Absenth

A good friend of mine has gone from being a nearly #300 Clyde who wasn't active, to racing in Half Ironman races, at about #190.

Aside from hard work in the gym, running, swimming, and cycling he also experimented with a lot of different diets. The one that not only helped him lose the most weight, but also correct a lot of levels in his blood work was the Paleo Diet.

I've spent the last year getting more active. Riding my bicycle on the road and on the trainer. I just recently joined a Gym so I can do some swimming, and work out to improve my cycling performance. It seems the next step is to change my diet (something I haven't changed at all yet.) At my friend's suggestion I am going to take the 30 day Paleo Diet Challenge

Have any other Cydes/Athenas here tried the Paleo diet? What did you find?

Thanks!

https://robbwolf.com/faq/

cohophysh

Ya, I started, need to get back on it...I was a little foggy the first couple days but I dropped weight every day and my glucose levels went towards normal....thanks for reminding me I need to get back on it!

monkeydentity

eherm....as a paleoanthropologist myself, this paleodiet thing really rubs me the wrong way. No dairy? that's silly. Humans evolved lactase persistence (the ability to digest lactose) some six or more different times across Africa and Europe and it's definitely been a big contributed to health and population growth. No grains? Well, I'm not a fan because it makes my belly big, but the idea that it lead to a rise of disease is a little silly....except maybe caries (cavities). The association between these foods (especially agriculture) and disease is because of the association between these foods and population density!! And, perhaps to a decrease in the amount of protein eaten (still many areas around the world eat almost all bread throughout the week because it's cheap and tastes good!)

so, if it works for you, fine. but this whole "Paleo" pretense is bunk.

zandoval 

Many years ago went on a food foraging trek with my Boyscouts - Lost 18 pounds over several weeks - What surprised me was that 18 pounds stayed off for at least 3 months...

Rona

I've heard a lot of good things about it. Never done it myself. The best diet I ever did was oatmeal breakfast, oatmeal lunch, normal dinner. Fixed my sodium problems right up. (I had swelling in the feet and ankles)

goldfinch

For sure. The proponents of the diet miss the concept of adaptation. And, as you say many populations has evolved to be lactose tolerant. I love milk. It isn't any worse for me than meat. Plus, we don't know that much about how humans lived in the Paleolithic era, but my recollection is that there is some evidence that ancient man was processing grains.

Why do evolutionary psychologists and diet proponents latch on to this time period? I find it odd.

That said, I think refined carbs and too many carbs in general are pretty bad for a lot of people, especially if you have signs of insulin resistance.

DaHaMac

I lost a lot of weight by using the Paleo diet. Somewhere along the lines of dropping from >350 down to 222lbs. Unfortunately the diet proved unsustainable because of the rigid food requirements (ie no diary, no grains). When I stopped eating strictly Paleo all of the weight came back. I attribute this to the fact that I never learned portion control while on the Paleo diet.

I am now concentrating on caloric intake by portion control, choosing non-processed foods where possible, and trying to get sufficient protein (~120g daily) and fiber (~38g daily) while staying within calorie goal. So far I have lost 105 pounds and I have learned a lot about portion control and caloric intake.

I don't believe the Paleo Diet will do you any harm but don't repeat my mistake and not learn to control portion and calorie intake.

DEK

I've never tried it but my step-daughter's husband is on it. For me it's way too extreme as are many diets. I've lost almost 40 lbs by just cutting out crap foods, adding more fruits and veggies and eating smaller portions. I've always been leery of diets that say you have to completely eliminate some type of food. To me, balance is the key.

Chaco

To the OP - You may want to take a look at the Paleo Diet for Athletes. The problem is that after 90 minutes of hard exercise, a diet that severely restricts carbs may cause you to bonk. You just can't turn protein and fat into fuel fast enough.

I'm not exactly on the Paleo diet or any diet for that matter. But I do have to restrict my carbs pretty severely because of my borderline blood sugar. Just cutting out most highly processed carbs is enough to do wonders for you. However, you do need to make exceptions, especially on long rides, and the author of the Paleo Diet recognizes that.

Dale Clyde

I agree. I followed the Paleo Diet a few years ago, it worked well (lost 40 lbs), but the weight came back when I stopped. I have found that many "diets" work well but are not sustainable for me in the long term.

The last 3 months I have been eating only home-cooked meals made from scratch while getting at least an hour of strenuous exercise 5 days a week and have lost 30 lbs. I call it "my grandpa's diet"

However different things work for different people, so hopefully your experience with Paleo eating will be more successful than mine, good luck!

sstorkel

I lost 50lbs using the Eat Less, Ride More diet. I haven't altered my diet to a huge degree, I just eat much less of the same stuff. I also started riding at lunch 3-4 days during the work week and I try to do at least one longer ride on the weekends. I find this plan to be very simple and highly effective, unlike many diets...

chuck556

This is what I find is working for me. I have been tracking my calories. Pain in the Ass in the beginning ...maybe two days....then easy. I went to a few sites...figured out how much weight I wanna lose....how many calories I should eat a day and I go from there. I have been riding to work everyday and doing longer rides on my days off. The weight is flying off.

jimnolimit

i don't understand the concept of a "diet". most people change their eating habits to some weird routine, but what do you do when the diet is over? most people gain weight because of bad eating habits and excessive calorie intake. if you want to lose weight in a sustainable way, you need a long term solution, not a quick fix. you have to change your eating habits to something you could easily do for the rest of your life. i think it's silly to negate categories/food groups from your "diet". it's not necessarily what you are eating that's the problem, it's how much you are eating and when you are eating.

i have lost just about 40lbs in 4 months, how? by eating the way i should have been eating in the first place and exercising. i keep myself around 2000 calories a day with a regular balanced diet. i eat pretty much anything i want, and here's the key: in MODERATION.

people also have the habit of shocking their bodies with weight loss, this is a bad idea in my opinion. we didn't become fat over night, its a process that happens over time, so why not just reverse the process? makes sense doesn't it. i did an audit of my weekly eating, what i was eating and when i was eating. i found the problems and made the necessary changes.

p.s. if you want to remove foods from your diet, soda (both regular and diet) and high calorie packaged junk foods are a good place to start.

xray1978

Not to be contrary, but isn't the divide between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic the use of domesticated plants and animals? It makes sense to me from that standpoint that a paleodiet would not include grains or dairy because during the Paleolithic there was no domestication; therefore, it would not seem likely that a paleolithic diet would include grain in significant quantities nor would it include dairy. I would not want to try to milk a wild animal.

indyfabz

*Gasp* The diet book police coming to get you, you traitor!

And +1 on the problem with endurance. Your muscles can only hold about 2 hrs. or less worth of glycogen. Once you start burning fat and proteins, it's going to be much harder to maintain output.

myrridin

Yes I believe you are correct about the dividing line being domestication, but the rest of your assumption is faulty... Even paleolithic man made use of grains. Indeed all of the grains current domesticated were originally plants that were native in the wild and that man had made use of for millenia prior to domestication. Paleolithic man were hunter/gatherers with an emphasis on gathering... The gathering of plant/grain sources is always more efficient than hunting... Now regular use of non-human dairy would not be likely in the paleolithic...though I suppose it is possible...

And while like you I would be reluctant to try an unknown food, the fact is that man must have done so repeatedly to determine the "good" food sources.

ElizabethSW

I am a big fan of the Paleo lifestyle.

I call it a lifestyle because the people I have seen thrive on Paleo food change not just their diet, but their fitness regimens as well.

Someone earlier mentioned the book The Paleo Diet for Athletes. I read it earlier this summer when I signed up for the Minneapolis Duathlon (which just took place last Sunday). I'd been low-carb for the previous year, and found that it cured me of numerous issues I'd been having - I slept better, I was less anxious, I could eat less and feel satisfied for longer, my heart rate lowered, and - as a former vegetarian of 5 years, this was a BIG DEAL - I was far, far less flatulent. So I wanted to stay low-carb while training for this event. The authors do a magnificent job of balancing their readers' desires to avoid excess carbs and sugars, but still supply their bodies with the muscle glycogen necessary for endurance events. Their compromise consists mostly of fruits and vegetables, and intentional timing of consumption. (I never before paid attention to WHEN I ate what I ate.) I highly recommend this book, as well as Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. That one's dense, but if you're into medical journalism and debunking bad science, you'll like it.

goldfinch

My post has been bugging me because low carb can be bad for some people too. The only diet that has solid proof of actually reversing heart disease is an extremely low fat diet, which means no meat at all, no nuts, no cheese, no egg yolks, no butter, no margarine, no avocados, etc. However, people have a problem sticking to such a diet. I would be very unhappy at this point in my life living on a 10% fat diet.

dcrowell

I read a lot about the paleo diet. I briefly tried it. I missed bread & muffins too much. I've since gained weight.

I should get back to it. I say that while eating my non-paleo oatmeal with brown sugar and honey.

Leaving for a 100K populaire in a few hours. I'd be eating a few carbs even if following the paleo diet.

GrantH

Why do you want to "Diet"? A diet in it's rawest form is a short term change to lose weight that stops when you reach a certain goal.

Anytime you completely cut out a food type that you don't have a replacement or substitute for, your going to slip up and break your "diet". Vegetarians do it for other reasons than dieting so it holds far better, but cutting out dairy as a whole simply to lose weight isn't the right way to do things, in my opinion. If you want to lose weight....eat clean. If it comes in a box, a wrapper, a bag, or a can, don't eat it. I'm a clyde myself but having lose 50 pounds previously which are back on (working on this) I know what worked for me. I ate chicken, steak, fish, salad, fruit (like crazy!), and anything else I wanted. I ate pasta, bread, chips, chocolate...I mean I ate EVERYTHING, in moderation.

If you shop on the outer edge of your grocery store, and not go into the isles, your doing well. Think about it...eggs, meat, fish, produce, poultry, it's all on the outer ring of every grocery store. Losing weight isn't about cutting out foods that you have eaten your whole life, it's about eating them every now and then in moderation. Find out the calorie count that allows you to lose 1-3 pounds per week and stick to that religiously.

This becomes a lifestyle, not a diet. Your simply eating healthier, not eating for a certain "diet" that is a trend at the moment.

GrantH

My point exactly...Oatmeal may be one of the few boxed items that are far from bad to eat every morning. Carbs are not evil, they simply can't be the majority of what you eat at every meal.

GrantH

Eating healthy and losing weight that stays off will do this as well. Heart disease (or chance of) reduces greatly as those in harms way lose weight and live a healthier life. If you cut out greasy fast food and fried stuff like chicken tenders and such you cut out a LOT more than some people may realize. Eating clean, with dairy and other (healthy) fatty foods like Acocado, eggs, cheese, nuts, and meat all in the mix is perfectly fine and healthy...if things are done in moderation.

goldfinch

No it will not. I am saying that if you have coronary artery blockage the only diet that is proven to reverse the damage it is an extremely low fat diet. If you want to prevent blockage you could eat this same extremely low fat diet but it would be difficult for many if not most to live with such a diet. Plus, hunger is often a problem, making it difficult for people to stick with such a diet. So, instead the standard advice is for moderation and eating primarily non-processed foods from all the food groups.

I also am saying that if you have signs of insulin resistance there is evidence that a low carb diet can help you turn things around and may be able to help you lose weight as well.

So, different diets for different needs. I lost weight starting fairly low carb which really helped with appetite control and have upped the carbs a bit, mostly because I love fruit. Because I have a history of early death and heart disease in my family, and because my blood lipids are still bad even after losing weight (though controlled with drugs), I have toyed with eating extremely low fat. But I question whether I could live with it. Plus, my spouse certainly would not live with it so that means two different styles of cooking in one house.

GrantH

I'm not one to argue, but are you saying that by becoming all around healthier will not reduce your risk of heart disease whether you already have it or not? I find that hard to believe. If you have some form of heart condition/disease/weakness, becoming healthy on all fronts whether its low fat only, or fully changing your food intake to a balanced "diet" will reverse/slow down/stop your risks. A balanced diet is lower in fat, lower in carbs, and lower in basically everything other than MAYBE fructose if your fruit intake skyrockets.

Being healthy is being healthy any way you look at it. Health risks of all kinds deplete as you progress.

All that being said, maybe I read what your wrote wrong.

goldfinch

Yes, eating healthier and getting fit can reduce your risk. Sorry, I did not want to imply otherwise.

But if you want to reverse fatty deposits in your arteries there is evidence that an extremely low fat diet will do that. But there are other problems. The diet is not suitable for everyone and it is hard to stick to. I didn't want to make too big of a deal of extremely low fat because the odds of sticking to such a diet is pretty low. But if I had a heart attack or had to have a bypass I might try it out.