Paleo Weight Loss
Many people start the Paleo Diet with one aim. Weight loss. Programs like the Truth About Abs are gaining more and more popularity, demonstrating just how many people out there are desperate to lose weight.
The more popular the Paleo movement becomes, the more frequently I see questions on Paleo and Primal forums like:
“Why am I not losing weight on the Paleo Diet?”
“Why have I stopped losing weight on the Paleo Diet?”
“Why has my weight loss reached a plateau on the Primal Diet?” and even
“Why have I gained weight on the Paleo Diet?”!
Why is it Not Working?
Unfortunately many people get the impression that you can eat as much Paleo food as you like – and the weight will fall off. Sometimes people seem to hear the message that the more Paleo food you can eat – the better! Whilst Paleo food is nourishing, if you're not hungry, you certainly shouldn't force yourself to keep eating. And one of the benefits of Paleo is that you are likely to feel a lot less hungry.
I seems that initially, a lot of weight can be lost very quickly – in a matter of weeks. This seems to have a lot to do with just removing grains from the diet and eating nutritionally dense Paleo food instead.
After the initial weight loss, it seems that it's necessary to constantly change things in order to keep the weight loss momentum. Methods like Intermittent Fasting (along with a Paleo feeding window) work really well for many people, as does restricting fruit and nuts. Some people also report a lot of success with a ketogentic low-carb Paleo diet. Ultimately, different methods work for different people – the key is experimenting to find out which method works best for you.
Decide on an approach, make the commitment to stick to it for a reasonable period – and don't be discouraged if the weight loss falters.
Sean Croxton's program the Dark Side of Fat Loss is a Paleo weight loss program (with free cookbook!) that gives underground, not conventional weight loss wisdom.
Have you lost weight on Paleo? What worked for you? I'd love to hear your Paleo weight loss tips.
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I do all of them. I started ketogenic. Now I’m IF leangains style with starchy tuber and fruit for carb re-feeds after lifting. Prior to lifts and on off days, I’m still keto.
And this is all while also being paleo.
Sounds like a really good strategy Zack – Lean Gains is so effective
I’ve lost 75+ lbs so far. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been plateaus…boy have there! I just plateaued recently and was only able to jump start the loss by going back to a Whole 30 – 30 days of 100% Real Food with not one bit of sugar or dairy. I’ve also used the no nuts and no fruit versions, and I do an IF at least once a week…I find the key is to keep varying things. When I get into a rut of eating the same thing every day…day in…day out…that’s when I tend to plateau.
Jesse
That’s really impressive Jesse! Great you’ve kept finding ways to break through the plateaus
I only had 10 lbs to lose that I had gained over the past 2-3 years. HOwever, I have always eaten whole foods ( probably for the past 2 decades or so), I was just eating too much bread/pasta/rice. I became interested in Primal/Paleo as a different WOE (of which I have experimented with many over the years), just to see what it would do to my body, not so much to lose weight (I just started doing Crossfit which has enabled me to be able to run again–my favourite activity–and I dropped the 10 lbs) but more as to see what the results on my body both inside and out would do. Had my cholesterol/triglycerides checked prior, and will have them checked again in about 6 months from the original date. (they were really pretty good, BTW). I like to experiment on myself.
Experimenting is definitely the best way forward! It’s great seeing good results like that from blood tests!
I like this post & I found what Jesse said inspiring. With my weight loss 35 pounds which is my ideal weight, I am very happy and feel just so much better. You do have to be just so determined though, I must admit I had no idea it would take so long to lose the extra weight I had put on. It took me 18 months, was such a while before I lost any weight at all. this only started when I stopped sugar and just made all my food from scratch.
That’s an amazing result Jill – just goes to show how much sugar has to answer for!
I’m down 80#’s so far with about 30 left to go. I’ve gone very slowly cause I started with conventional wisdom (1200 calories/day and 2+ hours in the gym). I lost weight but was miserable the whole time. Once I got into the medical literature and scientific journals, it became really clear really fast that I was doing it wrong.
I basically researched my way to Paleo and Crossfit (the methodologies, not the brand names) and then found the communities a few months later once the weight was melting off with what seemed like no effort at all!
It wasn’t until I started eating Paleo that I could really believe that I might have a 6-pack one day!
I have no doubt that you will Graham! What a fantastic journey you’re on!