Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I keep running into the same situation, i will lose 10 pounds or so then plateau for 2 to 3 weeks, if not longer. But I have found that if I "cheat" for a day (meaning something off the strict paleo diet, beer, Panda Express, a piece of chocolate cake,etc) then go back to strict Paleo eating I will all of a sudden break through the plateau and lose the next 10 pounds over the next 2-3 weeks. What is the deal with that? I am 6'2" and 228 lbs so its not as if I am way over weight or anything but trying to get down to 215 from a start of 254. It has happened on 3 different occassions over my 25+ pound weight loss. And in no way am I looking for a reason to not eat paleo because I really do prefer it but in the weight-loss category it does seem to help although I cant figure out why. Any thoughts out there?

edited Apr 7 2011 at 19:11

Dexter
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asked Apr 7 2011 at 17:33

ChrisO
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	Whoa...you're MY EXACT build and I'm trying to do the same thing.... I'm 255 6'2...trying to get down to about 215-220... are you calorie restricted? Please tell me of your experience, did you have high cortisol...how did take care of that? What specifically do you eat?...do you IF?....do you work out? if so what frequency, what kind of work?...strength? cardio? – Tim Apr 7 2011 at 18:08
	Tim, not calorie restricted. As long as I follow paleo I can pretty much eat as much as I choose but I also work 12 hours a day which limits bored munching time. no high cortisol levels any longer (i am guessing due to Paleo), rarely do I fast, I work out 6 days a week. 5 of which involve 1 -2 body parts of lifting. 5 exercises for each body part, 3 set of 12 for each exercise. Increase weight for each successive set for strength and mass gains. This is followed by 30 minutes of treadmill at minimum of 10% incline at 3.8 mph (brisk walking). – ChrisO Apr 8 2011 at 13:31
	Tim, I do tend to stay away from fruit right now and stick to mainly veggies and tons of paleo approved proteins. A normal day would be two omega 3 rich eggs, 4 strips of applegate brand turkey bacon, workout, 2 more omega 3 eggs and 4 more strips of bacon. about an hour later handful of almonds, an hour after that spinach salad with some paleo protein (fish, free range chicken, steak) and tons off fresh diced veggies. Balsamic vinegar for dressing. dinner is usally grilled protein veggies (squash zucchini onions etc). About a gallon of water over the course of the day. thats it. – ChrisO Apr 8 2011 at 13:36

Stephen-Aegis · Answer 1 · 2011-04-07 17:48:57Z UTC

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You can swing your calorie adaptation better and have better results if you simply eat more calories of the paleo variety on those "less than metabolically advantageous" days.

When you cut calories long term, your body adapts. Overeating from time to time lets your body know that youre not in a shortage.

Eat a few extra grassfed steaks, some pastured eggs and a pound of bacon. Not only will it be AWESOME meals, your body will know food is plentiful and will send all those beautiful hormonal chemical cascades that re-jumpstart your fat loss.

answered Apr 7 2011 at 17:48

Stephen-Aegis
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	Thanks for the feedback Stephen, so just to make sure I understand what you are saying my body may be thinking that food is in short supply so when I go "off paleo" for a day it starts thinking "ok we all good" and lets some more weight go? Correct? But you are recommending that instead of going "off paleo" just have a high calorie Paleo approved day? – ChrisO Apr 7 2011 at 17:53
	Yes, I believe that's what he's saying. Seems like a good idea to me. – mari Apr 7 2011 at 17:55
	Toss some carbs in your high calorie days, too. It's good for leptin. – Erik Cisler Apr 7 2011 at 17:59
	Correct high calorie paleo day. I highly recommend tubers for carbs, I woul keep them to post workout even on a high calorie day while leaning out. – Stephen-Aegis Apr 7 2011 at 19:37

haig · Answer 2 · 2011-04-07 19:35:06Z UTC

Refeeding and cheating to help stalled weight loss is a result of manipulating leptin and set-point regulation. Leptin is secreted by adipose cells and signals the hypothalamus that body fat levels are sufficient and fat storage is not necessary.

What happens in the overweight individual is that chronically elevated leptin causes you to become leptin insensitive, your body basically ignores the signal that you don't need to store fat and so continues to do so. In the opposite case, when you have lost a significant amount of fat, your body's leptin levels are lowered and so you're just not getting enough of those signals, and so your body holds on to the remaining fat.

So, in order to break through a fat loss plateau, you need to increase leptin levels back to normal as well as increase leptin sensitivity. The best way to do that is to acutely increase calories, with carbohydrates being the most effective macronutrient in this regard. This is why your weekend splurges of beer and pizza helps you lose fat the subsequent week.

Finally, to keep it all paleo, use starches like tubers, plantains, and maybe white rice after heavy workouts several times a week. Also, intermittent fasting may help.

See leangains.com for more.

Oranges13 · Answer 3 · 2011-04-07 18:47:49Z UTC

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I'm only on week 3 and I've already plateaued :( huge breakfast tomorrow!

answered Apr 7 2011 at 18:47

Oranges13
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With you on that one! – Tarryne Mar 27 2012 at 21:53

Paleo then cheat the paleo again for new weight losses???

3 Answers