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Seems like this high fat diet is making my body composition worse, is it maybe that I'm eating too much fruit and it's causing insulin to tell my body to store the fat? Or from stress (i'm currently doing exams)?

typical day: egg yolks and bacon with lots of butter, banana, groundbeef bologniase with mushrooms garlic tomatoes and butter, apple, carrot

I eat lots of butter and some coconut oil (very expensive in UK!) I go for a jog now and again but over the summer I'm going to get on the weights

Why do I feel like I'm getting more skinny fat than I already am?

Sorry for all the negative posts, I hope to have some positive ones in 6 months or so!

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Excuse me, but for almost every problem I recommend doing a little raw veggie juicing. You could also do more veggies in general. – bachcole May 31 2012 at 23:40
To explain, raw veggie juice provides lots of nutrients, in particular enzymes galore. Enzymes are way underrated, even by paleo folks. Remember that it is very unlikely that you can eat a pure paleo diet, even if you think that you are because of the changes in our foods, even veggies and pork etc. – bachcole May 31 2012 at 23:42
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HuntingBears, going by your other posts, you have medical problems. You can't consider your diet in isolation to those. – Dangph Jun 1 2012 at 1:50

10 Answers

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HUntingBears. I've been reading your recent stuff and I'm really sorry you seem to be having a rough time. You'll get through it though. People could care less about how you look when your self confidence is in the gutter. We tend to overlook one's physical faults when their confidence and personality shine through. I'm sure there is a lot more to like about you than the bags under your eyes or some poor skin.

This may sound strange, but for me, what makes someone perfect is the cumulative effect of all their *im*perfections.

As for the skinny fat thing, start lifting weights. Along with that, eat a balanced CLEAN diet with a slight emphasis on protein. You'll figure it out along the way that as your composition improves, learning which foods affect your composition positively or negatively will become easier.

p.s. I realize this would have been better suited for a private message, but unfortunately paleohacks.com does not have that option :/

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Why so awesome lately, foreveryoung? – Marcy Jun 1 2012 at 1:39
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Must be the summer heat throwing me out of sorts. – foreveryoung Jun 1 2012 at 2:14
+1 for such a thoughtful answer, plus you are spot on. – MissBrenna Jun 1 2012 at 3:13
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No one is going to be able to give you what you asked for in a previous question: "I often wish someone could print out a sheet of paper with exactly what I need to do to get well again, to feel happy and look good." There are smart people on PH, but no one can give you these kind of instructions. Even doctors with access to all kinds of tests and metrics would not be able to tell you this.

You need to figure out what works for you, and this requires time and patience. You have to give yourself a year, if you are coming to paleo with health issues. For every person who experiences miraculous health benefits in two weeks from just dropping grains, there is someone else who had to slowly and painstakingly find his or her own way, over much time. This requires diligence and experimentation and patience most of all.

A quick look over your previous questions makes me think that you have some issues with anxiety and depression. I went through a similar stage recently, which was quite horrible. I was panicky and despairing. I felt I had sacrificed more than three months of my social life for absolutely no improvement. I felt extremely critical of my appearance in many ways. I was off in a dark and orthorexic spiral, afraid of every food, afraid of eating and afraid of not eating, studying every ounce of weight and every pore of my skin. I lost interest in many other aspects of my life. My world got smaller and much more horrible. I started having panic attacks and crying jags.

I want to warn you very much against falling into this kind of trap. I believe it's extremely damaging to your psyche. Try to spend LESS time researching health topics and fretting about what you eat/what supplements you take/your macronutrient ratios/etc. Just eat whole foods, get sleep, and try to spend some time working on your emotional and mental well-being. Long walks, yoga, jogging, time with friends, time AWAY from your computer. Have faith that in time, a paleo diet will help you. And in the meantime, I think you should go see a doctor, though you resisted that suggestion yesterday. I had to see a doctor to start to get my normal life back, and now I wish I had done it much sooner, especially since I got a diagnosis I had not suspected.

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aweomse answer, i hope a lot of people read this – Mallory Jun 1 2012 at 0:57
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If you're noticing poor results with a high fat diet, tweak the macronutrients and reduce the added fat in your meals. And just for scientific clarification's sake, this: "eating too much fruit and it's causing insulin to tell my body to store the fat" is not even remotely true in the grand scheme. Energy balance, my man; insulin is not "fattening."

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Agreed. If high fat is not working for you, why not try something else? – Grocket Jun 1 2012 at 18:35
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Personally, I would consider taking a break from extremely restricted eating. It sounds like you are dealing with a lot of stress right now and that the last thing you need is to worry about cutting out more foods (particularly whole, safe and nourishing foods like fruit). The stress in your day to day life, compounded by the stress of eating a "perfect diet" is likely the culprit behind your shifting body composition.

Having spent several months eating a fairly strict paleo diet and seeing many of my health problems worsen (constipation, persistant amenorrhea, trouble sleeping, low body temperature and weight gain), I have come to think of the optimal diet as one that alleviates stress as much as possible and provides the nourishment your body needs to function. Adopting many of Ray Peat's dietary recommendations (lots of fruit, dairy, gelatin and organ meats) solved many of the problems I experienced on a strict paleo diet. Dropping all exercise except for walking and yoga also helped me regain control of my hormones, stress level and body composition. I lost the weight I gained effortlessly, and feel much, much better in general. Not saying my n=1 means anything, just food for thought. Allowing your body and mind to relax can do wonders for your stress level and physique!

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I never got enough sleep during exams and I'm assuming that you may be in a similar situation. My suggestion, in order of importance: 1. Get through exams and get more rest. 2. Check your protein intake (are you getting enough?). 3. Hit the weight room.

You'll be right as rain by the end of the summer.

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ehh... do you need butter with bacon, and bolognaise??? eat real food as it comes dont go out of yoru way to fatten everything up.

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The beauty of an ancestral diet is that it promotes satiety, which makes it easier to eat within a caloric window suitable to your goals.

3000 calories of primal food won't be unhealthy per se, but it'll give you a nice caveman belly.

Watch yo'self!

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I plateaued pretty hard for awhile in my weight loss because I was eating too much fruit. You have to eliminate fruit completely to efficiently lose weight. You only eat fruit to maintain weight while you're active.

Also, does that bacon have sugar in it? Have you considered cutting out the dairy?

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If you are really unhappy, I would recommend logging what you are eating. This should hopefully give you a clearer picture of what you are actually consuming, and where you could possibly cut back (probably the fat).

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Coconut oil is not expensive ,try looking in asian stores,pure and cheap

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