October Whole 30 for Paleo/Primal Support Peeps

Feel free to ask any questions or check out any of the peoples diaries.

You can also start your 30-day challenge whenever you're ready. After all it's all about your life....


Do you have any specific questions?

Thanks!
Yes, I have a LOT of extra fat on my body and I'm not sure how I should structure my eating.
How high fat I should go. How much protein.
I love veggies. I can go without fruit for now except I do enjoy berries.
I'll never argue about eating fat ... lol ... but I'm just not sure how much I should eat.

Also, I recently tried the 1200 calorie route and made myself weak, dizzy and sick.
I upped my calories but I've been bingeing.
I'd love to hear from those of you who are succeeding at weight loss following a paleo/primal eating plan.

Welcome, Kh145!

Like my buddy said, we start our challenge when we arrive here. The month name in the thread is just to attract more MFP monthly challenge seekers. LOL If you haven't time to catch up on the whole thread, head over to Jack Kruse's Leptin Reset Protocols for good ideas on the answers to your questions.

Or I could just cut and paste. Please see Jack Kruse's website for LOTS more expert answers to your question.

http://jackkruse.com/my-leptin-prescription/

MY LEPTIN PRESCRIPTION
Leptin256 Comments
Posted On:
06/29/2011

READERS SUMMARY:
1. How do I start?
2. What are the guidelines to remain mindful of?
3. The fuel is the food, but how you eat that fuel is more important
4. How does Leptin tie into the quilt survivability index?

I have been asked by many to put a short post out about how I reverse Leptin resistance in my own clinic for my patients. After reading all of the comments left here, at MDA, and on Jimmy Moore’s forum, I decided that it was a good idea.

1. First make sure you really are Leptin resistant (LR) to begin with.
The easiest way to do this if you are heavy is to look in the mirror. If you’re overweight you definitely are Leptin resistant. If you still have a large appetite and crave carbohydrates, especially at night, these are also signs that you are likely Leptin resistant. If you are fit or in decent shape and not sure based upon the above symptoms, I would tell you to go get a blood test and check your reverse T3. It will be elevated. I also recommend simultaneously checking a salivary cortisol level. With LR, you will always see higher cortisol levels later in the day.

2. To regain Leptin Sensitivity (LS) follow a strict Paleolithic diet as outlined in The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf or The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.
The type of fuel you eat is important in eliminating the foods that cause Leptin receptors to become nonfunctional. These two books clearly outline a solid reference point to achieve this.

A. Try to eat as soon as possible upon rising in the AM, ideally within 30 minutes of waking. Make sure that breakfast has little to no carbs (less than 50 grams), and has a lot of protein and fat. I use as a general rule 50-75 grams of protein with most patients. Some patients can use less and some need more. The key point of knowing how much is right for you is your hunger later in the day. If you remain ravenous throughout the day, you need to eat more protein in the AM. If you can hold off eating until dinner you probably are at homeostasis for you. If you can skip both meals you likely are overdoing it at breakfast. As for sources, I suggest pastured or organic eggs first, served with left over dinner scraps of grass fed meats, poultry, or fish. A third option, although less ideal, would be whey protein or protein shakes.

B. Try to limit carb intake to 25 grams if you are overweight by more than 30 lbs. If you are fit and have a small amount of weight to lose, (less than 30 lbs.) you can titrate up your carb loads. Even then, I do not advocate potatoes or rice as some Paleo diets allow for. You will be able to eat them eventually, but try to avoid starches until you have mastered your cravings and hunger. Do not count calories; it is not needed at this point. Any time I eat carbs I use liberal amounts of butter, heavy cream, coconut or palm oil. I do not recommend other oils initially such as olive oils or industrial seed oils. I would also avoid nut oils at the initial stages. My personal favorite is coconut oil because of the great metabolic effects of MCT, and how it helps heal the guts of LR folks.

3. How you eat your fuel is MORE IMPORTANT than any other factor, including the food itself.
A. Never snack at all. This is meant initially and forever. Snacking completely stresses the liver’s metabolism and is just not recommended. Your liver needs to re-learn how to use gluconeogenesis normally again when you are asleep and awake. Snacking just destroys the timing and circadian clocks that work in unison with Leptin.
B. Try to eat three meals a day initially; but as your hunger and cravings fade you can adapt to two a day.
C. Try to eat breakfast as early as possible from rising.
D. Do not work out before or after breakfast.
E. Try to allow 4-5 hours between dinners and sleep time.
F. If you decide to incorporate working out, do it after 5 PM.
G. Within an hour of sunset try to make your surroundings as dark as possible.
H. If you have trouble falling asleep I suggest 3-5 minutes of body weight exercises right before bed (pushups or air squats are fine, but avoid this if your PM cortisol is high).
I. If you’re inclined to, try becoming mindful when you first lay down. I use transcendental meditation techniques to help me clear my mind and concentrate on improving my thinking. (Optional; but this is awesome if your PM cortisol is high).

4. Most people will notice a change in their cravings and hunger within 4-6 weeks.

Other changes I advise of my patients, is to supplement with prescription grade fish oils. The dose depends upon their HS CRP and salivary cortisol levels.

5. Signs that you are becoming Leptin Sensitive (LS) again

A. Men will notice quick weight loss.
B. Women will notice mood changes first (calmer/sleepy) and their sleep will improve. Their clothes will fit differently but weight may not change drastically initially because of effects on the pituitary. This will change too if they continue moving forward.
C. You will notice a change in your sweating pattern.
D. You will notice you have better recovery from exercise and your energy levels seem to have risen.
E. Your hunger is gone and so are your cravings.
F. When you awaken you will feel very refreshed like you slept well.
Generally when the signs are all present, I then really push HIIT exercise with heavy weights.

6. (QUILT SURVIVABILITY) = (Total Energy – Growth and immunity expense) X (RESOURCES) X (efficiency) X (awareness of our environment).
Stated in levee form where:
Cell longevity = LS – IGF-1 + immunity X Food Quality X leakiness of Mitochondria X environmental cues

Bump! I've been going primal/paleo one step at a time, first I increased the amount of veggies I eat, then got rid of wheat (after reading Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD) Then I got rid of all grains, then sugar. Almost finished reading the Primal Blueprint, not sure how to get my family on board!

Sounds like we have quite a bit in common. Welcome!

Warning, long post. But I think it's important and I started this month's thread, so forgive and indulge me.

You might try Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. She wrote the cookbook with moms transitioning their families to Paleo in mind. A month of meal plans, weekly shopping lists and awesome food. Win! Our own Trish, aka DrBorkBork, a frequent contributor to the misspelled but wonderful 'Palelo Support?' thread, spent the month of June on her The Pregnant Diabetic blog cooking her way through the entire cookbook. She's an awesome resource and has a husband and a young daughter.

http://pregnantdiabetic.blogspot.com/2011/05/sarah-sarah.html

For me the transition started with changing our cat's food to grain free because she was having some bizarre behavior problems that anecdotally sounded like she was becoming diabetic. The transformation was dramatic enough for me to consider doing the same thing for my dog who had some intermittent digestive distress. She was deeply appreciative of the new food and her improved lifestyle.

Then I began to question if my daughter's recent bad behavior and complaints of stomach aches were more than the stress on our family from poverty, isolation, my disability and her being cut off from resources we knew she needed. I began to wonder if gluten was an issue and we experimented with removing it first from her diet, then mine. We both improved but still had problems so we cut out grain. Then we each blossomed and chose full out Paleo/Primal living.

I didn't ever force my daughter into any shift we made. We approached it scientifically and with a sense of curiosity and wonder. Will this work for us? Will we feel better? If this doesn't work, what will we try next? Always with the emphasis on paying attention to the results, tracking our intake and our body's reactions. I think for my very independent daughter, the empowerment of being able to figure out the puzzle of how to feel her best and stop her stomach aches and frequent ER trips was so fulfilling that she never doubted it was the right way for her.

I have found with my daughter, now age 6, that it was too easy. I have a policy of trading up rather than 'giving up'. Few people are upset to get an entree that costs more or is deemed more valuable when a restaurant is our of their first choice. Kids aren't that different than us. If I trade my kid bread for a gluten free bread that tastes awful, they experience loss. But if I offer my daughter something amazing and special, e.g. making paleo coconut flour pumpkin pancakes from scratch with mom while singing along to her favorite (but not mom's) silly song cd, then she feels like she has 'traded up'. I set my daughter and myself up to win by helping her connect her less than stellar food choices with the aftermath. Out of enlightened self interest she now self selects a Paleo/Primal lifestyle even when I am unavailable.

She is also really cute schooling strangers in the supermarket: (this actually happened, not an exaggeration)

"I know you don't really want to poison your kids, my mom used to feed me that and it made me act awful and get weak and dumb...now she only feeds me real food and I make better choices, grades and feel great. Here, let me show you where they hide the real food in the grocery store, you're kids will love it!" Then takes aghast mom who has just been accused of poisoning her kids by the hand and heads to the produce aisle. I may turn several shades of beet red but I'm always very proud of her self confidence and willingness to invest in strangers and their well-being.

My daughter and I live in subsidized housing. Most of our neighbors don't eat much or enough much less Paleo. They survive, if you can call it that, on Ramen, bread and fake but free/cheap food. The local food banks have no meat, few if any protein sources and are not much help. This has become our personal revolution: getting our neighbors' children addicted to our yummier/more nutritious food in such a manner that they are inspired to transform their circumstances to manifest a healthier life. In the last year two other families in horrible financial and personal circumstances whose kids were malnourished learned to eat real food while visiting my home. One has taken up Parkour, got his mom's boyfriend to buy him a decent protein powder to supplement his meager diet and begs mom for real food. His big temper tantrums at the age of 10 were over donuts. Now at the age of 12, he is fighting with his mom for her to quit smoking and drinking to excess so he can have grass fed beef and fresh veggies. The thing is that they can actually afford to eat better but for his mom's addictions. (Yet another reason that I must get wealthy. I am sick to the heart of watching people I love starve right here next to me in America.)

Another young man who I have watched grow from 16 to 19, just found out his 17 yo, High School senior, girlfriend is pregnant with his child. He has started training with me daily with kettlebells and bodyweight exercises, reading books and blogs on Paleo and Primal pregnancies, so that he cook healthy food for her and help her feel her best, while he trains to increase his marketability in the job pool so that he can accept responsibility for his actions. He is doing the grocery shopping for his mom and baby sister. He's helping them to transition to Paleo/Primal by buying 90% real food and being non-judgemental about whatever 'treats they add to the shopping cart'.

For these 2 young men, 100% clean eating is not even an option. But, seeing a family in the same poverty they are living in, making different choices with the resources we do have and getting very different results (they've each seen me shed the 100 lbs, one day at a time) has inspired them to victory while living mired in despair and malnutrition. If these two young men can transition their families toward a healthier existence and possibly even thriving, then we each can do it as well.

My daughter, at age 4 1/2 then, 6 now, has come to the conclusion that while she might be able to eat something bad for her without mommy finding out, she can never fool her own body. She loves her body and wants the best performance she can get out of it. It'll be interesting to hear the story from her point of view when she's older.

Motivating people that are partners to change is an entirely different process for some. I recommend Changing for Good, a book my coach mentioned when I started my new business training others. It breaks down what stage of change adults are in and how to successfully motivate them in the stage they are in. It deals with drug addicts, smokers, alcoholics, obesity, etc. The science behind the book has transformed psychological clinic practices and sure makes sense to me. You might want to give it a try before devising a strategy for dealing the with adults in your life who you'd like to empower to live their best lives.