Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Are calories really essential when it comes to what you eat? or do they only count depending on what you eat?

flag	asked Aug 12 2011 at 13:38 Grassfedkid

Shari Bambino · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-12 22:40:44Z UTC

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My beloved Dr. Atkins said "Calories matter. Carbs matter more." That's pretty much how my body seems to work.

answered Aug 12 2011 at 22:40

Shari Bambino
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I can eat all the bacon i want and i feel awesome, add some bread and i feel sick and gain a pound. – Grassfedkid Aug 12 2011 at 22:45

Travis Culp · Answer 2 · 2011-08-12 15:21:27Z UTC

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Calories always count, but you don't always have to count calories.

answered Aug 12 2011 at 15:21

Travis Culp♦
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Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 3 · 2011-08-12 14:50:14Z UTC

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Calories always count. But what you eat can make it easier or harder to eat fewer calories.

answered Aug 12 2011 at 14:50

Beth-WeightMaven
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UncleLongHair · Answer 4 · 2011-08-12 13:55:22Z UTC

In my opinion and experience, calories always count. If you want to lose weight, you need to eat less than you burn, it's that simple. Advice to eat more food in order to lose more weight makes absolutely no sense to me.

The trick is how to decrease your calorie intake while still being nourished and not being hungry all the time, which is where the Paleo diet fits the bill for me. It naturally decreases my appetite and makes it easy (unavoidable really) to lose weight. According to FitDay, when I was first losing weight, I was eating as little as 1000-1200 calories per day most days and not really feeling hungry. I am 6'1" and various estimates of my "baseline" calorie burn are in the 2200-2700 range (though I think that is high). During this time I lost about 15 pounds and went down 4 notches on my belt. It's pretty clear that I was burning fat during this time.

I have tried losing weight on other diets, and I am constantly hungry, even when I reach my target weight, and have always eventually fallen off the wagon. With the Paleo diet, I am very comfortable with my appetite after losing 20 pounds, and am looking to lose some more.

sherpamelissa · Answer 5 · 2011-08-12 13:48:09Z UTC

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For me, they count no matter what I eat.

I have religiously counted my food for the last 7 years during a 100+lb weight loss. I changed up just about everything during various plateaus and have found that I gain weight if I sustain a diet of 1400 calories for more than one week. It can be zero carb, low carb, low fat, high fat, vegetarian or high protein. It just doesn't matter for me.

answered Aug 12 2011 at 13:48

sherpamelissa
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	i used to eat between 1200-2000 calories a day on veganism and i gained alot of weight even though i worked out almost everyday, however when i converted to paleo, I eat 2500-4000 calories a day, dont work out much and some how drop 3-4lbs a week. I guess calories vary from person to person. – Grassfedkid Aug 12 2011 at 13:53
	Yeah, I am 5'2" and 136lbs and used to be 245lbs. I think I have permanently damaged my metabolism to the point that it doesn't burn as many calories as the "average" person of my size. I was hoping it would fix itself, but I've been maintaining for close to 3 years now and it's not any better. I try to up them and it's always the same result, no matter what ratios I eat. – sherpamelissa Aug 12 2011 at 14:11
	Melissa- I would assume your level of exercise would greatly vary your allowable calories though? I find that heavy lifting allows many more calories (and carbs) for up to a couple days post workout. – PKN Aug 12 2011 at 15:32
	Sadly, no PKN. I might be able to go an extra 200 or so, but I actually gained weight while training for a 1/2 marathon. Weight training/HIIT helps me maintain easily and reflects in my body comp, but doesn't do as much for me with weight loss. – sherpamelissa Aug 12 2011 at 15:34
	gained fat or gained weight? that is all weird, maybe you are broken as you said huh? – PKN Aug 12 2011 at 18:06

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Eric · Answer 6 · 2011-08-12 13:58:06Z UTC

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For some keeping carbs below 100 to lose and below 150 to maintain weight works. Some need to go lower... For some it does not work. I only count my carbs currently.

answered Aug 12 2011 at 13:58

Eric
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I am also currently counting my carbs and not the calories. My weight is plumetting. I think the important thing is to consider the source of the calories when counting calories. – Nick Aug 13 2011 at 11:15

xue · Answer 7 · 2011-08-12 14:44:46Z UTC

In my experience, yes. It is really easy for me to gain weight especially when I'm eating crap like grains and too many sugars/carbs. I'm quite short (5'0") and often eat upwards of 2-4k calories a day, but as long as I keep it paleo and low carb, the weight doesn't seem to stick...(I also don't really do much exercise, other than social dancing). As such I don't feel too bad about binging as long as it's not crap. If it's crap food, then for sure that weight will stay for awhile.

Lars · Answer 8 · 2011-08-12 18:47:41Z UTC

I went down from 135 lbs to 128 lbs in 4 months eating 3500 - 4000 kcal a day (VLC). It has now stalled, and I am no longer loosing weight unless I cut back some calories.

My experience is that I don't need to count kcals unless I want to get single digit body fat. I've also heard Robb Wolf mentioning the same would go for many (overweight) people beginning low/very low carb.

turkeytyme · Answer 9 · 2011-08-13 02:50:05Z UTC

If you keep your carb intake low enough (It doesn't have to be super low either; I try to stay under 100 g) that you are in fat burning mode, you do not need to count your calories. Just listen to your appetite and stop eating when your hunger is satisfied. You will lose weight that way because your body is getting part of its fuel from your fat stores and making you less hungry to eat.

Do calories only count If you consume grains?

9 Answers