Paleo Diet - Have you tried this?

Lukin said:
The only way to do a diet is simply don't eat. Just consume less than 500 calories a day, until your body becomes bulimic.

I know it sounds harsh but I lost 35 pounds this way :-D and it only took less than a month

I'm proud to be somewhere between 75 to 80 kilos (170-175 lbs)

:)
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That way of dieting is not sustainable long term. You will just gain back the weight when you stop "starving" yourself. Paleo can be a long term way of eating. I've been Paleo about 3 years now and it's the only diet that has me feeling normal. I'm convinced the standard North American diet would have turned me into a diabetic had I gone on much longer with it; I had all the symptoms of Hypoglycemia (A.K.A. sugar intolerance, carbohydrate intolerance, pre-diabetes). In desperation I tried Macrobiotic, Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw Vegan and Fruitarian eating. Yes, I actually consumed only fruit for 2 and half months. Felt like I was dying, probably because I was. But that's desperation for you. And if you have done even a little research into diet, you will realize there is an argument for and against any way of eating. So all you have left to do is try it for yourself. Anyway, after all this, the only thing I hadn't tried yet was limiting carbs. Today, I no longer experience hypoglycemic symptoms and my skins problems have nearly vanished.

From what I've learned over the years, fat does not make you overweight. Carbs/sugar does. If you want a full blown scientific explanation, with credible studies and doctors credence, you can watch Fat Head. You will be shocked to find out why the American and Canadian food guide became what it is today. Something to remember: the body converts ALL carbs, whether fruit, vegetable or grain, into sugar, and sugar is what causes diabetes and weight gain. Grain is the worst of the carbs. Fat Head goes into detail about that. And I should point out that Fat Head is not advocating Paleo eating, it's a balanced look at health, discussing our over consumption of carbs (and in turn sugar) and how it's the cause for diabetes and obesity. To be clear, grains are not the problem, our over consumption of them is. So while I believe humans are omnivores, I do think some people (like myself) are not genetically equipped to handle as much of them. For instance, Native Americans are said to be 3 to 5 times more likely to become diabetic (studies vary slightly but all agree they are at higher risk). And it's no surprise, seeing how historically, Indians did not focus on agriculture for sustenance. They were primarily hunter gatherers. I'm not Native American as far as I know, but it's interesting to note that some ethnic groups are not so well adapted to eat certain food groups. The same principle applies to Asians and their dairy intolerance.

So basically, I would not necessarily advocate Paleo eating for everyone, but I would encourage everyone to consume less grains due to all the evidence brought forth by Fat Head. And what "less" looks like depends on the individual... experiment with food ratios and figure out what feels best for you.

Ambrosia, Marksdailyapple.com is an excellent resource for all things Paleo, including recipes.
 
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My teacher is doing paleo for her wedding. Gosh it's really tough! But she makes it sound fun.
 
MotionInSilver said:
its bascially low carb diet. but staying away from grains and legumes in general saying they're not made for humans but for cows thats why cows are super fat etc etc that's what I understand after reading about it as I've been trying to stray away from grain itself as I do feel its making me fat so I do agree with some of the message caveman diet people are saying in general however its the mentality and mindset
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That's just nuts. Cows are fat because they don't run around much. Wild horses eat grass too, have you ever seen a fat wild horse? :)

Anyway

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet said:
The Paleolithic diet consists of foods that can be hunted and fished, such as meat, offal and seafood, and can be gathered, such as eggs, insects, fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and spices.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet#cite_note-doi:10.1080.2F11026480510032043-1
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Seems like what most people already eat? of course not including the sugary stuff.
 
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Oc318 said:
Cows are fat because they don't run around much.
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Actually, cows are fat because we make them fat to feed more people. In addition, animal Sterioids are widely used to increase food production.

It's true if you eat lean non-processed food you will be lean.
 
You're right, VacationGuy. Most of today's food animals like cattle are factory-farmed in the U.S., which means feeding them grain purposely to shorten the amount of time until they can be slaughtered and to fatten them up more quickly overall. Cattle are meant to eat grass not processed grain. They are also pumped full of drugs to deal with the conditions caused by un-natural lifestyle. Same is true for chicken and so on.

Wild horses are leaner in the more arid areas of the U.S. because they have to travel so far most of the time to find edible plants and water. Wild horses on island communities or in more Northern climates can be fatter because the conditions are different.

No, I haven't tried Paleo..think there is something to it but there could also be some exaggeration ....
 
dogmom said:
You're right, VacationGuy. Most of today's food animals like cattle are factory-farmed in the U.S., which means feeding them grain purposely to shorten the amount of time until they can be slaughtered and to fatten them up more quickly overall. Cattle are meant to eat grass not processed grain. They are also pumped full of drugs to deal with the conditions caused by un-natural lifestyle. Same is true for chicken and so on.
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Yea well.. what can anyone do about that... :P

dogmom said:
No, I haven't tried Paleo..think there is something to it but there could also be some exaggeration ....
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I'm already on it, and I didn't even know it lol -- mostly fats and protein, with meat and vegetables and nuts and grain. It seems to work for me (you'd never believe how much I weigh) but then I also drink too much coffee.. but then coffee is natural too.

Now that I think of it, I don't usually consume anything that can't be hunted, fished or gathered, it's not bad and much better than the artificial stuff :)

Also, I don't drive much, I take buses, and walk (I really like walking, gives you time to think and you can be sure no one bothers you while you're doing it :) )
 
Oc318,
I like walking too. I'll look forward to walking in the more rural area where we live now.

I tend to eat plant-based, whole foods. I avoid artificial sweeteners and preservatives.

As far as the meat/cattle thing goes - more and more people in metro areas are buying directly from farmer's, farmer's markets and getting meats from grass-fed or free-roaming animals. If you are going to eat meat/eggs and don't hunt, there are ways to avoid factory-farmed meat and support farmers that are trying to do something different.
 
I think grain is a big no no in Paleo. See like you can't pick a loaf of bread off a tree. You can grow wheat, oats etc but it has to be processed to eat it, that's why it's not "gathering' food.
 
I have no idea, and I haven't gotten into paleo, I'd like to though, I'm just pretty dang sure it's just meat veggies fruit and nuts, no grains. There's plenty of carbs and fiber in veggies and fruit. Fruit actually has a lot of sugar in it. I was looking through a book my parents had, written by some people that had so super make over show, weight loss plastic surgery too I think I don't know I never watch tv. Anyway some of things I remember from it if you're really trying to lose weight, little fruit, no fruit juice and don't eat after 7??
 
yeah, I read that about fruit too. I love apples and berries though.
 
ambrosia said:
I think grain is a big no no in Paleo. See like you can't pick a loaf of bread off a tree. You can grow wheat, oats etc but it has to be processed to eat it, that's why it's not "gathering' food.
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I don't eat bread much either. But yes oats, boiled with water and covered in fresh full-fat milk. And coffee, with fresh full-fat milk and no sugar :)

And nuts... lots of nuts :)
 
Oc318 said:
Yea well.. what can anyone do about that... :P
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You do have choices. You can try to look for companies that tell you they don't use steroids on their animals. However, I would caution you are only taking their word for it which to me has about as much credibility as, "I've seen Elvis". Still, if you buy at Whole Foods, Trader Joes and other shops for organics they are going to charge top dollar for those specialty items which to me is a rip-off because it cost them less to produce.

Also, there is a trade off between organic food and food raised with protection from disease. If you go totally organic, you have no protection from things man has found to be harmful. That ain't good, seriously.

I'm not against the Paleo diet, in fact, I'm not against any balanced diet, but long term that won't work. You need a lifestyle change and if you use Paleo like this it will work long term. In addition, the term, "Anything you can hunt and gather" is more a marketing angle. Think about it, anything you can hunt and gather is already in the supermarket and is probably already filled with steroids and genetic engineering, right?

I personally don't worry about whether something is genetically engineered. I eat lean food such as Top Round steak instead of Sirlion, and boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of dark meat. Those two things alone are going to cut your fat intake by quite a lot. For fats I eat almonds and other natural fats as well as fish and vegetables, etc, balanced diet.

You can't go totally fat free because you need good fats.

Bottom line, just make better food choices at the supermarket.

And, as far as weight goes, your target should be height/weight proportionate first. You can worry about being a supermodel once you hit that goal(which is easily obtainable, btw). Later, you can look at things like body type.
 
actually -certified - organics - certified by a third party agency, cost more to produce than non-organics because of the paperwork and other involvement with the third-party agency. Also, farmers doing monoculture and typical commercial crops can get farm subsidies which in the short-term reduces their costs, while farmers not subscribing to the Big Agriculture model do not have the same resources available to them, so it does cost them more to produce the same product.
Organic feed for livestock is also more expensive than non-organic, so that is passed on to the consumer. If the farmer certifies, they technically need to use organic feed/pasture

Un-certified and smaller-scale organic farmers may not deal with the above in terms of certification.

I agree with making choices at the store - if you are one of the people who are lucky enough to be able to make the choice.

I'm always wary of any of the commercial diets and marketing terms like "Paleo" and so on.
 
Point taken as to the subsidies and I'm sure economies of scale is also a factor.

Alternative to cost would be self growth, but then you would have to factor in your time as well.

Perhaps there is no perfect solution.
 
Outside magazine has an article called The Truth about Paleo. I got halfway through it during my cardio routine. I didn't realize the whole movement really took off after some crossfit people starting teaching it. It seems they graphed originators theory into a training method first. From there, it started to get pushed as a lifestyle. The rugged angle that the lifestyle presents works well with it's target audience of cross fitters. It's appealing to be the brute with the spear.

Personally, I don't go for either-or type lifestyles which give up something(meat, dairy, etc) as a sales pitch to differentiate it. IMO, a low fat balanced diets works best.

Having said that, I have an issue with the non-dairy part of Paleo. My question is: If Paleolithic mothers breast fed their babies, why would dairy not be on the list of things to consume?

I use Fat Free half and half as well as 1 and 2% milk without detrimental weight gain.
 
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