A beginner’s guide to Paleolithic nutrition

[elmagicochrisg]

However, I started getting burnout big time several weeks ago.

Because your gallbladder shut down. Not because of the paleo diet. And since Atkins and paleo are different diets altogether I highly doubt your diet is what caused your gallbladder to shut down. By the way, didn't you say your grandmother had a lot of gastrointestinal problems also?... So maybe it just runs in the family. I could be wrong though...

Also, don't forget a lot of people that follow the paleo diet never experience the problems you have...

I'm starting to think that the removal of processed and fast food was responsible for a bulk of my results.

True, even if you don't follow a paleo diet removing all processed and fast food will give you better health...

EDIT I might have been a bit too fast with my reply. Been thinking about it, and maybe the paleo diet did trigger your galbladder to completely shut down. Most probably you already had gallbladder problems before you started the diet, even if the symptoms didn't show yet. When you follow the paleo diet you need less digestive juices to digest your food, hence you don't need your gallbladder as much. It's possible your galbladder that was already weak completely stopped functioning because of that. So it's possible the diet sped up the process. I still don't think it's the 'cause' of your galbladder problems though. Again, I could be wrong...

[dsheinem]

Every time I think about a diet, I think about how many years of careful eating, counting carbs and calories, and generally denying myself foods I want ≠ the extra 5-10 years I might get out of the diet if I am lucky.

I'd much rather live fewer years and enjoy them than enjoy many years and be constantly focused on diet and fitness.

Granted, I haven't ever been so large that I felt very far out of shape and/or constantly lethargic, etc. - so perhaps a change of diet is the answer to better living for some people. To me, the hassle of a diet makes living worse, and when I decide to exercise I do it to try and reach some exercise goal (e.g. to be ale to run a 5K) or for fun (kayaking, cycling, etc.) - not to lose weight (that's just a side benefit).

Anyway, I wish all of you the best, but I hope whatever grief you have to put up with is offset by the positives of losing a few pounds and feeling healthier.

[Croooow!]

However, I started getting burnout big time several weeks ago.

Because your gallbladder shut down. Not because of the paleo diet. And since Atkins and paleo are different diets altogether I highly doubt your diet is what caused your gallbladder to shut down. By the way, didn't you say your grandmother had a lot of gastrointestinal problems also?... So maybe it just runs in the family. I could be wrong though...

Also, don't forget a lot of people that follow the paleo diet never experience the problems you have...

Whoa, hold on, I think my post came across as more caustic than I anticipated. I did say in my post that my experiences are likely atypical. The Paleo Diet did do me a lot of good in improving my weight and strength and I intend to reincorporate at least elements of it once I'm recovered from my surgery (I'll try out the full fledged thing as well and will stick with it if I don't have any issues). I think the long term benefit of the diet will easily outweight the short term costs of the surgery.

I am fully aware that my gallbladder issue is due to genetics, these problems have been in my family for at least four generations. From the literature my surgeon provided, a high fat/low carb diet can serve as a trigger to exposing latent gallbladder issues and that seems to match both my experience and my mother's as well. Had I known this before I would have been more careful about fat/protein ratios while on the diet and that's why I encouraged people to check out their family medical history.

[elmagicochrisg]

I am fully aware that my gallbladder issue is due to genetics, these problems have been in my family for at least four generations. From the literature my surgeon provided, a high fat/low carb diet can serve as a trigger to exposing latent gallbladder issues and that seems to match both my experience and my mother's as well. Had I known this before I would have been more careful about fat/protein ratios while on the diet and that's why I encouraged people to check out their family medical history.

Haha, you were just a little faster than me editing my previous post. But I'm glad I was right.

Seems like the diet was indeed a trigger...

[MrPopo]

I'm starting to think that the removal of processed and fast food was responsible for a bulk of my results.

True, even if you don't follow a paleo diet removing all processed and fast food will give you better health...

I think that's the real key. It's not any of these fad diets that are helping people, it's the reduction in processed food.

[saturnfan]

I'm starting to think that the removal of processed and fast food was responsible for a bulk of my results.

True, even if you don't follow a paleo diet removing all processed and fast food will give you better health...

I think that's the real key. It's not any of these fad diets that are helping people, it's the reduction in processed food.

This is in fact true, but based on the literature I have read, personal stories and published research, I would contend that the Paleo diet is not a fad diet since it is based off of numerous interdisciplinary studies, ranging from evolution, anthropology, genetics, nutrition, drug research, and so on. It also has benefits that go beyond weight loss, such as a lowered risk of ailments, elevated energy, balanced ph ratio in your body, maintain insulin levels, better fitness level, superior nutritional intake, ect.

Croooow!'s experience, while atypical, is a solid example of why someone should do a little research before starting. I jumped in head first with little direction, and I don't necessarily endorse that. The Paleo diet is not perfect and not everything is known about it. Dr. Cordin still does extensive research and publishes articles. His findings have caused him to revise his book at least once, and he is currently writing a follow up book. Other researchers, like Rob Wolfe have published their own books as well(which I have not read). Unlike other fad diets, a lot of time and energy is being devoted to paleolithic nutrition.

[s1mplehumar]

There's nothing new under the sun. A balanced diet and exercise = more energy, a positive attitude, and a potential life extension.

[Sideroller]

If you ask any professional athlete how they got to be as healthy as they were, they aren't likely to attribute it to any sort of fad diet such as paleolithic eating. They made it to where they were because of simply eating according to their personal needs and lots of exercise.

I have no doubt that eating in this method is probably healthy - but ANY sort of nutritional diet (paleolithic/caveman or otherwise) will give you results WITH exercise.

There is no miracle diet to losing weight, it takes dedication, nutrition and work.

[s1mplehumar]

If you ask any professional athlete how they got to be as healthy as they were, they aren't likely to attribute it to any sort of fad diet such as paleolithic eating. They made it to where they were because of simply eating according to their personal needs and lots of exercise.

I have no doubt that eating in this method is probably healthy - but ANY sort of nutritional diet (paleolithic/caveman or otherwise) will give you results WITH exercise.

There is no miracle diet to losing weight, it takes dedication, nutrition and work.

This.

[Ivo]

I think I didn't express myself earlier. I wasn't saying that our ancestors were constantly starving. I meant that malnutrition was a big issue, and that obesity was very likely extremely rare.

I agree with the general consensus that cutting out certain "junk" foods is quite likely a big part of what makes this Paleo diet work.

Not eating dairy I think is yet another mistake in logic. We are mammals - how are we supposed to not be evolved to process milk? Granted there are people with lactose intolerance and dairy is from other species, but depending on the fat, dairy products are not unhealthy. French and Greeks consume a LOT of cheese in their diets for example.

Ivo.