olive, coconut and avocado oils

Thanks for the insight for the diet plan! And everything else you stated in your post.

I'm most likely going to taper in to 100% Paleo over the course of a couple weeks, stay for a month, and then probably sway back to something revolving what you have above. I'm midwestern; I like my cheese.

I'm also going to be reading up on some websites and (maybe) a book by authors suggested by messages I've received on here.

Thanks again

Enjoy your highly restrictive way of eating, that you will most likely just give up when you want to have something youve been craving.