Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hi all, sorry if this is a long post. Have been Paleo for 3-4 weeks now with generally one 'cheat/SAD' meal per week and/or one night per week of relatively heavy drinking (oops).

Problems are

a) that I am craving fat really badly. I did eat fat before starting paleo - about 2 tbsp/day of coconut/nut butter or oil, but nowhere near the amount I do now and never fatty meats like chorizo, bacon, mince. Now, I literally eat coconut butter off the spoon and crave stuff like chorizo.

b) some days (not every day) i feel low level nausea for most of the morning, from waking through working out until mid afternoon. but it's weird nausea (almost like being hungover) which is helped by eating fats or 100% dark chocolate, and drinking water.

c) DOMS - i have really really sore quads which always seem to be lacking energy. it's not so much that it's DOMS all the time, its more that they never feel 'fresh'. Even walking up the stairs at work makes them burn and ache. Also (pre-paleo) persistant hip flexor/side hip pain.

Workouts (for the last 2-3 weeks: 2 x heavy weightlifting (5xt5 or circuits), 1 x 30minute sprints, 1-2x 20-30minute bodyweight cardio, maybe 1 hr pilates and 4-5x 45 minute walk.

Diet: Breakfast: 1 egg, 5 egg whites, red peppers, chorizo/bacon, berries
Snack: handful macadamias
Lunch: some kind of lean meat + salad + 1 tbsp oil, maybe 1/2 apple
Snack: jerky/chicken breast and/or boiled egg, anywhere from 2-4tbsp coconut butter
Dinner: meat (usually not super fatty since don't like the taste) + fibrous veggies
After dinner: 1 tbsp coconut/almond butter, cup cocoa made with coconut milk and pure cocoa

My goals are to lose fat and stop thinking about food so much. Am 5'6, female, ~140lb. Before going paleo my diet was still low carb but filled with protein powders/bars, oats, occasional dairy and extremely high protein. I never did sprints outside like I do on Paleo but was COMPULSIVE with exercising 5-6 days/week always high intensity. I am trying to listen to my body etc and dial it back as per the paleo way but I am struggling with not exercising every day. I sleep 7-8 hrs/night.

Any tips much appreciated!

flag	asked Aug 15 at 9:24 Jilly88 41●1

Dragonfly · Answer 1 · 2012-08-31 15:09:44Z UTC

The fat craving is normal--especially if you have been eating a low-fat diet for awhile.

Magnesium supplementation will probably help with the nausea & the DOMS. It helps clear excess cortisol from the body. Many of us are deficient in it.

Try 200-600 mg Mag Glycinate (or Citrate if you have constipation) before bed.

apbergemann · Answer 2 · 2012-08-15 10:16:01Z UTC

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I think your body is just adjusting to a completely new lifestyle. The diet changes your body chemistry quite dramatically, and it will take a little while for everything to normalize. Give it time. Your body WILL adapt.

As far as the DOMS, it looks like you work your quads in one way or another every day. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but again, your body will need time to adapt.

answered Aug 15 at 10:16

apbergemann
350●6

	thanks apbergemann. do you think a) that its normal for me to have this reaction to paleo even tho i ate pretty 'clean' and low carb before and b) is my diet OK, should i be eating as much fat as i am craving (which is like TONS of coconut butter and fatty stuff) whilst my body adjusts? keeping in mind i do want to lose fat. – Jilly88 Aug 15 at 10:21
	a) First of all, don't underestimate the amount of stress your body goes through to adjust to a new diet AND workout program. Those are both very stressful changes. If you had been doing it for months and having the same issues, that might be a different story. 2-3 weeks is not long at all. b) As long as your eating 'paleo approved' fats, you'll be just fine. The cravings are just your metabolism adjusting to an alternate source of fuel (fat instead of carbs). You might benefit from adding some other sources of fat: avocados, nuts, animal fats, olive oils, etc... – apbergemann Aug 15 at 10:30

Jilly88 · Answer 3 · 2012-08-17 09:55:14Z UTC

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...anyone else!?

answered Aug 17 at 9:55

Jilly88
41●1

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Just an FYI, people are going to be more likely to answer your questions if they see that you have up-voted other prople's answers/comments. Give out reps for taking the time to type out a response for you! :-) – apbergemann Aug 31 at 11:31

David McC · Answer 4 · 2012-10-05 08:04:29Z UTC

If your primary goal is to lose fat, I'd cut way back on the exercise for a month and settle into your new way of eating. In my opinion someone who is doing as much as exercise as you needs fuel to deliver on the regime and that may be incompatible with a goal of weight loss for a while.

In addition you might find that your sketeal frame and central nervous system just need a good old extended rest and that your leg/hip pain is caused by you not recovering sufficiently between workouts.

Once you've found a new equilibrium I'd be suprised if you kept craving the fat and if you couldn't get stronger/fitter quite quickly after that.

good luck

Hack my routine: craving fat + nausea + DOMS

4 Answers