Blog

4

Does anyone tried the paleo diet or primal approach and changed to another diet after. Can you tell your stories.

flag
5 
Who is Dick Anone, and why did he get seriously sick of my Paleo diet? :-) – raydawg Jan 1 2012 at 13:38
12 
Would they still be posting here if they did? Sorry just a thought that came to mind. /stares at ground & kicks at dirt/ – SuZQ Jan 1 2012 at 15:40
I take it you consider it "our" diet and not yours. – Nance Jan 1 2012 at 18:18
5 
Didn't know Paleo was a diet, I thought it was a lifestyle. I wouldn't change to anything else. – Jonesey Jan 1 2012 at 20:24
peatarian.com Many of the people there used to be here. – August Jul 3 at 17:48

18 Answers

23

Seriously, it's gone the other way with me. It seems like each stew I make is the best ever, and each leafy salad is the tastiest ever and each piece of fruit is the best ever.

I tried a number of small cheats over the holidays and each time my thought was, "Really? This is what this tastes like? My food is much better." The only thing that tasted good at all was the shortbread that made me so sick.

There's a nearly endless combination of real foods that are delicious and don't punish me afterwards.

link|flag
7 
That shortbread tastes so good from all the butter!! – Futureboy Jan 1 2012 at 21:08
I somewhat ran into this the other night. It was a big birthday dinner I had cooked with beef brisket, sweet potato fries, grilled asparagus, salad and olive oil, etc.. The problem? I am still much better at tri-tip than I am at brisket. The brisket, though tender, was somewhat bland in taste. I threw in my culinary towel on that battle and poured a dabble of KC BBQ sauce on my plate. Ick. No. Somewhere along the line I lost my taste for it, apparently. Even though the brisket wasn't up to snuff I still preferred it without the HFCS ridden BBQ sauce. – Nvor Mar 25 at 15:19
I went back on the SAD diet for Spring Break just to see. That week ended up being miserable. I found myself craving salads. Paleo just tastes better. – DavidHill76 Mar 25 at 17:32
18

No .

link|flag
16

I've heard of folks who "used" to eat Paleo, and I always wonder, "What the heck does that mean?" How could you go back to anything in a box after knowing what you know?

Now, I get the frustration of folks who aren't losing weight on it if that's their main goal. But there are 12,397 other fantastic reasons for eating this way.

There's no going back for me. It's not even remotely a viable option. Maybe only in the event of apocalypse. Even then, I'll just need to grab a rifle and start in on the deer and squirrels in these parts. So no. Not an option.

link|flag
I forgot to mention that Don Matesz is the most infamous example.You can find his blog in a search, I'm too lazy to link. He's gone toward more vegetarian if I'm not mistaken? He bid Paleo adieu several months ago, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what's so radically different about his approach. I think he got upset about the blowback to his blood-lipid theory and took his toys and went home. – Karen P. Jan 2 2012 at 18:20
15

Hi Alan,

I'll post a link about histamine intolerance. The main topic: the paleo diet does not solve the problems if someone has very special food intolerances / sensitivities and does not know about it !!

Citation: "The trap for practitioners promoting a paleo-type diet (of any brand), when any of these issues are in existence prior to intervention, is to over-promise what a paleo diet can do to help. This inevitably leads to a degree of disappointment if these issues do not resolve, with the introduction of a paleo diet, to the extent that everyone had hoped… a situation made worse when others do experience a full resolution and want to sing the praises of the diet from the roof tops."

http://thatpaleoguy.com/2011/04/11/histamine-intolerance/

link|flag
2 
+1 This is a good answer. – PolkaAches Jan 1 2012 at 16:18
1 
Thank you Mash and Happy New Year ! – Isa Palstek Jan 1 2012 at 17:46
7

Maybe I am missing something here but how is the Paleo diet that different from what you were eating before?

I mean surely the average person eats meat and vegetables cooked with an oil and a side of starchy carbohydrate.

Understandly Paleo gave us reasons to drop the grains, watch the carbohydrate and not fear the fats. But surely people were already cooking in fats (butter,lard,olive oil) to begin with and so the big change would be dropping the gluten.

So if by dropping the gluten you now feel crappy, I would assume that it is probably not the gluten.

What was your diet before and how does it compare to Paleo?

Sorry if I sound a bit ranty but sometimes I think I am taking crazy pills and am the only person who does not see that much of a difference between what I ate before and Paleo and what I think most people (well those I know) eat normally every day. The biggest change I see is avoiding gluten and watching the sugar.

Sorry this is not an answer to your question at all.

Someone please slap me.

link|flag
1 
:-)) Consider yourself slapped. Sorry, I think there's a big difference between how I used to eat and how I eat now. That's why the alleged treats were such a disappointment. – Nance Jan 1 2012 at 16:26
2 
+rubs his cheek+ :) – PolkaAches Jan 1 2012 at 16:29
6

I think after a while pretty much everyone just starts to see Paleo as a template and then adds in things like dairy or certain fermented foods as they see fit. I find that I don't really like meat anymore, I eat meat maybe only 3 meals a week. I eat fish about 3 times a week too. Still Paleo but for many people paleo means lots of meat.

link|flag
1 
No, I think you're exactly right. At times I'm a carnivore and pound the meat but at other times I eat a ton of vegetables with just a bit of meat in my broth. I trust my instincts now. – Nance Jan 2 2012 at 1:35
2 
LOL, Nance...I logged in on an airplane just to +1 "pound the meat." Gawd I live in the gutter... – January Jan 2 2012 at 3:50
5

I got seriously sick of my low-carb paleo diet after a few months, and added in many more starches, but no, I have yet to be tired or bored of the 1,457 x 10^24 real food combinations available to me. Seriously?

link|flag
4

I started Paleo a little over three months ago, mainly to try and recover from ten years of chronic illness. Ten years ago, I got a serious viral infection, but I never recovered. It's as if I have the flu 24/7. Doctors are at a loss (I've had every test in the book). The best guess is an upregulated immune system -- an immune system that never returned to normal after fighting off the initial virus -- so it "reads" me as sick and, as a result, is fighting, in effect a phantom virus. It cost me my career and has left me housebound.

Three months on Paleo and I'm about the same, but my body craves Paleo eating and I feel that must mean something good about the diet. There's no way I'd go back to eating non-Paleo even if my labs (which I haven't done yet) come back with so-called "bad" cholesterol numbers.

There's something to be said for a diet that hasn't made a person better (that's me) but which the body craves and is telling me "it's good for you." I'm sticking to it!

link|flag
Hope eating healthier foods helps you turn the corner! I admire your spirit. – Nance Jan 1 2012 at 19:08
2 
hang in there Toni. eight months ago i quit grains/legumes/seed oils not because i was unhealthy, but because i read somewhere that these changes would optimize my good health. i did immediately see some positive results in my digestion, but didn't really experience "the miracle" that many report. over the holidays i saw a photo of myself from last year and was shocked by how different i look. chances are you just don't see the changes because not all improvements happen over night. – sage_ Jan 1 2012 at 19:36
Toni~ ave you had your Vitamin D level checked? – Dragonfly Jan 1 2012 at 20:44
Thanks for your encouragement, Nance and sage. Dragonfly: yes I've have my Vitamin D level checked. It's normal. – Toni Jan 1 2012 at 22:10
3

I've seriously gained weight on paleo: 12 pounds. Don't know if switching to a different diet will stop that. Low-food reward causes paleo binging. I can't say that paleo makes me feel sick. It does appear to reduce my will power towards food for some reason I don't understand. It doesn't matter what my carb or fat amounts are. If I continue paleo, I'm going to have to start calorie counting. I didn't have to do that before I started paleo when I ate a somewhat processed food lower carb diet.

link|flag
2 
What are you eating? – smartcookie Jan 1 2012 at 21:45
3

Paleo is not a diet or cult or Religion. One cannot get 'sick' of the natural way of living we evolved to do best in. The only reason humans get 'sick' of something is because the mind wants something else and the human body is way smarter than the pliable human mind.

link|flag
6 
To quote the great dietician Dr R. Kelly: "My mind is telling me no, but my body, my body's telling me yes." – PolkaAches Jan 1 2012 at 17:25
1 
As a concept, yes. But in practice, someone can get 'sick' of the popular interpretation of the "natural way of living we evolved to do best in." – Mscott Jan 1 2012 at 20:48
2

Paleo is what you make it. I HAVE tweaked the paleo approach within the context of real food depending on my needs and will continue to do so I'm sure. In my mind...unless you are switching to a completely processed food diet with shakes and pre-made meals then the subjectivity you want is limitless.

link|flag
1

My son wanted to follow a paleo diet so I agreed. I track my food/calories and it didn't really change much, however I did begin gaining weight. He didn't really have any changes in his weight.

I switched back to a few more carbs and the weight has begun dropping back off, just not all of it yet. I also find that the whole grain carbs help me feel fuller longer.

I stay on the paleo lists for recipe ideas that I can then tweak.

link|flag
4 
You ate more and lost weight as a result? – AndyM Jan 1 2012 at 16:34
1 
sounds a bit suspicious to me. – Futureboy Jan 1 2012 at 21:07
2 
Some people do better with more carbs. But carbs aren't "not paleo". – Harfatum Jan 1 2012 at 21:10
Issues with leptin levels or leptin resistance? Of all food groups Carbs have the biggest effect on leptin ... – Jan Jan 2 2012 at 3:06
Cmisty, what specific "carbs" did you add? Do you mean starches? Can you add more details? I'm really curious. Thanks! – Missi Mar 25 at 13:47
1

YES. My Husband and I just got off the paleo diet in our first week. Day 5 we were very sick and on day 6 we were already hibernating. We couldn't do anything our bodies made it impossible to move around like normal. We started having pain all over our bodies and couldn't think or speak right. Very spacey. I'm 24 135lbs he is 38 175lbs. We even supplemented with a Crap load of vitimins and other sources. I'm so thankful I found this article. http://drcate.com/going-low-carb-too-fast-may-trigger-thyroid-troubles-and-hormone-imbalance/

But we felt horrible after we ate pasta and pizza. (we had to order, I was too sick to cook) felt like we were going to have a heart attack but we got everything done that we had to do but missed because of the fatigue. We ARE going to try this again just in moderation. Didn't lose a pound,old tooth ache came back, skin was brighter and skin was tighter.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN SHOTGUN DIETING IT'S YOUR LIFE SORCE. Oh and carbs are crack.

link|flag
2 
Yeah, you just had had a serious carb flu. It always depends on what you ate pre-Paleo as well. Stick it out for up to 2 weeks and you should be fine. – Kelly Jul 3 at 15:22
1

Yes. I backed way off on the protein and fat because I don't do well on either in higher amounts. Introducing lots of more potatoes helped but I had more improvements when I started eating more legumes, oats and wholegrain sourdough. I feel added fats are a waste of calories so I don't cook with them. Paleo reasons for avoiding oats, corn and legumes are entirely unconvincing and probably do more harm than good for many people. I eat meat or eggs once or twice a week if I feel like them.

link|flag
1

I've been on and off low carb for 10 years. I started "real" paleo in nov. OMG I had a serious carb flu for over a month. All I can say is I understand and man it is hell! Stick with it though. I have never felt better 3 1/2 months in...

link|flag
1

No, I got sick of sugar and white flower food coloring and food additives and chemicals in foods and being sick.

link|flag
0

I went back to my old traditional way of eating.

I tried it for 2 months. I started it with a transition period converting one meal to Paleo at a time. After 15 days of transition period, I thought no low-carb flu for me. But after about 25 days into Paleo, I started having indigestion and constipation, lose of appetite and weight (I started off as a thin woman already) and thinking about food every now and then (because, I'm a foodie and I'm not able to have them now (quantity-wise) due to lack of appetite and indigestion. The 'sick' period continued for a month.

I backed off and now I'm doing better in terms of digestion but I'm still craving food - junk and sugary particularly. Please note that before going Paleo, I didn't go for junk food/refined carbs/sugar too often - I keep them as treats. But I'm gradually getting hold of things....

link|flag
-1

get used to it or get used to being fat and sick. you can't have it all.

link|flag
1 
u can try increasing some starch (tubers, which are Paleo) – DH Jan 2 2012 at 1:39
3 
This is ridiculous, not everyone who isn't on a paleo diet is fat and sick. – j3wcy Jul 3 at 13:28

Your Answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.