The Paleo Solution

Here is my progress since getting serious............November 2011 - March 2012

Wow....great job. Are you finding it difficult to stick to? Cravings?

Cravings will go away after a few weeks or sometimes takes a couple of months depending on how bad your sugar addiction is.

I transitioned over from Atkins, so no cravings for me at all.

It is easy for me to stick to.

My sister, her boyfriend, and all of their friends eat strictly paleo... and work out often. They are very, very lean, are in excellent shape- amazing muscle tone. I mean, literally look like a team of models and fitness trainers. It seems to really work for them, but you must continue to exercise very often, and stick to the plan. They eat barely any grains/bread, dairy, or processed sugars. Good luck!!

I've done paleo on and off over the past couple of years... I didn't think I really needed to read 'The Paleo Solution' after reading the other books, but I like Robb Wolf's blog so I actually just picked it up out of curiosity a couple days ago.

So far, it seems pretty solid -- and compared to "primal" approaches that are increasingly allowing lots of dairy and even grains, I dig this book for following its own scientific logic. The meal plan suggestions and recipes are nice too!

But to answer your question, I've had great success on paleo in the past. I deviated from it while training in long-distance running, which kind of goes against the whole concept... I've eased up on that a lot so now I'm trying it again.

You'll just have to mess around and see what levels of carbs, fat, etc. you personally thrive on within the paleo framework.

I also have to keep a general eye on calories.... If you are very stringent about only eating when hungry and stopping when full, then you probably won't have to... But years of disordered eating and yo-yo dieting have my hunger cues completely screwed up, so I still have to watch portions. YMMV.

Good luck!

I am NOT on the paleo diet, but i hear great things about it. make sure you're careful about your red meat intake though...

Oh and don't lose your mind over it! my boyfriend's cousin is on it and she just recently bought a live cow so that her family could have grass fed beef eventually. well she bought a dairy cow, not a beef cow and she's never even had a pet before, so this is going to end horribly...

but if you're not as nuts as she is, it'll help you in your journey!

There is nothing wrong with red meat intake, especially from grass fed cows. <sigh> the brainwashing of the masses will never end.

I guess you would really think I am nuts then. Paleo lifestyle has spilled over to other areas of my life in addition to exercise and eating.

No more commercial cleaning or hygiene products (home made for us now), lots of play and stress relief, etc.

I am NOT on the paleo diet, but i hear great things about it. make sure you're careful about your red meat intake though...

Oh and don't lose your mind over it! my boyfriend's cousin is on it and she just recently bought a live cow so that her family could have grass fed beef eventually. well she bought a dairy cow, not a beef cow and she's never even had a pet before, so this is going to end horribly...

but if you're not as nuts as she is, it'll help you in your journey!

She's named it, hasn't she? She probably talks to it and plays with it. Let us know how it ends.

Paleo diet has worked well for me. The quality of the nutrients made it relatively easy to maintain a calorie deficit.

This is pretty much how it works for me too. The calorie deficit still matters, but the protein, fat, and fibrous carbs (and occasional delicious fruit) are all very satisfying and filling.

I'm primarily paleo, but aren't 100% strict. I'll still have a sweet potato, or some bread, or something else considered non-paleo but keep it to a dull roar. I do eat beans often and will have cheat meals (not an entire pizza).
This diet is simple but can often be confusing. Like why isn't sweet potato paleo or corn etc and sometimes you just have to make a decision that you are going to eat this, because it doesn't make you feel bad. Usually you cut out everything "bad" and then introduce things slowly and see how you react - it's amazing how easy it is to tell. (For the nay-sayers, most paleo people never feel like a nap after a meal. 'nuff said).
But for all the positive, it is also easy to get into the "chicken, broccoli and almonds" trap. Basically, that means that these things are easy to make and eat to stay satiate both yourself and the "diet", but it becomes boring. Make sure you stay creative. Note that Wolfe's plan says to eat left-overs a lot for breakfast or lunch. That is certainly one way to mix things up, but can still become monotonous because you're eating the same stuff over and over. This doesn't have to be the case, and shouldn't be, but seriously, almost everyone I know who's tried it (and that's a lot in the CrossFit community) has fallen into this trap - and complains about eating f'in eggs and almonds.
So, rather than "eggs and turkey bacon" for breakfast, I will often have steak (grill up some tip steak and use it for breaky/salads) or fish to mix it up too. Sometimes it may be a scoop of PB and a banana (yes, non-paleo but I'm not strict and don't enjoy almond butter as much).
Don't be afraid of those fats either - that's what satiates you and if you're always hungry, chances are you're not eating enough fat (almonds, avocados, coconut, olive oil, etc). These fats are also where you tweak your diet - if you're hungry, eat more of these; HOWEVER, if you find that you're putting on weight, then it's likely that something is causing inflammation within your diet, or more than likely, you're eating too many nuts (that small handful is now a large handful etc) and fruit (yes, sugar). Berries are usually better because they are lower on the glycemic index, but having 3+ servings of apple, orange and banana could be too much for you.
Also note that people tend to think it's a low carb diet. It isn't really, because you should be eating a ton of vegetables (carbs). It's very low in starchy vegetables but our dinner plate will be 2/3-3/4 veges with the balance being meat and fats. It's low in carbs due to being void of processed ones, sugary ones, grainy ones, and very low in starchy ones. So it's low with respect to what the USDA/FDA etc advocates.

I find cooking in large batches for the week helps too - especially vegetables so that there's always some available and I only need to cook up my protein. Every week I'll prepare (roasted mostly - because is easy to get some olive oil in there and is tasty cold/warmed up) a bunch of things like cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, butternut squash, pumpkin and whatever else, then store than in the fridge and eat it all week. Takes a couple of hours, but helps me during the week so I don't get too lazy and just have steak for dinner.
Will also make up a bacon/egg pie that I'll eat for breakfast or lunch on some days, and perhaps a big batch or pork to eat throughout the week. Will also grill up 10 or so chicken breasts, then chop it up and use for salads/meals throughout the week ........ I'll actually be starting this process soon.

NOTE: I'm on MFP to squeeze a few more pounds off. My non-monitored paleo diet is good for maintaining my current weight without so much as a thought. I want to get about 10-15 pounds leaner (Drop BF% to 14-15 from 17) so are using this to dial in my sizes, and get a handle on some of my cheats. But at the end of the day, the scale won't be my dictator here, how I feel and perform will be.

The biggest downside to paleo is that going out can be a pain - you just have to relax and roll with it. Also, I feel like I'm constantly going to the grocery store and cooking. There's pretty much no cans or boxes in our pantry, everything is fresh.
Some ways to help though, buy an entire cow (go halves with someone) and grow some veges. There's also the local CSA but you have to be willing to cook "in season". If you have a local crossfit gym (wolfe used to be into CF too, but that's another story), there'll be a huge community there that will be paleo, I'm sure they will talk to you about it (and who knows, you may get hooked on that too) but if you're even more lucky, a local restaurant may have a paleo chef. We have one and we order off of a "special" menu. You just have to ask. Often, however, that selection is limited and we end up with a f'in chicken/brocoli/almond dish LOL.

Ah, fad diets....people never stop hopping on any bandwagon. :yawn:

There is nothing faddish about clean eating.

Sounds great but... "you must exercise very often"? So, much like any other dietary eating then?

it told me I could eat bacon :happy:

I don't follow Paleo, but I got some good tips on upping my protein as I assume it's a mostly protein based diet

I've tried it and couldnt stick to it!

I felt like I needed grains and dairy. And I felt like I was down on energy and was having trouble training!

If I could do it right I would probably stick to it though.

Any people with experience know how to keep energy up if you train 16+hrs per week?!

This is really common.
Up your fats and introduce a sweet potato as part of your post-workout recovery.
Fat is a major component of your energy stores - as opposed to carbs - but you will still need the carbs. The sweet potato whilst not strict paleo, is about as good as it gets for that carb addition and small insulin spike post workout. It will help fuel your muscles. Make sure you don't turn this into a protein-protein-protein diet. You need to eat a ton of vege's and ensure you get good fats too. Keep the fruit to moderation and berries are usually better source.
There is no reason why you can't incorporate the paleo ideals, but still supplement with some oatmeal or whatever for breakfast. It's really about making smart choices based on how you feel. Just like the sweet potato - not purely paleo but better than a potato and really easy to get what you need from a diet.
e.g. If you're not lactose intolerant, then dairy will be fine but as a paleo'er, you'd keep it to a low amount.
Same with grains and gluten etc. If it doesn't hurt, then eat it.

The paleo diet has a lot to do with cutting out the inflammation and such that certain foods will cause, and, to keep your insulin from spiking up and down all day. A lot of people will say they're 80/20 paleo - this is the reality for most as we will still have some bread, or some cheese, or some grain, or whatever - it's just that it isn't every single day/meal like it used to be. Just a small amount and only if it doesn't cause adverse affects.

Whole grains are ok for many but not all. Also note that for the USDA to allow a grain to be called whole, it only needs to be 60% whole - so generally they are processed. This is also where "fortified whole grains" come from. The manufacturer has processed the grain twice - the "fortifying" is simply an attempt to put back in what they took out. So it's actually really hard to eat a whole grain anymore.
Sugar and processed fake foods are the big one - cut that out. So all these cereals and stuff people eat because it's low in calories and "contains a daily serving of whole grains" is junk because of the sugar content and the actual lack of whole grains.

Not necessarily- it's more about 'clean' eating than anything. Yes, they are in great shape because they exercise, but they are much healthier inside and out- that's the bottom line. They look great, have more engery, and got rid of all those food products that cause heart disease. Even if they didn't exercise as much they would still be healthy as they are eating clean.

Right, but they could look like personal/fitness trainers eating a crap diet but also exercising, then? Actually, I know someone who exercises a lot but eats utterly awful food. He is ripped and muscular like the best on this site.

I'm not knocking healthy eating, mind!