Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hi there

I am new to Paleo and have made this plan by reading blogs/articles/websites. I want to make sure i'm on the right track. i'm 5'5 and about 140 pounds and want to lose weight, and fat!

I am working out at the gym 3-4 times a week doing 30 minute heavy weight sessions. Sometimes i'll also do a sprint session. I also walk first thing in the morning before breakfast for an hour.

My diet is around 1200 cal per day. 60percent from fat, 30 protein and 10 carbs.I eat about 4 times a day.

Since doing this i have been far more energetic and have great sleeps but don't seem to have lost much weight.

How does this look, can anyone offer me any suggestions?

flag	asked Jul 12 2011 at 10:04 irene87 51●3

cliff · Answer 1 · 2011-07-12 10:26:53Z UTC

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Well the first thing I would do is add in a significant amount more carbs specifically PWO. ATM you get 30g of carb a day which is far to little for your exercise load. 1200 cals seems extremely low as well and imo is a borderline starvation diet with your exercise regimen. Sometimes eating so little can stall weight loss.

How long have you been following this plan?

answered Jul 12 2011 at 10:26

cliff
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+1 for the 1200 cal seems low, but -1 for the more carbs. In a weight loss situation carbs are the devil. In a performance/maintenance situation, I'd agree that more carbs PWO are good. – miked Jul 12 2011 at 16:07

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Miked I highly disagree. There is no evidence whatsoever that carbs are the devil in a weight loss situation, the opposite is actually true and is shown in many studies. If you eat 300g of carbs but also eat 300g of fat of course you will gain fat, this isn't because of the carbs(its from the fat) though its because you are in energy positive. Carbs are very inefficient at being stored as fat, not fat though. Not eating PWO carbs in the hopes of losing weight is pretty dumb and a good way to just further destroy your metabolism imo. – cliff Jul 12 2011 at 16:51

I don't think you get how carbohydrates work, how would eating carbs post workout when you are glycogen depleted lead to fat gain??? Please explain that to us. – cliff Jul 12 2011 at 16:54

Intentionally Steph · Answer 2 · 2011-07-12 12:27:38Z UTC

Hi! I am also 5'5" and back in December I weighed 142. I carry most of my weight internally/around my stomach, so I appeared to be "thin" even though my body fat % was around 26%. Since doing CrossFit and Paleo, I am now 128 lbs. and my body fat % is around 21%. For me cutting out grains, of course, but the SUGAR was key! I was over eating on fruit. Pre WOD I have a hard boiled egg. Afterwards I have my post WOD shake-

http://www.intentionalconsumption.com/index.php/2011/05/13/post-workout-smoothie/

And during the day I'll eat grilled chicken or steak, veggies like broccoli, asparagus, peppers. Healthy fats like onlives, coconut milk & oil, and almonds. I limit my fruit intake to berries. I eat around 1400 calories a day. I keep my protein at 100 grams a day, healthy fats at about 70 grams, and carbs around 50 grams. I think that is a good ratio for someone our size. I use Fitday.com to keep track.

none · Answer 3 · 2011-07-12 13:53:41Z UTC

Welcome aboard and great job!

Cliff has given some great advice in my opinion. I just wanted to let you know that I too once took in too few calories, not on purpose though, but because I was eating so low carb that I turned off my appetite. I literally couldn't force myself to eat. I think the combo of too few calories and to few carbs really took a tole on my thyroid function. So, I second the PWO carbs.

I just want to add that everyone is different. I think it would be a more level playing field in terms of diet and nutrition recommendations if we all hadn't already messed ourselves up with every diet under the sun. This said, I just wanted to add that plans are great and all, just be loose enough to change the plan up a bit if it's not working how you'd like.

Josh M · Answer 4 · 2011-07-12 14:25:53Z UTC

The key is everyone is different. I for one do very well on very few carbs in my diet I have been low carb for a very long time, I work long days outside in a physically demanding job and I never lack for energy and I put guys on my crew 20 years younger than I am to shame. Best to experiment and try different things for at least a couple weeks at a time and see what works best for you. There is no 'one size fits all' on paleo.

Eat healthy, get good sleep, get some sun and learn to listen to your body, it may only be whispering to you now but as you continue with the paleo Lifestyle your body will begin to talk to you loud and clear :)

miked · Answer 5 · 2011-07-12 16:06:17Z UTC

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You're starving yourself on the 1200 cals/day. You gotta eat to get your metabolism to start burning. 30 minute workouts are also on the long side unless it's really relaxed heavy lifting where you're spending most of your time sitting down between sets. For example, yesterday was a heavy, high-volume day for me. The total time I was working out was an hour. However, It was basically a set of 3 or 5 that took about 20 seconds and then I'd sit down for 3-4 minutes between sets. So I really wasn't spending much time actually moving weights.

I see that you used to be on a 500 cal diet with 1.5 hour cardio. I'm glad to see you embrace the paleo style eating with less (I'd argue no) cardio. If you just keep upping your calories and resting more you'll see even bigger improvements. It's hard to believe, but it's true, real life is nothing like the Biggest Loser, those people lose weight in spite of their (over) training and (under) eating, not be cause of it.

answered Jul 12 2011 at 16:06

miked
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	Less cardio might be good but more walking is the way to go. At least a couple miles a day for optimal health and weight loss imo. – cliff Jul 12 2011 at 17:06
	Thanks guys. It is a really hard concept for me to get around me head to eat more! getting to where i am now was a huge thing, but i guess i really need to heal my metabolism and get it firing up again. i do 30 minutes of weights but like you say it's doing a heavy set then resting - not really intense. I dont do any cardio now apart from walking an hour a day in the morning and the occasional sprint session. – irene87 Jul 13 2011 at 2:59
	What would you thinkg would be a good number of calories to reach each day and also lose fat? Also, adding carbs PWO - i assume I would not have fat at this meal, just protein and carbs? There is so much info out there on meal timing/meals per day/ carb timing/ fasting that it gets a bit confusing - any more advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for your help! – irene87 Jul 13 2011 at 2:59
	A good amount of carbs to lose fat is the number of carbs you can eat and still lose fat. I know it sounds stupid to say that, but everyone is different. You have to experiment and see what works for you. I quit measuring my PWO carbs once I figured out what worked for me, but I will tell you it's not much. I run very low carb. Overall I probably perform a little better if I'm slightly higher carb, but since I don't want to gain weight, I save the high carb for competition days and keep it very low every other time. – miked Jul 13 2011 at 15:10
	And remember...experimenting on yourself to see what works requires you actually look at results, you may FEEL better on a higher PWO carb meal, but you need to measure if you're getting fatter (not heavier) with those PWO carbs. – miked Jul 13 2011 at 15:10

irene87 · Answer 6 · 2011-07-12 10:42:13Z UTC

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thanks for the response i've been doing this for about 3 weeks but I want to point out that before this i was working out 1.5 hours cardio a day and only eating about 500 cals thinking the lower i went the more i would lose but i could not lose anything!

So in saying that i am a bit scared to jump calories up too high straight away? I'm assuming my metabolism is a bit out of wack!\

carbs PWO is a good idea and i've been reading more about that recently so will give it a go

answered Jul 12 2011 at 10:42

irene87
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	1200 cals is definitely a lot better then 500. As long as you don't feel like your starving yourself or having to overly restrict I don't think its too big of an issue necessarily. If your weight continues to stall I would definitely consider switching it up though. Basically listen to your body, as long as your picking paleo foods you shouldn't have to much problems with eating when your hungry without having to binge out etc. – cliff Jul 12 2011 at 11:07
	Also at that low of a calorie intake you need to be mindful with the foods you eat to make sure you get enough nutrition as not getting enough nutrients can stall weight loss as well. If you eat a prettyy varied diet you might already have this covered but I definetly suggest logging a typical food day at www.fitday.com – cliff Jul 12 2011 at 11:09
	Thanks Cliff - in regards to switching it up do you mean, maybe one day 1600cal, next day 1000cal etc. I have read a bit of stuff about cylcing. I am eating when i am hungry but i do find before bed I am prettty hungry but i really try not to eat before bed – irene87 Jul 13 2011 at 3:01

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