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I used to be a neurotic calorie counter for a good 1 year before starting Paleo. At first, it got me places; I got good grades at university, I learned the piano, and I was an overall way happier person. But then it got to be an obsession. Needless to say, counting calories took over my life. Now on Paleo for a good month, I'm astounded by how many more calories I'm taking in compared to what I was used to (something like 1500 daily... I know, horrible). I just casually drank a can of coconut milk and now that I realized it was something like 700 calories... it feels effin' great! It's not a typical thing I eat, but I can now feel fine eating this many nutritional calories in a sitting without dwelling about the numbers for days.

Oh and just a note, I'm not advocating the consumption of loads of a food just for the hell of doing so.

Anyone else have similar reversals in their perceptions about calorie intake?

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Nice question Phazo! – Eric Nov 14 2011 at 8:01
When I did count calories, my goal was 1500 per day and I lost 2 lbs per week. I was never willing to go lower, and on 1500 I usually went on a binge within 6 months. Now, every time I informally count my daily intake for fun, I'm around 1400-1500 but I'm very satisfied rather than trying to be a hero. – Nance Nov 16 2011 at 21:40
That's great Nance. – Phazo Nov 18 2011 at 22:58

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I logged my food during my transition to paleo. Macros started at 45C/35F/20P pre-paleo which transitioned to 30C/50F/20P on paleo. Calories before paleo: 2350; after paleo: 2250. So the net result of going paleo was a slight reduction in calories consumed and more of a bias towards fat calories over carbohydrate calories.

And how I perceive it all? I eat when hungry and find myself less hungry overall in general. Coffee in the morning and two full meals later in the day, that leaves me completely sated.

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same here. breakfast used to be my favorite meal and now I'm forcing myself to eat it. i think i'll follow your lead. – Phazo Nov 20 2011 at 5:50
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I did the 801010 diet a couple years ago and there all about eating massive amount of calories from fruit, before that I was on your typical raw vegan starvation diet. Now on a paleoesque diet(which is basically the fruit thing+a ton of pro/fat) I'm averaging about 4500 cals a day.

What this all made me realize is I need a lot of food to gain weight and function correctly.

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Have you gained a significant amount of weight since going Paleo? If you did, has it been fat, muscle or an even combo? – Phazo Nov 16 2011 at 21:32
I gained a lot of weight after coming off the raw vegan gig, my body composition stayed the same. Lately I have gained a little bit but the gains are much slower now. Its all been mostly lean mass. – cliff Nov 16 2011 at 23:34
Sorry, I didn't see your comment before. That's great to hear. I'm about to check my weight after about a month and a half of Paleo in a few days. my body composition is exactly the same as well but I feel like I've definitely gained some healthy weight...I'm not struggling to work my job anymore. – Phazo Nov 20 2011 at 5:48
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So many stars and so little answers...

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