Paleo or South Beach?

Ok. Well good luck. I hope you find what works. I guess then, for me, it would be easy to stop eating all that stuff.

Have you been tested? I tend to distrust the medical community when it comes to this. They tend to say stop eating 90% of all food groups and see if that works. I'm exaggerating to make a point about how I detest their process.

When you're all done, you don't really know what was the cause, you think it's bread, and pasta, and rice, and red meat , and, ..., and..., and, when really, it's a small part of some of those foods that you need to eliminate, not the entire macronutrient class of foods. But, I understand that trial and error is painful and listen to the professionals is a good move right now.

Macronutrients are not a "class of foods"

I'd suggest that overtime, you get more specific testing and force them to exactly tell you what is causing your problem. Not a general description of carbs and red meat, but get down to the specific process that occurs when you consume a type of food and why that happens.

You obviously have no idea how expensive it is to determine the mechanism of action for multiple biological processes that contribute to a constellation of symptoms. No insurance plan would ever cover it. Those diagnostic tools likely don't even exist, since you cannot eliminate confounding variables. That is why we use trial and error. It's safe and inexpensive.

You may not really have to restrict your diet as much as you think. In the end, it's your life. I wouldn't settle on such wide-sweeping advice, unless I was convinced it's true.

But that isn't how this process works, and clinicians know that. An elimination diet plan is an effective means of identifying problem foods. You eliminate most, and add things back one at a time over a period of weeks while using a food journal to track symptoms and foods. Her doctor is giving her sound advice.

One large issue we have going on right now is a doctor tells a patient to cut carbs, stop eating gluten, and don't eat sugar. The patient does that and feels better. But, no one really knows what the problem was. Yes, all that solved it, but which specific element was causing an issue? What is the issue? The answer is no one knows. It is like your car breaks down. So, the mechanic says he will replace the engine. So, the car is fixed with the new engine, but no one knows what was wrong with the old engine and did it even need to be replaced? It's a ridiculous way to practice medicine.

:noway:

Holy crap, this is amazing.

I would only recommend low carb to someone with insulin resistance. Even then I wouldn't tell them to follow a confusing plan, like that of a commercial diet.

The point that eludes you guys is my point is when a doctor says stop eating all carbs and gluten, and it works, it really is not very helpful. So, my suggestion is for the OP to eventually work to learn the specific issue, rather than a large ridiculous belief that an entire macronutrient is 'bad for her'. It may not even be the case at all. It's what they call a false positive result. You think it's carbs and gluten, it might be neither, really.

And my point is that there is little utility to knowing WHY and that you would be the kind of patient that would go through any time of expense and misery and doctor shopping to know WHY...even though a simple solution resolves your issues. Knowing WHY isn't always possible, for a variety of reasons I've already stated. And you don't have to give up on a food forever. You have a false impression of the elimination diet. You slowly add suspect foods back into your diet after a period of abstinence, and track your symptoms.

I have done both Paleo and South Beach. I found Paleo easier for me to stick with than South Beach. I felt South Beach was more restricting. HOWEVER, not to discourage you, but both times I gained the weight back after I started eating normal again. If you can live forever without eating breads, crackers, dairy, grains, etc then you will do well but I couldn't keep up the restrictions long term. What has really worked for me and has helped me keep the weight off for good was eating my favorite foods but keeping it within my calorie limit. That's why I love tracking on MFP!

You can definitely incorporate parts of Paleo like cutting down on the grains, dairy, etc....eating more protein, fruit and veggies....but I personally feel that completely cutting those things out will just sabotage you in the end.

Sorry, don't mean you discourage you....just giving me honest opinion that MAYBE will help?!?

Best wishes!

Low-carb is a bad word on here...

If you are looking at is a lifestyle change, go for it. If you are looking at it as a diet, steer clear.

Noone knows your body better than yourself. Research what will work best for you and your ailments.

Also just to point out I have been on the MFP site for a couple of weeks now and they are really helpful, and to date no-one has provided any documented studies or evidence that the primal blue print does not reduce body fat or maintain lean mass - so that would suggest it works.

Whether any diet reduces body fat depends on a calorie deficit. How much lean mass you maintain as you lose has more to do with what you do, than what you eat.

The problem most people have with Paleo and Primal is not that they don't work, it's that they are so restrictive that few people stick to them for long.

And for the OP, getting the high fiber she needs could be a problem on a low carb, high fat diet. Fiber is a carb.

As I've posted above - I think it's the other way round, I have eaten both styles (have you?) so I am speaking from personal experience as opposed to assumption.

I have tried netiher, nor do I know to what assumptions you refer or what you believe is "the other way round".

The OP needs high fiber, along with other diet restrictions. She asked would Paleo or South Beach better meet those restrictions. Knowing the basic concepts of both diet, I suggested SB.

Rather than telling her what worked for me and assuming that meant it would also work for her, I answered her question. It will be difficult to eat the high fiber diet she seeks on a diet that forbids beans and whole grains.

Might I suggest the wonderful world of IIFIYM?

You would be able to custom tailor the foods you want to eat without having digestive issues. Sounds like you just need to pre-log food for the day.

A diet with a name??? :noway:

The point that eludes you guys is my point is when a doctor says stop eating all carbs and gluten, and it works, it really is not very helpful. So, my suggestion is for the OP to eventually work to learn the specific issue, rather than a large ridiculous belief that an entire macronutrient is 'bad for her'. It may not even be the case at all. It's what they call a false positive result. You think it's carbs and gluten, it might be neither, really.

And my point is that there is little utility to knowing WHY and that you would be the kind of patient that would go through any time of expense and misery and doctor shopping to know WHY...even though a simple solution resolves your issues. Knowing WHY isn't always possible, for a variety of reasons I've already stated. And you don't have to give up on a food forever. You have a false impression of the elimination diet. You slowly add suspect foods back into your diet after a period of abstinence, and track your symptoms.

That's what I was saying. Thanks for reiterating it.

Except for the "not knowing why part". That's not a smart way to approach eliminating a bunch of stuff, including an entire macro-nutrient, from your diet. But, do whatever you want. i'm tired of arguing with people that are close-minded and can't see past their forehead. Data is data. You can do research, learn, and explore. you don't have to spend thousands at a doctors office. in fact, I advocate not doing that, because doctors tend to be kind of campy with their silly watered-down pop-science advice.

Hilarious.

Also just to point out I have been on the MFP site for a couple of weeks now and they are really helpful, and to date no-one has provided any documented studies or evidence that the primal blue print does not reduce body fat or maintain lean mass - so that would suggest it works.

to date no-one has provided any documented studies or evidence that the Count Chocula Diet does not reduce body fat or maintain lean mass - so that would suggest it works.