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I discovered and began the Paleo diet after reading Loren Cordain's book "The Dietary Cure for Acne" in 2009, since I wasn't a candidate for Accutane. After 2 months, I was completely acne free. I have stayed with the diet ever since, with only one slip up in December 2010 (in which I had non paleo foods). I've since gotten back on track and my skin is cleared, but I find that on this diet, I am constantly hungry/ tired, easily gain weight when I try to solve the problem and still crave non-paleo foods and I don't understand why...

Before going Paleo, I used to eat whatever I wanted and never gained weight. I would eat a lot of fast food, usually 3-5 times a week, and bread before 2009. I never thought about calories or even looked at food labels. I just ate when I was hungry. The only exercise I would do is weight lift and some cardio. I'm not/never have been overweight (5'8, 125), but since switching to paleo, I am constantly hungry and I have not been able to solve the problem.

I've tried adding more fat, more protein, etc; but, I find I binge on that and just end up gaining weight since I am tired afterwards. When I do get energy, I feel the need to do more cardio then weight lift. I've lost muscle because of this. When I used to eat whatever I wanted, I had much more muscle and less body fat (I would often fill up on bread and pasta [which I think about everyday and crave]). Now, I feel/look flabby and hate how my body looks. I feel as if I've changed my body and the way it processes food. I've basically traded one ailment (acne) for another (weight gain).

I don't know what to do...

I currently eat tons of vegetables (mostly broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cabbage, and non starchy vegetables), some proteins, fats (avocado, mayo, coconut oil) and some fruits (usually after a meal). I find I can scarf down tons of vegetables until I feel bloated and still be hungry within an hour. When I add protein to the mix, I just end up eating more.

I wish I could eat non starchy vegetables (beans, potatoes) since they fill me up, but I've discovered that they trigger my acne almost instantly. I've been too scared to try adding in bread/grains, since I don't want to gain weight and have acne.

Any suggestions on how to feel full, be acne free and regain muscle/lose fat would be greatly appreciated...

Winning the acne battle, but losing the muscle/weight battle,

-WillIAM

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125 lbs at 5'8" sounds a but UNDER weight to me. How old are you, BTW? – Kirsten Jul 5 2011 at 14:23
I'm a male. 21 years old. – William I AM Jul 5 2011 at 19:40

7 Answers

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I currently eat tons of vegetables (mostly broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cabbage, and non starchy vegetables), some proteins, fats (avocado, mayo, coconut oil) and some fruits (usually after a meal).

Where's the beef? I don't see any mention of meat at all in your post.

Eat mostly meat (beef, pork, fish),and some green leafy stuff. This is the basis and you can add to that at your own risk (and tolerance).

I find I can scarf down tons of vegetables until I feel bloated and still be hungry within an hour.

Yep.. Try scarfing down a 20 oz steak with a side of 2 scrambled eggs and tell me how hungry you are in an hour.

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Well, I mostly eat chicken, tuna/fish, eggs, turkey, and sometimes beef, but I'm not big on pork or red meat, as I personally don't like the taste or texture. I'll try eating more meat, but I fear I might binge on those eggs and be constipated afterwards, since that typically happens. Anyways, thank you for responding! – William I AM Jul 5 2011 at 20:00
Keep tweeking your diet and try new things. You might try different cooking methods to help with taste and texture. If you are going to binge, binge on eggs! Remember, we have been told our entire lives that red meat and eggs will kill us, and there is a lot of residule fear of them. Don't give yourself too many excuses. Lastly.. Search PH on constipation... – CaveDad Jul 6 2011 at 17:45
Constipated from eggs? That's interesting! I had constipation problems for a while, and I didn't know what could cause it as I everything I eat seems to be anti-constipation (coconut oil, olive oil, magnesium citrate, ...). – Korion Aug 18 2011 at 13:42
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My constipation went away when eating gelatin when waking up, btw. Works great. – Korion Jan 4 2012 at 10:19
Korion - How much Gelatin, what form, ...? – sean Jan 4 2012 at 14:10
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First off are you a male? Maybe think about focusing on gaining healthy weight if so.

I've dealt with the whole acne thing and imo you haven't cured your acne you've just managed to control it by limiting otherwise healthy foods. In my experience getting enough Preformed Vitamin A, Vitamin D and vitamin K2 mk-4 along with sufficient zinc has been the biggest help in my chronic acne. Before I started all the supplements I was always eliminating foods that would cause me acne, most of the foods no longer cause it. I can even drink milk which for me used to be guaranteed acne.

My advice would be to input your food in something like cronometer or fitday.com to make sure your getting adequate nutrition. Along with this make sure your getting adequate sun or supplementing Vit D, 15k IU retinol(vit A) through food and supplementation and around 1mg of k2 mk4 daily from supplement.

If you want to do cardio switch up the intensities i.e. run for a couple blocks, sprint for a block, walk for a couple blocks etc.

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do you recommend particular vitamin A & K supplements? looking for a good brand. thanks! – themobiustrip Jul 5 2011 at 16:46
I get 10,000iu vit A Retinol derived from cod liver whole foods brand which has one drop of soybean oil in it. I get this brand of k2 google.com/products/… – cliff Jul 5 2011 at 18:44
Thank you for responding. Yes, I am a male. I've done cronometer before and it turned out I was getting a lot of nutrients and a ton of calories, but I still end up hungry. Maybe its a psychological thing. Thanks again. – William I AM Jul 5 2011 at 20:06
If you are hungry still I doubt its a psychological thing. I would just eat till appetite and see what happens. If you start to gain a lot of fat cut it back but if your eating the right foods that shouldn't be that big of an issue, – cliff Jul 5 2011 at 20:29
William, when you say a "ton of calories" what does that mean in real numbers? How much lifting are you doing each week? From watching my brothers at that age, they could consume an incredible amount of calories and burn it off, especially when lifting. – Karen Aug 4 2011 at 13:16
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I am also underweight and I also feel like I am starving on low carb. I need starch to feel satiated. I had moderate to severe non-cystic acne from ages 15 to 25 and my skin is now FINALLY clear thanks to my paleo experiment(s).

If I were you, I would try adding more simple starches and animal fats to your diet while also focusing on maximizing/supplementing the nutrients which are so often helpful to acne: zinc, vitamin D, retinol, idodine, and IMO saturated fat. And avoiding commonly inflammatory things like grains (although small amounts of white rice are a-ok for me), solid dairy products, and o6s.

To me your diet seems too high in vegetation (nutrients from which are barely utilized without fat in your stomach. Do you put butter on them?) and WAAAAYYYY too low in fat and calories. And all your fats are o6s. Of course you're hungry all the time and feel like crap. You're one step away from a vegan, looking at your OP. And skinnier than most of them!

You need to gain weight, BTW. I wouldn't call it 'binging' to eat food and gain weight. My BF is 5'8" and 157 lbs, and he has skinny arms and legs and wears a size medium; you must be so tiny! And if you feel you are 'flabby' you need to gain muscle mass. Do you do weight or strength training?

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Totally. I'm a girl an inch shorter and at that weight and I'm teeny and my ribs show. AND I have some muscles. Eat more calories, William! – Krisha C. Jan 4 2012 at 14:37
Correction: not currently quite at that weight, but when I am, my ribs totally show. – Krisha C. Jan 4 2012 at 14:38
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I'd say your problem is all the veggies! Beans and potatoes are the most starch rich veggies, and they will trigger your insulin and make you hungry again soon. Keep the more nutrient rich veggies, cut down on sugar and eat more meat and fats. Proteins satisfy, so eat them first and then the veggies. And ditch the fruit, it'll make you hungrier much faster to eat it than to not eat it. Adding carbs to food makes you hungrier faster, and bloated with poor digestion. And don't be afraid of the proteins, eat them full fat and don't just keep to fish and chicken, eat the red meats.

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I find the opposite occurs. I can get full with beans and potatoes but they make my face feel tingly and I breakout within a a day or two when I eat them. I'll try eating more meat, but I just can't get that full feeling I get with starchy vegetables and bread. – William I AM Jul 5 2011 at 20:11
It might be that you're carb addicted? – SanaA Jul 8 2011 at 8:47
He's underweight pretty seriously. – Karen Aug 4 2011 at 13:12
I would NOT cut the fruit. I would eat more fat and protein, that's all. – Korion Jan 4 2012 at 10:20
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I have similar issues with overeating (but I'm not getting fat) and here are my ideas:

My first point was to restore some sort of satiety signalling in my body which appeared to be broken (perhaps similar to leptin problems). Making a conscious effort to get a decent portion of protein in the morning and not going to heavy on the veges (yes I had to cut down on the huge amount of filler veges) seems to be helping alot. Perhaps one mechanism is the reduced digestion load on the body. Fruit has its issues with cravings.

Using a protein such as lamb liver for lunch makes it very hard to binge as well as I find satiety approaches quickly due to the intensity. These are just some ideas - of course make sure you are getting 'enough' calories. Not to mention the nutrients which may settle some sort of deficiency inspired craving.

The low energy thing is really the question mark here though, as eating less seems counter-intuitive.

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  • Beans aren't vegetables. But anyway there is nothing wrong with eating starchy tubers- potatoes and sweet potatoes are basically fine. Since you said potatoes trigger your acne, have you tried sweet potatoes?
  • Maybe this is nitpicking but if you're eating store-bought mayo it's full of nasty soybean or canola oil. So I would suggest cutting that out. Also what's wrong with animal fats? Why are your only fat sources mayo, avocado, and coconut oil? You don't seem to be eating much meat or fish.
  • Are you eating low-carb? If so you might try lowering the fat and protein and upping carbs (sweet potatoes, white rice, etc. I also feel bad on high fat. The answer to everything is not "eat more bacon" although I'm sure you'll get plenty of that advice. Some people lose muscle and gain fat when carbs are too low.
  • Regaining muscle will be a lot easier if you lift weights. I'm sure other posters who know more about resistance training than me can expand on what you could do.
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Ooofff.. Bad advice in my opinion. Adult acne steming from wheat intake isn't a sign one should eat more wheat. – CaveDad Jul 5 2011 at 12:53
where does olivia recommend wheat? – cliff Jul 5 2011 at 13:16
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She edited it out after my post to make me look like a crazy person (which I need no help doing anyway) – CaveDad Jul 5 2011 at 13:20
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I edited my post after thinking about it a bit more. plus I didn't want to deal with 10 "HOW COULD YOU RECOMMEND EVIL WHEAT!!!" comments – Olivia Jul 5 2011 at 13:20
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@Cavedad, actually it was because I realised you were probably right. Nothing about making you look like a crazy person. – Olivia Jul 5 2011 at 13:21
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I agree with everyone else that you're basically underweight and need to eat more protein and probably take supplements.

But on a practical note: bingeing on veggies totally doesn't fill anyone up, but it does stretch the crap out of your stomach. Protein is very satisfying, but you never get that "full" feeling in the belly. Starch lies somewhere in between, it's bulky and provides decent satiety (when eaten with protein and fat). If you can find starch that doesn't flare up your acne, do it. Even some franken foods, like "gluten free" breads etc. might be a good idea for you, depending on how your acne reacts to it.

So, in your search to be full from veggies alone, you've probably stretched your stomach out a TON, and now nothing really makes you full.

So, for a few days, just suck it up and eat protein/starch and very few veggies, don't eat until your stomach is bloated, just eat some objectively pre-determined amount, and give your stomach a chance to shrink back up to a normal size. Then hopefully once your diet is less vegetable heavy and your stomach has settled a little, you'll be able to feel that belly-full feeling AND be satisfied with meat/protein/starch.

But, like I said, you're way tiny and should make sure that you're replacing those veggies with lots of calories (which shouldn't be hard, considering the caloric density of vegetables vs. meat/fat).

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