The Paleo Diet

[RosieMoonflower]

I know this isn't spiritual but I've seen other diet posts so I hope this is okay? Does anyone have any opinions or experience with this diet? My father has been doing this diet for 10 months or so and has lost over 100lbs. My fiancé and are about to start it for the time from now until our wedding. We're going to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon and want to be in swimsuit shape by March. So if anyone has any advice, even if it's against the diet, I'd appreciate hearing it! Thanks, all!

If you're not familiar with the diet, here are some photos to help explain.

[shatteredsouls]

I'm no professional dietician but it looks good. Don't take TOO much of seafood, the high cholesterol problem may pop up. Do take a bit of carbo food, I don't think you can avoid it totally for months...

Oh and I'd suggest break down into smaller meals (from 3 huge meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner break down to 6 smaller meals).

[Cats and Tea]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtEubaJ30n0

I Went Paleo and Now I Hate Everything

I have my concerns surrounding the validity of the Paleo Diet. Such issues are discussed in the video I embedded. The url link is an anecdotal experience with the Paleo Diet.

I don't think that what can be accomplished with the Paleo diet can't also be accomplished with a standard diet of counting calories, eating more fruits and vegetables, and drinking more water. There are many apps to help you with counting calories.

If, however, you have your heart set on going Paleo, I would suggest going letting go of the forbidden foods one by one to make the transition easier.

Best of luck!

[SnowCat]

My pain doc recommended leaning more towards a pale type diet. He didn't say to go full bore paleo. I think everything in moderation is the key.

SnowCat

[Xiao Rong]

My brother is pretty hardcore Paleo. There are some things I respect about it (like cutting out processed foods), although I think the link to history is pretty bogus. I don't think cavemen ate nearly as much bacon ...

[SnowCat]

Bacon is a salted and cured product, so I don't really see belonging in a hard core pale diet. I guess uncured bacon is available these days, but if I want bacon, I want the real stuff.

SnowCat

[Sakura Blossom]

I just had a conversation about this with my doctor recently and thought I would weigh in. I had mentioned wanting to try this in hopes of weight loss and she just looked at me then shook her head. She explained that diets, in her opinion, aren't the way to lose weight. What you need to do is eat in moderation, follow the food pyramid and exercise (by making sure your caloric intake is less than what you exercise so you can burn the fat you want). Now that's not to say the paleo diet isn't something that is healthy - I think it is in the sense that you eliminate processed foods. You lose weight because you're cutting out foods and having it in moderation. The same goes for the idea of being gluten free as a "weight loss diet". You lose weight because you stop eating the carbs unless you're the type to replace them all with the GF versions of them. What I'm trying to get at here is that the theme is elimination and moderation as others have touched on.

My doctor told me: "Weight loss isn't a diet - it's a lifestyle." It's something I firmly believe and having taken her advice I'm down 10 pounds in a month. I've literally tried everything but this is the first thing I've ever done that helped. The reason it's a lifestyle and not a diet is because diets aren't quick fixes. You have to keep at it and exercise as well or there's a higher chance you'll gain the weight back as well. Plus, in my experience diets have been a sure way to set myself up for failure but everyone is different.

This is just my opinion, of course, but I would be careful of any diets you do and the reasoning behind it. (: I personally wouldn't diet to lose weight (I've tried a lot and it never worked) but it's every individual's choice.

I'd follow the paleo diet for health and not for weight loss but again, that's just me. (:

I wish I could type more but I'm on my phone at work. Haha. Too hard to post a lot on my phone so if there are any typos or hard to understand phrases I apologize in advance.

[RosieMoonflower]

Thank you for all the replies! I tried the diet for 3 weeks. The first week it was fun trying to plan the meals. The next week it was annoying that a lot of the groceries I already had, didn't fit into the diet. I couldn't just watch the food go bad so I gave myself a cheat day once a week to cook off some of the carbs and dairy I had at the house. Then after the 3 weeks, I caved and didn't eat paleo for 5 days. Since then I I decided that sticking to the paleo hardcore is going to be difficult, and it's not that I can't do difficult things it's just that right now I have a lot of other stuff going on at work that's making my life difficult, and that's about to increase over the next 6 months. I can only deal with so much at a time and trying to be on a strict diet while I'm coping with my new positions at work, is just too hard.

However, I agree with those of you who said it's all in moderation. If I take the bread off of a sand which or burger even 3 out of 5 times, I say that's better than never. If leave the cheese off my salad and choose a non dairy dressing 3 out of 5 times, that's better than never. I haven't had a soda pop in 2 months or more and that's a big one for me. So I am making slow lifestyle choices based around leaving out some of the foods the paleo diet encourages you to leave out.

[Sakura Blossom]

I think that's really good. (: All these diets that are out there don't necessarily have a lot of scientific evidence to back up their legitimacy, so to speak. I could be wrong, but from what I've read about most of the popular diets that seems to be the general consensus. What I mean is that while it helps to some degree, you're missing out on other nutrients you really need. Low-carb diets have been proven to higher risk of cardivascular disease and death, where obviously eating too many carbs can lead to the same because that's unhealthy as well. I've been to many dietitians due to some health conditions I have and they all stress the importance of following the usual 2,000 calories a day and eating the recommended amounts from the food groups because it's perfectly balanced in a way that will help keep you healthy. Unless, of course, you are medically told to change your diet for a condition then that's different. It's really important to work with a medical professional when you're changing what you eat because there really is a lot that you could miss on accident. I never knew that until I was diagnosed with my health condition and spoke to various doctors about it.

I hope I'm not sounding inconsiderate or rude at all. D: I've just had a lot of experience in this area and really wanted to help show each side of the coin. I'm not an expert, of course! This is just what I've learned over my many years of medical endeavors. Haha.

I think what you're doing is really good! Moderation is wonderful and really, you set yourself up for failure if you just start cold turkey in most situations. You shouldn't have to deny yourself the things you like to lose weight. (: I wish you the best of luck and am sending light your way for the difficult situations coming ahead.

[RosieMoonflower]

Now, I'm not saying it can't work. My father has been doing it over 10 months and he has made an amazing transformation. I'll share photos (please don't judge my parent political affiliations shown in the photo) but, the truth is that I don't need to loose as much weight as my dad. I want to slim up maybe one dress size. Just so I can feel comfortable on the beach.

Here's my folks a couple of years ago:



And this is them a couple of weeks ago:

[Sakura Blossom]

Oh I'm not saying it can't work - I'm saying be very careful because diets can be risky sometimes so I always try to stress the importance of being aware of nutrients that you're leaving out. (: Vitamin deficiency can be common with diets. You know your body, though!

That's very impressive though! Congrats to him!

[Naudia Threng]

My dads doctor recommended he and his wife go paleo. They got tons of cookbooks and there are many good recipes if you'd like some. They do take lots of vitamin supplements though.

[RosieMoonflower]

I would like to comment here that I have promptly given up on the paleo diet... Lol! I got my wedding dress in and it fit perfectly!! So needless to say, if I lose anymore weight it will be too big! However, upon returning grains and sugar to my diet, I noticed something awful. I hate to talk about something gross here but I want everyone to be warned, my stool lost all color and form. Now if you look up these symptoms it says contact a doctor immediately! Apparently if your stomach isn't producing bile it can cause that and that is a sign of cancer! So I went to the doc and she took samples and after a few days everything was back to normal, so it was just my body adjusting to eating grains and gluten again. Anyways, be aware this can happen and don't go to doctor and spend a bunch of money because you think you have cancer like I did.....

Rosie

[SnowCat]

What you described can be a symptom of gallbladder problems, although I hadn't heard of it being a possible cancer symptom. I think getting checked was a good idea. Knowing your own body, and paying attention when something is off, can solve a lot of problems before they become serious.

Snow

[smogie_michele]

All diets work differently for everyone.
I have a friend that swears by paleo. I, for one, love pasta and cheese so I wasn't willing to humor that idea.
I did do the 21 day fix and I absolutely loved it. I hated paying $90 for the dvds and containers, but it worked for me.. I was never hungry and I loved the workouts. In a month I lost 6 solid pounds and in 2 months I lost 10- it was a healthy transformation.
Then again, I had a friend try it and say she gained weight and thought it was worthless. *shrug*