Feeling the difference, but not seeing a difference

[minaminvj]

I've been paleo eating for about 1 month now. I've had a few cheats here and there so I can say 99% paleo - no grains - no dairy - no legumes.  I started eating this way because some blood work came back showing some inflammatory markers increased and B12 deficient, and pre-diabetic. I am extremely overweight with about 100 lbs to loose and just don't feel good - comes with the weight - but suffer from constant "traveling" inflammatory pain.

I am starting to notice a difference on how I feel. But not seeing much results on the scale.  after about 4 weeks on paleo, the cravings have gotten better so I don't snack in between meals and have just started stopping to each nuts (which I was snacking on to help with the hunger).

I know loosing weight will help with my symptoms as well, I just assumed the weight would start to come off because of the change in eating.

In a typical day I will eat:

Breakfast - smoothie (1/2 banana, handful of frozen strawberries, blueberries, 1 cup of almond milk)

Lunch - protein (tuna or left over chicken) with a salad - greens, tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, olive oil and vinegar - sometimes adding avocado, or beets or a boiled egg for a change

Dinner - protein and veggies

I am eating quite a bit of veggies to help with the hunger. but tried to limit sweet potatoes or squash to 1-2 x a week

Snack - about 2-8 o'clock I will have a fruit (apple, pear)

My new found love is cauliflower rice!

Anyway, I would love some insight or comments on how to improve or suggestions and look forward to be part of this board.

[Kara Klett]

Do you think that maybe you have further food intolerances that could be hindering progress? I say that since the doctor mentioned inflammatory markers. Have you considered doing the autoimmune protocol? It eliminates inflammatory foods.

Here is some more information- www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol

[Kathy A]

Apr 9, 2014 8:17:30 GMT -5 minaminvj said:

I've been paleo eating for about 1 month now. I've had a few cheats here and there so I can say 99% paleo - no grains - no dairy - no legumes.  I started eating this way because some blood work came back showing some inflammatory markers increased and B12 deficient, and pre-diabetic. I am extremely overweight with about 100 lbs to loose and just don't feel good - comes with the weight - but suffer from constant "traveling" inflammatory pain.

I am starting to notice a difference on how I feel. But not seeing much results on the scale.  after about 4 weeks on paleo, the cravings have gotten better so I don't snack in between meals and have just started stopping to each nuts (which I was snacking on to help with the hunger).

I know loosing weight will help with my symptoms as well, I just assumed the weight would start to come off because of the change in eating.

In a typical day I will eat:

Breakfast - smoothie (1/2 banana, handful of frozen strawberries, blueberries, 1 cup of almond milk)

Lunch - protein (tuna or left over chicken) with a salad - greens, tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, olive oil and vinegar - sometimes adding avocado, or beets or a boiled egg for a change

Dinner - protein and veggies

I am eating quite a bit of veggies to help with the hunger. but tried to limit sweet potatoes or squash to 1-2 x a week

Snack - about 2-8 o'clock I will have a fruit (apple, pear)

My new found love is cauliflower rice!

Anyway, I would love some insight or comments on how to improve or suggestions and look forward to be part of this board.

There are many reasons why you might not be losing weight right now. It's still early in your journey, so be patient: bodies react to changes in different ways, and as long as you're feeling better, things are probably going in the right direction.

That said, their are three things I notice about your food log that might be worth tinkering with. First, some people with fat loss goals don't do well with smoothies (me among them). Liquid food can be difficult for your body to digest properly because there's no chewing to stimulate production of digestive enzymes. Second, apart from "sometimes adding avocado" to your salad, there isn't much fat in here at all. Healthy fat can really help with fat loss, and that can come from fattier protein sources (i.e. salmon instead of tuna) or from the addition of good quality fats to your veggies at dinner. Third, it's possible you're not eating enough. The addition of fat to each meal should help with that, but try plugging an average day's worth of food for you into a calorie counter and see what it says. 

I also recommend checking out this blog post by Jason Seib (a trainer who's had a lot of success in helping people lose fat): everydaypaleo.com/fat-loss-template/ or listen to Jason's podcast, The Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness Podcast.

[daybreak]

The first thing that jumps out at me is too much fruit. Your entire breakfast is fruit, no protein. I would dump the smoothie and eat a high protein breakfast. Also, you are snacking on fruit in the aft/eve as well. That all converts to sugar in the body, even though it is real sugar....it is still sugar. I've read several books, but Robb Wolf is pretty clear, if you want to lose weight, limit your fruit to 1-2 servings per day and stick to berries and melon. Also, he says to limit nuts to 1-2 ounces per day. Might have to experiment with more veggies and meats. 4-6 ounces of lean meat at least at each meal. I have found I am often not eating enough protein!

[minaminvj]

Thanks for the replies. I will take all the suggestions and keep plugging away at this - and report on my progress. I really appreciate the guidance and suggestions

[robinf]

Apr 10, 2014 8:36:13 GMT -5 daybreak said:

The first thing that jumps out at me is too much fruit. Your entire breakfast is fruit, no protein. I would dump the smoothie and eat a high protein breakfast. Also, you are snacking on fruit in the aft/eve as well. That all converts to sugar in the body, even though it is real sugar....it is still sugar. I've read several books, but Robb Wolf is pretty clear, if you want to lose weight, limit your fruit to 1-2 servings per day and stick to berries and melon. Also, he says to limit nuts to 1-2 ounces per day. Might have to experiment with more veggies and meats. 4-6 ounces of lean meat at least at each meal. I have found I am often not eating enough protein!

I'd like to echo what daybreak says about too much fruit (sugar) and too little protein and fat at breakfast. I find that eating anything sweet (even if it's "healthy" fruit) at  breakfast sets me up for carb and sugar cravings later in the day. I know you indicate that your cravings have diminished, but they may become even easier to manage if you avoid sugary fruits until lunchtime or later. If you continue to do fruit as breakfast, be sure to have fat and protein with it.  I've learned from multiple sources that eating protein and fat at breakfast are important as a signal to your body that it should start burning fat for your day's fuel, since it isn't getting sugary fruit.

For me, it was important not to do smoothes at my first meal. My breakfast involves plenty of chewing.

When I first started eating pale, I found it hard to get enough protein. Measuring ounces for just a little while helped me learn what 3 - 4 ounce serving of protein really is, among my breakfast favorites (for example, how many ounces is in a beef patty or chicken meatball).

If you're working out in the morning, you could experiment with substituting part of a sweet potato at breakfast instead of fruit so you get some carbs.

Many people add pre-biotics to their breakfast (things like sauerkraut, kim chi, kvass, kefir). It took a little while, but I got used to having sauerkraut at breakfast time and found that very helpful!

[darcie]

Have you listened to The Paleo View podcast? Sarah and Stacy have both lost a great deal of weight, so they have personal experience. If you go back in the archives to some of the early episodes, they were devoted to weight loss topics: #29, 9 and 6. There is also a lot of great content in more recent ones about how Stacy struggles with plateaued weight loss, and has changed her focus to gaining health and strength (which has resulted in significantly changing shape without actually losing weight). paleoparents.com/the-paleo-view-podcast/podcast-episode-archives/ Definitely check it out!

[helenjb]

I reintroduced bananas a while back and found my weight loss I had prior stopped completely I didn't even realize it was them I took them out as someone said they caused stomach cramps which I had and after I started looking weight again, I do like them but want the weight loss more

[robinf]

Apr 11, 2014 0:09:47 GMT -5 darcie said:

Have you listened to The Paleo View podcast? Sarah and Stacy have both lost a great deal of weight, so they have personal experience. If you go back in the archives to some of the early episodes, they were devoted to weight loss topics: #29, 9 and 6. There is also a lot of great content in more recent ones about how Stacy struggles with plateaued weight loss, and has changed her focus to gaining health and strength (which has resulted in significantly changing shape without actually losing weight). paleoparents.com/the-paleo-view-podcast/podcast-episode-archives/ Definitely check it out!

The Paleo View podcasts are helpful! There's one on blood sugar regulation, too -- Episode 70, in the Science with Sara segment which starts at 26:30. Oftentimes I don't have time to listen to the chit-chat at the beginning of The Paleo View, so I use the show notes to figure out when the topic I'm interested in starts.

[frecs]

Fats! More fats (coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, lard...yes, lard) and much less fruit.

I also have over 100 pounds to lose and have struggled terribly with losing weight until I started on Paleo AIP and eating good healthy fats! I have had to totally reprogram myself about fats and grasp both what true "good fats" are and that I need to eat them in order to lose the fat I have stored in excess.

You also need more protein and don't go for all the "lean" proteins, either! Fatty fish, steak with some fat still on it, the dark meat of the poultry. And liver! Don't forget the liver! Yes, I know it goes against everything we've been brainwashed to believe but I'm seeing it work --I've lost 21 pounds since March 1st.

You can do this. Don't give up.

Oh, and for reasons I don't fully understand -- bananas are not our friends in the weightloss arena.

[robinf]

Apr 14, 2014 12:36:53 GMT -5 frecs said:

Fats! More fats (coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, lard...yes, lard) and much less fruit.

I also have over 100 pounds to lose and have struggled terribly with losing weight until I started on Paleo AIP and eating good healthy fats! I have had to totally reprogram myself about fats and grasp both what true "good fats" are and that I need to eat them in order to lose the fat I have stored in excess.

You also need more protein and don't go for all the "lean" proteins, either! Fatty fish, steak with some fat still on it, the dark meat of the poultry. And liver! Don't forget the liver! Yes, I know it goes against everything we've been brainwashed to believe but I'm seeing it work --I've lost 21 pounds since March 1st.

You can do this. Don't give up.

Oh, and for reasons I don't fully understand -- bananas are not our friends in the weightloss arena.

What great news about your weight loss, frecs! Good for you! It is challenging to change long-standing beliefs about fats, isn't it?

I wish the news were different about bananas -- but everything I've read, and personal experience, is in line with your point. The reason I've been given to avoid many bananas is the sugar content, particularly for those of us that are insulin resistant, have diabetes or a history of obesity. Sarah touches on that in the glycemic load section on page 207 of TPA.

[cindakay]

I understand what you are saying about bananas and they slow my weight loss also. What do you guys think about plantains? Same as bananas?

I just did my first real crossfit class (after four foundation classes) and got home so hungry I could eat a horse so I made a pastured pork steak, sautéed onions with kale, and some fried plantains in coconut oil...was soooo good but Im just not sure about the plantains or sweet potato. But after heavy duty workouts I feel my body needs some, I'm just not sure yet...

[frecs]

Apr 15, 2014 12:40:11 GMT -5 cindakay said:

I understand what you are saying about bananas and they slow my weight loss also. What do you guys think about plantains? Same as bananas?

I just did my first real crossfit class (after four foundation classes) and got home so hungry I could eat a horse so I made a pastured pork steak, sautéed onions with kale, and some fried plantains in coconut oil...was soooo good but Im just not sure about the plantains or sweet potato. But after heavy duty workouts I feel my body needs some, I'm just not sure yet...

Sweet potatoes have been a daily for me, so I can say they are not slowing down my weightloss. I just started with plantains...and I sure hope they do not cause a problem. I suspect that as long as they are eaten green (starchy) rather than ripe (sweet) they won't be a problem. But, time will tell....or someone with more experience may enlighten us both on this one.