Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I am still trying to begin to adjust to the paleo lifestyle but I am not sure if I will see the results that I am 'promised'. It seems a bit too good to be true that I can eat so much fat and not gain weight...

In saying that, my question is, has anyone out there found that their results have been better whilst still incorporating minimal grain/carbohydrates in their diet, and taking more of a clean eating low carb high protein approach.

I am 19 years old and about 137 pounds and looking to get to about 128-130, however I understand that with weight training I may not get that low. The main issue is maintenance, that once I reach my goal weight I may not want to continue the paleo lifestyle. I'm sure some people beginning the Palaeolithic diet may have similar thoughts to this...

flag	asked Sep 16 at 6:03 Paleobeginner 21●2

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Medium carbs are fine if they are tubers/roots/fruit/nuts. Why would you want to eat grains though? Id suggest reading more about paleo, perhaps check out marks daily apple or something. Seems like ur still on the learning curve.... – Jamie Sep 16 at 12:10

Marks daily apple has a mailing list/intro thingy which is a great primer... – Jamie Sep 16 at 12:12

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I love it when folks pick arbitrary weight loss numbers/goals… – Matt Sep 16 at 12:57

whoreball · Answer 1 · 2012-09-16 06:53:53Z UTC

If you want to do it just temporary and not as a lifestyle, don't do it. It's as simple as that.

Nothing will guarantee you results. Why don't you try for yourself and see what works? The only grain acceptable to some people is rice, but you aren't going to get many people eating bread on this community. The paleo LIFESTYLE doesn't frown upon carbohydrates, there are plenty of good sources for carbs such as sweet potatoes. But it would be best to keep them low since you want to lose weight.

And stop thinking about the future results, you haven't even begun eating paleo and you are thinking about not sticking to it once you reach your goal weight. That doesn't make sense to ME.

Varelse · Answer 2 · 2012-09-16 07:07:07Z UTC

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Honey, this ain't Jenny Craig.

answered Sep 16 at 7:07

Varelse
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CD · Answer 3 · 2012-09-16 12:54:10Z UTC

You call this a lifestyle, and suggest that you only want to do it for weight loss. That's not how it works. Paleo is not about weight loss, it's about health. Some women find that Paleo will not allow them to reach their weight loss goals -- nothing is promised. If you have a preconceived notion of your body image, go on a fad crash diet. If you want to achieve a health ( both body and mind) level you didn't know existed, if you want to learn how to trust your body and reduce sickness -- give it a shot for three months. If it works for you great. If not, what's a quarter of a year in the grand scheme of things?

Matt · Answer 4 · 2012-09-16 12:56:18Z UTC

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Paleo, contrary to what many here advocate, is not an all or nothing affair. Sure you can go all Whole30 strict, but that's largely not necessary. Most folks aren't auto-immune, gluten-intolerant glass cannons. Most folks are simply slightly metabolically deranged, slightly leaky gut, resilient humans.

Minimizing problematic foods gets you 80-90% of the results that eliminating them does.

You can use paleo as a weight-loss diet, just as much as you can make it a longer-term lifestyle.

Ultimately, there's no one way to do paleo.

answered Sep 16 at 12:56

Matt
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I totally enjoy your sentiment on the different kinds of paleo diet, but I do not understand how a short term diet could lead to a sustained weight loss. it would seem to me that if you temporarily practiced a lifestyle/diet to lose weight, and the former lifestyle made u gain it, reverting would result in gaining weight again... – Jamie Sep 16 at 13:05

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I love it when people pick arbitrary numbers (80-90% based on what?) for......anything ;) – JayJay Sep 16 at 13:40

How is 80-90% arbitrary when he means it gets you more than three quarters of the results you could expect from complete elimination? – foreveryoung Sep 16 at 14:03

It is only an arbitrary number if you are dumb enough to take it literally as if it were a scientifically proven fact, and not a common subjective way of saying that x is weighted more heavily y, and will get you most of the way there. – foreveryoung Sep 16 at 14:07

Jay jay you have otherwise often good answers, so assume you know this and and just don't like what he wrote. And on a different note in the trial about system II depletion, it can't be the insulin because 1) they used splenda sweetened lemonade vs glucose sweetened lemonade and splenda illicits a dose dependent insulin response and 2) because brain cells do not require insulin. I just suspect that the people are usual carb addicted SAD eaters, so are dependent upon glucose for energy at all times. Results would probably be very different for someone eating an otherwise carb restricted diet. – foreveryoung Sep 16 at 14:18

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Robert · Answer 5 · 2012-09-16 06:56:13Z UTC

I'd stick with it even if you did accomplish your physical goals check out Marks Daily Apple

Here is the thing, there are a lot of healthy people (or who appear healthy) who aren't paleo, and they may or may not have a weight issue, but thing is with gluten, gliadin, lectins, saponins (all found in grains and legumes) are a creeper, and you may have a "slight" gluten sensitivity not severe like celiac disease, but in the long run it will catch up with you, leading to leaky gut syndrome, and maybe even autoimmune disorders, or weight gain, diabetes, to name a few. They have studied certain groups of people who ate mainly grains and starches, some have found them to have lower bone density, high rate of bone caries and dental cavities. As well as more birth deformities as well as shorter stature. You're young I'd would start adapting a "real food" lifestyle of what we were designed to eat. Our stomachs product hydrochloric acid to break down protein, we can digest vegetables but we don't have the digestive system for grains and vegetables (which I believe is a bacterial/enzyme type of digestion like strict herbivorse to break through the cellulose wall and access all the nutrients or counteract all the antinutrients in grains/legumes) or you could just wait until your health wanes and then you need to get on a strict diet to undo all the damage from our overly process, genetically modified, chemical concoctions that they pass off for food.

yeah I know my english sucks lol

Not completely paleo

5 Answers