Paleo Diet

[ali2000]

I really have no idea where this thread would go, so maybe here will be ok...

I am considering doing the Paleo diet (or something similar) and was wondering if anyone has done it, how your success was, how hard it was to cut out your carbs and sugar, etc.
I have a big sweet tooth and I have to have extreme self control to not hunt down something sweet after dinner. (And the sweet fruits don't cut it - i am talking "real" sweets like jelly beans - yum, my favorite).
However, I know it is not healthy to eat all the processed foods that we do.

 

[Figment's Girl]

My husband has been on the paleo diet since the beginning of March and has lost about 15 lbs. He hasn't been super strict, but follows it 75% of the time.

 

[MarthaJr.]

Just wondering....what is the paleo diet? Is it patterned after what the Paleo Indians may have eaten?

 

[CTdiznymom]

I'd like to know too-

MarthaJr. - I have your sig line as my ringtone! Love hearing my phone ring.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I'm also interested in this diet. I need to lose 40-50 lbs

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I just happen to have a book called The Paleo Diet right here. Our neighbor has been on it with great success. He lost 15 pounds last year and has been keeping it off. He's very strict and disciplined about most things he does and rarely strays from the plan. After talking to him, my husband bought the book thinking he was going to do it but he found it way too strict.

Here are the basics (from the book):

Paleo refers to the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age Era. The author of the book contends that we should eat the way they did back then to achieve a healthy weight and reduce the risk of many diseases, such as cancer. In that era, people could only eat what they were able to hunt (wild game) or gather (non-starchy fruits and vegetables).

The 5 ground rules of the diet are:

1. All the lean meats, fish and seafood you can eat
2. All the fruits and non-starchy vegetables you can eat
3. No cereals
4. No legumes
5. No dairy products
6. No processed foods

You can also have limited quantities of nuts, seeds, healthy oils (olive, canola, etc.) and small amounts of alcohol. It also says you can have a couple of eggs per day.

As you can see, it's a very limited diet. I know I wouldn't be able to stick to it and my husband shelved the book after reading it! But, our neighbor really believes in it and has done well with it.

If you're looking to limit processed foods without being as strict as Paleo, you might want to check out the Mediterranean Diet. There are a few websites that explain it. Basically, it's leans meats, fruits and veggies, whole grains and low or non-fat dairy. You can have whole wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, couscous and oatmeal. Plus, you can have low or non-fat milk and cheese. It's still a little strict but not as hard to stick to. My doctor recommended it for me last year and it helped me reduce my cholesterol and triglycerides plus I lost 25 lbs!

 

[luvdisney00]

I started something similar in Sept. (except I do eat dairy) and once you get going it's not that hard I lost 25lbs from Sept- Jan and since then have just been maintaining my weight (maybe lost a pound or 2 ). For me personally I could never make WW or a reduced calorie diet work because once I eat sweets/starches I crave more sweets/starches. On this type of plan, you eat more fat and protien and much less carbs and it keeps me full and satisfied. I was also getting really worried about all of the chemicals, preservatives and artificial colors in my diet and now I have eliminated about 95% of that and feel great about it.

This type of diet really works, but it is a lifestyle change and you really have to be ready to commit to it, because if you just use it to lose a few lbs. they will come back (and probably more) when you "go off " the diet. I really like the foods that I eat and don't have too much trouble sticking to it. Now if FD is offered for my Aug trip, THAT's when it will be tough

Good Luck!!!!

 

[eeyorethegreat]

It makes a lot of sense in some ways, but I could not go with out dairy (milk) and cereal.

 

[dumboiu]

It makes a lot of sense in some ways, but I could not go with out dairy (milk) and cereal.

It makes no sense to me as we live 4 times longer than people did in the Stone Age! A lot has to do with our diet and getting the right vitamins and minerals. Back then, for the most part, people didn't live long enough to contract cancer. I would be careful with any diet like this. JMHO

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

Just curious.... why does everyone want to do something that limits foods they enjoy? You realized that if it's not something you can live with the rest of your life, when you return to the old eating habits/old foods, you'll gain the weight back, right? I've lost 25 lbs with weight watchers. I'm just following the guidelines, I couldn't afford to actually join... my sister joined and lost 45 lbs, she told me how to do the points and being sure I get the oil and protein each day. With this program I can eat the foods I enjoy, just in moderation. I have changed my eating habits, but willfully, to something that will be a life change, and I do not feel like I'm missing anything. It's changes my cooking habits, and although nothing else has changed for him but my healthier cooking, DH has lost several inches too... he's certainly not trying although he can use it!! I know the program seems intimidating, at least that's what everyone says when I tell them how I've lost weight, but I went into it gradually and have had no issues, just fun.

Anyway, just my two cents, thought I'd put them out there

 

[zoemurr]

no sugar or flour diet.

I found it pretty easy. I changed to no flour pasta and bread, snack mainly on fruit, veggies, nuts, and corn chips. If I need something sweet I have a few chocolate kisses or 15-20 M&M's. I'm not crazy strict with it, but cutting out flour cuts out most of the processed foods (which we're not huge on here anyway.) There is no portion control for other items, but of course you need to be sensible.

I lost 30lbs from July-Dec (a steady pound a week or so) and am not really having any trouble maintaining it. After you detox from sugar (2 weeks or so) you really don't crave it as much.

Good luck.. I read this mantra and love it. "It's not that I will never eat flour or sugar again, it's just that I won't eat it today." That helps me a lot. I also love watching the graph go down on the wii fit. It's a fun way to keep track of your progress.

HTH

 

[eeyorethegreat]

It makes no sense to me as we live 4 times longer than people did in the Stone Age! A lot has to do with our diet and getting the right vitamins and minerals. Back then, for the most part, people didn't live long enough to contract cancer. I would be careful with any diet like this. JMHO

My point being is that lean meats and plenty of vegetables were what they ate then and those things are still part of a healthy diet contrary to the highly processed foods that many eat today. We have sophisticated medical care today as well so of course we live longer. At any rate it isn't a point worth arguing.

 

[mum4jenn]

We also do not get stomped by dinosaurs either!!

 

[TnTWalter]

Back in college one of our friends was hugely into a book called 'fit for life' we read it...it was all about food combining or something....too complicated and not how we ate at the time [college was beer and pizza for me. LOL]...but what stuck with us was for hubby only fruit until noon [he still to this day has a fruit smoothie for breakfast but now i have him adding protein powder] and me do most of your grocery shopping from the perimeter of the store....i really don't remember much else...it was vaguely like 'the zone' which was popular when Jennifer Anisten first lost all her weight and cut her hair....

Anway I'm on what I call the 'low cra@ diet'. Basically I limit the processed foods I eat and limit the whites [white bread white potato, white rice etc.]. I don't drink milk often at all [unless I'm having a treat bowl of cereal or something]...
I eat lean proteins mainly egg whites chicken fish and occasional beef. Lots of veggies and fruits. Protein powder shakes for midday. I love the all fruit lime popsicles for desserts. I still drink wine but try to limit it to weekends.


Sample day: Breakfast would be eggwhite omelet with sprinkle of cheese and salsa, lunch is a big salad with spinach, romaine, peppers, 1-2T balsamic or oil and vinegar, chicken or tuna, and dinner would be stir-fry chicken with veggies a little olive oil some pine nuts...DELICIOUS and eat with brown rice. That sort of thing. Healthy and satisfying. Lots of water [1/2 your body weight]. 2 snacks during the day...string cheese and fruit or some greek yogurt with granola & fruit or hummus and veggies, etc.

Anyway the key is 80/20....80% of the time eat what is best for your body and 20% of the time splurge on whatever you LOVE [jellybeans or a slice of cheesecake or a couple pieces of pizza or a dark beer, etc.]....you could even just say 6 days of week I'll follow this and the other day 'off'.

That plus exercise...weight training and cardio and I'm fairly fit most of the time since 2003. I do occasionally go a little the wrong way and start hitting more 20/80 and the pounds start coming....so I reign it back in....this year was my worst but I've reigned it back in and it's fallen off.

I don't believe in diets. I believe in lifestyle. Best of luck.

 

[hambirg]

I really have no idea where this thread would go, so maybe here will be ok...

I am considering doing the Paleo diet (or something similar) and was wondering if anyone has done it, how your success was, how hard it was to cut out your carbs and sugar, etc.
I have a big sweet tooth and I have to have extreme self control to not hunt down something sweet after dinner. (And the sweet fruits don't cut it - i am talking "real" sweets like jelly beans - yum, my favorite).
However, I know it is not healthy to eat all the processed foods that we do.

I haven't been on this particular diet. . .but I wanted to tell you that once you cut out a lot of the carbs and up your protein intake, you won't have those sugar cravings anymore. I used to have terrible afternoon cravings and a body builder friend told me it was because I wasn't eating enough protein for lunch. . .upped my lunch protein and the cravings disappeared. :

I lost about 30 lbs 2 years ago and I pretty much just listened to my body builder friends. . .their diets can get really complicated. . .but I wasn't preparing for any show. . .so I basically just ate clean like they do, without making it too complicated. Tosca Reno has out the "Clean Diet" and that is basically how they eat and what I followed. I didn't pack the cooler everyday, but pretty much new what I was going to eat everyday before hand.

A typical day looked like this:

Breakfast: scrambled egg beaters and 1/2 C oatmeal [I would add things to the eggs. . mushrooms, spinach or put salsa on them, and I would put Walden's Farms maple syrup on my oatmeal (it's sugar free, very low cal)]

coffee break: an apple if I felt I needed it

Lunch: Salad with tuna, chicken or egg (low cal dressing or balsamic). Sometimes I felt I needed more carbs and I would put tuna or egg on a brown rice cake with tomato, cucumber, etc.)

Dinner: Some lean meat. . .chicken breast, fish, lean steak and green veggies. . . green beans, asparagus, spinach and a salad. Again, if I felt I needed some carbs I would have a small amount of brown rice.

This worked very well for me and I never felt hungry. . .but you need to drink lots of water when you up your protein intake like that. HTH

 

[ali2000]

It makes no sense to me as we live 4 times longer than people did in the Stone Age! A lot has to do with our diet and getting the right vitamins and minerals. Back then, for the most part, people didn't live long enough to contract cancer. I would be careful with any diet like this. JMHO

Yes, we live much longer than those in the Stone Age, but that is attributed to modern medicine. When you say a lot has to do with our diet and getting the right vitamins and minerals, all the vitamins and minerals we need are in the fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat that is naturally on this earth. Our problem is all the processed foods we eat.

I am not thinking of this as a diet - it is a way of living differently, but IMO much healthier and the way it was intended for us to live. I am not saying by any means that we are supposed to be paleolithic, but I don't think their way of eating was so bad.... Many of the foods we eat now help contribute to all of our diseases.

I still have some wheat/flour/cheese in my diet, but am going to try to slowly wean those out. Here is what my typical days (over the past week) has looked like:

Breakfast:
2 scrambled eggs w/ handful mozzarella cheese sprinkled in
3 pieces turkey bacon
1/2 cup fruit
6 oz. of Almond milk

Snack:
1 mozzarella string cheese
some blueberries, small apple, pear, or similar fruit

Lunch:
huge mixed greens salad with corn, black beans, bean sprouts, grilled chicken, red/green/yellow peppers, onions

Snack:
piece of fruit
handful of cashews

Dinner:
some sort of protein
asparagus
peppers/onions

As I said, I am having to wean myself off a few things, but I think this is definitely a healthier way of eating and will yield great results along with my workout regimen (which I am currently doing CrossFit).

 

[jsmith]

The thing about the paleo diet is that is it based on eating foods that humans were evolved to exist on ( eggs, fish, lean-or game based protiens and wild gathered fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds) and eliminating anything that has entered the human diet in the last 10 thousand yeas ( dairy, grains except for wild rice and buckwheat which are seeds, sugar, starchy veggies and SOY-SOY is NOT a natural human food.) Humans are not by nature vegitarian or vegan and that is not a natural diet for us. There are a number of major health disorders-i.e type 2 diabetes and celiac disease-and probably some types of ADD that are related to eating foods-even unprocessed foods-that are not a natural part of our diet so our bodies cant process them correctly.
OP-cashews are not a paleo food-the fruit in which they grow is quiet poisoness and they could not be obtained by paleo people.
mumm4jenn-there were 365 million years between the disappearance of the last dinasour and the appearance of the 1st humaniod primates-but the mental image made me giggle.

 

[TSRE]

We started following the Primal Diet, which is very similar to the Paleo diet, In January, and I had never felt so good in my life! I think that it was mostly due to getting rid of the sugar cravings. Also, my eczema that I had had for 14 years completely disappeared. I sound like a commercial

It was really hard for about 2 weeks, then surprisingly easy. After getting over the sugar cravings, it really wasn't tough (and then I got pregnant and it all went to ****, but that's another story). Getting back on it now and looking forward to feeling that good again. It's worth a try - you can always modify it to suit yourself. I am adding back in a few whole grains, but keeping them way limited over what I used to do. I don't think any one diet is right for everyone.

 

[ali2000]

The thing about the paleo diet is that is it based on eating foods that humans were evolved to exist on ( eggs, fish, lean-or game based protiens and wild gathered fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds) and eliminating anything that has entered the human diet in the last 10 thousand yeas ( dairy, grains except for wild rice and buckwheat which are seeds, sugar, starchy veggies and SOY-SOY is NOT a natural human food.) Humans are not by nature vegitarian or vegan and that is not a natural diet for us. There are a number of major health disorders-i.e type 2 diabetes and celiac disease-and probably some types of ADD that are related to eating foods-even unprocessed foods-that are not a natural part of our diet so our bodies cant process them correctly.
OP-cashews are not a paleo food-the fruit in which they grow is quiet poisoness and they could not be obtained by paleo people.
mumm4jenn-there were 365 million years between the disappearance of the last dinasour and the appearance of the 1st humaniod primates-but the mental image made me giggle.

I am starting out slowly on a "bootcamp" diet that has cashews, almonds, walnuts (except for peanuts) as the nut - so I am starting out slowly and then will probably transition to "paleo nuts" later. I just really don't like walnuts that much

 

[patsal]

Just use South Beach as a guide line. It is the same principle, good fats, high protein, healthy carbs and avoidance of processed foods. You'll lose and maintain if you stick with it as a plan for life and not look at it as a diet.