caveman paleo diet

I have read that it is one of the most expensive diets to follow.

it ought to be the cheapest if you hunt and gather all the food yourself, like cavemen did

ETA: I have nothing against the paleo diet.

My goodness, its just food people.. FOOODD!! Meat, veggies, fruit nuts.. lets all take a deep breath.

I've been Paleo for about 5 months now and have never felt better. I have more energy, sleep better (have always had insomnia problems) and my skin looks great. Paleo, in a sense, is simply trying to eat wholesome foods, and remove all the overly processed, chemical junk. It is not a super strict must do everything exactly right. Most people who are paleo do the 80/20 aka "Weekday Paleo" where they eat as good as possible during the week and then splurg on the weekends.

Paleo is NOT expensive. I mean, it can be if your eating organic/grassfed steaks every night. Hubs and I are broke as a joke (25,000yr income) and we manage to make healthy choices and eat Paleo.

I've lost about a hundred pounds essentially eating the primal way. I'm not psycho about it though. I try to avoid sugar (although I do eat dark fairly traded chocolate), beans (I have gout so I'd do that anyway), grains (except a whole grain rice tortilla because I love quesadillas!), I eat berries every day and I eat vegetables (almost at every meal) so I get lots of fiber. I also eat a fair bit of dairy but not as much as I used to (I measure now!). I eat eggs, beef, chicken, tuna, salmon, cheese, yogurt. I feel great! People think this isn't sustainable but i could do this for the rest of my life. I make biscuits and bread out of almond flour but they are quite high in calories so I don't eat them a lot. I make crustless pizza, and nachos by covering a huge pile of vegetables with cheese maybe pepperoni and spices. It's all the good stuff only more of it! When I eat sugar, and I have on summer or Christmas holiday, it takes a while to get past the carb addiction but when I do I feel more at peace. Try it! Everyone is different but if it works for you it can be a really healthy way to eat especially if you eat a lot of vegetables. I think it is really all about the vegetables not really about the meat. Good luck with your adventure!

I just started eating Paleo and I am loving it. I read Robb Wolf's Paleo Solution and it really makes sense for me. I actually started eating Paleo after completing a juice cleanse (BluePrint) and didn't want to go right back to my old habits of Lean Cuisines and 100-calorie packs.

I am actually having a hard time hitting my calorie target each day. I think it is because I am eating much more nutrient-dense foods instead of processed foods that don't fill me up. (e.g. Instead of a protein bar for breakfast, I am having 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado and a large handful of cherry tomatoes for the same calories.) I am also much more attuned to my hunger and only eat when I'm hungry as Robb suggests in his book (instead of eating due to boredom or because it's 'time" to eat).

I highly recommend doing your research and figuring out what will work for you.

Also, as for the expense-- look for what's on sale. Buy in bulk and freeze it. Robb also recommends eating produce that is "in-season" which will be cheaper than other produce.

PS. I've lost 3 lbs eating Paleo since Sunday...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/54-primal-paleo-support-group

you may get better information there.

also, the way i like to think of it is, while i'm spending more on organics & grass fed meat, i'm saving money in the long term by being healthy and giving my body the best food i can afford.

as a vain 20 something, my skin clearing up after i went organic was heavenly. worth it just for that.

A patient of ours ( I work in a Physical Therapy Practice) lost a lot of weight doing it and she swears by it...She went from 270 to 137...I say it works. She cut out breads, grains, wheat, and gluten...

You also have to cut out most fruits and all dairy. My husband and I following this "loosely"... I eat most fruits and some dairy. It's basically eating nuts, meats, and veggies. It's hard at first but after a few weeks it becomes second nature.

Depending if you're primal or paleo, you can still have occasional/moderate dairy on the primal eating style.
You really also don't have to cut out "most" fruit, the few that have very high sugar content just need to be moderated, and this is typically only during times when you are trying to lose weight. At least from what I've read and understood.

A patient of ours ( I work in a Physical Therapy Practice) lost a lot of weight doing it and she swears by it...She went from 270 to 137...I say it works. She cut out breads, grains, wheat, and gluten...

You also have to cut out most fruits and all dairy. My husband and I following this "loosely"... I eat most fruits and some dairy. It's basically eating nuts, meats, and veggies. It's hard at first but after a few weeks it becomes second nature.

Depending if you're primal or paleo, you can still have occasional/moderate dairy on the primal eating style.
You really also don't have to cut out "most" fruit, the few that have very high sugar content just need to be moderated, and this is typically only during times when you are trying to lose weight. At least from what I've read and understood.

This is true. Logging them into MFP is a great to moderate. I stay under 50 grams of sugar per day, and none of it (besides the occasional slip up) is processed. Both of you are correct. Paleo is about what's healthy, and a lot of people over complicate something so simple.

If I was gonna do a diet, it would be that one.

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If I was gonna do a diet, it would be that one.

I did follow the paleo diet about 5 years ago for 6 months and went from 220 to 180. I lifted pretty consistently and play hockey once a week as well as ride fairly routinely most of the year and dropped body fat, worked like a charm. I'm also 6 ft tall and consumed around 2500 calories, when I checked periodically.

It was a good catalyst for me to begin some type of change that I desperately needed at that time. My basic philosophy about eating and health is towards whole foods and I still don't subscribe to the IIFYM, I'm more of an 80/20 kind of person now, if were going to category food and eating style philosophies.

The mechanisms that work in the paleo diet are, if a person is a carbaholic and overweight, this diet will crush a sweet tooth and actually consuming sweet things after some time, most, would find unappealing, or too sweet. It also by default increases protein when compared to the average diet which is more satiating along with the increase in plant food, mostly vegetables again is highly satiating. Basically the feeling of hunger is drastically diminished and the bingeing almost stops, bingeing is generally those fatty, carby, sugary things.

Anyway, the reason why I stropped had nothing to do with the foods that are actually selected, their whole foods and I still eat mostly whole food. It was the dogma surrounding carbs more than anything else. Most if not all sites that promote paleo or primal believe that carbs are what make us fat and eliminating them is the way to roll. The grain, dairy, legume, nightshade aspect of this diet is more about blind faith and logical fallacy, similar to a vegan diet where if something has the potential to increase a health problem, then removing, would eliminate that health problem. Inflammation for example found in some foods and from omega balance. Dairy is well, controversial anyway but in regards to paleo, other than possibly consuming milk from down prey, weren't savvy to it's production, and therefore is avoided. Fruit is controversial. Paleo is basically window dressing for a low carb diet with logical fallacy as the foundation. Is it healthy, you bet. Does it work, sure does, worked like a charm for me, do we need to eliminate food groups, no, definitely not, we need to only eliminate foods that effect the individual.

I'm still consuming a lower carb diet with about 200-250g's, and this by most paleo gurus opinion is almost to the point of insidious weight gain. It represents about 25% of my diet. For me this is my sweet spot for maintenance, weight loss or weight gain depending on my goals. I know that I have to keep certain carbs in check or I'll overeat, no doubt about, because it's happened on more than 1 occasion lol. Grain is not the enemy and other than it logically doesn't make sense to swing that far in it's elimination, I could never sustain a diet without it, or dairy, but at the time it was the catalyst for change, and in that respect it worked.

It is a restrictive diet that requires you to cut out whole groups of foods. By doing so, it creates a calorie deficit. It's nothing special or magical for weight loss.

If you did the research then you would see that it's actually about health! It's about insulin control and optimal health. The weight loss is a side effect because the body reaches true homeostasis. There are many doctors that now advise Paleo and if you did the research into how macros work in the body and how the various hormones (insulin, Ghrelin, glucagon, leptin etc) influence health and body composition then you would see that it's not a restrictive diet it's actually eating the way we are supposed to eat! I'm a trainer and a nutritionist and I will never risk my health again by going back to grains etc...

Do your research, try it, test it (for at least a month) and then make your own choices. I personally believe it is impossible to reach OPTIMAL health without eating Paleo.

Weight loss isn't a side effect it's a result of fewer calories. Reducing the quantity of refined carbs and sugar will lead to the same health benefits. Vegans stand on the same platform and will say their diet isn't restrictive either. The logic of consuming a balanced diet does not exist in the realm of extreme imo.

It can't lead to same benefits health wise because whilst consuming grains etc the gut can't heal. 200-250g is actually quite high in carbohydrates even following conventional guidelines. If the health state of the body is good then you can lose, maintain or gain effortlessly because the hormones are able to do their roles.

Paleo doesn't have to be Low carb either. It's a choice made by most to be low carb because the health benefits are huge and there is plenty of science to back it up

I was doing the 1200 cals thing at the end of 2011 for a few months I really struggled and was hungry all the time and gave up.

Then in 2012 i had a wedding to go to ...had to drop some kgs so back to 1200cals... again hungry and struggling.
Saw that an mfp friend (who was so cut and lean) doing this thing called paleo/primal. so i stopped the 1200 cals and started primal ..i dropped 2kgs (4.4lbs) in a week. Went to the wedding and forgot about the diet.

Three months later summer was on the way and i couldn't fit half my clothes so i thought got great results from primal so started again. A week and a half in, the neck and back pain i'd had for 11 years went away. Turns out I have a massive gluten intolerance. In the 2 months i've been doing it i have lost 4.6kgs (10lbs) and that's with many a slip up over xmas ny and my birthday etc. Currently doing paleo and feel great.

I recommend trying it for a week at the very least to see if you like it.

It is a restrictive diet that requires you to cut out whole groups of foods. By doing so, it creates a calorie deficit. It's nothing special or magical for weight loss.

I'm sorry but that's wrong. Do some research because what it's actually about is keeping insulin output low = insulin sensitivity which means your cells become truly accessible! Also it's about healing the gut, allowing the body to reach homostasis. It is not all about weight loss, it's about health and allowing the body to function optimally.

I turned Paleo 4 months back, I only wish I had found it earlier. It's my life style. No more blood sugar issues, no more cravings, no more hunger...my body is fully comfortable, better energy. If anyone tries it and gains weight.... It's not a go ahead to eat massive amounts of food, you still need to watch your calories. Most of us don't count calories because instinctually we know when we've bad enough. I feel satisfied on less food now.

Try it...if you don't like it then go back to how you were but I would bet that you don't want to.

I buy my meat from an organic grass fed/pasteurised farmer....it's cheaper than my super market! You just have to source it right, go straight to the grassfed farmers.

I have read that it is one of the most expensive diets to follow.

I call Bull$hit on this one. You may have heard that, but you heard wrong.

Actually no they are quite right. It depends on your location. I live in the North and fresh produce is really expensive. (So is meat for that matter). So unless you wanted to eat canned or frozen all the time (which yuck and also paleo discourages) you are paying out the nose for this diet.

Not everywhere is exactly like where you live.