paleo?

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

I just don't get the Crusaders Against Paleo on the boards here, who rail against it without even knowing what it is. It's not about dinosaurs or prehistoric peoples at all. (Only in their imaginations, I guess. They have a surface knowledge that makes them feel informed and educated enough, I suppose, to sneer at the concept.)

Eating "Paleo" is just elimination dieting. Nothing more, nothing less. You even acknowledge this fact by stating that paleo is just a "label." The claims of paleo and its alleged health benefits are not true and if, as you state that they only have a "surface knowledge" of the subject, how is illustrating that it is indeed "surface knowledge" makes one a "crusader."

You are the one stating they have "surface knowledge" I guess you are a crusader too.

Welcome to the club.

Ah, but "paleo" is so much easier to type than "elimination dieting."

The thought just struck me. "Vegan" is also an elimination diet. Are you consistent in that you criticize them just as assiduously?

You're most likely right, "dieters" do fail in the end, if they return to the way they ate before they lost the weight, the way they gained too much weight in the first place.

However, a lot of us are not "dieters" but have actually changed our lifestyle. I'm in it for the long term. I have no choice but to remain on this elimination diet. In my case, the list of foods that don't make me sick or in pain just happens to be the "paleo auto-immune" list -- so it's a lot easier and shorter to call it "paleo".

So because I'm not dieting to lose weight (although weight loss has been a side effect of eliminating certain pain-producing foods from my menu), I personally do not foresee failure in my future.

You wanted to know why people on elimination diets use MFP? Well, I can't speak for anyone but myself, so I'll tell you my reasons. Since I started eating "paleo" style, I'm never hungry. I have found that intuitive eating doesn't work for me. I could happily get by on 600 calories a day, eating huge quantities of food -- and never feel hungry! But that would wreck my metabolism and would not be healthy in the long run. So I track my calories and nutrients, to make sure I'm getting enough (calorie- and nutrient-dense food) to eat.

One of the hazards with elimination diets is that, by eliminating whole categories of foods, people warn you that you might be missing essential nutrients. Perhaps that is why other people keep track. I have found that eating "paleo" style has not negatively impacted the vitamins and minerals I chose to track. On the contrary, my nutritional profile is much improved, over when I was able to eat grains and dairy.

I would love to eat grains and dairy, by the way. They're just not worth the pain I experience after eating them.

Everyone has their own reasons for choosing a certain way to eat. I tried all kinds of crazy diets to lose weight, in my younger years. They all worked, in the short run. But I always gained the weight back again. Maybe I'm blessed to have developed such severe reactions to food. I'm pretty confident I won't gain the weight back this time, because I don't have the option of adding grain- and dairy-based cake and cookies and ice cream, not to mention all sorts of things made with potatoes and tomatoes (hash browns, anyone? french fries? potato chips? how about pizza!), back into my diet.

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

I just don't get the Crusaders Against Paleo on the boards here, who rail against it without even knowing what it is. It's not about dinosaurs or prehistoric peoples at all. (Only in their imaginations, I guess. They have a surface knowledge that makes them feel informed and educated enough, I suppose, to sneer at the concept.)

Eating "Paleo" is just elimination dieting. Nothing more, nothing less. You even acknowledge this fact by stating that paleo is just a "label." The claims of paleo and its alleged health benefits are not true and if, as you state that they only have a "surface knowledge" of the subject, how is illustrating that it is indeed "surface knowledge" makes one a "crusader."

You are the one stating they have "surface knowledge" I guess you are a crusader too.

Welcome to the club.

Ah, but "paleo" is so much easier to type than "elimination dieting."

Well there you go. Paleo is no more special -- offers no other real magic -- more than any other heavily marketed fad diet with a catchy name that eliminate foods, groups of foods, or macronutrients. And what is the other commonality between these diets?

The dieters will fail eventually.

Besides, I don't understand why elimination dieters across all spectrums use MFP anyway? Do these diets not work without MFP? Why bother to track calories if the diet supplies all the necessaries for health and wellness?

This! I don't get it either. If you want to do any elimination diet or any fad diet like weight watchers, why use MFP. It really perplexes me.

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

I just don't get the Crusaders Against Paleo on the boards here, who rail against it without even knowing what it is. It's not about dinosaurs or prehistoric peoples at all. (Only in their imaginations, I guess. They have a surface knowledge that makes them feel informed and educated enough, I suppose, to sneer at the concept.)

Eating "Paleo" is just elimination dieting. Nothing more, nothing less. You even acknowledge this fact by stating that paleo is just a "label." The claims of paleo and its alleged health benefits are not true and if, as you state that they only have a "surface knowledge" of the subject, how is illustrating that it is indeed "surface knowledge" makes one a "crusader."

You are the one stating they have "surface knowledge" I guess you are a crusader too.

Welcome to the club.

Ah, but "paleo" is so much easier to type than "elimination dieting."

Well there you go. Paleo is no more special -- offers no other real magic -- more than any other heavily marketed fad diet with a catchy name that eliminate foods, groups of foods, or macronutrients. And what is the other commonality between these diets?

The dieters will fail eventually.

Besides, I don't understand why elimination dieters across all spectrums use MFP anyway? Do these diets not work without MFP? Why bother to track calories if the diet supplies all the necessaries for health and wellness?

And did I ever claim paleo was magic? I don't recall ever using those words.

However, on second thought, eating this way (choosing from incredible variety on the "paleo auto-immune" list of foods) has worked like magic for my health issues, especially the severe joint pain that was threatening to put me in a wheelchair, so perhaps there is a bit of magic to it after all.

Hornsby wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

The thought just struck me. "Vegan" is also an elimination diet. Are you consistent in that you criticize them just as assiduously?

If they think it's magical like some Paleo people seem to think, then yes. If it's purely ethical, then no.

Well, I can see why magical thinking might irritate people.

Most of the time I'm a live-and-let-live kind of person. I usually don't get my jollies from telling other people they're making choices that I, personally, wouldn't make. I do get annoyed at the people who pile on "paleo" eaters or "vegans" or whatever -- if it's working for the post-er -- as if they're committing some sort of crime by enthusing over something that's working for them.

Now, when it shades over into "this is what's working for me and I think *everybody* should be forced to eat this way" well, yeah, that is annoying.

Edited to add: And if someone is posting, and lamenting that everything they've tried has not worked for them, and they're desperate, what is the harm in someone like me, for whom paleo has been nothing short of a medical miracle, suggesting they try it and see if it works for them? Maybe it will work and give them relief. Maybe it won't work, and they'll need to go on and try something else. But what is the harm in suggesting they give it a try, even for a limited period, like a week, or two, or 30 days? I'd rather see them try paleo eating, and give it a chance to work for them, than see them give in to medical mutilation like stomach stapling or removing intestines or joint replacement surgery. And if it doesn't work, well, those surgical options are still out there. It's just that, the surgical options are a one-way trip. There's no going back. Paleo, you can pick it up, or you can drop it if it doesn't work for you.

what is it even????

tedboosalis7 wrote: »

SuggaD wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

I just don't get the Crusaders Against Paleo on the boards here, who rail against it without even knowing what it is. It's not about dinosaurs or prehistoric peoples at all. (Only in their imaginations, I guess. They have a surface knowledge that makes them feel informed and educated enough, I suppose, to sneer at the concept.)

Eating "Paleo" is just elimination dieting. Nothing more, nothing less. You even acknowledge this fact by stating that paleo is just a "label." The claims of paleo and its alleged health benefits are not true and if, as you state that they only have a "surface knowledge" of the subject, how is illustrating that it is indeed "surface knowledge" makes one a "crusader."

You are the one stating they have "surface knowledge" I guess you are a crusader too.

Welcome to the club.

Ah, but "paleo" is so much easier to type than "elimination dieting."

Well there you go. Paleo is no more special -- offers no other real magic -- more than any other heavily marketed fad diet with a catchy name that eliminate foods, groups of foods, or macronutrients. And what is the other commonality between these diets?

The dieters will fail eventually.

Besides, I don't understand why elimination dieters across all spectrums use MFP anyway? Do these diets not work without MFP? Why bother to track calories if the diet supplies all the necessaries for health and wellness?

This! I don't get it either. If you want to do any elimination diet or any fad diet like weight watchers, why use MFP. It really perplexes me.

If you are so put off by it, why do you use MFP, that perplexes me.

Hahaha. That was actually clever, IMHO.

I know somebody WITH NO ACTUAL WEIGHT PROBLEM AT ALL who uses MFP to make sure she's getting enough vitamins and minerals. Shocker, right?

FunkyTobias wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

homesweeths wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

No one follows a

tracymckenziephillips wrote: »

Does anyone follow a paleo lifestyle? I started about a week and half ago and feel so much better

No one follows a paleo lifestyle, not even self described paleos.

You've just demonstrated very clearly that you have no idea what you're talking about. Amazing how that works. And you probably felt very clever doing it!

As far as snappy rejoinders go, meh.

You do realize that all that "paleo eating" is one giant waste of magical thinking. Paleo eaters are no more paleo then the men who eat powdered rhino horn to improve their erections.

No, "paleo eating" is a label. It has little to do with cavemen, that's just a catchy image to talk about how people ate before the dawn of food additives and large-scale, industrial farming.

My great-grandparents ate "paleo style" without the label. It was the norm, during their lifetime. .

No they didn't. Chances are they ate grains, legumes, and dairy -- none of which are considered paleo

I just don't get the Crusaders Against Paleo on the boards here, who rail against it without even knowing what it is. It's not about dinosaurs or prehistoric peoples at all. (Only in their imaginations, I guess. They have a surface knowledge that makes them feel informed and educated enough, I suppose, to sneer at the concept.)

Actually, we know exactly what it is -- a fad diet that arbitrarily eliminates food based on bad science.


http://www.nsca.com/uploadedfiles/nsca/inactive_content/program_books/ptc_2013_program_book/aragon.pdf

Right. And so is Weight Watchers (a fad diet), I hear, from one of the commenters here. Tell me, is there any diet that is *not* a fad?

Edit: Every single diet I tried (and all were fad diets, if you define "fad" as popular or based on a gimmick) worked for me. As long as I could stick to it. Even calorie-counting. On a lot of them, including Weight Watchers, I was hungry all the time, and it got harder and harder to sustain my willpower over time, and harder and harder to get back on the horse when I fell off. And calorie restriction stopped working after I reached a certain age, and exercise stopped working, too. I had resigned myself to being 90 lbs overweight, years before pain drove me to try paleo. The so-called paleo fad is the only one that I have found to be something I can sustain, conceivably for the rest of my life.

But then, I am not a paleo fanatic. I don't insist that it's good for everyone, or that it will work for everyone. I only insist that it has worked, and continues to work, for me. (And even if I don't lose another pound, I have already "accidentally" lost half of that excess weight. Without trying. Merely as a byproduct of eliminating foods that cause me pain.) If my pain returns because it has stopped working, well, guess I'll have to try something else.

All I know is, eating whatever I want (which is the only "non-fad" I can think of, unless you can offer another that is eluding me at present) is not a viable option. For me, at least.

p.s. I arbitrarily eliminated foods based on that "bad science" (though when I look at hormone physiology, it actually makes sense somehow, at least with what I remember of my biology, biochemistry, and chemistry training), and lo-and-behold, it worked for me. So I'm glad it gave me a starting point. Over the holidays I added some of the old foods back in, because I was feeling so good, but... Let's just say my body agrees with paleo principles of eliminating legumes, dairy, and grains. Might just be a coincidence. I'm just relieved to have found something that has given me my health back.

barrelroll1 wrote: »

I feel amazing since going Paleo. Honestly I can't remember the last time I felt so good. The diet makes so much sense. Its going back to what man is supposed to eat and what he has eaten for centuries. All this processed crap people eat loses a significant amount of its nutrition during processing. Did you know people a few thousand years ago lived to age 700? Everything they ate was organic/unprocessed food that we are supposed to be eating.

Um. You're kidding, right? If you're not kidding, I'd love to see some sources. Like archaeological, or biological anthropology (I think that's the right term, but I can't quite recall.) On second thought, "archeology" isn't right. Maybe it's paleontology?

For the OP and anybody else wanting a very quick meal no matter what type of style you're eating.

Cook some ground beef. When it's about more than half way done, add in sliced up peppers (green, red, and yellow). Stir together, let cook, and go nom. It would probably be great over whatever you want it to be, but it's a quick and easy meal. Ta-da!

Also, I recommend NomNom Paleo for a cookbook. She's funny and has really good recipes in it.