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I've been working toward a paleo/primal diet and am about to embark on a personal 30-day challenge. Can y'all give me your opinions on my typical diet? I'm 21, female, 5'8 and weigh about 166 (down from 228 over the past year). I likely have metabolic issues, I lost most of the weight via calorie restriction and have crash-dieted to the point of hospitalization for grand mal seizures as a teenager. Until about 2 months ago, I was vegan (4 years) and vegetarian for 13.

This is what I have been eating lately:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup of berries + a spoonful of almond butter, usually 2 boiled eggs

Workout: 30-60 minutes of bootcamp style crossfit, 5 days a week, some days are cardio (sprints) but most are strength workouts and met-cons.

Breakfast #2: usually 2/3 more eggs (scrambled in EVOO) or 4oz. chicken breast or a small serving of dinner leftovers

Lunch: huge salad with spinach, mixed greens, cucumber, onion, etc. Sometimes I put a tomato. Also boiled egg, 4oz. tuna or chicken and some balsamic vinegar

Snack: I might eat a scoop of coconut milk or something in here if I'm really hungry

Dinner: (usually lean) meat, about 6oz. with some sort of veggie side. The most common is mashed cauliflower or mushrooms/peppers/onions sauteed in EVOO

Desert: 1/2c of berries, sometimes with coconut milk

Goal is fat loss, no idea where I want to end. Bodyfat% calculators online put me at 27% fat and I'd like to be generally lean. I'm still at a point where I need to work on fat loss, not muscle gain right?

Thanks!

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5 Answers

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Personally, if I were you, I wouldn't focus on fat loss at the moment, but on nourishing your body to heal your metabolism. Took me 4-6 months of high fat Primal eating to do this.

Make sure to get enough fat (50-70%) of total calories to help increase satiety & see if you can (over time) reduce the amount of snacking you do and ease into 2-3 meals a day. Try to eat only when you are hungry and just until you are full, but not "stuffed."

Gently move into eating more 100% grass-fed ruminants and less poultry (better O3:O6 ratio.)

Make sure to get sufficient in Vitamin D (50-80 ng/ml--get tested!) and take about 500 mg calcium, 400-600 mg Magnesium, and an Omega 3 supplement (I recommend Neptune Krill Oil ~1000 mg/day.)

Over time, drop the stevia--just keeps the carb cravings active for some people.

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 And less is more with working out, if you feel the workouts are raising your cortisol too high. – Dragonfly Aug 23 2011 at 21:51
Don't forget to add some organ meats & bone broth to get your micronutrients! – Dragonfly Aug 23 2011 at 22:02
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Congratulations on your weight loss! I don't think you need to work on fat loss rather than muscle gain. The two can go very nicely hand in hand and, for me, work best together. Also, I wouldn't put too much stock in an online body fat calculator. If you're muscular 166lbs on a 5'8'' frame doesn't sound overweight. Instead focus on how you look, feel and perform (hat tip to Robb Wolf.)

Looking at your sample meal plan I suggest you consolidate your breakfasts and move the berries to post workout or to your last meal of the day. Also eat enough at lunch so you don't need a snack before dinner. Since you work out in the morning, make lunch your "big" meal. Maybe add in some avocado, homemade mayo, or some other fat source.

I've been most successful at losing weight when I only eat once or twice a day. Also for a 30 day challenge I'd recommend ditching the nuts/nut butter and stevia. I also have to ditch the fruit because if I eat it, I don't lose weight. So a piece/serving of fruit is my weekly treat. I'm postmenopausal so your mileage may vary.

And, of course, the "lifestyle" issues: make sure you're getting enough sleep, relaxation and recovery time, and all that other good stuff.

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Thank you! I'll try and incorporate all this stuff. Unfortunately, I am far from a muscular 166, I'd be surprised if that calculator was not a big underestimation. Its probably from growing up with very little protein and being essentially sedentary on top of that. Does this change your recommendation at all? – Josie Aug 23 2011 at 22:53
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 With your focus on strength training, you will get strong! But you need to fuel that strength. You mentioned needing to be hospitalised because of your extreme dieting in past, this time don't focus on numbers but on how you perform and feel. If you're exhausted or not having fun, cut back on the training and take a walk instead. And make sure you eat enough. – PaleoChimp Aug 23 2011 at 23:48
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You are doing awesome. You might just continue on as you are doing. Or make a small tweak and see where it takes you.

You could use more fat in the diet...

Breakfast: 1/2 cup of berries + a spoonful of almond butter, usually 2 boiled eggs

Consider removing the almond butter... Perhapse add coconut oil or another fat...

Breakfast #2: usually 2/3 more eggs (scrambled in EVOO) or 4oz. chicken breast or a small serving > of dinner leftovers

You might combine the two breakfasts. Or Add half of breakfast 2 to breakfast one. Leaving breakfast two smaller... Perhaps add some coconut water.

Dinner: (usually lean) meat, about 6oz. with some sort of veggie side. The most common is mashed cauliflower or mushrooms/peppers/onions sauteed in EVOO

More fat here would be very good. Perhaps coconut oil or a fatter cut of meat.

I would also add some fish oil or krill oil.

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Oh, and I drink coffee and black tea, mostly plain, sometimes with stevia. About 2 cups of each per day, a bit more on weekends.

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I cant wait to hear the answers..

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