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Feral Gekko

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My boyfriend and I have recently been talking about our health. We've been super lackadaisical about it. Some days we are good, other days we are just to tired to care. There has been many plans for food and for exercise... anyways, I am getting off topic.
We came across the Paleo Diet/Lifestyle. Is anyone apart of this and how do you find it affects you? I've been looking into it myself, but I thought I could ask here as well.

Does anyone know anything about the Diet?
What are your thoughts on the Paleo Diet?
Would you recommend it?
Anything you know or have heard about it would be awesome to hear.

Feral Gekko

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Thanks for your input! I'm already starting it. I have a hard time completely letting go of bread though.... I want to. I have felt so much better when I don't eat bread. I used to eat something simalar to the Paleo diet back in high school and a couple of years ago. I'm very inconsistent with my eating habits. Everyone of my family members eats a different way. Makes going over to family's and friends houses difficult. But so far I've done good with low bread. Just had two slices for breakfast the rest has been greens. (Didn't have time to cook and meat) I've had a pretty vegetarian meal plan today. I feel good too and it's only been two days

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The biggest issue I've come across with the Paleo diet is that it's highly based on eating lots of processed meats (bacon, prosciutto, etc). A lot of the recipes consist of huge amounts of expensive ingredients that are all imported. Which is ironic considering the Paleo diet is supposed to be based on the hunter-gatherer diet, which is food that you can find in your environment.
In many respects, you can say the paleo diet is like the scientology of food. There's no real scientific evidence to suggest that this diet is good for you.
The best theory is "everything in moderation" . Or in the words of Michael Pollan "eat real food; not too much; mostly plants.
I would recommend it.

Interesting Gawker

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I did it for about two months strictly following eating next to no carbs or processed foods. It really wasn't hard following it. My diet mainly already consists of mainly meats and veggies but I don't do well on STRICT diets which is why I only lasted about two months then I let myself have a free day on my birthday and ruined it all after that. I don't consume that many calories now but I don't want to feel like I completely ruined everything if I eat one bad thing. I mean I still feel guilty but I don't feel the need to binge as I do on a diet. I am trying to have a different mind set this time. Granted though if you do stick with it you will lose lots of weight. I did for those two months cause that's where alot of my weight comes from.....carbs....dairy... things like that.
Kalhan Amnell
My boyfriend and I have recently been talking about our health. We've been super lackadaisical about it. Some days we are good, other days we are just to tired to care. There has been many plans for food and for exercise... anyways, I am getting off topic.
We came across the Paleo Diet/Lifestyle. Is anyone apart of this and how do you find it affects you? I've been looking into it myself, but I thought I could ask here as well.

Does anyone know anything about the Diet?
What are your thoughts on the Paleo Diet?
Would you recommend it?
Anything you know or have heard about it would be awesome to hear.
Yes, I would recommend it most definitely. It's a great outline. My health has improved these past years on paleo.

There are many versions of paleo, as people find what works for them. It's paleYOU, which is more tangible. I find it's easiest to strictly follow paleo for a month, and then reintroduce different kinds of food to see how you feel. That way, you can make changes to find the best diet.
Autumnchi
The biggest issue I've come across with the Paleo diet is that it's highly based on eating lots of processed meats (bacon, prosciutto, etc). A lot of the recipes consist of huge amounts of expensive ingredients that are all imported. Which is ironic considering the Paleo diet is supposed to be based on the hunter-gatherer diet, which is food that you can find in your environment.
In many respects, you can say the paleo diet is like the scientology of food. There's no real scientific evidence to suggest that this diet is good for you.
The best theory is "everything in moderation" . Or in the words of Michael Pollan "eat real food; not too much; mostly plants.
Really? From my experience, I don't see people eating lots. I actually don't eat processed meat, but I know others who love their bacon.

Sparkly Bear

hi, nutritionist in training right here 4laugh

i personally do not follow it as i do like my legumes and grains (i just soak em)... but my opinion on paleo is that it's a great lifestyle to adopt... note lifestyle, not diet. there's more to paleo than not eating grains and going heavy on the meat and veg. (here's a little spiel!)

So basically Paleo comes from the idea that modern day diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and allergies (to name a few) were brought about due to the introduction of agriculture. So dating back to the time of about 2.6 million years ago, our diets consisted largely of meat, fish, insects, fruit, vegetables, and nuts. During the Paleo era, there were no grains.

Now, our modern paleo diet is basically everything except no grains, dairy, or refined sugars. The focus is on cooked and natural foods. (note, not a lot of people follow this strictly) There is also emphasis on quality which is that produce should be organic, local, and pasture raised. (again a lot of people ignore this, and this is where problems for people who loosely follow paleo pop up)

Yeah the big thing with grains and legumes is that there's a theory of it having toxicity and GI distress. There's anti-nutrients found in them (ex: phytic acid, oxalic acid) and they are thought to interfere with the absorption of nutrients. I could write paragraphs on that, but that's just the basic idea of why people avoid the grains and legumes smile

lifestyle wise, the idea is that there's intermittent fasting, functional fitness (like caveman movement, vibrams), sleep cycles, cold thermogenesis, and grounding mats/earthing which they try their best to follow. this added with the diet = paleo lifestyle!

some pros: there's lots of flexibility, it is quality based if you choose it to be, it cuts out refined/packaged foods, no calorie counting/restrictions, and cuts out major allergens (your gut may just love you!)

some cons: quite high in meat (often treated like atkins), it may be low in fibre, quite expensive, and can potentially increase inflammation.

if you're interested in some cool resources i'd recommend:
The Paleo Diet - Loren Cordain
The Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf
Primal Blueprint - Mark Sisson
Bulletproof Executive - Dave Asprey

I'd give these things a quick google if you're ever curious to learn more about it smile

oooookay that's my huge little text post, i hope at least some of it helped or enlightened you!

Sparkly Bear

oookay one last thing, i forgot to say my opinion on it overall... haha i did say it was pretty great lifestyle. but i'd say that it is far too idealistic. i'd like to think that we already live in modern times and it's just best to adapt to what we have and make the most of what we have now. we're no longer hunters and we don't run after our food so i don't see the benefit of us following a strict paleo diet in our city living, office job sitting work.

but it's still very cool nonetheless 3nodding

Dapper Ladykiller

Does anyone know anything about the Diet?
-Yep! Majored in food and nutrition in college- talked a good bit about it in an American food fad/history class.

What are your thoughts on the Paleo Diet?
-If it works for you, that's awesome! Its usually successful for people who have gotten in a rut and need to reset their cravings. If you have a pretty varied diet starting out, you probably wont feel as many changes. I think something important here is to listen to your body.

Would you recommend it?
-No, not off the bat. The problem with taking up a diet like this is its easy to become obsessive. However, I think its pretty fun to try for a month or two. Also, because there are so many variations of paleo it is easy to get confused. Not a beginner's diet.

Anything you know or have heard about it would be awesome to hear.
I tried going paleo myself in college, just to see what the rage was about. (I have a thing for experimenting with diets.. I always end up going back to my own though) Theres a saying- "A lazy paleo is a hungry paleo" and YES I agree. To feel fully nourished I spent a lot of time on meal prep and I was buying frozen veggies in bulk. I didn't feel any crazy changes to my body, because I already gorge on veggies and don't eat bread or dairy much to begin with.

Obsessive Galaxy

I Would definitely recommend it. It is a hard life style to adjust to at first and there will be temptations of eating bread and grains. One of the major misconceptions is not getting to eat rice or potatoes on the diet. You can have them, just in moderation.

For shopping tips. Essentially, just shop around the whole grocery store, unless you need spices. Try it for 30 days though. Not eating any sort of bread, pasta, wheat, gluten, barely, rye, malt. Just give it 30 days and see if you can tell a difference.
There are a few books out there that kind of follow the Paleo diet plan but explain more of the background of food and why people are fat. The Auto Immune Diet. Why We Get Fat. Sugar, Salt, It Starts with Food, and the Happiness Diet. I would highly recommend the Autoimmune diet, it starts with food, and the happiness diet to begin with.

ShakeZor's Waifu

Big Trash

Honestly of all the fad diets out there, paleo is my favorite and preferred. The only single issue I have with it is that there are no dairy products allowed. Which I'm not a fan of. Fortified almond milk is awesome as far as calcium goes, but Vitamin D boosts are generally found in cow's milk.

Feral Gekko

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Thanks for your input. I have listened to Robb wolf on the podcast once before. And I will definitely look at the other names you mentioned. Thanks again.

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