Welcome to Paleohacks!

I'm sorry that you're having such a rough time. I have a few thoughts.

I'm concerned that you're writing about wanting desperately to lose weight and you only write about the exercise part of the equation and not diet. While exercise is great at many things, without a serious focus on diet, exercise won't help you to lose weight. Many people say that diet is 80% of the weight loss equation. That's been my experience. The problem that many people run into with exercise is that they do too much cardio, which makes them hungry, and the calories they burned in the cardio comes back as soon as they eat something.

Are you under a doctor's care? Putting on 80 pounds in a year concerns me that something may be seriously out of whack in your body. I would work on getting to the root of the physical and/or emotional issue and not be in a hurry to lose the weight, unless of course your doctor tells you otherwise.

Are you journaling what you eat? What does your diet look like? Do you eat for emotional reasons?

Yes, paleo is a great diet, but it's not a magic cure for weight loss, although it might be great for you depending on what diet you're coming from and how your body does with paleo.

I would not recommend running, but a lot of walking instead. Try to get up to 3-4 miles each day. When you are not walking, stay on your feet as much as possible, even at work or school. Try a standing desk if they allow one. Every effort you make to stay active and on your feet will help you lose fat.

As far as diet, you can go low carb, no carb, high carb, high fat, low fat, no fruit, etc., but in the end it comes down to eating less. I find that it's easier to eat a balance of different foods rather than eliminating or dramatically reducing one thing. If you keep it natural, then reducing the amount you eat should result in weight loss.

Tracking does help to at least give you an idea of how much food you are consuming. To lose fat, you probably need to keep your calories in the 1700-1800 range, but only you can really figure that out based on trial and error. It might be more, it might be less. Just don't rush it. You didn't get to where you are in 4 weeks, so don't expect to lose it in 4 weeks.

Focus on the food. I usually run about six months/year including two half marathons. But I also stop running for 2 or 3 months at a time during the coldest & hottest weather. I see almost no weight loss difference (other than through diet). Studies have shown that people (& animals in lab tests) usually make up the calories burned through cardio by slightly increasing their food intake over the day or two following running. Cardio is heathy, but not effective for weight loss. Focus on eating naturally (no grains, no sugar, limited fruits & nuts). Do it for 2 or 3 weeks & you'll see a big difference. You won't want to go back.

When I started Paleo, I didn't run for the first two months & I lost weight. When I started running again, I noticed a definite increase in my appetite & no change in my rate of weight loss. I'm still losing weight, the only difference is I have to be more vigilant with my diet because I crave carbs more often when I run. I always say that I tried to run so I could lose weight, but it turned out that I had to lose weight so I could run.

Good luck!

I have not read the other responses but here's my take on it.

Last year i weighed 180 pounds, being 5'9 and at the age of 18 i was overweight too. That's when i adopted the paleo lifestyle and managed to lose 30 pounds in 2 months and have maintained this weight for the past year now and have gained a decent amount of muscle too.

How i did it?

Routine is very important! I made a plan and stuck to it.

1)Lifted heavy things, i recommend checking out Stronglifts or Starting Strength.

2)Cut the cardio, there's no point in doing that much cardio. In fact i don't do cardio at all but i slow walk 4-5 days a week for about 30 minutes. Highly recommended :)

3) Nutrition, well i ate paleo 90% of the time. It was really easy for me. Why? Because i never obsessed about it. I never looked at it with disgust. I embraced the new healthy lifestyle and i think that it is very important.

4) Rest and keep yourself busy!

That's all i have. Don't look for quick fixes, taking it step by step.

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" - Napoleon Hill

Hi - don't worry, you are on a right track.

1. Limit carbs. The only carbs I would keep - raw carrots, no more than one beet per day, and rutabaga.

2. Eliminate all sugars. Yes, all fruit and all sweeteners - you cannot have them.

3. Have vegetables with some fat - lard/whatever fat source works for you.

4. Eat more fish.

5. Include cabbage family, green leafy, onions, garlic, kale, colored vegetables for more nutrients.

6. Add probiotics (make sure they are alive, not dead).

7. Eat as many raw things as possible - raw veggies, raw fish (sashimi), rare steak (but cook your chicken). If you have to cook - use the lowest setting possible.

8. Eliminate nuts.

Don't worry, you will do fine and good luck.

I've lost 20 pounds in nine months by eating strict Paleo, watching calories at first (now I don't need to because my body has adjusted to eating less and I feel full on less -- so long as the food is on the Paleo diet). And now the kicker: hardly any exercise. I'm not able to exercise due to health problems. So, in my experience, you can lose weight based on diet and not exercise. Of course, exercise has other benefits so I'm not suggesting that anyone cut that out of their lifestyle, but the key to losing weight is what you eat, not how much you exercise.

I can't speak for what others have said about this thing called running. I hate it. But, I love me some weights. I know that most ladies look at weights and scream and run the other direction, but there is something powerful about sculpting your body. Weights does it. Running leaves you a sagging pile of skin IMO when you have a large amount of weight to lose. I've lost 150lbs myself and I don't run...ever. I walk, lift heavy stuff and hike or bike. I've always done this, way before I knew what Paleo was. Just because I hate running. It's so hard on your knees, ankles and feet.

Now on to the diet part. You have to work on that. It's not a should I kind of thing. HAVE TO. :) Can't solve a puzzle without all the pieces, right? Comprehensive exercise (including weights or some form of weightbearing exercise) and get your diet in check. And it's a lifestyle so it will take some time and you will need to continue it forever.

create a caloric deficit over a long period of time, that will do it! go nuts with non starchy veggies and meats

I will never forget the great work of Dr. samoda in my life. I was terribly ill and the doctors confirm that I can’t be healed completely for this I was frustrated and my increases as time pass on. When I meant Dr. samoda online I discuss my situation with him, and he said nothing is impossible. He ask me to send my photograph which I did and he bought some materials which he used for me and I was able to regain my normal health after a week. When I went to my doctor for check up he was surprise and said unbelievable that my health is normal and my body weight equally normal. My greatest thanks to Dr. samoda if you which to contact him, his Email samodaspellhome@gmail.com