Maybe it's also because you're young. I am too and when I started paleo I definitely did notice some differences, but nothing HUGE and life-changing. I think it's because we don't have, say, 30 years of damage from bad eating to undo. You know how most people can eat whatever they want when they're in their teens and twenties and it only catches up to them later on? Even though I didn't notice miraculous changes from paleo, I do it because i want to avoid that situation and not have to do damage control from a junky diet when I get older. Prevention is much better than cure, right? Also seconding those who say take the evangelical miracle success stories with a grain of salt, remember that if you weren't drastically unhealthy before you probably aren't going to have similar drastic results.

Edit: Since you're young and don't have health problems to deal with, I don't see why you couldn't incorporate more carbs (sweet and white potatoes, even white rice) instead of just meat and veggies. Don't think that just because you have weight to lose you have to go low-carb. A lot of people don't do well with that and lose better when they eat some more carbs.

Firstly don’t let it get to you; whether it's Jesus or Paleo, evangelical voices are always loudest, and echo longest in smaller communities.

To be quite honest, I don't really feel radically different either since starting Paleo, but I'm of the opinion that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

On a more practical note, remember it may not be enough to eat a strictly Paleo diet, as this is a holistic lifestyle change, and there are many other factors which can influence your outcome; vitamin D status, omega 3/6 ratio, emotional stress, exposure to natural vs artificial light e.t.c.

EDIT: Finally, remember that you've been eating SAD for your whole life - can you really heal totally in just one month?

For me, I feel better avoiding the sugar. As for grains or legumes go, I don't feel any different with or with out. Sugar and chocolate are the only things that I feel better with out (after the initial withdrawal). As for feeling better, I mean emotionally I am more "even".. not so many highs and lows... guess I'm not bipolar!

I don't eat strict paleo, as my family eats dairy and we aren't super strict anyway. I would classify us as a "primal" a la Mark Sisson and "Weston A Price" family. I was super strict for a few months with myself and didn't have any epiphanies. None of us have any undiagnosed problems, or food sensitivities or illnesses; so for us it's about this being healthy for our bodies as they age and our litte one grows and develops. I have seen some weight loss, but not an extreme amount.

We've settled back into a less extreme version of eating and it suits us just fine. The only difference I really can tell is when I eat a "bad" meal in the evening, sometimes I wake up with heartburn and need to eat breakfast sooner. But sometimes not. I ate Chick Fil A chicken nuggets and waffle fries and a half a carton of Starbucks Caramel Macchiato last night and I feel just fine today.

I am a strong believer in 80/20. Cut out the junk most of the time, treat yourself occasionally, eat real food, get outside and play and don't stress about the small stuff. You'll be way ahead of most folks and you'll probably live longer and healthier to boot.

I don't feel much different from when I was pre-paleo. I felt good before, and I still feel good. But I'm much more informed about what Im eating and how it effects me. So I feel better in that sense.

Paleo isn't some night and day coming to God moment for everyone. That doesn't mean it isn't an awesome way to live though. Just because you haven't had dramatic results, if you feel good now, and you feel better about what you're doing to yourself with your diet, I wouldn't sweat it.

i agree, I think it all does vary with age. I am late 40's, and it was months later, maybe even 6 or 8 that I realized that I now have twice the energy I used to, and I never get sick anymore (for 3+ years now). but the sick part might be from taking "D"? or both?

Honestly, I saw pretty much no difference after my first 30 days except for a few pounds lost UNTIL I had a cheat day. Then I realized how terrible grains made my gastrointestinal tract feel and how much sugar affected my skin. I've struggled with going paleo for several months now (having a binge eating disorder does not make it easy), mainly because I have not seen the dazzling results so many people have posted all over the internet. I don't feel any more awesome, I'm not sleeping better, I don't have more energy, and I've only lost 20 lbs in five months.

Is this because I haven't been "strict" enough? Most likely, but I also think a huge lifestyle change is something that you have to psych yourself up for and really get into it, because there are indeed benefits to be found, even if they're not immediate or transformational. When I eat cleanly, my skin looks better, my stomach and bowels calm down, and I have fewer "bad" days with my chronic depression.

I definitely want to lose 30 more pounds, but I've come to the realization that it's just not going to happen overnight for me and I have to really hunker down and commit to dealing with my disordered eating and my epic sweet tooth head on. Don't be so hard on yourself (I know it's tough, especially at 19), keep a positive attitude, find a Paleo Buddy if you can, and stick with it. Don't focus so much on the weight (I know that's even harder) and you'll start to notice the little changes can make all the difference more than the drastic results we all want from dieting and exercise.

my husband didnt really feel any different. he just stays paleo to humor me because i have had such dramatic improvements. as im typing this he is sitting across from me eating two hot dogs with the buns (and my raw sauerkraut- im going to kill him!) he noticed some minor changes, and gained some muscle but generally no big changes. he responded well, and hes convinced that its the optimal diet for many people, but hes not paleo. since i do all the cooking and shopping, its a non issue.

i dont think that there is one ideal diet for everyone, though i think for long term general health and well being, paleo is the ideal. i dont know how old you are (sorry if i missed that), but im guessing that the results are generally more dramatic for older people, and certainly the longer you stick with it the better the results. not all results are visable, either- maybe you didnt lose much weight, but your cholesterol numbers are better. of course im going to say stick with paleo and things will fall into place, that its not a crash diet, that for some people weight loss can be really slow, that maybe you should hack some of the details of diet and lifestyle, etc. but i certainly think that its possible that maybe this isnt your ideal diet. just my two cents.

i think 30 days is a really short period, really just an introduction, and that you really have to give it 90 at least. but, paleo will always be here for you if youre not ready for it at this point in your life, too!

If you are trying to lose weight on Paleo, many, but not all women have success with very low carb Paleo. For me, this means less than 20 net carbs (carbs minus fiber) per day. I use a ratio of 70/25/5 for fat, protein, carbs. It is possible that you are on the road to health, but because you haven't lost weight you aren't "feeling" it. So try cutting out all of the fruit and go to grass-fed beef, some nuts and some veggies for at least 30 days. Good luck!

its really too early to start wondering if it will work yet.

I would suggest you figure out what your calorie intake should be, cut it by 500 calories to loose weight. Also just as important, use fitday.com to track your food intake and %, its really the only way to be sure of what you are doing. I had the same issue and after 6 wks started logging and that turned out to be my issue, I was so far off from what I thought I was doing right.

I personally have done the 65% fat, no more than 25% protein and less than 50g carb per day and its working, but calories are just as important. You'll need to play around with this for a few weeks, don't rush it, you'll find what works for you.

Yup. And I'm a teenager as well. I didn't feel all that much different in my day to day life. I did notice that my seasonal allergies were practically nonexistent and that my face was clearer when I was stressed. However, I was reasonably healthy before that. I avoided most sweets, refined grains, and added oils. I do think youth is forgiving, and we can tolerate a fair amount of abuse without necessarily feeling badly. I think that despite the fact that you're overweight, you weren't as "damaged" as many of the obese people here are/were.

I would just keep plugging along with paleo, and tweak it as needed. Add and remove fruit, dairy, and nuts to see how you feel and how they affect weight loss. Play with your calories and carb levels too. Many seem to do better on slightly higher carbs (100-150g+), while others can't seem to lose weight with carbs above 50. Above all, remember that you are unique and that what works for someone else may or may not for you.

Paleo is a lifestyle, not a short term solution to anything. A young body that is healthy, by nature, allows for a lot of abuse and quick recovers, with few symptoms. Living paleo starting at 20 years old will only make one's life that much better if nothing extreme needs to be fixed, just a good, healthy lifestyle maintained through out a long lifetime. People that start paleo in their 40's, 50's, etc or that have preexisting metabolic conditions often see great changes because there is so much wrong with their bodies that needs fixing. Same as buying a new sports car off the showroom floor and treating it very well for many decades as opposed to finding a rusted out car 30 years old and then trying to fix it up.

Maybe you are being to strict ? I would assume that your body sometimes needs to "think" there is plenty of food, so it starts burning fat again as there is enough available.

I'm into month #3, and I tend to cheat about once a week, and I also usually do about 2 24h IF/s week - dinner to dinner -. Some weeks I do not lose any weight, but I do notice some changes when I put on my clothes... I think I lose on average about 1 KG/week (still 22.5% body fat according to my scale).

I am not very sure whether this is considered very paleo, but I prefer not to make a big deal out of my eating habits; I usually eat paleo/low carb at home, but in other situations I just eat whatever is on the menu without to much thinking.

Remember that 1 non-paleo meal a week is only about 4,76 % of a conventional 3-meals-a-day week, so cheating once/twice a week is not that big a deal IMO.

I didn't notice any immediate changes (I was around 22 when I changed). I did notice a huge difference from going low carb, instantaneously, but nothing from the further switch to paleo. Prior to the first change, I was quite happy and lean, (and running 10km per day) on a diet where most of the calories came from wheatgerm (or plain raw oats, if I wanted a treat), soy milk and ground flaxseed. While having experienced no tangible benefits from going paleo (oh, actually, better digestion in some respects, from not eating so much wheat), I strongly suspect based on the evidence that it'll be healthier in the long term. I just suspect that as a young man I was more than able to handle the very unpaleo diet of wheat and soy.

I didn't notice any difference except that on SAD I had an uncomfortable stomach or bowels perhaps a few times a year, and on paleo experimenting with large amounts of fats and other odd combinations in the stomach has caused it to happen at least every week or so. (First time with coconut milk, etc.)

Honestly the people who notice huge life-changing difference scare me, I have a bad stereotype that some might be "diet" people who might have said the same thing on a raw vegetable diet a year prior. (Sorry I don't want to offend anyone, just my innermost emotional response) For me I have never been able to notice much dietary anything in my life -- people talk about a "sugar rush" and the up and down dipping that is caused by eating high carbs and sugar... I never have noticed any of this. Previously I would down 6 cans of pop one day and 1 the next and no combination of anything really had a noticeable effect.