Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've recently lost about 20 lbs, and am now at about 137. I'm female, a few weeks shy of 46, 5'7" and extremely lean above the waist (and always have been; even at my heaviest, you can see my ribs). Waist is 26 inches.

All of my weight is in my hips, thighs, and butt. I've lost inches there and dropped 2-3 sizes (depending on the brand!) and am pretty satisfied with how I look now. But I can grab a LOT of flesh/fat at my thighs/butt and I want to firm up and burn that fat and build muscle.

Right now, I'm tracking my food on MyFitnessPal, and I tend to be in a range of 1400-1700 cals/day. My ratio is generally around 5-10% carbs/65% fat/25% protein. I shoot for around 94 grams of protein daily. My fats come from meat or coconut oil or butter, for the most part. Olive oil if I'm having a salad.

I VERY rarely eat nuts. Occasionally will have some strawberries in heavy cream, but not often.

According to a BodPod on 8/3/11, my BF % was 31.9% (ugh). I think it's dropped a bit since then. My lean body mass at that time was 94 pounds.

I've been doing sprinting (exercise bike or elliptical--it's been too hot in Texas for outdoors) rotating with bodyweight exercises and kettlebell (a mix of Sisson and Wolf), and then a day off. I know that's working, as I have advanced from wall pushups to modified floor pushups. Before, I couldn't even do 1. Yay. I do some slow biking (55-60% of max heart rate) every few days, too, or sometimes after the weights.

I try to do the workouts in a fasted state.

I am eating dairy, but not that much. I cook in butter or coconut oil generally, will put grated cheddar in my eggs, and occasionally eat a Fage yogurt (full fat) or use HWC on berries or in my coffee. I think I'm slowly losing the fat and gaining muscle, but I'm wondering if I'm doing it most efficiently.

Carbs seem to be coming in around 38grams/day. I will sometimes skip lunch; just not hungry, so I know I'm eating to satiety.

Is it just a matter of time or is there something else I should focus on? My sleep is good (7-8 hours and I wake at about 5:45 without an alarm clock. This is a new thing and I LOVE it!)

Thanks!

flag	asked Sep 5 2011 at 20:23 Paleo-ish 591●2●8

Be patient. My last few pounds took about 4 months to come off. 5'6", 125, 48 yrs old. Make sure you are sufficient in Vitamin D & take 400-600 mg Magnesium a day. I eat plenty of dairy by the way--mostly fermented. IF is my friend. – Dragonfly Sep 6 2011 at 0:47

henny · Answer 1 · 2011-09-05 22:14:36Z UTC

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I wonder if you might benefit from some weight training? And maybe climb a few flights of stairs regularly- that is good for the tush!

answered Sep 5 2011 at 22:14

henny

we recently moved to a two story house--so I probably should incorporate going up and down into part of the regimen. As for weight training, I probably should. My intention was to work up to it. I.e., starting with bodyweight, then adding in weights as the reps become easier. But maybe jumpstarting a bit would make sense. – Paleo-ish Sep 5 2011 at 23:37

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House with stairs is great! When I first went (undiagnosed) hypothyroid, lost a few marbles and put on weight the doc told me to get a stair climber to lose weight. I said I had one already- a three story house and no brains! I may be heavy but I have a good tush. LOL! – henny Sep 6 2011 at 3:29

JS Paleo · Answer 2 · 2011-09-05 21:41:33Z UTC

Sounds like you have a good exercise regimen going.

Your food choices seem pretty solid as well.

In my experience when I dropped dairy completely it made a large difference in my body composition. You may not react the same way to that change but it maybe worth eliminating the cheese and yogurt for two weeks to see how that works for you.

Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 3 · 2011-09-05 22:09:32Z UTC

If it were me, I'd be tempted to experiment with Leangains' intermittent fasting protocol. But I also think one of the challenges is that gaining lean body mass and losing fat are somewhat opposite processes. It might be worth an experiment to cut back a little on the former to concentrate on the latter.

I've been sidelined by some post-AHS11 sciatica, but when that's resolved, I'm going to do 1 BBS workout every 10 days, with two HIIT workouts on a rowing machine on days 5 and 8 of the 10-day period. Otherwise, I'm going to do lots of low and slow (I do lots of water walking in the pool ... I found Tim Ferriss' story about Ray Cronise using pools to help burn cals compelling).

And remember, the fat in the butt & thighs is a lot less risky than the abdominal fat you don't have! Be patient ;).

BaconHealsChic · Answer 4 · 2011-09-06 04:33:02Z UTC

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Think you sound like you are doing great. The only thing i would say is everytime the scale stops i lose inches like crazy.

answered Sep 6 2011 at 4:33

BaconHealsChic
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Evan · Answer 5 · 2011-09-05 21:43:29Z UTC

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I'd drop the diary entirely. Caffeine seems to be an issue with some as well.

Good luck!

answered Sep 5 2011 at 21:43

Evan
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I actually might be at a point where I could do that (the caffeine, I mean). I'm the girl who single-handedly kept starbucks in business with the venti nonfat latte sales. Haven't had one in months and now drink 1 cuppa coffee in the am and tea throughout the day. HWC only if I have a cup in the afternoon. Still getting the caff, but it's SO much less than I used to (lattes plus diet cokes -- I think I survived on that stuff). But I do think I could cut it. I like drinking warm stuff, though, and don't like most herbal teas. Will have to investigate.... (But may give up dairy 1st!) – Paleo-ish Sep 5 2011 at 23:39

Weight’s okay, but can y’all help me lose fat?

5 Answers