Paleo success

Has anyone had success on the paleo diet? I am considering it - can you tell me about your experience?

Replies

  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    I tried it a long time ago when I use to run.

    It depleted a lot of water weight, which is pointless unless you're prepping for a show.

    But, I ended up finding about IIFYM and doing that and being 100000x more happy and not a living Snickers commercial due to lack of carbs.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    New success story every week, not always weight loss but improvements with health issues and fitness as well:

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/category/success-stories/#axzz3BPOgXWP7
  • CrunchyDad
    CrunchyDad Posts: 66 Member
    My family is nowhere near 100% paleo, but we have tried it in the past. We found that going 100% wasn't really practical for us, but we did learn from it and had a few key takeaways that have really helped.

    Again, we don't stick to these all the time, but in general our base meals and grocery shopping never include dairy, gluten or grains, or any processed foods or potatoes where we can manage. The things we had a hard time cutting were legumes, and we love baking so occasionally we use organic wheat flour but also use paleo recipes where we can.

    On a day where I don't allow myself any "treats" all of my meals are paleo, consisting of just fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs and oils. Those days are few and far between though. Having kids makes it extremely challenging.

    I'd recommend trying it though, see how you feel and if anything it's a real eye opener. Through eating more paleo based meals and organic, unprocessed foods, we've all noticed huge improvements in how we feel, less bloatedness, more energy, none of the random headaches or mental fogginess we used to experience.
  • katharineshalia
    katharineshalia Posts: 243 Member
    Been following paleo (meat, veg, fruit & fat) for 30 days. I don't buy organic or grass fed, so I guess not pure paleo. I lost 10lbs the first week and have lost 10 more in the following 3 weeks. Paleo is not low carb, it's low crap. It's also easy if you keep it simple. Might want to join paleo support forum on this website for specific questions you might have, and the websites posted above are a good starting point. Good luck.

    Bonus: I'm not starving all the time
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    Paleo is not low carb, it's low crap.

    So what Carbs do you eat?
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    I've never done it, but one of my friends on FB did; haven't seen him in forever, but he made some really awesome meals. Saw a lot of success with it...and his photos of his meals were pretty awesome to look at too.
  • katharineshalia
    katharineshalia Posts: 243 Member
    Fruit and vegetables - on average 80 plus/minus grams carbs a day.

    Edited to say: I used to eat over 1000 grams carbs a day. I didn't know about macros I just tried to eat under 1200 calls a day and that didn't work.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Fruit and vegetables - on average 80 plus/minus grams carbs a day.

    Edited to say: I used to eat over 1000 grams carbs a day. I didn't know about macros I just tried to eat under 1200 calls a day and that didn't work.

    Uh... in that case you weren't eating under 1200 cals, but more like 4000 cals. So of course it didn't work. Although a true 1200 cal diet also won't work and I am seriously sad every time I see someone mention their very low calorie intale.
  • catpea33
    catpea33 Posts: 76 Member
    Paleo is not low carb, it's low crap.

    So what Carbs do you eat?

    Sweet potato is always delicious.
  • catpea33
    catpea33 Posts: 76 Member
    Has anyone had success on the paleo diet? I am considering it - can you tell me about your experience?

    I love it. A lot of people will say it's a fad but I don't see how eating vegetables, fruit, meats, nuts, oils and seeds can be considered a fad! Palaeo is basically about removing the processed junk from a person's diet and attempts to get increased nutrition from an equivalent number of calories. Also, some people consider grains to be palaeo and others don't, some consider it to be low carb high fat and others don't, etc. so it's hard to define exactly what the palaeo is. For me (non-grain, low carb), I've experienced clearer skin, better sleep, more energy, less digestive issues and so on. The only downside to palaeo is that sometimes, depending on what you eat, food can take longer to prepare but then I like to cook fancy meals...

    You could always try it for a few weeks and see how you get on with it. I started mine as a three-week trial, convinced it was all baloney, and here I am a year later still following it...
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    My husband is having great success on Paleo. It has cured everything that he ever thought was wrong with him. MY experience of it is that it has not cured ANYThing I ever thought was wrong with him, but has in fact exacerbated it. Wanting to be in charge of everything, ruling out everything as sub par, nitpicky-ing about food, overspending on food, policing other people's meals/harshing on them, making social events more difficult/challenging/awkward.

    So the official report is:

    thumbs-up-thumbs-down-1.jpg

    Never forget the old cliché, "Behind every good caveman is a good (but annoyed) woman."
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Has anyone had success on the paleo diet? I am considering it - can you tell me about your experience?

    Define success. What are your goals?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I don't see how eating vegetables, fruit, meats, nuts, oils and seeds can be considered a fad!

    Rather obviously this is not the part people are critical of. Non-paleo people (like me) also eat those things. We also eat dairy, grains (I prefer to mostly eat whole grains, but think the others have their place in moderation), and legumes, plus potatoes.

    Now, I don't personally have anything against paleo if it works for you, and I think it does for some people, but I don't understand why people who do it--and thus should be prepared to talk about the benefits of cutting out these foods, for them--feel compelled to be disingenuous about what the differences are between it and other ways of eating.
    Also, some people consider grains to be palaeo and others don't

    This is wrong.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Paleo is not low carb, it's low crap.

    So what Carbs do you eat?

    Sweet potato is always delicious.

    Sweet potato isn't paleo.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    I eat what is essentially a paleo diet (I sometimes have legumes) due to a medically restricted diet.
    For me, I am a bazillion times better than I was otherwise, but I'm a bit biased obviously. I have met a number of folks with autoimmune disorders who seem to do pretty well on it, or at least going gluten free.

    However, I know people who did very poorly on it, as well, and did much better with higher carbs, or lower protein, or whatever. IMHO, diet is a very individualized thing and you'd need to try it yourself to see if it works for you.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Has anyone had success on the paleo diet? I am considering it - can you tell me about your experience?

    Millions of people!

    It does have it's restrictions (as does every diet - no less that a moderated calories restricted diet), but if you do your research and the foods you are advised to cut you are happy to cut, then give it a go for a month and see how you feel on it.
  • tbrain1989
    tbrain1989 Posts: 280 Member
    Paleo is a posh version of atkins,

    i find low carb diets work

    cutting out processed foods isnt a bad idea either.

    my only reason for not doing the paleo extent of the low carb diet is because its too expensive. also, snacks are extremely limited.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Paleo is a posh version of atkins,

    i find low carb diets work

    cutting out processed foods isnt a bad idea either.

    my only reason for not doing the paleo extent of the low carb diet is because its too expensive. also, snacks are extremely limited.

    I think you've got that a little bit mixed up. Paleo is designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are most definitely low carb.
  • tbrain1989
    tbrain1989 Posts: 280 Member
    Paleo is a posh version of atkins,

    i find low carb diets work

    cutting out processed foods isnt a bad idea either.

    my only reason for not doing the paleo extent of the low carb diet is because its too expensive. also, snacks are extremely limited.

    I think you've got that a little bit mixed up. Paleo is designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are most definitely low carb.

    yeh i said paleo is a version of atkins which is also a low carb diet.

    i agree its low carb

    i just said it was posh and expensive with its grass fed meats etc
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Paleo is a posh version of atkins,

    i find low carb diets work

    cutting out processed foods isnt a bad idea either.

    my only reason for not doing the paleo extent of the low carb diet is because its too expensive. also, snacks are extremely limited.

    I think you've got that a little bit mixed up. Paleo is designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are most definitely low carb.

    yeh i said paleo is a version of atkins which is also a low carb diet.

    i agree its low carb

    i just said it was posh and expensive with its grass fed meats etc

    Sorry - my bad (grammar error).

    Paleo is not designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are!

    :smile:
  • tbrain1989
    tbrain1989 Posts: 280 Member
    Paleo is a posh version of atkins,

    i find low carb diets work

    cutting out processed foods isnt a bad idea either.

    my only reason for not doing the paleo extent of the low carb diet is because its too expensive. also, snacks are extremely limited.

    I think you've got that a little bit mixed up. Paleo is designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are most definitely low carb.

    yeh i said paleo is a version of atkins which is also a low carb diet.

    i agree its low carb

    i just said it was posh and expensive with its grass fed meats etc

    Sorry - my bad (grammar error).

    Paleo is not designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are!

    :smile:

    ok now im with you

    thought i was going mad,

    ive always perceived it as a low carb diet,

    im sure it recommends not eating any refined foods? or potatoes.

    you would struggle to hit Macro of carbs with those conditions.

    even an entire wheel barrow of veg is about 100 grams of carbs.

    but anyway, its too darn expensive.

    Source:

    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/b/2012/04/09/paleo-eating-vs-low-carb-eating.htm
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Paleo is a posh version of atkins,

    i find low carb diets work

    cutting out processed foods isnt a bad idea either.

    my only reason for not doing the paleo extent of the low carb diet is because its too expensive. also, snacks are extremely limited.

    I think you've got that a little bit mixed up. Paleo is designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are most definitely low carb.

    yeh i said paleo is a version of atkins which is also a low carb diet.

    i agree its low carb

    i just said it was posh and expensive with its grass fed meats etc

    Sorry - my bad (grammar error).

    Paleo is not designed as a low carb diet.

    Off shoots such as primal are!

    :smile:

    ok now im with you

    thought i was going mad,

    ive always perceived it as a low carb diet,

    im sure it recommends not eating any refined foods? or potatoes.

    you would struggle to hit Macro of carbs with those conditions.

    even an entire wheel barrow of veg is about 100 grams of carbs.

    but anyway, its too darn expensive.

    Source:

    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/b/2012/04/09/paleo-eating-vs-low-carb-eating.htm

    That's true, I think some paleo (strict) diets this would apply to.

    I eat primal which recommends all of the grass fed beef and stuff, but it's a bit more real world and explains that whilst those things are possibly ideal going for more affordable options are still more beneficial than eating junk food and the more highly processed foods.

    Sweet potato - you would soon hit your cals with those babies. Fruit you could blow your days cals on not much fruit if you go for the right ones!

    Still I am definitely in the low carb (well I haven't been this weekend) camp!
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
    The underlying principle of the paleo diet has been proven wrong by scientists. There's a TED talk you can see on my group called 3FC Pals. The scientist giving the talks, discusses the bone analysis of paleo peoples. the bone analysis shows what foods people were eating in those days. She says "there were many paleo diets". Some were high meat and some high in vegetables. Many ate legumes. and so on.

    Its a good video have a look.

    Apart from that of course you can lose weight doing paleo. On the 3FC forum proper, there's a guy there's who rabidly evangelical about it - diamondgeog. He will tell you its save his life. He's lost a fair bit of weight and with it many ailments like back pain and sleep apnoea and so on. Of course when you lose weight all those symptoms resolve anyway for most people. He thinks its due to the particular diet. Whatever. But anyway he loves it. He loves the food. He has not given up dairy. Just the grains and refined and processed foods.

    Bottom line, you can lose weight on any diet but you need to find one that matches your food preferences or make one up yourself. Except a processed food diet because that's bound to fail before too long.

    Whatever diet you choose to follow try to increase your fibre intake.

    There's a good show on you tube about it. called Catalyst - Gut Reaction. The wikipedia entry Gut Flora, covers a lot of the same ground in more detail so take a look at that afterwards. This show also shows the hadza tribe people who are hunter gatherers today and have always been so. they eat a lot of honey. the men mainly. There's an interesting role division of foods. men eat more meat and women more yams or tubers (note starchy vegetable).

    Another interesting note, a lot of these hunter gatherers ate a lot of raw meat. Australian aborigines did that. The Hadza have oral history telling about it too.

    Anyway paleo is far far far from being a hunter gatherers diet as the first video i refer you to will clarify. for all that i would say have a go. You will find it interesting.
  • BlakleyHaller
    BlakleyHaller Posts: 1 Member
    I make a yummy almond banana muffin, I had tapioca tortilla roll-ups for lunch, I eat as much fresh fruit as I want, often with a little whipped coconut cream... There are tons of carbs involved in the Paleo diet. I LOVE the quote above "It's not low carb, it's low crap."

    I've been Paleo for almost 2 years now and people are always amazed that I can still show up to Thanksgiving with sweet potato rolls and a pecan pie bar treat to share. It's actually just as important to monitor carbs and sweets while eating Paleo as it is while eating wheat and other grains because there are now SO many wonderful options available that we are tempted just as much as those on other diets.

    Main difference: I don't feel terrible at the end of my Thanksgiving meal, even if I did have a dinner roll and dessert. ;)