Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hi all! I've been GFCF for about two months, Paleo for the last four weeks (though I just started eating free range/grass fed meat, and occasionally sneak some peanut butter) and am very happy with how I feel (got off anxiety/ssri for the first time in 10 years!). My question is about fat - how much should I be consuming? I've read threads/ forums that suggest 40/40/20 break down between fat, protein and carbs. I keep my carbs pretty low (around 100g- is that low? I'm not even sure). I used to do cardio & weights 4-5x a week but the first two weeks of Paleo felt like a Mac truck had hit me so now I focus on sprinting/jump-roping/long walks and strength training. My daily food diary looks a little like this:

B: half avocado with steak seasoning, banana

L: medium sized salad or roasted cabbage with meat or fish (cooked in olive or coconut oil)

D: various cooked veggies (cooked in oil) then tossed in dressing, meat/fish (cooked in olive or coconut oil)

occassional: 3 squares of dark chocolate or homemade fruit popsicle (fruit&honey)

beverage: 80-90oz of water/day

I snacked a lot on seeds/gum/hard candy in the first two weeks but have weaned myself off. I'm trying to lose 5-10 lbs (5'0' 122 currently) and haven't given up my hormonal BC yet even though I'm sure it does a fine job blocking fat loss. I can see my body composition changing which is nice and I'm sure I'm being a little impatient and fat-phobic Should I be eating more fat to see fat loss?

flag	asked Jun 29 at 14:01 Laura 11●1

Karen · Answer 1 · 2012-06-29 14:27:51Z UTC

Skip the peanut butter. For breakfast eat a steak or eggs with the steak seasoning. Or some other form of protein. Protein is really important for breakfast. It will keep you satisfied much longer than the avocado alone. Save the banana or other fruit until lunch or dinner. That will also help keep you fuller after breakfast.

Skip the chocolate (or cut it down in size) and have some real fruit in place of the homemade popsicle.

Kelleil · Answer 2 · 2012-06-29 16:28:16Z UTC

First it might be helpful to get a diet app and a scale so you can see exactly what you are consuming. I recommend mynetdiary.com. They come in a web version, ipad, and android and I use all three many many times a day.

Now my calories will vary but the app tells me where I'm at in terms of percentages. For me what works exceedingly well is 65% fat 25% protein 10% carbs. I've found that going lower on protein a smidge works well too. In return I get weight loss, a stable mood, clear thinking and an unimaginable sense of well being.

The above means I'm never going over 50g of carbs and fat is anywhere between 85-100 g of fat depending on my general caloric intake that day. Protein falls where it may, although too much protein will hurt my blood sugar and upset my head so I will skip a meal with meat if my protein was too high earlier in the day.

For you, I'd drop the fruit for now, up the avocado, and look into cooking with butter, beef fat, and lard. Especially drop the popsicle. After a few months try adding in berries and other low glycemic fruit. Banana's are kinda high so I doubt that's a good idea.

Going down to that ratio will throw your body for a loop for two-three weeks assuming you've kept your carbs low the entire time. I didn't work out then cuz I just couldn't manage it. Let your body adjust.

Dan · Answer 3 · 2012-06-29 14:16:05Z UTC

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If you really enjoy what you're currently eating, I think it's fine. Personally, I wouldn't enjoy eating that much protein and would replace some of it with fat and possibly carbs.

answered Jun 29 at 14:16

Dan
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How do you know how much protein she is eating? – Todd B Jun 29 at 14:38

Apologies, I was referring to the 40/40/20 F/P/C ratio she mentioned, which seems she's not actually doing but rather considering it. – Dan Jun 29 at 16:11

Rob · Answer 4 · 2012-06-29 15:06:32Z UTC

At 100 grams a day you're not really low carb (it's much easier to think of these things in grams than as percentages) since you're probably not in ketosis.

To a low carber 100 grams is way too much.

A high carber 100 grams isn't enough.

They will also give completely different answers to the how much fat should I be eating question, so pick a team (low carb or high carb) and then ask.

Some books if you decide to join team low carb...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Science-Carbohydrate-Living/dp/0983490708

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Science-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716/

hack my fat intake please

4 Answers