Paleo anyone?

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lawandfitness
lawandfitness Posts: 1,257 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,

I have been watching my food intake for the past month and a half and recently started eating paleo. I have kept up with it for 8 days, and I was wondering what others thought of this method of eating? I am also concerned because it is low carb and once I start introducing some carbs back in (legumes, some whole wheat bread-although not anytime soon though), all the weight will come back and maybe more (MY BIGGEST FEAR OF ALL!)

Has anyone here been successful with paelo? What are people’s general thoughts on it? Have you started with paleo and then reintroduced some carbs back in while maintaining weight loss? I am on a lifestyle overhaul and I am just trying to figure out what works best with my body and what will help me reach my goal.

Side note: When I eat too much dairy or carbs I get really sick and have severe stomach issues, hence the reason for trying paleo.

Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
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    Paleo is not necessarily low carb but the paleo sites and guru's have to get quick results or people leave and low carb is a good one for initial weight loss and it's satiating like any low carb diet, so it works well for that reason also. Personally I tried it about 5 years ago because I do a fairly low carb diet (about 200g's a day) and though I'd jump on board, but it's was just too restrictive for me as a lifelong lifestyle diet.
  • astrummortis
    astrummortis Posts: 14 Member
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    I've been eating paleo for about four months (imperfectly, I might add), so I'm not expert, but I know the basic rules and things.

    I find it works incredibly well for me. I have lots of endurance and energy, and it's prevented me from stalling at losing certain weight. I've dropped grains, legumes, and am in the process of truly dropping all kinds of dairy except cheese. However, I'm not horrendously lowcarb with it. I just get my carbs from sweet potatoes and starchy root veggies. I usually get 50-100 grams of carbs a day.

    I did spend a week doing 40 g carbs or less. It got me down to 198 lbs from low carb's diuretic effect, but it was all water weight, which meant it was a bit of an 'illusion' since I didn't plan or want to keep carbs that low for that long. Once I started eating closer to 100 grams, my weight lifted to what would have been a normal range considering my calorie intake. Also, paleo doesn't drop grains, legumes, or dairy for the carbs. It drops them for the sensitivities people can have to them. According to paleo, you can eat 14 sweet potatoes in a day if you want.... not that it's ever recommended.

    Thing with Paleo is that you *can* use it as a weight loss tool, but it's really the entire lifestyle change. Eat how we're evolved to eat most of the time, stay active... lots of moving at a slow pace, and every so often go nuts and sprint like your life depends on it. So the idea is that you won't ever be introducing grains or legumes back into your diet, ESPECIALLY if they give you stomach problems. Not in any large amount, anyway.

    Was that rambly? Sorry. Hope this helps!
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
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    I love the idea of putting more paleo meals into my diet and I'm going to test it out, but I don't think I'll go full out paleo. I figure that if it works for you and helps you feel good, do continue to test it out. If it stops working for you, change something to make it better.
  • operagirl24
    operagirl24 Posts: 1
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    my bf and i eat mostly paleo, as both of us are gluten intolerant and avoid gluten free substitutes (bread, pretzels, cookies, etc.). we feel great! however, as previous posters mentioned, the low carb effect can be an unhealthy way to lose weight, due to its diuretic effect. we strive to get between 100-200 grams of carbs a day, and we have NOT cut out grains completely as paleo would dictate (we eat oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa from time to time).
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    This thread is going to blow up...

    First to the OP - Paleo is not a "diet" nor is it "low Carb" - Paleo/Primal is a way of eating...yes it tends to be lower on the carb scale because you remove grains from your eating (grains = lots of higher carbs) - but you can easily consume a fair amount of carbs and still eat a paleo way.

    The thing about going low carb to loose weight is the fact that maybe your body is better adjusted to eating low carb and works better = a greater weight loss. I have found that in order for me to loose weight I have to keep my carbs low (less than about 80/day) over an extended period of time - if I want to keep it off I have to continue with really watching my carb intake. Even eating a Paleo/Primal way if I want to loose weight it doesn't matter if I eat less calories or exercise more - what I HAVE to watch is my carb intake...so that being said I could eat all sorts of processed food or follow a SAD and simply keep my calories AND carbs in check and probably loose weight...I eat a Paleo/ Primal way to fuel my body with fresh, whole foods - like a pp said not that I am 100% all the time, but I found this eating way works well for myself and found it was easy for me to adjust...it isn't easy for everyone and not everyone needs or wants to remove certain foods from thier way of eating (hence why there will be some people who will post - Oh I tried it and it was tooo restrictive...or it didn't work for me...)

    If this is what works for you (i.e. eating a lower carb lifestyle)- then you have to committed to it in the long haul....because if you add in higher carbs after loosing weight - guess what your weight will probably come back on - even if you are keeping to the same calorie/exercise range. There is a segment of the population where their bodies are better with lower carbs...(hence why someone can watch their calories and exercise and have a hard time loosing weight - and then switch the way they are eating to lower carb and drop a bunch of weight all while eating the same calories - because thier body works better)

    You can do low carb and not be paleo....the two things are not dependant on one another...just like you can take any eating style and make it low carb.

    This thread will probably become overwhealmed with people who are goign to tell you eating a Paleo way is bad and post up links to "studies" and crap like that - if you want to read about it and see what various people have to say come and check out the Paleo/ Primal board here at MFP and read through some of the posts - we are friendly over there
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    This thread will probably become overwhealmed with people who are goign to tell you eating a Paleo way is bad and post up links to "studies" and crap like that - if you want to read about it and see what various people have to say come and check out the Paleo/ Primal board here at MFP and read through some of the posts - we are friendly over there

    That about sums up the Paleo crowd, studies = "crap" vs anecdotal evidence = teh awesome
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    This thread will probably become overwhealmed with people who are goign to tell you eating a Paleo way is bad and post up links to "studies" and crap like that - if you want to read about it and see what various people have to say come and check out the Paleo/ Primal board here at MFP and read through some of the posts - we are friendly over there

    That about sums up the Paleo crowd, studies = "crap" vs anecdotal evidence = teh awesome

    Pubmed has all sorts of studies going both ways on paleo eating, not to mention all sorts of different anthropological studies on what "cavemen" actually ate. Studies aren't crap, but you can usually find a study to support your opinion. It seems that the general consensus with paleo is that no one knows. There seems to be an equal amount of literature from both sides.
  • Jindra12
    Jindra12 Posts: 256 Member
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    There is a Paleo/Primal group on MFP. Come over and join the group! There are many good advices other there.
  • bpmartyr
    bpmartyr Posts: 141
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    I will throw my hat into the ring of: "un-necessary fad diet".
  • sataylor24
    sataylor24 Posts: 49 Member
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    I am currently eating Paleo/Primal, I do drink 1 cup of almond milk daily and eat 4 OZ of yogurt. I feel much healthier and have a lot more energy than I did before. The reason that I made the change was due to a gluten allergy but I do consume enough carbs daily. I try to eat 1 banana daily and sweet potatoes at least 3 times per week. Making this change was the best thing that I did for myself.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    I think Paleo is a bunch of crap, no corn, rice, quinoa, whole grains, legumes,dairy??? too many good foods to give up with no basis for giving them up. Quinoa is a very healthy food rich with iron, fiber and calcium. I hate the way people throw around the word "lifestyle" in relation to this "diet". If you have to carry a little sheet around with you so you can figure out all that you can't eat, then you are probably removing too much from your diet. I don't want to follow someone else's rules on what I should be eating anyway. Eating clean is a better solution or giving up the specific things that give you issues like dairy or gluten. But giving up sooo many things that are actually good for you is absolutely ridiculous.
  • lawandfitness
    lawandfitness Posts: 1,257 Member
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    Thanks for the responses......

    First off..... I’m not looking for a "fad diet" I am looking to change my lifestyle.... Yes I said LIFESTYLE NeverGivesUp..... and this is not just in relation to paleo. I started paleo based on the fact I wanted to cut out processed food and bad carbs from my diet while eating as clean as possible (whole foods)

    I am not looking to eat like a caveman for life; I am just looking to see what fits with my digestive system. As noted in my OP I have digestion issues when I consume things with a lot of dairy, or food that is high in bad carbs (pasta....and this is difficult as I am Italian) I just want to make sure I start off in the right direction so that if I do want to start eating things like rice or pasta once a week or every 2 weeks, I can do so without seeing a huge gain.
    Plus, I don;t ever plan on going back to how I ate before, so I am looking for new ways to cook with keeping cals. low and I must say paleo websites have offered up some great recipes!
  • astrummortis
    astrummortis Posts: 14 Member
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    I forget that this is so sensitive a topic. I can only imagine people have issues with Paleo (and those who speak of it's benefits) feel like someone is telling them that how *they're* eating is stupid and destructive. Of course, some people are fine eating dairy, legumes, and grains.... a lot of people are not. And I don't believe the obesity epidemic is as simple as 'people are eating too much and exercising too little.' We see that with the many people who eat less and exercise more, and still can't lose weight. Of course, that's often part of the problem, but so are too many refined carbs and for some people... eating foods that paleo suggests people not eat.

    Saivalis- I say, take two months eating strict paleo and then introduce non-paleo foods slowly, one at a time, and see how you react to it then. I doubt anyone is actual, true 100% paleo. As long as you don't start *overeating* non-paleo foods, you may be able to eat some sorts just fine. Just my suggestion. It works for some people.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    but the thing is, if you call it a "lifestyle" then you are saying you will eat this way for life. Plus saying you eat like a caveman sounds soooo silly. Just eat clean wholesome food and give up the problem foods for you specifically and then you have your "lifestyle" that you can live with the rest of your life. Cavemen didn't have pots and pans and ovens so it is the cavemen terminology that really irritates me. Plus cavemen didn't have such long lifespans so our diets can't be all bad. Cut and paste what you want to do so you can call it your own way of living.
  • MMAQueen
    MMAQueen Posts: 279 Member
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    I've been doing the paleo thing for 4 weeks now. I cheat a bit, having pad thai (still glutten free). But i've been very strict on the no dairy, no glutten and i feel pretty good. I have been doing some baking, using maple syrup and honey as sweetener instead of sugar and I have avoided pretty much everything that comes out of a package.

    Like other people have mentioned, It doesn't have to be low carb, it just tends to be because of the lack of grains.

    Quinoa is not a grain, it's a seed and therefor is debated as to whether it's allowed/not allowed. Some people disallow it because it's omega 3/6 ratio is not ideal but it's certainly not blacklisted all together.

    You should check out the paleo/primal support group here on MFP. It's a really good community and full of people like you!
  • lawandfitness
    lawandfitness Posts: 1,257 Member
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    Once again, thank you for all the responses, It is really apprecited...

    I am just trying to figuer out what is right for my body so it can turn into a fat burning machine (LOL) and so that I don't get sick eating certain foods! So far after 10 days on paelo (mostly paleo anyways, still cheat here and there with cream in my coffee and small amounts of cheese) I feel fantastic, my energy is up and I can feel myself heading in the right diection.

    Sorry for posting such a touchy subject..... but Thanks for all the replies and support!
  • astrummortis
    astrummortis Posts: 14 Member
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    Plus saying you eat like a caveman sounds soooo silly.

    LOL I doubt everyone who eats paleolithic-ally says that. Whenever I say, "yup. I eat like a caveman," it's just an amusing spin and a simplification process. So I don't get into the entire thing with people and I can get a laugh out of them.

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