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Hello everyone, this is a question about my diet and spots and I'm hoping people can give me some advice. Sorry in advance, it's a long one. The question is in the last paragrph for those who want to skip the boring background info (I got a bit carried away but hopefully it's useful to some people).

I'm Tom, a 27 year old male, in pretty good shape but I've always been a bit on the skinny side. I have never been a spotty person (occasional spots and little outbreaks in the winter but nothing very noticable) that is until recently...some months ago I started crossfit and was recommended to drink lots of milk. So I did and had maybe 2 or 3 pints of whole milk a day. The aim was to put on some weight and it really helped, I put on a stone and a half - some fat, some muscle - but basically looked a whole lot better. Unfortunately it gave me big angry red spots on my face which was a nightmare...I guessed that it was the milk since that was what had really changed in my diet and via google this lead me to Cordain and the paleo diet. Woop!

I cut back on dairy and noticed a definate improvement (although my skin still wasn't as good as it had been previously). After a month or so I stumbled across marksdailyapple and then paleonu and started to enjoy the way of eating and lifestyle and felt that this was the right way to go. Much tastier and more enjoyable than Cordain's take on the paleo diet. Anyway, I guess I convinced myself that if I just stayed of milk I could have other dairy products. But, over the last couple of months my skin has gradually got worse and now I have quite bad spots again. I seem to have a load of tiny angry red spots on my forehead (quite different to the big red ones I had before - odd and ouch!)

So, looking back on it I am convinced that reintroducing dairy has had a lot to do with it. The obvious solution is to cut out dairy and see how it goes. Ok, and I am going to do that as of ...now! But, the thing I worry about is how I am going to get enough fat into my diet without dairy. Since I started eating paleo I have lost the stone and a half that I put on during the milk diet. (Gutted!) I am now back to 12 stone but with reasonable muscle tone and look a lot better than when I started. That said I really don't want to lose anymore weight and if possible I would still like to gain some. (I am doing crossfit a couple of times a week so this should be possible).

So, I am going to say a bit about my diet below and invite any recommendations for how to modify it - without dairy, with high fat content and making it tasty and convenient. (Tall order?)

I eat omlette for breakfast most days (4 or 5 eggs, loads of butter, a few rashers of bacon, onion tomato or whatever is about). It's massive and I love it. Lunch I have a big salad with chicken breast and random veggies, olive oil and vinegar dressing or I have leftovers from last night's dinner. Then at night I have stew or could be anything really - traditional homecooked stuff no pasta or bread etc. occasional potatoes...pretty much paleo but not 100% by any means.

Vices and snacks: I eat cheese as a snack and lately have been having quite a lot (this has coincided with particularly bad spots which has reminded me about previous dairy problems), alcohol - wine a couple of times a week in moderation but also every so often beer and unfortunately this is rarely in moderation. (I like getting drunk with my friends but I don't think it's this that is the major cause of spots as this has always been present.)

Anyway, I was very happy with paleo eating and I currently enjoy every meal... I really don't want to take my friend's advice to go back to a "normal" diet since I didn't have spots when non-paleo. I will also be very sad to see dairy go as I love it and it's now just one more thing I will have to turn down. But that's life...so, my question is this, how can I get enough fat calories in an easy, tasty paleo diet without any dairy? Any posts of your non dairy paleo diets would be really useful too.

Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks, Tom.

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Tom, I think this wins the prize as the longest question on paleohacks! ;) I see several good answers below, so I will just add, "Welcome." Hope everything works out for you. – Glenn Mar 23 2010 at 1:15
Ha ha! Yeah, so I get slightly carried away sometimes. Thanks to everyone for the replies - really useful. Tom. – Tom Mar 23 2010 at 21:01

20 Answers

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First, I would say that if you are looking to gain weight, fat may not be the way to go. You may want to add extra protein or carbs instead. But to increase dietary fat:

Eggs are great. You can also make some fantastic sauces from them like aioli or hot bacon dressing (I skip the sugar and it's still good). Bacon is good, but fresh pork belly is also awesome, as are most fatty cuts of pork. Salad of roasted bone marrow with parsley is a big hit around here (skip bread, stir the rest up in a big bowl). Confit. Salami. Avocados are good with mexican food, but also as a raw pudding, or in cumin carrot avocado salad(which is excellent with eggs for breakfast). Coconut is another easy way to get in fat, either with soups or curries that have a coconut milk base, or by using coconut oil in cooking, or by making coconut oil based hot drinks. You could even make coconut oil bark. Liver pate is another good one.

Personally, I would recommend avoiding using nuts and seeds to increase fat, as I don't believe that the high omega 6 ratio is beneficial to anyone.

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Excellent...I'll look into adding in those ideas. (Now to find a good coconut milk stockist without loads of rubbish in). I agree with you about the nuts thing. I believe they have exacerbated skin problems in the past. – Tom Mar 23 2010 at 21:08
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Hi Tom. Often it is the dairy protein, especially whey, that aggravates acne, not the fat. You may be able to stop milk and cheese, but continue eating butter and heavy cream. Also, there may be something about your workouts that could be irritating your skin. You may be perspiring excessively, or maybe your gym is contaminated with bacteria. Do you wear a hat or headband? Do you wipe your forehead frequently with a towel, glove or sweatband? These things could exacerbate acne on the forehead. Sometimes soaps or shampoos can irritate the skin on your forehead. Consider trying a "no-soap-no-poo" lifestyle ( http://paleohacks.com/questions/593/any-women-tried-no-soap-or-shampoo ). Finally, you can treat the acne with benzoyl peroxide and/or antibiotics, and see if that gets it under control.

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I provided a little explanation for the difference in reaction some people have to dairy protein versus dairy fat in this answer: paleohacks.com/questions/1280/… I would try that before the topical drugs. – PortlandAllan Mar 23 2010 at 2:49
@PA: Thanks, I had missed the earlier thread. Cheers, – Ed Mar 23 2010 at 12:25
OK, thanks for the heads up about the protein element of dairy. I think I'll go dairy free and see if that clears it up and slowly add in butter and cream to see if I can tolerate them once it's all good. Thanks for the tips, would rather avoid any topical treatment if I can since I see that as just treating the symptoms rather than eliminating the root cause. Thanks, Tom. – Tom Mar 23 2010 at 21:05
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Use lard instead of butter to fry and cook with, it is much more stable when heated and will provide you with animal fat to replace the dairy fat.

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yeah i second this, was surprised animal fats aren't higher up in this thread. coconut oil is great, but frying eggs in lard from happy pigs is not only great tasting but filled with all sorts of vitamins and minerals. and you can cut back on the dairy fat if you are sensitive by adding lard instead. i use lard for greasing pans and sauteing/pan frying things. – MikeD Mar 28 2010 at 18:45
yeah, it is the only thing I would trust to heat, I don't know why, probably because I used to see my mother using it or something ;) – Louisa Mar 28 2010 at 18:56
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I eat omlette for breakfast most days (4 or 5 eggs, loads of butter, a few rashers of bacon, onion tomato or whatever is about).

Then at night I have stew or could be anything really - traditional homecooked stuff no pasta or bread etc. occasional potatoes...pretty much paleo but not 100% by any means.

Am I the only who saw that? I had acne my whole live and when I went paleo I read a couple of article suggesting acne is diet related, so I kept changing my diet to find out the reason. Today I am completly acne free and considering it was so bad that I was taking medication against it this is quite surprising for me. There are three things that give me acne:

  • Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, paprika, chili, etc. to name a few)
  • Alcohol, although for me beer really is the worst
  • Training 4-5 times a week, then I get it especially on the chest

I tried to cut out the dairy, but unless I drink milk it doesn't affect me.

Hope I could help, try to cut out the nightshades first for me they are the worst problem.

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Interesting about the nightshades Florian. Thanks very much for pointing that out...I will have a look into that. Cheers. – Tom Mar 25 2010 at 8:19
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Have you tried adding avocado to your omelettes and salads? And maybe some coconut milk to a fruit shake.

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Just one tiny comment- switch the chicken breast on your salad to chicken thighs instead. They have more fat.

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First, choose fatty cuts of meat like ribeye. I also save fat from cooking beef and pork, and even buy extra beef fat and render it. Then I cook with it, add it my meat, or use it for making pemmican. Butter is a good source of fat, but some people who do not tolerate dairy, do not tolerate even butter. You could try ghee, which is butter that has been clarified of the non-fat particles. Coconut oil is also a good choice if you must use a plant oil.

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Do you know those coconut cream blocks? They are extremely yummy and most people can´t stop eating. I call it my white chocolate. Red palm oil is also very delicious, healthy and somehow underrated. I like it most with beef and use it more like a sauce than a fat. I also get pimples from dairy except ghee. Because I don´t tolerate neither casein nor beta-lactoglobulin.

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Those creamed coconut blocks are addictive! I can chomp up 1000 Calories in a couple minutes. Screws me up though – PaleoMouth Feb 3 2012 at 19:38
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Let bacon be your vice.

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Just did a post about some easy cooking tips you might enjoy. The best would probably be bone marrow. It's cheap and can be cooked in a toaster oven.

Another favorite of mine is pork belly. If you cook it the way I tell about in my post, you also get lard, which you can cook veggies in to boost your calorie intake. Gourmet stores should also have duck fat, which serves the same purpose.

I don't eat much in the way of eggs or dairy, so I rely on these things. When I first reduced my egg consumption, I just cooked everything under the sun in coconut milk. Got tired of that, but it's another great source of fatty calories.

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I too, have some sensitivities to dairy but mine is manifested mostly in sinus congestion. I have found that sheep and goat cheeses and goat's milk do better for me. Like you, I don't have a problem with butter at all.

Another thing to consider - do you take fish oil? It can have an anti-inflammatory response, even in the skin.

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Coconut milk!! I get the light kind from trader joes and drink it from the can and the real whole fat one from whole foods or an Asian market. Taste great and is good for you. Also depute the name there is no dairy involved

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I meant despite, iPhone changed the word on me – Ryan Mar 23 2010 at 6:50
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Use this: http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250479640349

Coconut cream. It's solid below 20-25°C. Above, it's good a pasty consistency (68% fat). There are shredded coconuts in it. That stuff is just awesome, it tastes so well that you will find it hard NOT to get your daily fat. A teasponn (or two or three) after each meal and you're good to go.

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Melt lard into mashed tubers. Have a look at this: How to Eat Lard

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Tucking into a bowl of fat 'rots for lunch - it's filling and damn tasty! Thanks for that Toban :) – Lauren May 4 2010 at 2:29
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So Tom how is the non diary thing working out for you ?

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Save your bacon fat. Use it with your Lean chuck or bison. Grass fed meats are key and because they are grass fed they will have less fat ( that is why bison is lean. It comes from their diet, not genetics ). And like previous answers, coconut is wonderful. I like cocunut BUTTER for many things, except frying, the coconut burns, use the coconut oil. One of my main foods is Avacados.

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I'm going (at least) 30 days without dairy (ghee excluded), starting now.

Wish me luck :)

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Search from mutton flaps. This has to be the best cut of meat (read: fat marbled with meat) I have ever seen. I think it's belly of mutton but I'm not sure. It's also dirt cheap.

I love nutritionalists, they've made student life so much easier by making everyone scared of my favourite foods!

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I use grass fed suet to up my fat percentage. I cut off pieces to cook in my slow cooker with bone broth, water, meat and vegetables. It doesn't have much flavor. I did render suet into tallow and then added the tallow to what I was making, but since decided that was too much work.
I also hard boil eggs and throw away the egg whites. The whites are all protein and have very little fat or vitamins. The whites sit a little heavy in my stomach and I viewed that as a warning sign that my body didn't like them. Eggs are 60/40 fat/protein as a whole and 77/23 as egg yolks.

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For future reference...15mg of zinc every day did wonders for my estrogen-induced acne. Clearly Tom doesn't have estrogen-induced acne, but for the ladies? Yep. If you're not doing it. Try it.

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