Shocked by Paleo! Is bread my nemesis?
mikeroobuddha
Posts: 28
When I decided to take control of my weight and try and get back into some kind of shape I thought long and hard abbout how I was going to do it. The first thing that sprang to my mind was that about 15 years ago I was following a vegan diet and was at a fairly health weight and felt pretty good, so I ditched the meat and dairy and went back to being vegan......
All was well and I started to exercise and eat healthily and lost about 10kgs but then I came to a complete stop and just fluctuated between a kg either way while still being another 10 kgs away from my goal weight. I was tired and lethargic and this wasn't a good place to be as my transport to and from work each day is my bike and the effort was starting to get to me!
So I looked at the EM2WL approach and I have to admit upping my calories definitely gave me more energy and a small loss for about a week..... but then I just stopped more or less back where I was again. Now I wasn't too worried about this and I was willing to be patient as I'm in this for the long haul but I kept looking at the conversations on MFP and considering my options.... then I read about Paleo.
I've always been attracted to the idea of 'eating clean', and the idea of not putting anything processed into my body seemed to make sense so I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't really give it any more thought than that.....then the bit that shocked me.....
Within days of starting to follow the Paleo suggestions I felt completely different, the only way to describe it is that a sense of balance and calm decended on me (particularly in the stomach area). At this point I was still only finding my feet and I hadn't really made the full transition but the one thing I had done is cut out ALL of the bread, pasta and grains. I set my macros to 15% carbs 60% fat and 25% protein and almost immediately crashed through the stubborn barrier I had been up against to the tune of 2 whole kgs!! I also lost over 1% of body fat in those first few days.....
To say I was shocked is a bit of an understatement. The most shocking thing was that I was still maintining my calorie intake at 2000 cals a day AND losing weight and fat, the only obvious change to me was that I had gone from being a big bread and pastry eater to just eating carbs from veggies. I honestly couldn't believe that it's that simple but I'm struggling to see anything else to account for the changes.
I think that more than anything else this has just been a wake up call to me to show just how much we can decieve ourselves when we like the way things are. I love bread, fresh white baguettes, pasties....anything bread or pastry related, and because I love them I think I'd overlooked (conciously or subconciously) the fact that they could be part of the solution to losing weight and feeling more balanced.
Anyway, I'm obviously going to keep making the complete change over to Paleo, if nothing else I've realised just how much certain foods can affect my body and how much better it is to feel the way I do at the moment than to feel how I felt before all for the sake of bread!!
I love reading peoples' stories on here and seeing how everyone is doing so let me know what your experiences have been and feel free to add me :drinker:
All was well and I started to exercise and eat healthily and lost about 10kgs but then I came to a complete stop and just fluctuated between a kg either way while still being another 10 kgs away from my goal weight. I was tired and lethargic and this wasn't a good place to be as my transport to and from work each day is my bike and the effort was starting to get to me!
So I looked at the EM2WL approach and I have to admit upping my calories definitely gave me more energy and a small loss for about a week..... but then I just stopped more or less back where I was again. Now I wasn't too worried about this and I was willing to be patient as I'm in this for the long haul but I kept looking at the conversations on MFP and considering my options.... then I read about Paleo.
I've always been attracted to the idea of 'eating clean', and the idea of not putting anything processed into my body seemed to make sense so I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't really give it any more thought than that.....then the bit that shocked me.....
Within days of starting to follow the Paleo suggestions I felt completely different, the only way to describe it is that a sense of balance and calm decended on me (particularly in the stomach area). At this point I was still only finding my feet and I hadn't really made the full transition but the one thing I had done is cut out ALL of the bread, pasta and grains. I set my macros to 15% carbs 60% fat and 25% protein and almost immediately crashed through the stubborn barrier I had been up against to the tune of 2 whole kgs!! I also lost over 1% of body fat in those first few days.....
To say I was shocked is a bit of an understatement. The most shocking thing was that I was still maintining my calorie intake at 2000 cals a day AND losing weight and fat, the only obvious change to me was that I had gone from being a big bread and pastry eater to just eating carbs from veggies. I honestly couldn't believe that it's that simple but I'm struggling to see anything else to account for the changes.
I think that more than anything else this has just been a wake up call to me to show just how much we can decieve ourselves when we like the way things are. I love bread, fresh white baguettes, pasties....anything bread or pastry related, and because I love them I think I'd overlooked (conciously or subconciously) the fact that they could be part of the solution to losing weight and feeling more balanced.
Anyway, I'm obviously going to keep making the complete change over to Paleo, if nothing else I've realised just how much certain foods can affect my body and how much better it is to feel the way I do at the moment than to feel how I felt before all for the sake of bread!!
I love reading peoples' stories on here and seeing how everyone is doing so let me know what your experiences have been and feel free to add me :drinker:
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Yes, it is that simple. Amazing, isn't it.
Welcome to the wonderful and peaceful land of Primal/Paleo.
I am mostly Primal now. I was mostly Paleo but I've allowed some dairy back into my diet. My low carb/keto diet brought me here. I say mostly because I will eat peanut butter and some beans occasionally, especially hummus. I also will use artificial sweeteners.0 -
It really is! I get the peanut butter situation and the hummus to be fair but at the moment I'm ploughing through recipies and trying all the tasty Paleo things on offer!
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Yup, this lifestyle is amazing. The list of health problems that were resolved for me is a very, very long one. It's hard not to be excited about it and so passionate that you want to tell everyone! At least that's how it is for me.
It's too bad we get ridiculed to no end when we try to share our experiences with others. I often think that people like being sick and maybe the simplicity and common sense of Primal/Paleo is just too hard to take. Of course, the "experts" have been telling us the exact opposite for 40 years or more, so that doesn't help either. Strangely, when one starts investigating nutritional science closer, we realize that we have been LIED to from every direction. That won't be completely corrected anytime soon, but I love that there are people who have been willing to risk their careers and speak up. More and more all the time.
If I hear: "it's just calories in/calories out", "you are a special snowflake", "you have no will power", "you must eat a balanced diet", "eat low fat", "fill up on water/veggies/fruit", "meat is unhealthy", "vegan diets are healthy and ethical", etc etc, I'm likely to blow a gasket. That BS will certainly give me a stroke or heart attack, but my animal-based high fat diet will NOT. LOL
Edit: I'm what you'd call ketogenic primal. No grain (except popcorn only RARELY), legumes, or artificial sweeteners. I even limit other "healthy" stuff like fruit and veggies (esp nightshades because of knee pain). As time goes by, my reliance on processed food is less and less. Homemade condiments are awesome; only way to avoid soy and canola.0 -
The biggest thing I noticed when I went Primal (Jan 1 of this year) is that my hunger changed.
It went from a "must eat something right NOW" type feeling to becoming aware of hunger and then it nagging me more. It has become a bother more than a command.0 -
It's still a demand for me, but, that is due to diabetic issues. However, I don't crave food or sweets.The biggest thing I noticed when I went Primal (Jan 1 of this year) is that my hunger changed.
It went from a "must eat something right NOW" type feeling to becoming aware of hunger and then it nagging me more. It has become a bother more than a command.0 -
The nice thing is how many veggies you can eat without being too concerned about the calories..... makes it sooooo much easier to stay feeling full!0
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I ended up bring primal/paleo because of my mood disorder. I found a lot of hearsay information about how not eating grains helps people with anxiety, depression and hypoglycemia.
I started it for the mental health, and kept it up for my physical health!
I don't need my anxiety/depression pills anymore, so long as I continue exercising and NOT eating grains.
I love vegetables now :laugh:0 -
That's a great result....the power of vegetables!!:bigsmile:0
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I just started doing primal. I've been eating clean for a while but have just really started to cut out the grains! I feel like I'm not as hungry or craving things eating this way....love it! I still eat a few beans & some cheese every now and then. Add me if you'd like.0
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Friend request on the way Mike.
I started leaning in to Paleo in Jan when I eliminated wheat and all refined sugar and in march dove in head first and I completed my first whole30.0
