Anyone either PALEO or WHOLE30 experience?

Paleo was a big fad on here when I started 3 and a half years ago. We rarely hear how that turned out. It's difficult to sustain. Good luck to you.

Paleo and Whole30 users don't tend to be too active on the main forums as many people view their ways of eating as fads, so your best bet for information is Groups.

There's an active Paleo/Primal group here on the site, some of those users have been eating that way for years. Good place for questions about that diet and examples of how people eat:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/37-primal-paleo-support-group

I don't know of a specific Whole30 group, but the Clean Eating group might be a good place to start. That group encompasses a lot of different approaches, including Whole30, and there are people currently following the plan there:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133-clean-eating-group

Whole 30 has just been ranked the worst of all the fad diets.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/whole-30-worst-diet-fad-health-ranking-health-experts-sugar-alcohol-dairy-free-a7510766.html

terricherry2 wrote: »

Whole 30 has just been ranked the worst of all the fad diets.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/whole-30-worst-diet-fad-health-ranking-health-experts-sugar-alcohol-dairy-free-a7510766.html

That ranking was done by US News and World Report, and there was nothing about "fads" in their report. It was ranked 38th of the Best Diets, not "worst of the fad diets."

http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-diets-overall

Here's their methodology for how they ranked diets:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/01/07/us-news-best-diets-how-we-rated-32-eating-plans

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

missmegs1908 wrote: »

Neither Paleo or Whole30 are for losing weight specifically. Whole30 is about finding out what foods do not react well with your body. Paleo is about the assumption that most people will react poorly to certain foods and you will "feel better" if you don't eat those foods. I've done 2 rounds of Whole30 which DID help me to see what foods I react poorly to. And I did find that most of the foods were the foods restricted on Paleo. So, I do a modified Paleo as that's what works for me and my body. I generally don't eat Gluten, Corn, Dairy, Soy or Sugar. I feel best when I eat this way and I did experience that added benefit of losing weight. If you are interested in finding out if certain foods are making you feel unwell, then do a round of Whole30 (or possibly even 30 days of Paleo as they are close enough) and see how you feel. If your body is reacting poorly to any of those foods and you take them out, you will likely loose weight. But it can be difficult (not impossible to sustain). I do eat some restricted foods every once in a while, but I do find a gain weight extremely quickly when I do, and end up feeling like crap.

Do you think it really shows if foods make you unwell.... Or that avoiding certain foods leads to the development of intolerances? I have less issues with food now that I eat a bigger variety of all food groups...

Both. An elimination (not "whole30") is often recommended if you suspect you may have an intolerance. This usually follows a LOW FODMAP diet PLUS others to eliminate said substance for 4-6 weeks and slowly introduce them again one by one.

You may experience more intense symptoms when re-introducing said foods into your diet.

In any case, whole 30 is not the diet to follow should you need confirmation of food intolerances as it includes some of the most common triggers: onions/leeks/garlic, berries, apples, etc. Don't even get me started on other foods it includes that are not allowed on a true elimination diet.

P.S. i've done a 2 month long doctor-monitored elimination diet and it was hell. I would have killed to eat the things allowed on the whole 30 diet.

rainbowbow wrote: »

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

missmegs1908 wrote: »

Neither Paleo or Whole30 are for losing weight specifically. Whole30 is about finding out what foods do not react well with your body. Paleo is about the assumption that most people will react poorly to certain foods and you will "feel better" if you don't eat those foods. I've done 2 rounds of Whole30 which DID help me to see what foods I react poorly to. And I did find that most of the foods were the foods restricted on Paleo. So, I do a modified Paleo as that's what works for me and my body. I generally don't eat Gluten, Corn, Dairy, Soy or Sugar. I feel best when I eat this way and I did experience that added benefit of losing weight. If you are interested in finding out if certain foods are making you feel unwell, then do a round of Whole30 (or possibly even 30 days of Paleo as they are close enough) and see how you feel. If your body is reacting poorly to any of those foods and you take them out, you will likely loose weight. But it can be difficult (not impossible to sustain). I do eat some restricted foods every once in a while, but I do find a gain weight extremely quickly when I do, and end up feeling like crap.

Do you think it really shows if foods make you unwell.... Or that avoiding certain foods leads to the development of intolerances? I have less issues with food now that I eat a bigger variety of all food groups...

Both. An elimination (not "whole30") is often recommended if you suspect you may have an intolerance. This usually follows a LOW FODMAP diet PLUS others to eliminate said substance for 4-6 weeks and slowly introduce them again one by one.

You may experience more intense symptoms when re-introducing said foods into your diet.

In any case, whole 30 is not the diet to follow should you need confirmation of food intolerances as it includes some of the most common triggers: onions/leeks/garlic, berries, apples, etc. Don't even get me started on other foods it includes that are not allowed on a true elimination diet.

P.S. i've done a 2 month long doctor-monitored elimination diet and it was hell. I would have killed to eat the things allowed on the whole 30 diet.

I know what proper elimination diets entail.... And I don't think a whole 30 is one! I think it probably causes more problems and just makes more issues...

I did the Whole30 last May. I found it online and thought it was a cool idea. I purchased the book (which was almost $40...) and planned for about a month. The idea behind the Whole30 like other users have pointed out was to limit yourself from certain foods known to have a negative effect on the body and after the 30 days you bring each group back slowly to see which is having the negative effects.

I didn't go into it trying to lose weight but more seeing if I could do it and if I would feel differently. I don't have any health problems like some of those who have done the Whole30 but figured why not.

I ended up doing 21 days and lost 6 pounds but saw no increase in health aspects. My sister and boyfriend both said I became "extremely agitated"... that was there nice way of putting it. I couldn't go out and do barely anything since I couldn't eat anywhere or drink anything and that is something that I love to do. Deciding to quit early sucked but was definitely the best choice for me.

Ultimately, I saw no positive differences in my life except I actually saw how much my diet can effect my weight (By not eating any bread products, processed foods or sugars). However, once I quit I gained all the weight back but went back to actually being happy!

Eating healthy (and having some off days) along with working out really is the best and most attainable thing you can do!

I posted this in another thread here, but it's relevant here too:

I did paleo for a while because I was curious about it and in some ways it seemed like it would be good for me (I don't care about grains that much so figured they'd be easy to cut). I liked it and found it easy (and lost easily, but no more easily than I did not doing paleo), but was bugged by the bad science/rationales -- I don't see why dairy is bad for me if I react well to it, think legumes are probably healthy things to include in your diet for most, and don't see why cutting out whole grains is especially helpful if you don't overeat them (plus I love corn on the cob which I only eat fresh and in season and wasn't going to cut that out). I came to realize that the things I liked about that way of eating -- the way I was doing it focused on eating lots of vegetables, making food from whole ingredients, sourcing meat from local farms (or hunters, if possible, or wild fish) and eating the whole animal, stuff like that -- were all things that I tended to do independent of paleo (and for reasons not directly related to health), and I could do them without giving up foods that seemed fine to me. I also realized that the reason paleo was easy for me -- I can take or leave grains -- meant that it was kind of pointless, I wasn't going to overeat them. And, admittedly, I missed dairy or being able to buy a quick lentil soup if out and wanting a lunch with some protein.

So I kept the things I liked (which don't strike me as particularly paleo or different from what I was doing when not paleo, but I do like the greater emphasis on eating the whole animal, although I'm still not as good about that as I could be), and ditched the rest. I tend to eat grains more sparingly than some, still (I went through a phase where I was doing a lot of pasta, as that's an easy base for a healthy dinner for me, but cut back on that), but that's more because for me when I think about how I want to spend my calories grains usually don't make the cut (personal preference). I think dairy is a good source of protein and taste (cheese), and legumes are something I would be better off eating more of, so I ignore those elements of paleo entirely. I mostly cook from whole foods, but that's something I did anyway and is not paleo specific.

Paleo plans do seem to differ a lot -- from my reading I saw it as no grains, legumes, dairy, added sugars (and as little premade as possible), but NOT low carb, nothing about limiting fruit. Some versions limited potatoes, which I couldn't see any justification for even within the diet (a tuber is a tuber) so ignored that. Most bacon or sausage from the store wouldn't seem to fit, but some paleo followers eat lots of it. For me the sourcing of meats was a quite important element, as was including organ meats, and yet again some ignore that. Similarly, I understood the diet to include LOTS of vegetables (one reason I liked it) and yet some ignore that bit too, so there's no really consistent element except (IMO) no grains, legumes, and dairy ("primal" is with dairy, but more Mark Sisson's personal thing that also involves low carbing, I guess).

So tldr -- I did it, liked it well enough, don't really see the point of it for me, but if you enjoy it/it helps you eat better it could be a good way to eat, too bad it's often justified with some nonsense about eating like paleo man (when it seems people did eat grains and legumes).

I have done 2 full round of whole 30 and felt amazing on it both times but for me it's not easily maintained. I also developed a "fear" of eating certain foods because I'm afraid I'll have a reaction. It sounds really dumb but I get anxious if I try and eat them.

Whole 30, paleo and primal are not "diets" for the purpose of weight loss. They are nutritional styles of eating that focus on eating whole unprocessed foods. Some people experience weight loss bc it's a healthier style of eating.

Whole 30 is a 30 day elimination diet to help you identify which foods you may be reacting to. It is NOT for weight loss or long term.

I have been paleo/primal for a few years (when I don't fall off and eat SAD). I love it. But it's not for weight loss. You can easily overeat if you consume too many "paleofied" foods (I.e making cookies, treats, etc out of paleo ingredients)

lks802 wrote: »

Whole 30, paleo and primal are not "diets" for the purpose of weight loss.

They are often sold as such, and people sure do choose them with the intent of losing weight.

Also, a "diet" is just a way of eating.

They are nutritional styles of eating that focus on eating whole unprocessed foods.

No, they are styles of eating that eliminate grains, legumes, and dairy, as well as added sugar (except from some sources like honey and maple syrup, sometimes, depending on whose paleo plan you like), and even more things for Whole 30, used to be potatoes, for example), and some even limit fruit quite a bit.

That there are millions of "paleo treats" and "paleofied foods" (with almond flour and coconut oil and the like -- they are usually extremely tasty) also demonstrates that it's NOT about unprocessed foods, as is the fact that many into paleo (NOT Loren Cordain, however) are all about processed meats (and I don't mean only meats they processed themselves).

Some people experience weight loss bc it's a healthier style of eating.

No, it's not inherently a "healthier style of eating" -- I do not think my diet was healthier when I excluded legumes, for example. Some people experience weight loss (many do not), because they eat fewer calories or, like me, they also count calories.

Whole 30 is a 30 day elimination diet to help you identify which foods you may be reacting to. It is NOT for weight loss or long term.

As someone said above, it's not a real elimination diet and if you need an elimination diet Whole 30 is a bad choice.

I see no harm in trying out how you feel without something, though -- I did that myself, as I said -- but I wouldn't call it an elimination diet and Whole 30's rationales are quite bad and not well reasoned (yes, I read the book).

I'm doing Whole30 this month but let me be very frank - I think the whole thing is woohoo. I'm doing it for shiz and giggles. For the challenge. To be honest again though, I'm not finding it challenging at all. It's actually kind of taking the fun out of it. It's just... Easy. My diet was already filled with whole foods, fruits and vegetables. I'm basically just not eating popcorn or putting creamer in my coffee.

I'm doing whole 30 now because I went back to my poor eating habits over the holidays and needed to cut out the sugar completely in order to get over my addiction. I personally am not affected my dairy and grains, but sugar and alcohol (since it lowers my inhibitions and I prefer sugary alcohol drinks) affect my weight loss efforts.

I'm back to feeling more in control, not being down on myself every evening when once again I ate stuff I told myself I wasn't going to eat, pre planning and sticking to my meal plans, exercising daily, and only having nutritious food in the house. I did it last year and then ate clean for 9 months and then the holidays started and I found myself buying cookies, sneaking candy bars, and feeling overly full in the evenings. I hope reading labels to avoid added sugars and pre planning my menu (even pre planning nights out when I might eat more than my allotted 1300 calories) will stay with me through 2017 and beyond. I just need to stay in the zone, and even if I have a weekend when I overindulge, I need to get better at coming right back. I definitely think whole 30 has taught me valuable information about how to do that. It emphasizes reading labels, pre planning, cooking quantities so you always have something to grab and aren't stuck with the only option being convenience over nutrition, and discovering what your negative triggers are.