What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?) - PaleoHacks.com

What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-21T23:31:06Z

So, I've lost about 70 pounds living a paleo/primal lifestyle. I started with a whole30-style period, then moved to more Primal Blueprint approach. I still have about 70 pounds to go, but I get a lot of comments lately on my weight loss and people wanting to know what I've done.

Depending on the situation (if we're near a computer, etc.), I will just open MarksDailyApple or refer them to google "paleo diet", but I'm wondering how all of you would answer this question:

"You've lost a ton of weight. What did you do? I need to lose weight too."

Answer by mari for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-21T23:50:29Z

http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

I find Kurt Harris to be pretty effective. His blog is clear and concise, without being oversimplified. It also contains science, without being overwhelmingly technical. He also provides links to good books and websites for those who wish to do more research on their own.

Answer by being for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T00:09:19Z

"i stopped counting calories and killing myself at the gym. i just eat a lot of whole, simple, unprocessed food, and gave up some foods that were making me sick. i found that when i relaxed and focused on a simple, nutrient-dense, ancestral diet that the weight came off without really thinking about it. thanks for noticing! wink"

Answer by Carl_Stawicki for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T00:19:08Z

I like to give a brief description first before mentioning the diet's name. It gets their attention, then I can mention paleo when directing them to more info. Diets with names have a stigma.

Answer by Sara for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T00:21:08Z

I post articles to my facebook page all the time. Soon enough all my friends will be converted.(Ha! yeah, right) One thanked me several times during a phone call the other night for turning her on to it. Turns out removing gluten lifted some fatigue and now she feels amazing. My mom (who's an avid grain muncher) has been asking questions about why I do it. Today she finally put it together that it could be what's causing her loud frequent belching for the last several years. Just mentioning it a lot so it starts to seep in seems to be working. Well, I guess that answered for the people you talk to regularly. For the other's I'd recommend a favorite website. I usually go with mark's daily apple first. Follow up with them. "Did you check out that site? What'd you think? I've lost (X) lbs/stones since (insert start time here) and I feel amazing! It's great because I'm never hungry or obsessing over calories or a slave to the treadmill."

Answer by CaveRat for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T00:57:15Z

I don't even mention Paleo, until the very end of a conversation. I say "low carb" (actually my wife likes to say it at social occasions - she doesn't eat that way, mind you, but she's impressed by my changes and wants people to notice). So, I say "low carb" and the conversation goes like this:

really? no rice?
nope
no bread?
none
no pastries??
no
what about ice cream?
don't eat it
cake?
no way
jeez I don't think I could give all that up! what DO you eat?
I fry my eggs in ghee or butter, sometimes with liver and spinach. Bacon is really good. The other day I had onions-and-kidneys. I eat yummy grassfed beef. Fresh veggies. I make kefir and sauerkraut. The occasional blueberries or melons or chocolate. Roast chicken. Fresh fish.

By then they are curious, and are interested in more info. THEN I might add "if you want to get good information, Google 'paleo' for recipes and ideas". Or I'll say "'low-carb' just tells you what NOT to eat. If you want to know WHAT to eat, I think 'Paleo' comes closest". And only if their eyes haven't glazed over I might go into it more deeply - ancestral diets, grains not normal, need for meats and so on.

To me, saying "I'm on the Paleo Diet" just doesn't feel right - it's too much like a belief or a religion, something I need to believe in instead of DO. Sure I read all the blogs and the books, buy the organ meats and the grass-fed butter. But even after all that I don't feel like I'm "on a diet". I feel like I changed my diet. What I ate Before wasn't a "diet" - it was just what I ate then. And what I'm eating After isn't a "diet" but simply what I'm eating now.

Answer by ben61820 for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T01:24:37Z

I skip all the low this low that, and diet terms and simply say very straight forwardly and seriously, "stop eating grains and sugar. That's all you need to do."

Is that all you need to do to get real health? No, I think more but if someone is just curious, and as the OP specifically mentioned interested in weight, then I find the simpler and less-intimidating the better. Skip all the politics, skip all the details, just give them the simplest,least extreme things.

Later on if they are enjoyinng it you can bombard them with omega ratios, grass fed this or that, what is and is not a legume , etc.

Answer by Kelly for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T13:46:23Z

yea I also just say I'm eating pure foods, nothing processed anymore and in most cases even if they ask more questions I leave it at that.

People immediately make judgements around me for some reason, when I'm heavy they comment about my weight, when I'm thin they say I dont eat....even as I'm eating a huge plate full of stuff in front of them.

Because I'm not eating bread and pasta they seem to want to make me feel bad for some reason. These same people also try to get me to eat things that I have allergies to, its like a constant test.

If they weren't family, I'd ditch them for a more supporting bunch!!

Answer by Ali for What to tell paleo-interested people? (Or at least people who are interested in 'how I lost all that weight'?)

2011-06-22T14:09:52Z

I've lost ~35 pounds and after trial and error (bombarding with too much info or "weird" info), I've boiled it down to the following:

"I don't eat processed foods, and I avoid all grains."

I specify about grains because most people do not consider grains (bread, pasta, corn) processed foods. That usually leads to questions about why I don't eat grains and I usually respond with something like "People are not built to eat grains. We don't get much nutrition from them and we have a hard time digesting them. There's no good reason to eat grains, so I prefer to eat foods that offer more benefit."

If they're still interested, I'll go into more detail about how I shop or what my meals look like or whatever questions they may have. The conversation usually ends with me promising to send them a link to one blog or another, depending on what their questions are.