Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

5

Hello to all,

Just wanted to say thanks to the owners of the site for the wealth of information so far. Just looking for some quick tips on evolving into eating paleo style. I'm currently roughly 70-lbs overweight. I recently visited a Natural Dr who using biofeed said they I should avoid Dairy, and Gluten. Also gave some needed support for the adrenals. While on this eating path I lost weight pretty easily with no exersice, so I plan to go back this route. After reasearching her advice I realized that my dairy free, and gluten free lifestyle nearly was paleo.

My biggest question is the best ratio for weight loss while on paleo and how much food I should actually consume, after a few weeks of just general light exercises I plan on addding some resistance training. I doubt I will be doing anything high intensity.

Keep in mind I work behind a desk all day, and am already overweight so I have no doubt my system is out of whack metabolism is slow, although energy is usually pretty good.

I know this is a loaded question but any direction you can set would be great.

flag	asked Jun 16 2010 at 14:59 Jason 341●4●15

Stephen-Aegis · Accepted Answer · 2011-01-11 22:36:24Z UTC

You've come to the right place, this site is a great resource

As far as diet, if you're eating paleo, you're most of the way there already

the big thing to repair is your insulin and leptin

Eliminate Sugar- refined or otherwise, it's in everything Limit yourself to 1 medium fruit or a small amount of berries/day if you must Resist Temptation, the sugar cravings will go away.
Avoid Refined Carbohydrates- Especially wheat and flours, not just for insulin and leptin effect but the multitude of anti nutrients, immune response, the list goes on, maybe this should be rule 1? Check Ingredient lists wheat/flour is in everything and its Bad. We will talk more about it later.
Eat more healthy fat- Saturated, Mono-unsaturated, Omega 3, animal fats. Avoid trans fat and polyunsaturated fats- low fat is a bad bad myth- check ingredients for veggie fats, canola, corn oil etc are Bad sources of omega 6's
Imtermittently Fast - skip a meal or two and do not replace it/ binge at the following meal. The health benefits go far beyond simple calorie restriction
Train Fasted/Train High Intensity Interval Training - you have to adapt to it, but training fasted will MELT the Lbs and is healthier, HIIT will create a very beneficial hormone environment for weightloss and health 2-3 days a week. 10minutes. Huge difference. HI means High Intensity, its only 10min, push yourself.
Don't Binge- don't starve, but stop when your satiated, not when you're stuffed. Eat slower, drink more Water and let your food digest
Track/accountability- make a logbook, record your weight, ask a friend to help. Make sure you're clear why you want to be healthier for life.. Then use that motivation to keep yourself on track.
Don't drink Calories even Diet- your body doesn't recognize the calories the same, Drink Water, Tea(especially Green), Black Coffee Avoid Psuedowater, etc. Check all labels for sugar/calorie count/ingredients.
Move daily- 30min minimum anywhere, the mall, the grocery store, around the block. Just get your circulation going, every day. Doesn't have to be fast, just daily.

10.Sleep - 8 hours quality sleep The goal is to not need an alarm clock This means avoid stimulants late in the day as they disrupt sleep patterns. This will effect, hunger, mood, hormones, everything. Don't do the rest and skip Vital Rule #10.

As far as weight, don't worry about the number. Im 31yrs old and 6'1" I was 285lbs with a large frame I'm now 180lbs with a large athletic frame without the fat.

I would imagine a large framed guy at 5'10" would probably stop around 170.

The good news, it's 90% diet

Paleolady · Answer 2 · 2010-06-16 20:36:43Z UTC

Hey Jason! Welcome! You certainly did come to the right place. Paleo is wonderful.

I too, am on my journey to lose about 70 pounds, and have lost about 20 since I started in late February. I, too, have a desk job, so I hear you there.

For me, the MOST important thing, besides all the different ways to eat and move, has been to just not give up on myself. For me, this is not a "diet" in the sense of a program with rules to follow to lose weight, but rather a whole new way of using food to bring my body to health. My relationship with food has really changed, and I'm in a happy place with it now.

Yes, I have had moments when I've not eaten paleo, and slipped up a little or a lot. In the past, I would have just felt like a failure and that I couldn't do this, and I'm doomed to be fat, blah blah blah. But, now, I just say, okay, that happened, look at why it happened (low blood sugar?), and start eating well again. I just will not give up on myself, and this way of eating that I KNOW is the best for me.

As far as how to help the weight loss, from all the info that I've gathered (much of it here on this site), I'm also cutting down on the amount of fruit I eat, and on nuts, and on dairy. I DO think you need to still eat fat (fat eaten does not equal fat on the body, that is a myth), because fat will help you to feel full and satiated, so you don't feel like you need to go back to your old habits. I also am doing occasional intermittent fasting, that seems to help. It is pretty easy to do, since once you're eating right, your body doesn't really need that much fuel, because you're no longer on the carb roller coaster, and you don't feel as hungry.

With my desk job, I also try to get up every hour (top of the hour) and just take a quick 3 min walk around my office. I also go out before I eat my lunch, and walk for about 20 min, to get some vitamin D.

Whatever you do, listen to your body, it is a great guide. And do know that losing 70 pounds is very achievable, many in the paleo world have done this.

Good luck to you!

tattooedchef · Answer 3 · 2010-06-16 15:27:21Z UTC

Firstly, welcome aboard!

I'd suggest searching around the site -- I didn't find the exact answer to your question (ratio) but did find threads like this.

In relation to your question and "...is there a ratio?" -- sort of. Since no two people are the same, it holds that the ratio would not be the same for each person. Additionally, I can answer this, and you could get five other people with five different responses.

I would concentrate more on keeping your carbs low (50g or so a day) and keeping your protein intake to the usually recommended 1g per pound of body weight. Keep the fats relatively low (can anyone comment as to how low?) and then you'll have to start experimenting to see what works for you. Perhaps you'll want more protein to feel more sated, or just cut back on carbs a little more. It's hard for me to say, because it's an individual process.

Jason · Answer 4 · 2010-06-16 15:10:45Z UTC

0

I thought this might be helpful.

Age 28 Male 5 10" 270Lbs.

Large Framed body.

answered Jun 16 2010 at 15:10

Jason
341●4●15

ben61820 · Answer 5 · 2010-06-17 00:27:29Z UTC

Welcome jason. youll do just fine with this type of living, dont worry. all it takes is commitment. All the answers are there for you, no thinking or counting or anything required. Best way to live life. Youre going to be so much happier. Peace and love and bring on the questions. not that i have the answers:) but im sure all of us together can come up with some good pseudoscience

Just the begining.

5 Answers