Paleo - Pros/Cons

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  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Ohhh... so it's a MAGIC diet that can disregard the laws of thermodynamics?

    Tell me how exactly you think thermodynamics work. I assure you it's not that simple. The human body is a complex machine.
  • Jipples
    Jipples Posts: 663 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.

    false

    Are you going to hit us with "you can't overeat on a paleo diet"?

    No, I'm not that guy. And to be fair, I'm new to the diet and do not claim to be an expert. But just in the very short time I've implemented it, I feel better. That's all I know. Now, how will I feel in a few months or whatever, we'll see. If I notice I'm losing muscle and strength in the gym, I'll reevaluate what I'm doing. But I've read enough to convince me to give the diet a try....and so far, albeit only a week, I feel like I'm responding well to it. That's my research.
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.



    false

    Ohhh... so it's a MAGIC diet that can disregard the laws of thermodynamics?

    Nah, it's not magic. So you're saying a calorie is a calorie and your body processes all food the same way and with the same efficiency?

    I said you have to eat within a certain amount of calories to lose or maintain weight. Are you claiming that you can eat any number of calories and not gain weight?

    Edit: I am not claiming that a calorie is a calorie... I know certain people are chomping at the bit for the chance to "educate" someone on this, but I am not that person. :grumble:
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.

    false

    Actually it is TRUE...just because you are eating a certain way and restricting certain food groups you can most definately gain weight if you ingest more than you expend...even eating a Paleo way i still can't eat willy nilly or else I will gain weight...
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.

    false

    Are you going to hit us with "you can't overeat on a paleo diet"?

    No, I'm not that guy. And to be fair, I'm new to the diet and do not claim to be an expert. But just in the very short time I've implemented it, I feel better. That's all I know. Now, how will I feel in a few months or whatever, we'll see. If I notice I'm losing muscle and strength in the gym, I'll reevaluate what I'm doing. But I've read enough to convince me to give the diet a try....and so far, albeit only a week, I feel like I'm responding well to it. That's my research.

    I'm happy for you and if you are satisfied with what you're doing and getting results, then more power to you..
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
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    See if you can spot the difference between these two statements:

    (1) "You should eat dairy, grains and legumes in order to be healthy"

    (2) "There's no need to exclude dairy, grains and/or legumes to be healthy (unless you have a specific intolerance)"

    You're hearing #1, but we're saying #2.

    I think this is fair enough.

    What would you say about intolerances becoming more common though? It seems like everyone is gluten intolerant nowadays. It is possible that more people don't tolerate certain foods well but learned to live with it. Or some people can have mild issues with food that they ignore now. Isn't it possible that it can cause long term damage?
  • zellagrrl
    zellagrrl Posts: 439
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    So far I've seen an improvement in my IBS. Not perfect, but improved. I'm not supposed to eat dairy or grains (I won't die, but I will feel awful). It seemed worthwhile to try anything to improve my medical conditions, and it's far less restrictive than other elimination diets I've been on.

    I am putting in a lot more time around food prep and meal planning, but I don't really see that as a downside-- living off processed junk is one way to lose weight, but not a good way. My fruit and vegetable intake has skyrocketed (again, not bad).

    Realistically, if you don't feel good, cut out processed things, and I'm pretty sure you'll feel better.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.



    false

    Ohhh... so it's a MAGIC diet that can disregard the laws of thermodynamics?

    Nah, it's not magic. So you're saying a calorie is a calorie and your body processes all food the same way and with the same efficiency?

    Today's word is strawman. Can you say strawman? I bet you can.


    But if you eat a surplus of calories, you must store it. If you eat low carb, you can only store it as fat. The conversion of carbs to adipose tissue (DNL) is much less efficient.

    So you are MORE likely to get fat on a low-carb diet that exceeds your energy needs.
  • Jipples
    Jipples Posts: 663 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.

    false

    Actually it is TRUE...just because you are eating a certain way and restricting certain food groups you can most definately gain weight if you ingest more than you expend...even eating a Paleo way i still can't eat willy nilly or else I will gain weight...

    Key word in your statement....."can". I'm not disagreeing with that.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    See if you can spot the difference between these two statements:

    (1) "You should eat dairy, grains and legumes in order to be healthy"

    (2) "There's no need to exclude dairy, grains and/or legumes to be healthy (unless you have a specific intolerance)"

    You're hearing #1, but we're saying #2.

    I think this is fair enough.

    What would you say about intolerances becoming more common though? It seems like everyone is gluten intolerant nowadays. It is possible that more people don't tolerate certain foods well but learned to live with it. Or some people can have mild issues with food that they ignore now. Isn't it possible that it can cause long term damage?


    Lyle said it best:

    "Sure it's catching on because people are nothing if not fad-following twits. Having heard that some irrelevant percentage of people can't handle gluten, they want to be `cool' and be gluten intolerant too sot they can get pity ant **** for a problem they don't have. Just like they all had adrenal fatigue, and CFS and every other fad disease over the last 40 years. And 5 years from now when the gluten bull**** fades, they'll latch onto the next big fad disease... "
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.

    false

    Actually it is TRUE...just because you are eating a certain way and restricting certain food groups you can most definately gain weight if you ingest more than you expend...even eating a Paleo way i still can't eat willy nilly or else I will gain weight...

    Key word in your statement....."can". I'm not disagreeing with that.

    Then what is false? That's exactly what I said.
  • shubra2
    shubra2 Posts: 6 Member
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    Hi there,
    From my experience I think the Paleo diet has helped me lose weight and has helped with my asthma as I hadn't had any attacks for about 2 months now. (I live on the East coast, and there's so much pollen out there!) My Doctor recommended me to completely stop eating dairy and grains, and now I see a whole different world of eating healthier. I do enjoy going out to eat and usually eat a lot of salads and meats. But I mostly try to prepare my own meals. We may crave sometimes to eat bad, and that's fine once awhile, but your body will definitely react with it. So, be prepared for that. ;) All in all, this diet isn't easy, but if you make time to try to love your body and take care of it, you will definitely notice results. And yes, it's best to quit drinking. Your body will thank you for it and you will feel soo good about yourself. You may want to read the various literatures out there on the Paleo diet. Please consult your Doctor/Nutritionist to see if this diet can work for you. Hope this helps. God bless.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Actually it is TRUE...just because you are eating a certain way and restricting certain food groups you can most definately gain weight if you ingest more than you expend...even eating a Paleo way i still can't eat willy nilly or else I will gain weight...

    I'll defend the primal/paleo lifestyle but this is correct. It is possible to gain weight no matter what you're eating. It's more DIFFICULT for people to consume the number of calories that would put them over the edge into "overeating" but of course it's possible.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    There really is no cons. You eat whole foods but not dairy or grains.

    No Dairy or grains sound like two pretty big cons to me.

    Well the OP can't have dairy. Personally, I don't like the idea of removing all grains anymore. Maybe OP can keep the grains in.
    When I said no cons I meant in terms of health. Can get all the vitamins and minerals without the dairy and grains. I think low carbers can have certain vitamin and minerals lacking in their diet

    "low carbers" =/= "paleo"

    (I'm mostly posting this to remind me to read the other six+ pages as I find the MFP-forumers lack of knowledge of what the paleo concept is/isn't fascinating.)
  • jackyb03
    jackyb03 Posts: 20
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    A friend of mine was on the Paleo diet for a couple months - she didn't seem to lose any weight (according to her), it was expensive, she was quickly bored and ended up cheating alot.

    Here is a link which will give you some pros and cons to think about: http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/paleo-diet

    Regarding drinking: you pretty much cut everything out .. of course there are always exceptions and modifications you can make. http://www.paleoplan.com/2011/03-11/qa-what-should-i-drink/
  • Jipples
    Jipples Posts: 663 Member
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    but for me, I'd rather restrict what I can eat rather than how much)

    But you still have to eat within a certain number of calories to lose or maintain weight no matter what kind of food you're eating. I imagine it's just as easy to get fat on a paleo diet as it is on a well balanced diet. If you overeat, you gain.

    false

    Actually it is TRUE...just because you are eating a certain way and restricting certain food groups you can most definately gain weight if you ingest more than you expend...even eating a Paleo way i still can't eat willy nilly or else I will gain weight...

    Key word in your statement....."can". I'm not disagreeing with that.

    Then what is false? That's exactly what I said.

    You stated it as absolute.
  • pattyproulx
    pattyproulx Posts: 603 Member
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    Fair enough, but please go find me a nutritionist (or anyone for that matter) that hasn't made a claim that is refuted by some expert.

    Intelligent people who are experts in their field can disagree, but that's a far cry from pulling **** out of your *kitten* with no basis in fact.

    Please show me conclusive evidence that dairy, grains, and legumes should be eaten. If there was such conclusive evidence, there'd be no argument either way.

    See if you can spot the difference between these two statements:

    (1) "You should eat dairy, grains and legumes in order to be healthy"

    (2) "There's no need to exclude dairy, grains and/or legumes to be healthy (unless you have a specific intolerance)"

    You're hearing #1, but we're saying #2.

    There is definitely some evidence that suggests some people shouldn't eat dairy, grains, and legumes, but as I'm sure you can agree, there is nothing *conclusive* one way or the other (but in this field there is little conclusive evidence in anything).

    For me, what I've read with regards to lactose and our insulin response to dairy and the anti-nutrients and glucose-spiking attributed to eating grains and legumes, was enough to give it a try.

    And as someone who has struggled with weight since my teens I've seen very favourable results by dropping them. That to me is enough reason not to eat them. There is nothing in them that I need and I've done better without them.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    But if you eat a surplus of calories, you must store it. If you eat low carb, you can only store it as fat. The conversion of carbs to adipose tissue (DNL) is much less efficient.

    The conversion of carbs to fat is pretty much irrelevant in a normal human being. The metabolic pathway exists but to activate it it takes days of ridiculous carb binging.

    DNL might be an issue for Cookie Monster if he lived in the Oreo factory. For pretty much everyone else it is a non-factor.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Lyle said it best:

    "Sure it's catching on because people are nothing if not fad-following twits. Having heard that some irrelevant percentage of people can't handle gluten, they want to be `cool' and be gluten intolerant too sot they can get pity ant **** for a problem they don't have. Just like they all had adrenal fatigue, and CFS and every other fad disease over the last 40 years. And 5 years from now when the gluten bull**** fades, they'll latch onto the next big fad disease... "

    Lyle sure is angry
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,611 Member
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    Isn't Paleo just the "noble savage" version of Atkins?

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