Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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It's my first two weeks of paleo, and I'm committed to it not just for losing weight but for overall health (and political) reasons. I've been keeping track of my macronutrient ratios so I can get a sense of what works for me, but I haven't lost a single pound (rather, I've fluctuated upward and then came back down to where I started).

I'm 31, 5' 10" and about 30% body fat. Average macronutrients over the last two weeks are: Fat 106 grams, Protein 141 grams and Carbs 58 grams. Average calories over the last two weeks: 1841. I'm not eating sugar, grains or dairy, with the exception of heavy cream in homemade seafood chowder once last week. I'm already in the habit of eating organic, properly-treated meat (chicken, beef, pork), coconut oil and 1 tbsp of olive oil every day, and no other vegetable oils.

I have three meals a day, 5-6 hours apart, I don't snack, and I sleep at least 7 hours every night. More often than not, I have 2-3 oz of red wine with dinner. I haven't been exercising at all, with the exception of a few moderately-paced walks in the woods. Drinking lots of water too... I have no idea where to go from here, but I'm getting pretty frustrated. I have about 30 lbs to lose, and I feel like I'm wasting my time.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance!

flag	asked Apr 25 2012 at 11:21 Janine 11●3

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aim for 1/2 lb a week and stick with it, keep low carb (under 50g) and get as high fat as you can tolerate (65%+) and just ride it out.....consider IF'ing for short periods to jump start things as well.... – Kelly Apr 25 2012 at 11:44

Thanks Kelly. I adjusted by target range for macronutrient ratios so that I'm getting 67% fat and 24% protein (as per Mark Sisson), so hopefully that will make a difference :-) – Janine Apr 25 2012 at 14:16

Clint · Answer 1 · 2012-04-25 11:41:51Z UTC

Two weeks isn't a huge amount of time in the grand scheme of things. What is your actual weight? 30% bodyfat doesn't tell a whole lot. You might also be in the camp that does a little bit better with some more paleo friendly carbs (especially if you're the least bit active). I did the high fat thing for a month and just didn't have any luck with it. I bumped my carbs up, dropped the fat down, and started losing weight. Granted, I'm a 27 year old active male. You'll get a lot of advice on here to eat carbs, don't eat carbs, eat high fat, eat more "Zone" like, or go into ketosis. Take each bit of advice with a grain of salt. We're all different and have different goals.

trjones · Answer 2 · 2012-04-25 11:40:46Z UTC

Remember that if you are switching to paleo for overall health and weight loss, two weeks is not a long time. No reason to feel frustrated, just try to think for the long term. If nothing else it will keep your stress down.

It sounds like your diet is pretty good. Keep with it and you'll start seeing results, although it may take a while for them to be noticeable.

My only advice would be to eliminate all alcohol and see if that has an effect. Also, are you just downing spoonfuls of olive and coconut oil? I know some people do but I've never seen the point. Cut that out too and see how you do.

twochickadeez · Answer 3 · 2012-04-25 12:12:01Z UTC

I agree with the majority here. Two weeks isn't a very long time. I know it can be frustrating though....I was pretty frustrated in the beginning. It helped me a lot to get rid of the scale. It was good for my mental health. Go by how your clothes fit and check your body fat % every couple of weeks.

I would definitely exercise more. Lift some weights, do some squats, do something that you enjoy and that makes you sweat. Building some lean muscle will help accelerate the weight loss. If you're not ready for that yet, add in another walk and maybe jog on and off during your walk if you can.

Good luck!!

Caveman Truck · Answer 4 · 2012-04-25 12:13:26Z UTC

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If you want to shed major pounds, bulletproof fasting may work. I do an intermittent version of it and have gone from 203 lb to 151 lbs this year with no exercise besides walking after a car accident on February 5. Looking at your food intake my guess is that too much protein in one sitting may be keeping you out of ketosis. It is my understanding that over 30 g protein at once , the overflow gets stored as glycogen in the liver. I heard an interview with Dr Peter Attia on llvlc and others talking about this. You dont need to count the carbs in leafy greens because you have to use blood glucose to digest them so the net carb load is nil. This is just my n=1, but the thing that really drew me to paleo at first was that as long as my food quality was great I didn't have to think about grams and calories.

answered Apr 25 2012 at 12:13

Caveman Truck
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	Agreed - that's what drew me to paleo too (that, and the politics of quality food, especially meat). Interesting point about protein and glycogen, I'm going to check that out, thank you! I'm hesitant about fasting just because I keep hearing that it only works once you've totally converted into fat-burning mode, but it can thwart weight-loss efforts if you're not burning fat efficiently yet... Thoughts? – Janine Apr 25 2012 at 12:58
	The bulletproof fasting is a FAT fast. it essentially forces you to become fat adapted because you are fueling with fats only for stretches of time. AGAIN n=1 but I do the bulletproof coffee protocol and love it. Mark Sisson recently said about fat adaption ""How can yo tell if you're fat adapted?" If you go through 2 or 3 days without more than 125g of carbs and feel Ok" Something else I just thought of, about olive oil. on Balanced Bites recently they were talking about that if your oil does not have a "press date" as well as expiry there is a good chance it could contain MORE than olive oil – Caveman Truck Apr 25 2012 at 13:54
	Also, did you go through "induction/low carb flu" 72 hours in I felt just like the flu when my blood glucose bottomed out. I felt a little better each day and about 21 days in I felt like I could "KOOL-Aid" through a brick wall. If you haven't I am guessing you are still burning glucose primarily. – Caveman Truck Apr 25 2012 at 13:59
	Sorry, I'm getting ready for my day and keep thinking of more and more. You can get a cheap blood glucose meter almost anywhere and keep track. – Caveman Truck Apr 25 2012 at 14:02
	Ok, I'll check out the bulletproof protocol - I'm definitely not averse to fasting. I didn't really feel the typical carb flu, although I did have low energy and got a couple headaches about 5 days in. Maybe I'll be Kool-aiding thought brick walls by next week ha ;-). So according to Mark Sisson I am fat adapted... I certainly don't feel sluggish. – Janine Apr 25 2012 at 14:08

sage_ · Answer 5 · 2012-04-25 12:11:31Z UTC

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maybe 1800 calories are too many for you without exercise?

answered Apr 25 2012 at 12:11

sage_
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	I've been considering that too, and I miss exercise so I may add it back in. – Janine Apr 25 2012 at 13:00
	the problem is that the old calories in > calories out theory of weight gain is garbage. it doesn't work that way, and generally it's a waste of time to count calories. don't overthink it -- keep eating quality food (almost entirely meat and veggies) and see where you're at after 5-6 weeks. that's enough time to see progress and evaluate your approach. good luck Janine!! – Alison-Counterculture Cooking Apr 25 2012 at 17:07
	Honestly, I'm right in the middle between "calories don't matter to be healthy" and "calories still matter only if you're trying to lose weight"... I can see merits to both views and I think it's possible that they can both be true because they're not completely contradictory. But I'm not drastically cutting calories or anything, and I never let myself go hungry so I'm hoping I've found a middle ground. Thanks! – Janine Apr 26 2012 at 12:41
	i find that i can eat more calories than i actually burn exercising and loose weight. without exercise i am stable at about 1600cal a day, but with 10 minutes of HIIT each day i will loose on 2200cals- – sage_ Apr 27 2012 at 3:27

ecks · Answer 6 · 2012-04-25 13:41:10Z UTC

Sounds like you're in the process of a leptin reset. This will help you as well with getting going. Things don't happen over night. The stress may not be helping either. One thing that a lot of beginners start with is a Paleo Whole30. Essentially there is a food list that you keep to for 30 days then slowly reintroduce other foods back into your diet to see what you may be sensitive to. There are also a ton of paleo and whole 30 recipes at thefoodee.com

I've been doing paleo for 5 months now and am over 50lbs off. But it took almost 4 weeks to start seeing a pounds difference. Also are all of your meats drug free? And are you getting enough Omega 3 fats? I would almost suggest reading paleo 1O1 on marksdailyapple.com

dancingdeer · Answer 7 · 2012-04-25 15:15:34Z UTC

I'm certainly not the expert, but I think you're eating too many calories with no exercise. I've been doing Paleo for 9 days now and have lost 5 pounds - and I'm also getting smaller even when the scale is not moving. I'm keeping my carb intake to 30 - 40 grams per day.

Also, are you tracking your food intake anywhere? I track mine on MyFitnessPal, so I can stay as close to my goal as possible - and it makes it so easy.

Best of luck on your journey! It may just take a little tweaking!

Marcy · Answer 8 · 2012-04-25 15:22:08Z UTC

Did you take exercise out on purpose or do you mean you just haven't had a chance to exercise? I don't know if you're trying to avoid the "chronic cardio" that Sisson talks about, but in my experience the majority of people aren't at risk of exercising in this range... but a lot of people use it as an excuse not to exercise at all. And from my experience, eating primal without exercise = weight maintenance. Eating primal plus exercise = noticeable change in body composition and less body fat. I know that seems pretty obvious, but it seems like some of the newer folks on here are frustrated about not losing weight but say they aren't doing any exercise.

And regarding exercise, it really doesn't have to be much. You're on the right path with the walks in the woods. Add a one a week sprint session of some sort and some pushups, plank and squats. Just this will make a very noticeable difference.

Mark · Answer 9 · 2012-08-27 05:33:27Z UTC

NUTS AND FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AND MEAT. LOTS OF WATER, I MEAN LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS. USE GHEE OR RENDERED FAT FOR COOKING AND EXCERCISE EVERY DAY. WHY WOULD YOU EXPECT TO LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT EXCERCISING. YOU CAN EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT OF THIS DIET JUST MAKE SURE YOU EXCERCISE. NO FASTING! I LOST 10 KG IN 1 MONTH AND CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT. BUT WITHOUT THE EXCERCISE MY WEIGHT DID NOT CHANGE. ALSO DURING THIS TIME I HAVE EATEN BACON AND EGGS ALMOST EVERY MORNING AND HAVE EATEN A LARGE STEAK AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. JUST COUPLE IT WITH HIGH FIBRE GREENS AND PLENTY OF FRUIT. ITS THE ONLY DIET THAT HAS WORKED AND THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO:) GIVE IT A GO MISS IMPATIENT!!!

Tony G · Answer 10 · 2013-02-10 23:02:11Z UTC

It appears that you are overeating protein. Take your lean body mass in lbs, half it and change to grams. That is how much protein your body roughly needs. Excess protein will convert into glucose, as if you were eating a higher carb diet.

Also, exercise has little to do with fat loss, and it increases appetite. I wouldn't do high intensity stuff until you are near a healthy weight.

Good luck!

No Weight Loss After Two Weeks of Paleo

10 Answers