Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've read "Solution" and "Blueprint" and fan of paleo, but this lady claims that she lost 40lb on raw vegetarian diet.

How it's possible? Is it high risk for insuline resistance and diabetes?

Freelea eats a diet that is 80% carbs mainly from fruit, 10% protein, 10% fat

UPDATE: carbs become glucose and get stored into fat a lot of exercise will burn glucose for sure but excess will be stored in fat right away if intensity of exercises are reduced also there is no protein source to builde muscles, did all this weight lose came from muscles and little bit from fat? How safe this diet for more than a few month? No protein, a lot of cardio exercises, lots of high carbs.

edited Jan 27 2012 at 18:12

Bread-Eating Beelzebub
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asked Jan 27 2012 at 7:37

Azat
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I think I just puked a little: from her FAQ An average day might be: Breakfast: Datorade: 20-30 dates blended on high speed with around 1.2-1.5 litres of water plus cinnamon to taste. Around 1300 calories Lunch: 8-10 Mangoes/half a large jakfruit/3 pineapples Dinner: A baby green salad with 5 chopped up bananas and 5 dates. Put aside some dates and banana and blend as sauce. – Wisper Jan 27 2012 at 14:02

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A diet like this is still eating-disordered in my book. – gydle Jan 27 2012 at 14:29

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I edited this so we aren't driving traffic directly onto her site. She has trolled on here and is currently banned, so I don't want to earn her more hits. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Jan 27 2012 at 18:13

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And to be honest if you look at her hips and thighs, it's quite clear she would look very eating disordered (like a pre-adolescent girl, though many men kind of like that) if she didn't have the breast implants in. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Jan 27 2012 at 18:14

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IMHO it's not fair to use your body to sell a diet if it's been modified through cosmetic surgery unless you have some kind of disclaimer on your site. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Jan 27 2012 at 18:38

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cliff · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-27 14:30:37Z UTC

Everyone loses weight on that diet. I did it for 8 months, consistently eating 4k calories of mostly dates, my weight dropped all the way down to 140 during that time. I was sitting on my ass most of the day and would do some heavy lifting a couple times a week because I wanted to build, chronic cardio isn't required to get your self to an anorexic weight level on raw vegan :)

The main reasons why 801010(raw vegan) allows you to eat so many calories without gaining weight is because it is very inefficient to convert carbohydrates to fat and they eat zero added fat so there is no added fat to be stored in the presence of high insulin and glucose oxidation. Sucrose based sugars also have a slight metabolic advantage over other foods, all that fiber probably inhibits you from absorbing all the food as well.

I actually feel pretty bad for these 811ers, They all want to build so bad but they are so afraid of protein. My diets basically 801010 with a gallon of milk and I essentially build muscle sitting around all day, compare that to 811 where I was working out 3 times a week and never gained one pound...

Matt · Answer 2 · 2012-01-27 12:09:24Z UTC

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Energy balance is all that matters. It's a myth that high-carb diets cannot produce weight loss.

answered Jan 27 2012 at 12:09

Matt
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You get the idea from some Taubes-ian paleo folks that carbs inhibit all weight loss, which is complete nonsense. Energy balance isn't overstated, it's like the theory of evolution or the theory of global warming. Widely accepted as how it all works. Current research support energy balance, not macronutrient hoodoo. – Matt Jan 27 2012 at 13:05

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There's more than one way to skin a cat. And believe it or not, it is completely possible to be healthy on a non-paleo diet! gasp! blasphemy! – Matt Jan 27 2012 at 14:57

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Well yes, but saying that one of the ways is to skin the cat still isn't terribly helpful. – PrimalDanny Jan 27 2012 at 16:38

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Danny, there's only one way to lose weight, and that's energy deficit. There are many ways however to achieve energy deficit. – Matt Jan 27 2012 at 18:29

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Yes I understand what you're saying Matt, I said the same in my answer. My point is very simply that is as unhelpful to people looking to achieve an energy balance to tell them that energy (for which they will hear calories) is all that matters as it is to tell someone trying to design a plane that the only thing that matters is that the plane generates more lift than it weighs. You wouldn't think yourself capable of aircraft design with that information, but people do think they can crack their diet with such little information. It's not helpful unless you can be bothered to qualify it. – PrimalDanny Jan 27 2012 at 18:37

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Lakkhesis1976 · Answer 3 · 2012-01-27 08:57:32Z UTC

To start with, she switched from SAD to raw vegan which is bound to get you results with weight loss. As for maintaining that result, she does a great deal of 'chronic cardio' and I also imagine that the amount of water/fibre/fructose in her diet has her only absorbing about 1/4 of the calories she's taking in and she's shitting the rest out multiple times a day. She lives primarily on dates and bananas so yes, she is putting herself at risk of diabetes/insulin resistance. Fructose malabsorption syndrome is likely after 4 years on this diet. All in all, she's one of the 'lucky ones' when it comes to weight on this sort of diet. I don't know how long it will last. There are countless stories of others who gain on it, who are told they're not doing it properly' if they experience such weight gain. It's important to remember that a low weight does not equate to health and vitality, not by a long shot. For example, she and Durian Rider sleep 12-15 hours per day just to keep up this crazy regime. Tell me that's not the sort of excessive sleep reserved for new borns, pregnant women and those with chronic fatigue?

PolkaAches · Answer 4 · 2012-01-27 16:58:29Z UTC

Surely you need the presence of free fatty-acids with glycerol to form triglycerides, and if the diet is very low in fats then this metabolic cycle is going perform differently for fat storage, even with elevated carbohydrates. Well this is my understanding and though quite possibly wrong (albeit oversimplified), but I assume you need elevated free fatty-acids and glycerol presence to do the deed, an imbalance of one of the other will adjust the propensity of triglyceride formation and storage, be that via low carb high fat, or low fat high carb? No?

One other thing I always worry about with stuff like this, is that if one day she decides that eating raw isn't the best idea, it is going to be a really hard for her to change with all the pressure of her website. I mean that in comparison to say Robb Wolf et al who tends to be quite verbal and open to softening on some issues (not gluten). But of course I am comparing not apples with oranges, but apples and beef steaks. I wonder if Durianrider and his fellow fruitiples don't even give themselves room to budge on some issues, and so lock themselves into ideology. I bit like a Veganehovah's Witness, or Paleoyper-Calvinist.

Also Robb has never dressed up like a watermelon or posted a bikini dance.

PrimalDanny · Answer 5 · 2012-01-27 08:13:30Z UTC

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A lot of exercise and not eating as much is how it's possible. Can't see much detail but she suggests she had disordered eating before and managed to stumble onto a diet that she could stick too. People do it every day. It doesn't mean it will last, it doesn't mean it will work for everybody, and it doesn't mean it's the healthiest option, but naturally that's what she sells it as because we're wired for complete self-confidence.

Fundamentally though, a raw vegan diet is a good deal closer to paleo than SAD. Presumably she's not eating grains or legumes either. How could she not lose weight just eating raw fruit and veg? Given enough time she'll probably disappear completely.

answered Jan 27 2012 at 8:13

PrimalDanny
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The problem is that Taubes and Lustig tell us fructose makes us fat. Yet this gal eats loads of it and doesn't get fat. I think that's a great thing, since I'm not afraid of fruit anymore thanks to her. – Bruno Jan 27 2012 at 9:08

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@Bruno - Basically, from a macro level, she is all carbs and no fat and protein. The carbs are from fruit and veg, which is the best carb she can get (not grains or SAD). This is a bit unscientific here (ie. don't have studies to support in front of me), but without any prot/fat, the body is basically going to eat itself. She is losing weight b/c body is having a feast on itself. No way to have an athlete live, or if you want to look like a fitness model. So, depends on your goals. If you are 80kg overweight and you want to lose weight, this might work for a while but will flatten in time – Frank Jan 27 2012 at 9:23

You shouldn't ever be afraid of fruit. And sure it's hard work to get fat eating nothing but fruit, but then it's hard work eating nothing but fruit. – PrimalDanny Jan 27 2012 at 11:41

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@Bruno - Without dietary protein, the body does break down its own proteins (that is, muscle and tissue). She may look good now (so do many celebrities with eating disorders), but it's doubtful she's maintaining muscle mass with an raw vegetarian diet. – SlightlyReworded Jan 27 2012 at 13:16

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If you eat craploads of fruit you do get protein though. And if she eats vegetables smoothies there's quite some protein in it too. – Korion May 27 2012 at 9:38

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Bill1102inf · Answer 6 · 2012-01-27 17:41:01Z UTC

Look at the logs. "8km hilly jog and 20km bike ride today, yesterday was 40kms on the bike." "20KM easy jog", etc.

Eating 80/10/10 Raw Veg/Fruit.

Many days are 1000 calories TEA days.

This is the 'stranded on a deserted island with a bicycle and no animals' "diet".

The problem is that off the island, adherence to either the diet OR the workouts would be quite low.

Other than that, this is some great stuff, and she is so hot it makes me want to climb a Palm tree to retrieve a coconut for her, or something.

gismcieri · Answer 7 · 2012-01-27 14:09:29Z UTC

It's easy to lose weight with the SAD recs. The problem is keeping it off and the other risks associated with it. I lost 40lbs 3 times that way but always put it back on cause it was unsustainable. Due to low calories and more exercise then I care to do.

Renee · Answer 8 · 2012-06-04 13:06:18Z UTC

And maybe some of us ladies don't WANT to be that thin. I've seen some of Freele's videos and such and I wasn't impressed. I'd prefer to look like one of the women in Apocolypto or look like I can handle cutting a field of sugar cane or digging a ginormous garden. My thighs and butt are big and that's genetics. It will never change. I'm not a big meat eater. I'll eat it when my body tells me to. I've tried different diets including raw vegan and low carb paleo. I like raw just not vegan because when my husband and his dad go hunting, nothing's more awesome that venison.

P.S. What's wrong with her before pics? A little chubby? She still looked pretty but you don't hear all the compliments when you're sick.

Aaron · Answer 9 · 2012-06-04 09:20:15Z UTC

The only real way to lose weight is to track calories and create a calorie deficit.

When you eat less than your body needs to maintain its weight, you lose weight.

And obviously, don't cheat, exercise regularly, and try to pick the healthier options whenever you run across a menu.

Losing weight isn't necessarily easy or fun, and it takes a lot of effort and self control.

Even more self-control not to go "mission accomplished" and revert to your old eating habits the second you hit your goal, but whatever I lost 90lbs over a period of 18 months and kept it off for over four years.

foreveryoung · Answer 10 · 2012-06-04 14:23:42Z UTC

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Her diet is very low in PUFA, so she has that going for her. Also, if you "need fat" to live, and she is not consuming hardly any fat, he body will go to her reserve fat stores.

edited Jun 4 at 14:23

answered Jun 4 at 14:12

foreveryoung
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agreed, and that includes the heart and brain... eek. – Rebekah Jun 4 at 15:52

I don't even know if that's true. Starvation will do that, but she's eating a very high calorie diet. apes, deer, and all the other animals that eat a low fat diet do not suffer heart or brain damage because of it. – foreveryoung Jun 4 at 16:03

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Sugar can be converted to fat so her body can just as well get a hold of fat like that, and the advantage is that PUFA is not ingested that way. – Korion Jun 4 at 17:22

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apes and deer were meant to eat that way though. i've seen the heart thing personally, but i am sure it's not in every case :) – Rebekah Jun 6 at 11:00

Apes have hind gut fermentation that creates short chain saturated fats. For all the touted low-fat veganism of gorillas, they ultimately derive ~65% of their calories from fat, most of it saturated. – Alex Jun 6 at 11:43

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Jenna · Answer 11 · 2012-10-18 01:18:10Z UTC

I'd just like to say that I am also a high carb raw vegan, and it is the greatest lifestyle I've EVER been on it. Freelee (pictured above) has been doing this for 7+ years, and she has more muscle mass than most girls that I know. This is by far the healthiest way to live, and it makes you SO happy, and it really teaches you how to love yourself. I don't know any meat based diet that can produce the same life changing results. I started truly loving myself after becoming vegan, and I would never turn back <3

Love and happiness to you all!! <3

How this is possible High Carb diet - Lost 40+ lb?

11 Answers