Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Hello, I lost 30lbs a year ago, in order to maintain that weight loss, i changed my whole life. I went strict 100% Paleo and began a 6 days per week workout regimen.

I have been slowly gaining weight since last year after the initial loss, and trying to figure out why my body is so determined to be 30lbs heavier (which puts my BMI at just before obese)

I have not gone back to my pre Paleo ways of eating -(no sugar,no dairy,no grains) My only unclean eating happens if i eat at a restaurant and always choose Paleo meals, but can't control the oils etc.

I found this article in the NY Times and was wondering what people think of this?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?pagewanted=all

I feel like this is happening to me. NO matter what i eat, no matter how little i eat, or how much more i eat (to try and not under eat) My body packs on body fat like it is its only job.

Currently eating around 1500-1700 cals - 5'9 I was 135-140 last summer...currently squeezing into my pre weight loss clothes Size 12 which is what I was wearing when i was 160-170...so I'm guessing I'm around there again. The numbers don't matter....the fact that I was wearing size 6 last summer and now squeezing into a 12 is the problem.

Am i doomed to be this fat? and have this body fat %... I don't see what else i could possibly do.

Tried it all...IF (cortisol issues) VLC Keto, mode carb 70-100grams..ive taken my cals down to 1200, 1350...1500 etc...I track every morsel of food i consume on a calorie counter.

I really don't understand...

flag	asked May 16 2012 at 21:04 Paleo4ever 1,430●3●19

What is your BF? That's a far, far more useful number than your BMI. If you're a Stanley Smith, you need to do things differently; suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/11/… – Beth-WeightMaven May 16 2012 at 22:06

you haven't "tried it all"- you've apparently only tried various forms of low carb and calorie restricted diets. MOre glycogen = more fun. – foreveryoung May 17 2012 at 1:41

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I had everything checked out 5 months ago and was perfect bill of health. I have a new appointment this week to check everything again. Hopefully something shows up. Re: Carbs/Glycogen...tried it..started incorporating Sweet potato and some fruit (berries) for me was endless fruit/sugar cravings, bloating, and weight gain. – Paleo4ever May 17 2012 at 11:18

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Most likely your eating well above 1500-1700 calories. – Don May 17 2012 at 12:42

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I agree with Don; recheck your calories. It's very easy to undercount. Be absolutely obsessive for several weeks. It's unpleasant, but really necessary. – IfYouSaySo May 17 2012 at 22:50

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stopsnacking · Answer 1 · 2012-05-17 01:19:42Z UTC

Screw BMI. 5'9" and 160 lb. and a size 12 is NOT obese. And maybe 135 is unsustainable for your body. Surely there's a middle point that you can sustain and be satsfied with. Still its easy to see why you're confused and frustrated.

Read the Primal Blueprint and make sure all 10 'primal laws' are in place before you put all the blame on food.

Primal Blueprint

Erik · Answer 2 · 2012-05-16 21:31:46Z UTC

I would have you thyroid thoroughly checked out. You may be hypo-thyroid.

I have hashimoto's and before getting it back in line I could not lose a pound on any diet; Paleo included. Currently I eat paleo and have only recently gotten my thyroid dialed in and have started to again lose weight after having no success previously. If you do get your thyroid levels looked at have it done by a doctor who really understands that synthroid and tsh panels are not the only answer to thyroid. Get a full panel and not just you're tsh.

Just my 2 cents :)

Val · Answer 3 · 2012-05-16 21:16:14Z UTC

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Maybe you are exercising too much and eating too little... That can put a lot of stress on your body.

Also, did you gain any muscle in that period of time ?

answered May 16 2012 at 21:16

Val
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Jenna · Answer 4 · 2012-05-16 21:19:34Z UTC

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that article is talking about weightloss via calorie restriction that's mostly carbs. I don't think it can compare to paleo, but I could be wrong. I'd look into stress or adrenal fatigue... I put on so much weight from my adrenals being all out of whack, but it was all water weight. Once I started taking salt and vitamins to fix it, I lost 10 lbs LITERALLY overnight.

answered May 16 2012 at 21:19

Jenna
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what exactly did you take? thanks. – amplify May 16 2012 at 21:41

I would be concerned about losing ten pounds in one night. – Tyler F May 16 2012 at 22:58

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It was mostly salt (because adrenal hormones regulate your salt and you basically end up peeing it out... which I'm not sure why, but you bloat right up - or at least I did, and my naturopath said she experienced the same thing with AF)... and vitamin C - a ton of it. It was all bloat. I was consistantly having 5-6 lb weight swings day to day, which is why I'm confident that it was all water weight. The 10 lb loss was quite a shock, but I felt so much better after. I imagine it's not a typical response, but I don't know. I recommend reading the book "21st century syndrome" – Jenna May 17 2012 at 0:46

I should add that after I started supplementing salt and vitamin C (along with B5 and B6 and magnesium - on top of my prenatal vitamin because I'm nursing) my weight leveled right out after I dropped those 10... no more weight loss and not more than a pound or two swing, which seemed a lot more normal to me – Jenna May 17 2012 at 0:48

How much salt do you take? How do you take it? – primal-jake May 17 2012 at 21:49

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Dangph · Answer 5 · 2012-05-16 22:33:11Z UTC

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Are you overtraining? More is not necessarily better. Stress hormones can make you fat.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/overtraining

answered May 16 2012 at 22:33

Dangph
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I've recently only been walking, few sprint sessions and body weight light stuff...havent felt well for a month or so – Paleo4ever May 17 2012 at 4:36

Cave girl novice Diane · Answer 6 · 2012-05-17 00:22:21Z UTC

You did not state if its muscle gain or fat gain. There is a big difference. Also cutting calories will make your body think its starving and store fat for another date. Have you been eating the required calories to maintain your weight and only recently gone down to the 1500 to 1700 calories?

At 5'9" unless you are trying to lose weight the calorie count you are stating is not enough and puts your body in survival mode. Your body will store fat until the famine is over. Hopefully our answers and questions give you what you need to figure out just why you are gaining weight.

There are not only good answers here but many good questions. Several of which I didn't repeat as they where already asked. I think you left us with more questions for you to answer in order to help you farther.

Good Luck

Kelly · Answer 7 · 2012-05-16 21:23:27Z UTC

So if I'm reading this right you lost 30lbs and then switched your diet to Paleo and then started gaining that same 30 lbs back?

I would go back and figure out what is different for you now from them. What did you change when you were loosing and what happened once you went Paleo. [At one point in my change to Paleo I wasnt loosing weight anymore so I went back to my food logs, when I was loosing, and started comparing....that did the trick, I started following the earlier food logs and I started loosing again, I had gone off my %'s that work for me]

Are you exercising more? over exercising? eating too little?

You said you are tracking your food but do you have your %'s correct?

Are your 30lbs fat? muscle? something is happening....are you taking some meds or supplements that you didnt take then??

Its a puzzle, don't stress, you'll work it out!!

goodz · Answer 8 · 2012-05-16 21:59:27Z UTC

The Paleo diet isn't a miracle cure for weight loss. I've found through research that at the end of the day Paleo is for health. Any weight loss caused by the switch is just a side effect.

Perhaps, you're eating too much or too little. I like that you track your calories, but I've found many calorie counters and my own errors lead me to under calculate! Maybe your tracking is similar.

How do you know about the cortisol issues with IF? Intermittent fasting has made my life infinitely easier because I was able to more easily track my numbers on calories and no longer overeat.

jo60 · Answer 9 · 2012-05-16 21:18:25Z UTC

I'm 5'8 and I would be extremely happy at 135-140. I would be happy at 150 actually and not "obese" at all.

You must have an extremely slender frame to weight that little? My only thought is your protein consumption is/was somehow not right either way.

You said you were on VLC..what were your fat/protein g and % rather than you calories? Calories mean nothing without the proper breakdown of fat/protein.

wickedween · Answer 10 · 2012-05-16 21:26:20Z UTC

I hear ya sister. I wish I had answers. I lost 14 pounds last spring eating low/moderate carb last Spring. I went very low carb starting in the Fall and gained 5 pounds back by Christmas. Now I can't get it off! Plus my scale is reading a 2% increase in fat! My clothes are tight and I feel bloated a lot. I can't exercise though, because I have multiple issues in my back and every time I do, I hurt myself. Good lUck and I look forward to others' answers.

Klaud · Answer 11 · 2012-05-16 21:27:16Z UTC

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Check your thyroid. Check your sleep.

Post typical days food?

answered May 16 2012 at 21:27

Klaud
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amplify · Answer 12 · 2012-05-16 21:54:09Z UTC

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What did you do to lose the 30 pounds, starve?

answered May 16 2012 at 21:54

amplify
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I did do low fat low cal, does tht explain gaining back ? – Paleo4ever May 16 2012 at 23:20

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Yup. Eat less - why don't you try eating the same cal level you did before when your at your better weight? – IfYouSaySo May 17 2012 at 22:53

anand srivastava · Answer 13 · 2012-05-17 06:54:04Z UTC

You might want to up your calories to where your BMR indicates. Going too low on energy just causes more stress.

The body weight is controlled by the brain. You could force it to lose weight, but it will just damage the system more, so the next time it will be tougher.

It is better to relax and not worry too much about your weight, but worry about getting healthy and fit.

A paleo diet makes you healthy, unless you are eating too little. Exercises help you get fit unless you are doing too much of it. Sleep well, etc. I don't think high carb matters unless you have glucose intolerance.

So try to eat to your BMR, one calculator is at exrx.net.

I would think once you have regulated your appetite, you might be able to learn to listen to your body.

PaleoVenus · Answer 14 · 2012-05-17 14:11:18Z UTC

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The article talks a lot about the hormonal barriers to losing weight, including low levels of leptin. Here's Mark Sisson's post on Leptin: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/leptin/#axzz1v8UG8km0.

edited May 17 2012 at 14:11

answered May 16 2012 at 22:06

PaleoVenus
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Be aware that Jack Kruse is a fraud. Check out the following article by Richard. He started out very positive of him, but now has realized of the truth. freetheanimal.com/2012/05/… – anand srivastava May 17 2012 at 6:43

Anand, took out my link to Kruse and replaced it with the far less controversial Sisson. – PaleoVenus May 17 2012 at 14:12

some of the shit he says is ridiculous, but some is true. The proof is in the comments on his forum. Those people are fanatical about him. Why? Because his advice has helped in some way. He is an attention whore, but he sometimes spouts a nugget of truth. – primal-jake May 17 2012 at 21:53

okay, if this is going to become a debate about Kruse, i will just delete my comment. not the place. – PaleoVenus May 17 2012 at 22:10

Gotta love these crybabies - one potentially negative comment about Kruse and their righteous indignation kicks in... Between the humorless mods and the Kruse krybabies, when did Paleohacks become such a drag? Hell, even Kurt Harris is gone - probably by design. – Paleo troll is a troll Jul 17 at 5:46

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August · Answer 15 · 2012-05-17 15:21:23Z UTC

It would be interesting if you tried Seth Roberts technique. It should lower your set point over time. Especially read about the flavor/calorie theory because what I am guessing is that you may be more sensitive. For most people processed foods are what rapidly increase the set point because of their strong flavor/calorie association, but somehow it is happening to you with paleo foods.

Have you had any antibiotics during this time? Any sorts of illnesses?

I’ve gained all 30lbs back…

15 Answers