Thinking about going completely Paleo for a week to see how I feel

I personally don't believe in the "dieting" theory. I usually find that they make it too difficult and not sustainable. The only way be healthy long term is to find a way to easily eat healthy without all the restrictions (low carb, low this, no that). I like the "all natural" meaning behind the paleo diet but I worry its not doable long term.

If you want to I say go for it. Just my opinions though. I've never done it so maybe I'm just ignorant about it.

I do low carb diet, not necessarily Paleo, just low carb but they are very similar. I notice that when I ate almost no carbs I don't feel as hungry. That's probably the benefit number one of low carb diet, cos it just makes easier to stick to deficit when you are not hungry.

As far as weight goes, I lose a lot of water weight first week after going low carb and don't look so bloated, and look smaller. But as of actual fat loss, there are no difference between low carb and just counting calories. So it can give you some psychological benefit cos you will weight less and look thinner due to all the water and glycogen you are getting out of your body, but don't mistaken that huge weight and size drop of first week for fat loss. Still tho, it's nice to look thinner.

Unless you decrease your carbs very slowly over course of many months, like a gram a day or something, but instead just take them all away instantly, you will feel like crap. Your energy will drop down to floor. After two to 12 weeks, depending on person, you body adjusts and energy comes back. You might even have double the energy as you did on high carb diet, I do have more of it for sure. My workouts are better, I don't get tired so fast, my mind is more clear and focused, etc. But for first couple weeks, until your body adjusts to different energy source which is not carbs, you will have huge energy deficit most likely, so expect that.

That all above of course if you gonna be on low carb diet, which is by far the most popular way how to do Paleo. All tho you could be just eating tons of fruit and lots of carbs, and technically still be on Paleo. But in that case it's same as being on a normal generic diet when it comes to weight and fat loss, and energy, so there isn't really a point. Of course unless you believe that it's the most healthiest way to ate and doing it just for that and not weight loss, which I would argue it isn't.

So I do low carb because my hunger goes away and after I'm over that period where my body adjusts I nget way more energy that with carbs. Fat loss tho, I see zero difference, just water weight loss.

Going Paleo was the best thing I've ever done. It's really not as hard as everyone makes you think. I make my own mayo, use almond butter instead of peanut butter. coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce. Just listen to your body.

I did a month of paleo once. I'm not one who is into diets, but I was interested because everyone who does it says it make them feel so much better. I'm generally pretty tired and sluggish all the time, so I was curious if it would really help.

For me, it wasn't sustainable. The first couple of weeks were fine, even kind of fun because I was learning all these new recipes and stuff. But towards the end of the month it really started to get difficult. There were too many restricted foods. However, I will say that I did notice a difference in how I felt - not a huge one, but I had a little more energy and got less bloating/stomachaches.

So yeah, I don't think a week will tell you much. You might like it for a week but that doesn't mean it's sustainable long term. I think your current diet sounds much more reasonable. I absolutely adore lentils, and greek yogurt, and too many other things. I'll never give them up again

Diets that eliminate complete food groups are usually not sustainable. I considered paleo awhile back and even bought a cookbook with a few awesome recipes. It's expensive & the substitutions in recipes makes shopping a nuisance and way more pricey. I still use some of the recipes but don't eliminate foods from my daily intake to follow a fad diet.

neanderthin wrote: »

One week's worth of data won't tell you much, if anything.

This.

And also - Paleo is not low carb. It tends to be because people choose veggies that are low carb but it is not necessarily low carb.

I'll be honest - I don't like diets that eliminate entire food groups. I don't like fad diets. I don't believe the whole "what our ancestors ate" things. But. My husband wanted to try it. He has gone along with me on a lot of things, so I went along with him. We did the Whole 30. I actually really, really liked it. I wasn't hungry. I ate well, as in, a variety of veggies, fruits, fats, protein, etc. I also paid attention to my carbs and kept them up because I was doing a lot of activity. I dropped weight without counting calories (I am fully aware that I was restricting my calories in other ways)..
It did take some prep. Breakfast was harder for me but once I got out of the mindset of "breakfast" foods for breakfast it was easier.
We didn't keep up strict paleo, it was never my intention anyway but I got pregnant and that changed a lot of things. I still build most of my meals around the basic principle, protein, fat, lots of veggies, but I don't restrict grains and dairy. We still make a lot of the recipes that we found while doing it.

Oh, Whole 30 had their own mayo recipe. I am a mayo fanatic and never expected to accept a substitute. It was even better than regular mayo. I still make my own (once I was not pregnant cause raw egg).

HannahsMother2012 wrote: »

From my understanding a lot of people who follow the Paleo lifestyle do the 85/15 ratio. 85% of the time thy adhere to the Paleo restictions, and 15% of the time they eat "normal".

Sounds a lot like a regular balanced diet to me....

HannahsMother2012 wrote: »

From my understanding a lot of people who follow the Paleo lifestyle do the 85/15 ratio. 85% of the time thy adhere to the Paleo restictions, and 15% of the time they eat "normal". This seems so reasonable and sustainable to me. Allowing for social gatherings and such where Paleo foods aren't always available. Today I indulged in gluten and dairy, something I've avoided (with the exception of Greek yogurt) for about a month now, and I feel horrible!! I have always thought I have some food sensitivities, hence the interest in such restricted diet. No one can deny its an incredibly healthy way to eat! I'm not interested for weight loss, as stated before, but for the benefits that come from feeding our bodies what it's meant to be fed. Thanks for your input everyone! I appreciate all the angles people view this topic from

There is no reason to avoid gluten unless you have a medical condition. It would require more than just avoiding it for a little while to diagnose. And you are not supposed to introduce more than one eliminated food at a time and give it several days to evaluate.

You also can't judge how "good" or "bad" a food is by how you feel after not eating it for awhile. Our bodies adjust to our diets. Eat low fat for awhile then have a high fat meal and you will experience stomach discomfort. Fat is essential, it is just our bodies have gotten used to digesting the lower fat intake. The same goes for going from a bland diet ot eating something spicy. Even adding more vegetables to ones diet can end up with stomach discomfort.

dsalveson wrote: »

HannahsMother2012 wrote: »

From my understanding a lot of people who follow the Paleo lifestyle do the 85/15 ratio. 85% of the time thy adhere to the Paleo restictions, and 15% of the time they eat "normal".

Sounds a lot like a regular balanced diet to me....

Exactly!

Hannah you might find better support from the Paleo group. I'm not trying to chase you away but people here seem to get upset when a way of eating has a label regardless of how well it works for you. A lot of us tend to feel we get more out of groups. If you are low carb we have a group for that as well.