Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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So, I've been Paleo 100% (except for the very occasional slip-up: sugar consumption every few weeks, and perhaps unintentionally in restaurants) for a little over two months. When I started, I felt better immediately- this was more important to me than losing weight. Still, I did lose some (somewhere between 5-10 pounds; I was 5 "7", 135ish pounds), even while eating some dried fruit and nuts.

Then after a month, it stopped and I actually on the balance gained weight, coming out to about 6 pounds more than pre-paleo. I figured out I can't eat coconut, so I cut that out, thinking that that might have been part of the reason. But it looks like its not. Exercise hasn't changed- doesn't include any weightlifting, just 3-6 mile runs.

I had started taking hormonal birth control, but stopped a couple of weeks ago. No change since. I don't eat many tubers/starchy vegetables, or fruit, apart from some dried. Bad, I know, but I've always done so. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be behind this? Thank you so much to anyone that answers!

flag	asked Jan 10 2012 at 22:27 Celine 612●4●11

	What do you actually eat in a day? – Travis Culp♦ Jan 10 2012 at 23:02
	So, at the beginning of being Paleo, pre-weight gain, I ate, for example: for breakfast: coffee and some sauteed tuna, mushrooms, tomatoes. Lunch: scrambled eggs and cured meat. Snack: egg fried in olive oil, a few walnuts, bit more tuna. Dinner: chicken curry with onions, tomatoes, peas, and some toasted coconut with tahini as dessert. Now: Breakfast is maybe a fried egg, a little ground beef with onions. Snack: some pumpkin seeds with turmeric/olive oil, 4 Brazil nuts. Lunch: red cabbage and ham cooked in duck fat, a few macadamia nuts and raisins. Dinner: cioppino, 2 prunes. – Celine Jan 10 2012 at 23:25
	The same thing happened to me. I don't have a good explanation. I am just cutting my calories to quite a bit below the level I originally kept to when I first started paleo. – Sigrid Jan 10 2012 at 23:43

DeanS · Answer 1 · 2012-01-11 02:31:06Z UTC

I don't think this is uncommon. Apart from what has already been said, low carbohydrate can be a problem for some people and stalls fat loss. You can search for leptin sensitivity and carb refeeds for possible causes. Your carbohydrate requirement is going to be greater if you run a lot. Though dried fruit is calorie dense, it appears to be your main source of carbohydrate and you may not be getting enough if you are only eating a handful or two. Eating too much dried fruit, of course, can be problematic. Apparently, fructose can affect Leptin sensitivity as well, but I'm no expert. I use to snack a lot on raisins and almonds and found myself putting on fat even though I am very active. I had to give up the raisins and reduce the almonds to an occasional treat. I do still get plenty of carbs from sweet potatoes, apples, berries, and occasionally a potato. I actually stay leaner with moderate carb intake than with low, most likely due my high activity level.

Nance · Answer 2 · 2012-01-10 23:56:22Z UTC

If you are 5'7" and weigh in the 130s you aren't really overweight, are you? Are you saying you are "skinny fat?" I'm 5'4" and mid-130s has always been a very reasonable weight for me because I carry good muscle tone.

Your weight fluctuations could be increased lean mass as James said. Or, if you did empty some fat cells they may have re-filled with water which can take a while for release.

Two months in is still the beginning of your lifestyle change. I'd experiment with a different mix of foods each week and note which combinations seem to work best based on how you feel and how your body seems to react composition-wise.

If you are relatively lean to start with, eating healthier foods will have many good results but losing body fat may not be one of them. From the evolutionary standpoint, being extremely lean has always been risky and less than ideal for fertility. I understand you may have tiny bones, etc., but I'd trust the mirror and my clothes a lot more than a scale. If you really feel you have too much body fat you may have to be careful with portion sizes but don't eat too little or you'll make the problem worse.

James · Answer 3 · 2012-01-10 22:33:24Z UTC

Is the waistline smaller or larger? The thing to remember with Paleo is that you are usually eating a higher protein diet than before. Higher protein leads to higher lean muscle = higher weight but smaller waistline (even without weightlifting). Other than that, the hormones can lead to big swings in water weight. You'd need input from the female crowd here on that.

BoweryGuy · Answer 4 · 2012-03-01 14:11:30Z UTC

Just curious, Celine, if you ever discovered the cause. I'm in a similar spot and I'll be danged if I can figure out why. I started Paleo in October of 2010 and promptly dropped about 25 lbs. They've stayed off until about a month ago when I noticed my pants waist was getting a little snug so I weighed myself and found I'd put on 8-10 lbs since last weigh. I've systematically tried all the things I could think of that --could-- be the factor... things I had either started or increased in the last couple of months, but none of those removals seem to have made any difference. Here's my list so far: - coconut oil (was taking 2-3 TBSP daily) - eggs (had recently started eating them) - nuts (had increased from very little to 1-2 healthy servings/day)

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