Paleo vs. Low Carb...and ideas?

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All_New_Me
All_New_Me Posts: 13 Member
Hello :smile:

So...I have been eating low carb for a four months now. Over all, I have lost 32 lbs.
And now, I have hit a wall...not going up...not going down...no change in inches....For just a bit over a month...NOTHING.
I eat under 24 total carbs a day.....plenty of fat.....and exercise 3 to 4 times a week.
I absolutely do not want to give up trying to lose weight, and to keep it off.... but I also am really needing to see a change. I do not want to get discouraged and just give up...
I know Paleo isn't all low carb, however the 2 seem quite similar in a lot of ways....I would love some feed back if anyone has any.

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  • mizaditude
    mizaditude Posts: 12 Member
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    just like you said, paleo isn't low carb unless you make it that way. You can have starchy veggies, fruits, honey, maple syrup etc and make it completely not low carb. And a lot of people eat low carb but aren't eating whole foods. If your eating manufactured low carb candies, cookies, cakes etc thats completely not paleo. They really are two totally different things unless you do the tweaking to make one more like the other.
  • All_New_Me
    All_New_Me Posts: 13 Member
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    Nope, I haven't eaten anything out of a box in forever, lol!

    And I refuse to spend money on something JUST because it says "LOW CARB".....a wrap is a wrap even though you can save maybe 2 carbs when eating it...just skip the wrap, lol!!

    Sugar I rarely use anyway, so that doesn't bother me to skip it. And I don't like sugar subs, so I go without.

    I would just REALLY like to see some progress again :disappointed:
  • deansdad101
    deansdad101 Posts: 644 Member
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    All_New_Me wrote: »
    Nope, I haven't eaten anything out of a box in forever, lol!

    And I refuse to spend money on something JUST because it says "LOW CARB".....a wrap is a wrap even though you can save maybe 2 carbs when eating it...just skip the wrap, lol!!

    Sugar I rarely use anyway, so that doesn't bother me to skip it. And I don't like sugar subs, so I go without.

    I would just REALLY like to see some progress again :disappointed:
    ANM;

    As you probably already know if you've been reading the back posts, "stalls" are quite "normal" and a fairly large percentage of those doing LCHF and/or NK have experienced them once or more and for varying lengths of time.

    "Usually" they just "break" themselves eventually, although many have attempted different methods to create the break. Switching from LC to Paleo might be considered a fairly major change (despite the fact that they do have much in common). Doesn't make it "wrong" it's just a pretty big change in dietary philosophy.

    As long as you are comfortable with LC (as you should be considering your success to date) I'd stick with it IIWY.

    As to how to "break" the stall you have a number of options (short of ditching LC for P).
    1. Some have had success with the "egg fast" (not really a "fast" but a lot of eggs),
    2. Others have used something similar to the 5:2 Fasting Diet (still not really a "fast" but closer). 5 days on your "normal" LC diet (and cal intake), then 2 days a week (not sequential) with total cal intake not exceeding 5-600 (M) or 4-500 (F). A "day" being defined as at least 24 hours (or 36 for some) from last "normal" meal to resumption of "normal" LC.
    3. Finally, just "wait out" the stall - in almost every case it will break (assuming your "numbers" are right in the first place and you've made the necessary adjustments along the way.

    A 32 pound reduction in 3 months averages over 3#/week which is quite high (and likely unsustainable long term although some have) - might just be your body is saying "I'm gonna take a break here for awhile".
  • All_New_Me
    All_New_Me Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks Deansdad101!

    I started in May just counting calories, then switched to Low Carb on my doc's suggestion in late July, early August. So I guess not quite 4 months, sorry!

    I was completely happy with losing weight slowly...because it was steady ;)

    I have been going over my diary and I really have increased my cheese...a lot...maybe that could be the culprit, as well?

    I do think I will wait it out a bit...I like eating Low Carb :D

    Thank you for the advice!!
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    edited November 2014
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    LCHF and Paleo may not necessarily be the same (as mentioned, you can be Paleo and still be high carb), however, they aren't mutually exclusive. Paleo focuses on the kinds and quality of food you eat, while LCHF focuses on the macros. They actually mesh quite well, so it doesn't have to be an "either or" thing, at all.

    I do LCHF Primal (Primal is a variation of Paleo that focuses more on fats and allows for dairy if you tolerate it; look up Primal Blueprint to learn more about it), and have found it to work well for me. I have a friend who thrives best on keto Paleo/Primal.

    You get your fats from meats and fatty fruits like coconut and avocado, as well as butter/ghee and dairy if you do it. You get your protein from meats, and your carbs from vegetables. Probably not far from what you're already doing.
  • JennyToy
    JennyToy Posts: 149 Member
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    i have heard it 'round the grapevine too much cheese can hinder weightloss. i don't think you are alone on that.
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
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    Have you recalculated your caloric needs lately? 32 lbs in that short time is actually really great progress, and since you don't mention your stats, it's probably time to adjust them.

    Also, ask yourself these questions:

    (1) Has your activity level changed? If so, you may need to adjust calories accordingly.

    (2) Are you within 15 lbs of your goal weight? If so, you will need to adjust your expectations to around .5 lbs a week. And because of this, you may also need to adjust your caloric intake. If you had a lot to lose (over 75 lbs. and now only have about 40 lbs to lose, you will need to adjust your caloric deficit to maybe 1 lb/week).

    (3) Are you eating back exercise calories? MFP really over-estimates calories burned, and I'm pretty certain that in this neck of the woods, most of us aren't really using exercise as a way to lose weight, but for general fitness. I could be wrong about that, but....anyway, relying on exercise for making up the bulk of a deficit may not work well.

    I, personally, do not eat back my exercise calories. I use them to cover any inaccuracies in logging (even the most obsessive weighers/loggers are bound to have them), and appreciate the fact that they may increase my deficit by a little, but I do not rely on that in any calculations.

    (4) Do I have carb-creep or protein creep? If you keep a spreadsheet of your daily caloric intake, total carbs, fiber (if you do net carbs), protein, fats, and sodium, and then average those columns per 7 days over time, do you see a steady increase in any of the averages?

    (5) Am I eating more sodium than before? Water retention can mask progress. Unless you have a medical reason to do so, you should not limit sodium on keto, but you may be more sensitive to it than others, and over time if you keep on increasing it, you may just be retaining more fluid.

    (6) Have I started a new workout program? Was I only doing cardio before, but now I've started lifting heavy weights, body-weight exercises, etc.? Weight lifting can especially cause the scale not to move downward due to the damaged muscles holding onto water for repairs. This is normal and healthy, and most likely will subside a bit once you get used to lifting.

    (7) Am I eating something new, or more of something? You already said you've been eating more cheese, and there are many anecdotal instances from folks on LCHF that say dairy, nuts, artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and alcohol stall weight loss, or slow it way down.