Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

2

Hello all,

There may be questions out there similar to mine & I've tried searching them but I feel like my question might be a little more personal. (If you do know of another thread that would be helpful a link would be great!)

First, a little about myself: I am 23, 5'3", and about 140lbs. I've always been a bit curvy-I tend to store my extra weight in my belly, thighs, and hips. I've been Paleo for about 5 months. The first 3 months I did really well (I think, haha) I made all my own condiments, ate meat, eggs, veggies, and a bit of fruit and nuts. I did keep dairy, coffee, and occasionally drank (tried to stick with wine, hard cider, or liquor with club soda) I would say I was always about 80/20 or better. I also go to bed fairly early (not with the sun but when tired) and pretty much wake up naturally (always before my alarm). I live on a large campus and walk everywhere and occasionally play active games at work (at an after school program) or play with my dog in the yard and house.

I noticed a few positives in my bowels (cool, right?) but can't really pin point any other positives. No weight loss, no visual physical change, I don't feel "happier" or whatever. My boyfriend lost about 15-20lbs and drinks beer regularly (and often cheats, eating pizza, chips, etc.) Talk about disheartening.

The past couple months I've been a bit more like 60/40. Maybe losing a bit of faith and being lazy. Eating out a lot, snacking, and probably eating too much fruit (spring break, visiting Dallas to find apartments, road trips, social events).

Anyways, I am willing to get back on the saddle (or whatever that lame saying is) in hopes of actually seeing some "results". But I need a little help. I plan on keeping track of what I eat, hoping that might keep me on track.

Ideally how much of the following should I be getting each day? Carbs, fat, protein, sugar, etc. Also, could the dairy be getting in the way (it will be uber hard to eliminate but I can try)?

I was also thinking of working out this summer, possibly trying to "lift heavy things" more often and walking/jogging a bit (not much 1-because I hate jogging and 2-apparently it's not that great & is part of the whole conventional wisdom deal)

If anyone has advice, I feel like I'm still a novice and would love any information/advice.

Ok, I feel like I'm definitely rambling. Thank you!

flag	asked May 19 2012 at 20:23 jlharmon 237●2●8

Potato Avenger · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-19 21:25:16Z UTC

Since you've never attempted to do so, perhaps ditching the dairy altogether for 30 days would be wise. As far as the lack of results goes, the first area to address might be the 20-40% slop margin. I mean, not to pick nits, but if you're compliance is a bit of failing issue, then it might not hurt to give 95-100% the ol' college try. Just because your boyfriend can get away with stints of the 'Beer & Pizza Diet For Men' does not guarantee his lovely lady friend can do the same. Sorry, but it's just a fact in the world of body composition. That does not, of course, mean that you should give up and eat gummy bears and ding-dongs.

So, with that said, keeping track of what you eat is definitely a good idea, but you needn't weigh, measure, and indulge in other forms of nonsensical dieting tomfoolery unless it's absolutely necessary (which in this case, it's probably not). The tried and true recommendation of meat, fat, & veggies with most meals is a good place to start, but if body fat loss is the main goal, I've got some other ideas that may contribute positively: -Uno: Eat meals, not snacks. Predators chow down and prey grazes. You are the king (Queen) of the jungle, so you shall feast, not pick like a bird. With that mindset, you're looking at 1-4 meals per day depending on convenience and personal preference. -Dos: Keep protein intake in the high-ish range. Pulling a page from Martin Berkhan's (Leangains) playbook: protein is the most satiating of all the 'macronutients,' and as such will keep the infernal munchies at bay. -Tres: Let carbohydrate intake be fueled by activity. A dazed, couch-dwelling creature of the mist should not eat 300g of CHO a day and a marathoner should not be eating only meat and leaves.

Finally, with respect to your workout regime: If you don't like jogging, for the sake of all things good and wonderful on this earth, DON'T DO IT! If you're not big on banging heavy weights in the gym, then just find a minimalist program that has you in there doing a full body strength workout twice a week. Spending the rest of your "exercise" time just being generally active through walking and the sports you mentioned is perfect.

Best of luck, -Ian

Jen · Answer 2 · 2012-05-19 20:34:53Z UTC

Have you been tracking your foods and eating when hungry, and just to satiation? Those are key. Although you don't need to count calories per say, it's a good idea to know where you are at, and get an accurate idea of how much protein/fat/carbs you're consuming.

I generally shoot for 65-70 percent fat, 20-25 percent protein and the rest carbs: very low carb works for me, but not for everyone. I'm 5"2 and eat between 1750 and 2000 calories a day.

Best advice I can give you is start clean again and track what you are doing. If you feel great and it's working, continue, if you feel hungry or low energy or weight loss stalls adjust your ratios and track results. You've got this!

Violet9 · Answer 3 · 2012-05-20 00:20:06Z UTC

I agree that it's not a bad idea to count calories if you're having trouble losing weight. Especially if you're prone to eating when bored. You shouldn't ever have to be hungry, but eating when you're not hungry can definitely stall weight loss.

I agree with Potato Avenger -- if you haven't been exercising and are getting ready to do it again, DO NOT THINK you have to go crazy. I used to work out really hard, hours and hours of cardio, weights, yoga, and now I just go for a lot of long walks. Walking for an hour a day is definitely enough to support weight loss. There's a lot of anecdotal evidence that suggests too-intense exercise can impede weight loss by increasing cortisol, stressing you out, and leading you to eat more since "you've earned it." Also, people who start doing really intense exercise often decrease the rest of their daily activity (less walking, more TV-watching "post-workout").

So start to watch what you eat more carefully and only do exercise that you enjoy. If you want to do some weights or sprints, go for it! But not if you really don't feel like it.

Also, you didn't say, but are you on hormonal birth control? Some women really have a hard time even maintaining their normal weight on the pill.

VB · Answer 4 · 2012-05-19 20:43:45Z UTC

I am going to teach you a trick. I always thought that a diet is about things you should or should not eat. Now I think that a diet is something that you MUST EAT EVERY DAY.

So, what kind of foods you MUST eat every day?

Green leafy vegetables

Cabbage family

Red cabbage

Carrot

Beets

Safe starches (pumpkin, parsnips)

Mushrooms

onion family (including red and green onions)

garlic

ginger

bitter vegetables

artichokes

berries

fish/meat/poultry

Everything else is optional. If you eat this EVERY SINGLE DAY, and still hungry, then add other things like nuts, EVOO, anything you want.

But if you keep eating things you must (think of it as medicine), I guarantee you - your weight will melt away.

Veriria · Answer 5 · 2012-05-20 12:44:14Z UTC

I'm also 5'3" and female, and carry my weight in the thighs, butt and lower abdomen. I started paleo or primal at 173 pounds. Within my first week, I lost 10 pounds. I'm down to about 148 as of about 5 days ago.

I was eating pretty primally but would get cravings and where I work is no help because all I sell is processed crap food. To put it in a nutshell I read a blog where a woman tried paleo for 30 days after coming off of fruititarianism. After a week she was feeling like crap (a month prior she reintroduced meat to her diet so it wasn't a total shock to her system) so she started adding a lot more fruit/smoothies into her diet, and started feeling great, was able to exercise more, etc. it was basically what her body needed. This encouraged me to add more healthy carbs (i.e. fruits in the forth of smoothies -- I hate fruit but don't mind drinking a concoction of fruit, coconut milk, & whey protein isolate) and I lost 5 pounds in the last four days or so here since I started the smoothies.

The best part? Absolutely NO cravings. For anything bad!

As far as dairy goes, dairy can actually cause problems for people too. I'm considering completely eliminating dairy (except for eggs, but they aren't technically dairy, they're meat :D lols in my book at least...). My husband has cut down on dairy as well. Incidentally he's gone from 240 down to 185 with Paleo/Primal eating!

I'm not saying you should eat high carb paleo. What I took from this lady's blog is this: clearly if whatever you are doing is not working, you need to change something. DO NOT just blindly follow a health guru's advice because they are an "authority". Do what is right for your own body.

Hack my lack of results & help a sister out.

5 Answers