Paleo...

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jdbulger1018
jdbulger1018 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So my husband started paleo with some guys at work and they have all lost a ton of weight since January. My husband finally talked me into going paleo..... I HAVE GAINED WEIGHT!!! I've lost over 50 pounds in past and I go up and down around 10-12 pounds. My goal is to get these pounds off for good and tone up. My goal was not to gain weight !! Paleo is not an easy diet and I'm really questioning if it's worth it. I understand men lose weight faster and all that so I am not even comparing myself tonme husbands success. I'm just ticked off that I've gained since I've been eating paleo. Anyone else had the same luck as me ?

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  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
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    Paleo is tough. Like the two people above said - you have to maintain a calorie deficit (forever) and weighing your food is important. Here are my numbers: Calories 1,400; 45% Protein (158 g); 15% Carbs (53 g); 40% Fat (62 g); Fiber 21 g; Sugar 15 g. I have yet to eat that much protein or fat and I hover slightly above the sugar and carbs on any given day because they are so low.

    I have been losing about 2 lbs a week using this formula. The carbs and the sugar need to be really low. I don't go so low that I am in ketosis, but, I am close.

    I also take 7-keto DHEA in the mornings along with desiccated adrenal / adrenal cortex. Also, depending on your age and if you have had children, you might also be hypothyroid / have adrenal fatigue and are unable to lose weight for that reason.

    Your body clings to weight rather than letting it go because it is out of balance. It can also be your sex hormones, estrogen dominance, or, something else.

    Depending on what type of adrenal fatigue you have (if you have it) if you are at stage 3 adaptogenic herbs won't help you. You need to actually supplement your adrenals with desiccated adrenals from animals.

    See the following websites:
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    unfortunately, it's because a lot of people think just changing the type of foods they eat is what is going to help them lose weight, but if you eat too much of those foods, you are in the same boat as before. Paleo does help some people lose weight right off the bat because without knowing it they are restricting their calories. I used to see the same thing with people going Atkins, they would eat whatever they wanted as long as it wasn't carbs, I would go out to eat with somebody, and they would get like 2 triple cheese burgers with bacon, but no bread, and some how didn't lose weight.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    It won't make you lose weight any faster. Weight loss is made by having a calorie deficit. Weight loss is maintained by having a diet you can stick to that doesn't seem hard.

    This. Paleo is a (restrictive) style of eating but it's not a weight loss method, unless you're also incorporating the necessary calorie deficit for your weight loss goals.
  • BrettWithPKU
    BrettWithPKU Posts: 575 Member
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    jdbulger1018 wrote: »
    I was counting calories before I started paleo. I guess I did think since I was eating mostly veggies and meat that I could eat more of it. I'm back to tracking today! Thank you everyone for your help!

    If it helps, I've found some success in a philosophy I call 'paleo-ish'. The way I see it, if your 'normal' is to eat healthy, you're going to be successful. Because that's exactly what most people preach: healthy habits; and they're right.

    If hunger hits you this afternoon, will you default toward junk food, but be forced to tell yourself 'No, I should have (healthy option) instead. . .'? That takes will power. And if there's one thing unsuccessful dieters know it's that will power runs out.

    The biggest value of paleo is that it makes healthy eating 'normal'. And in my opinion, with that healthy habit firmly in place, occasional 'treats' are OK, within reason. For defining 'within reason', I use my calorie goal as my guide.
  • LZMiner
    LZMiner Posts: 300 Member
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    For what it's worth....I'm just tracking on MFP and eating well...limiting processed foods including pasta, rice...using cauliflower rice instead. Limiting bread, but mainly because it tends to make me bloaty. I've lost 11 pounds since January 2. My friend was doing Paleo...she hasn't lost anything, and mostly because of how restrictive the plan is...she couldn't stick to it. My diary is open if you want to see how I eat.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    I sometimes look at paleo recipes as places to start building meals from but for weight loss they all seem quite high in cals to me, and particularly in fat.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,394 MFP Moderator
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    I liked some of the foods with paleo, but found it overly restrictive and I ate too many good things that I never lost weight. Now, I just eat everything I want and I consistently lose weight.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    For me eating paleo wasn't that different from how I normally eat. I just dropped grains and replaced with more meat and veg or substituted other starches like sweet potato or potato (the latter is controversial among some paleo sorts, I think). Doing that I tended to stay the same or cut calories.

    A lot of people seem to go overboard with special "paleo" recipe involving coconut oil and almond flour and so on, which always seemed odd to me -- basically trying to create everything in a paleo way (and as processed as even, despite the pretense to the contrary). Some also eat more high cal meat or more fat in general, I think. Paleo treats are yum, but usually high cal too.

    Anyway, I liked it, lost the same as not doing it since I ate the same calories, and ultimately didn't see the point since for me grains aren't particularly a trigger food or something I tend to overeat, legumes are, IMO, extremely healthful, and dairy is an easy source of protein.

    But if you eat above your TDEE on paleo you will, of course, gain weight.
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
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    I eat paleo and track at the same time :)
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    For me eating paleo wasn't that different from how I normally eat. I just dropped grains and replaced with more meat and veg or substituted other starches like sweet potato or potato (the latter is controversial among some paleo sorts, I think). Doing that I tended to stay the same or cut calories.

    A lot of people seem to go overboard with special "paleo" recipe involving coconut oil and almond flour and so on, which always seemed odd to me -- basically trying to create everything in a paleo way (and as processed as even, despite the pretense to the contrary). Some also eat more high cal meat or more fat in general, I think. Paleo treats are yum, but usually high cal too.

    Anyway, I liked it, lost the same as not doing it since I ate the same calories, and ultimately didn't see the point since for me grains aren't particularly a trigger food or something I tend to overeat, legumes are, IMO, extremely healthful, and dairy is an easy source of protein.

    But if you eat above your TDEE on paleo you will, of course, gain weight.

    Exactly! I have celiac disease, and there's a wonderful gluten-free deli/bakery I go to sometimes. Some of their goodies are paleo as well as gf, wonderful muffins, cupcakes and cookies that aren't any less calorie-dense because they're gf or paleo.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Paleo (and Low-Carb) are generally effective because they focus on lots of fresh veggies and filling portions of meats and fats. Carbs and sugar are generally digested a lot faster so the hunger creeps back a lot faster. Aside from that, there's no big weight loss difference between eating a normal diet and eating Paleo. So... CICO still applies. Follow whatever diet makes you happy and works for you.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,361 Member
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    Paleo isn't a weight loss diet, though some people use it as such and they do lose weight, but they lose weight because they are eating less calories than they use.



  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    jdbulger1018 wrote: »
    So my husband started paleo with some guys at work and they have all lost a ton of weight since January. My husband finally talked me into going paleo..... I HAVE GAINED WEIGHT!!! I've lost over 50 pounds in past and I go up and down around 10-12 pounds. My goal is to get these pounds off for good and tone up. My goal was not to gain weight !! Paleo is not an easy diet and I'm really questioning if it's worth it. I understand men lose weight faster and all that so I am not even comparing myself tonme husbands success. I'm just ticked off that I've gained since I've been eating paleo. Anyone else had the same luck as me ?

    Paleo can be used for weight loss, but it isn't necessarily a weight loss diet...it's a way of eating...if you're not in a calorie deficit, you aren't going to lose weight. If you over consume calories eating paleo you're going to gain weight...because you're in a calorie surplus...the kind of food is irrelevant in that regard.

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