Are you Paleo?

[Geila]

This past year its become increasingly clear that my body does best on what seems to be paleo eating, and I'm seriously thinking about adopting it permanently. Basically, I feel best when I eat just veggies and protein (eggs, chicken, fish, beef, pork, etc). I have dairy allergies and once I reduced the carbs I found that I even have strong reactions to grains, legumes and sweet potatoes - and fruit. I'm pretty sure I'm insulin resistant. Of course, I really like the taste of carbs so I'm sure initially the switch will be a struggle.

I'd love to hear from those of you who are currently eating paleo. Struggles? How long have you been paleo and what the biggest advantages have been?

Thanks.

[Rosemary]

Ask me again in January. :|(

I've been eating close to a paleo diet, but with legumes, since we started an allergy-elim diet back in April. But the holiday season has seriously derailed me. I decided that it would be better to just have some treats now, and then get back to my anti-inflammatory best in January. Usually by about Dec. 26 I don't even want to look at chocolate, cookies, or the like.

[Mrs-M]

For some time now, after eating potatoes, I get a sort of sick feeling, so I have reduced my own potato intake and have felt a lot better after leaving the table. Re: paleo diets, I've prepared a few paleo meals over the past couple of weeks courtesy of being busy with Christmas things, and it was well received.

On all occasions, I served beans as the substitute, and was it ever good!

[JaneV2.0]

I still eat dairy, so no. But I believe paleo is the healthiest--and most natural--way for people to eat.

[CathyA]

I've been eating alot less carbs and feeling much better. I do best with meat and veggies.
I'm curious what blood type you all are. I'm Oneg. I think O's have a harder time with wheat and carbs.

[JaneV2.0]

Ha! I was wondering what the heck kind of blood type "one G" was...:D

I'm A+, so I don't buy the blood type theory, though there are certainly individual genetic abilities to deal with grains, etc.

[lhamo]

I love dairy so I'd have a hard time with paleo, but I've been cutting back on carbs since June and really notice the difference in my weight/energy level/mood when I manage to stick with it. Fall/winter is proving a challenge though as I crave carbs something awful. Trying to do my best during the holidays, and will make a point of starting off the year on a better/healthier note.

lhamo

[Geila]

I haven't done a lot of research on the paleo lifestyle, but I think dairy is consumed in moderate amounts in butter and cheese. I actually really like dairy - especially cheeses like sharp cheddar and cotija (a dry Mexican cheese) - and butter of course. Everything tastes better with butter! But when I eat a lot of dairy I start to break out and even get rashes. When I eat legumes and starchy veggies I immediately feel very bloated and uncomfortable.

I think my negative reactions to these foods is due to the insulin resistance, and from what I've read it takes about 6 months to a year to correct it. After that hopefully I can eat them in moderation without ill-effects. Maybe I'll start a low-carb (or reduced-carb) challenge in January.

Isn't it weird how you can go without sweets for weeks and be perfectly happy but as soon as you start eating them it's so hard to stop?

[JaneV2.0]

I think of paleo as a pre-agricultural diet, but I guess you could make the case that herders could be hunter-gatherers and drink milk and eat cheese. Raw, naturally. There are several variants on what I think of as a pure paleo diet out there. I think most people could benefit from following some version of controlled-carb eating, and personal experimentation is key in figuring out which one.

I was constantly hungry on a high-carb vegetarian diet, and never knew why until I read about insulin resistance. Problem solved.

[Zoebird]

paleo does have many forms. "strict" is without dairy. essentially meat (and organs), veggies, fruit. possibly eggs.

i'm primal, which is a looser form of paleo. it allows for dairy. i really only consume better -- and on occasion, ice cream. My husband and son also do yogurt.

it works well for us.

[Geila]

I think you're right, Jane. Each person is different, and once you start really paying attention, your body's preferences come through loud and clear. Someone mentioned mood, and I have been amazed at the difference in my emotional well-being when I drastically reduce the carbs. I did about 4 weeks of just veggies (broccoli, salads) and protein and I felt fantastic. When I started eating carbs again I noticed the sharp crash after eating them and I could actually feel a depression setting it. This was in the summer and as soon as I cut the carbs out, my depression lifted immediately.

I was amazed at how natural and simple the paleo-type diet was for me. Shopping and cooking were simple and I never had any food cravings between meals - I would actually forget to eat sometimes because I didn't feel hungry, I would realize that I needed to eat because I was feeling tired. My skin and hair looked great. And I felt very calm, peaceful and happy - this part was really important. I have a tendency to anxiety and stress (used to suffer from PTSD) so feeling that good naturally is very important to me.

[JaneV2.0]

I worked briefly with someone who was notoriously cranky and hair-triggered. They went on Atkins to drop a few pounds, and after a few days they were transformed. At one point, they announced, bemusedly, on their lack of emotional lability like it was a bad thing. :~)

Unfortunately, once the few pounds were gone, they returned to their old diet and their old cranky personality. Blood sugar swings, no doubt.

[Suzanne]

Not really paleo. I engulf large quantities of dairy produce. I try to avoid refined/packaged/processed foods, and baked goods - not doing too well on the latter this time of year! When I eat lots of non-starchy veg, good proteins and good fats, I feel well, my body drops a couple of pounds effortlessly, and I have some energy. As others have said, I feel a surge of depression washing over me when I'm, um, off the wagon.

It seems as if at least some groups of humans were eating wild grains during the Paleolithic: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091217141312.htm.

However, that means only that some groups of humans were eating starchy carbs during the Paleolithic. My modern-day body doesn't get on well with grains and legumes.

[crunchycon]

I would love to go paleo, as I think it's a really healthy way to eat/live. With one kidney, though, my doc has said that I shouldn't eat a high protein diet - I can have some meat, but the emphasis should be on fruits and veggies, so the best I can do is limit the refined carbs.

[madgeylou]

i'm fairly paleo ... when i'm on my game that is! right now i'm just sort of treading water till the holidays are over ... but i haven't done too much damage.

i have learned one thing about my body: if i want to lose weight, i eliminate all starchy carbs. when i am really strict, i lose weight easily, but i really can't slip up and still expect to lose anything.

the one thing i really miss, though, is beans. they don't always agree with me, so i can't eat too many, but i love them, and it's hard to eat lots of soup without them! so after the holidays i'm going to experiment with adding a bit of legumes back into my diet and see if i can at least tolerate them at lunchtime and still lose weight. i'm down 30 pounds this year and would like to lose another 30 next year ... gotta experiment and see if beans can be a part of that or not!

[JaneV2.0]

Most low carb plans are moderate in protein and high in fat. As to kidneys:

From [URL="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/222845.php"]http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/222845.php[/URL

"Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have for the first time determined that the ketogenic diet, a specialized high-fat, low carbohydrate diet, may reverse impaired kidney function in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They also identified a previously unreported panel of genes associated with diabetes-related kidney damage, whose changes in expression were reversed by the diet. The findings were published online in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE. "

[Zoebird]

my dailies are 1600-1700 cals per day. 45-55% fat; 30-35% protein (which is pretty normal for non-paleos); and 20-25% carbohydrate (veggies and fruit).

Per volume, I eat mostly veggies and fruit. then protein, then fat. Veggies take up a lot of space, even though they are low calorie.

[Geila]

Zoebird - I would love to hear more about your experience with primal. I didn't know that primal and paleo were different.

Madge - Congrats on your weight-loss success!

Our meat consumption did not go up very much when we went low-carb. Maybe 25%, because I didn't eat very much protein before. But our vegetable consumption went way up. We eat a ton of veggies now.

For sure I'm going to start a low-carb challenge in January! Hope you guys will join me on it. I'm kind of excited to start it.

[Suzanne]

Hmm, yes, I'm a lot closer to Primal than Paleo! Honestly, I think that anybody who cuts out sugary, processed, packaged, and fast foods, regardless of the chosen label, is way ahead of the curve healthwise.

[fidgiegirl]

Isn't it weird how you can go without sweets for weeks and be perfectly happy but as soon as you start eating them it's so hard to stop?

Yes! I am on a cookie binge lately!! BAAAAAAH!!!

All of your carb confessions are making me feel better . . . .:|(

[Suzanne]

I'm so sure sugar and refined carbs are addictive!! I can walk past a pack of cookies on the kitchen table for weeks on end, but let me open it and take out a cookie and all restraint flies out of the window, as a frantic demon hand somehow attaches itself to my arm, magnetically attracted to my mouth, and stokes the roaring furnace with cookie after cookie..

[Zoebird]

This is primal (http://marksdailyapple.com). It's part of the paleo family. I find it easier to access, because it's not as "strict" -- so you never feel like you're doing something "wrong" if you have rice with your thai food, you know? Sometimes, you have thai, you eat rice. Not the end of the world. I always felt with Paleos that it was a bit zealous (like vegans. LOL). But, the diet IS paleo, and you self-design it -- keeping something if it's ok for you and doesn't cause problem, and letting it go if it does, because now you can see and test for yourself. :)