Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I may have just had my mind blown...I'm not sure why I'm skeptical, but I guess it comes with the human thing...

I have been transitioning to paleo for about a week now...Total newbie here...Three days ago, I decided I'd weigh myself and keep track...Well, just figured I'd step on the scale for giggles and laughs and almost fell over to see a number a full five pounds lower!

Is this normal?

I have found that my cravings have totally shifted...I am not craving carbs or junk or really much of anything...Yesterday I had three eggs and ham (probably not strictly paleo, but I wanted to use it...it was a hamsteak) for breakfast and wasn't hungry until 8ish.

I'm totally in awe.

flag	asked Aug 29 at 13:33 Karma 200●1●1●6

	Good for you! Just don't get discouraged when that weight loss stalls 2 weeks in. 1-3 lbs a week for the long haul is typical after some huge losses in the first week or two. – Heidi Aug 29 at 14:43
	Thanks :-) I'm committed at this point...I have a friend who has had amazing results and she inspired me...I'm also an O blood type, so it makes sense all around that I eat heavy on the meat...the thing that will take some getting use to is that fat part :-/ – Karma Aug 29 at 22:47
	I'm confused. What does your blood type have to do with it? – Susan Aug 30 at 0:56
	It's from the Blood Type Diet...I think there's something to that whole concept...I'll let you check into it if you're interested...It's a good book... I feel like there is something to be taken away from a lot of ways of eating... – Karma Aug 30 at 1:17

JB Primal · Answer 1 · 2012-08-29 13:41:45Z UTC

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The first week is some fat, but mostly water weight. That's perfectly OK, because as your glycogen levels drop, your body retains less water too.

The cravings vanishing is the best part of Paleo, for me anyway. I'm down 30 pounds in about 4 months and RARELY crave anything, other than steak and eggs.

Keep it up, there are plenty of resources out there. Don't be surprised if weight loss stalls the second week as your water weight stabalizes, but fat loss will pick up and you'll drop 1-2 pounds a week without any of the cravings or hunger.

Congrats!

http://www.jbprimal.com

answered Aug 29 at 13:41

JB Primal
1,166●9

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The lower water retention is awesome. I used to wake up every morning with sausage fingers and it would be an hour or so before it would move back in to my blood stream, usually only after drinking a giant glass of water. Now, I only retain water when I eat something I shouldn't! – MathGirl72 Aug 29 at 14:15

I lost 1-1/2 lbs last night, all water weight. Three months ago I used a diuretic for blood pressure and dropped 5 lbs in a couple of days....when I stopped taking it the water weight immediately came back. Fat loss is much slower, and in losing 50 lbs the best I could do was 2-3 lbs a week. – thhq Aug 29 at 14:48

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I can drop 5lbs by drinking wine. – August Aug 29 at 15:31

August...Drinking wine? I thought wine wasn't paleo...And are you serious? I looooove me some red ;-) – Karma Aug 29 at 22:48

It isn't Paleo, but many of us imbibe once in a while. – MathGirl72 Aug 30 at 0:55

miked · Answer 2 · 2012-08-29 14:59:40Z UTC

Yeah, this is mostly water weight. When I have a competition or something coming up, I carb load pretty heavily and will gain about 10 lbs in a week. Likewise the week after when I cut the carbs again I'll drop those 10 lbs in a week. It's mostly the water that's attached to the glycogen. So your 5 lbs in 3 days is totally reasonable. Remember a pint of water is about a pound. So you can be up or down a couple of pounds just based on how hydrated you are. On any given day I'm somewhere between 175 and 180 just depending on hydration.

AnarchyCaveman · Answer 3 · 2012-08-29 14:39:43Z UTC

I second JB's comment on water weight. I usually eat very low carb. Occasionally when I'm on vacation or something, I'll end up eating/drinking a lot more carbs, and I'll come home to find I've gained 5 lbs. But then my weight drops back to normal in 2-3 days, just from resuming my usual diet.

From my understanding, when your body stores glycogen in your muscles (which it does when you are consuming more carbs than you can use immediately), it also stores water along with it. And this comes right out as your glycogen stores are depleted, which doesn't take very long if your are consuming very few carbs!

Calamity Kate · Answer 4 · 2012-08-29 14:21:07Z UTC

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Awesome start. Congrats! Keep up the great work!

answered Aug 29 at 14:21

Calamity Kate
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Michael · Answer 5 · 2012-08-29 18:06:20Z UTC

I have to be a bit of a downer. The problem occurs when you lose only two more pounds over the next month. Seven pounds in a month is fantastic, but if you feel like you're going to keep losing a pound a day you'll lose your motivation and feel like it's no longer working for you.

Eating well is a lifelong project. Experimentation and patience are key. Maybe you've found the answer for you and everything will go smoothly, but this pace, or anything close, cannot keep going. Many paleos recommend throwing the scale away. If you begin to work out much, you'll gain muscle mass, a good thing, but the scale will be discouraging. If you decide to keep the scale as a motivator, that's fine, so long as you are prepared for days and weeks at a time where nothing happens. That's especially likely when you lose a quick five pounds of water!

David · Answer 6 · 2012-08-29 16:35:20Z UTC

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Excellent! Good for you.

answered Aug 29 at 16:35

David
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Five pound weight loss in three days? Is this really possible?

6 Answers