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Paleo Weight Loss primal diet slimming lose weight-min

Paleo Weight Loss

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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.

Paleo Weight Loss primal diet slimming lose weight-min

Atkins diet v paleo primal differences comparision-min

9 Reasons Why Paleo isn’t Atkins

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Now that more people have heard of Paleo, I've notice it is often assumed to be a different name for the Atkins Diet. “Oh, so you’re doing Atkins…”. Well actually, no. I follow a Paleo Diet, which is completely different to Atkins.

1. Low-Carb?

The main difference between Paleo and Atkins is that Atkins IS low-carb. In the induction phase (the initial two weeks), less than 20g of carbs a day are consumed, rising to about 20g – 60g a day in the Ongoing Weight Loss Stage. This is designed to keep the body in a state of Ketosis, which seems to be very beneficial to achieving weight-loss. Whilst a great number of people do eat a low-carb Paleo diet (keeping carbs under 50g a day seems popular); Paleo is not a low-carb diet tweet this quote Indeed, a lot of people, particularly Paleo athletes and crossfitters, eat a far higher carb ratio (though obviously these carbohydrates come from foods like sweet potatoes and fruit – rather than refined carbs).

2. Counting, Counting, Couting…

As carbs rule on Atkins, counting is essential. An Atkins diet requires measuring, weighing and recording of the carbohydrate content of everything that’s eaten. Paleo is just about eating real food and avoiding grains, legumes and dairy – so no weighing, counting, measuring and journaling is required. So. Much. Easier.

3. Grass-Fed, Organic?

A Paleo diet is all about food quality. Meat in particular, is ideally grass-fed and organic. Processed, grain-fed, intensively farmed meat is to be avoided. On Atkins however, the source of the food isn't of such importance (though they do seem to be paying more attention to quality).

4. Processed?

A simple “is it Paleo” test can be resolved like this: if it’s in a packet, it probably Paleo tweet this quote . If it’s in a packet, it could well be Atkins. Atkins have a whole rage of processed convenience foods, that meet the Atkins low-carb rule; but would fail miserably to be classed as Paleo foods, with their long list of ingredients.
Paleo-Diet-V-Atkins-Diet 680-min

5. Allowable Foods

Whilst a Paleo diet omits grains, legumes and (sometimes) dairy, on an Atkins diet, these are all permissible – providing they are low in Calories. You can consume sweeteners, diet soda, seed oils, soy, Atkins chocolate bars, Atkins crisps – and lots of other very un-Paleo foods on Atkins.

6. Purpose

I also think the purpose of the plans is very different. Atkins followers tend to be following the plan for weight-loss – once they get to their goal weight, they generally stop eating an Atkins Diet. Paleo however, attracts followers for many reasons. Weight loss is definitely a driver, but many people come to Paleo to improve their athletic performance too. Health is a key motivation for many looking to reverse/ improve health issues such as diabetes, allergies and auto-immune conditions.

7. For Life, Or Just For a Bikini?

Generally, Atkins seems to be followed until weight-loss goals are achieved. Paleo is more of a lifestyle; a way of eating and living that is easy to follow forever.

8. Not Just Eating

It’s also important to bear in mind that as well as nutrition, fitness, strength, stress-reduction, balance, sleep and sunshine are amongst the lifestyle factors that Paleo addresses. Atkins appears to be primarily focused on diet, rather than lifestyle factors.

9. Paleo-Atkins?

It is possible to be Paleo-Atkins; but many people are also Paleo-not-Atkins.

Have people told you “oh, Paleo – that’s like Atkins”, when you tell them how you eat? Have you ever tried Atkins? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on Atkins and Atkins V Paleo in the comments below!