paleo for weightloss

[yumyumpoppycat]

Was sorting out some books to take back to the library and found Chris Kresser's your personal paleo Diet. It pretty much fell open on the weight loss page - seemed to be a sign! Soooo enough messing around and procrastination, on the wagon off the wagon, I just need to get my head down and just plow on and lose weight....

Is anyone up for doing paleo or a similar diet with a focus on weightloss?

These are the additional rules, or I guess a good starting point before adding in usual paleo 'rules' :
Eat more protein
Don't snack
Go dairy free
Reduce calorie density by eating more veg
Eat all food within an 8 hour window

and one more for me - in bed by 11.

Will update but be great if others join in!

Cor, not been on the thread for a little bit and seem to have missed loads of exciting things. :)

I've been reading up a bit on the differences between paleo and primal (I had sort of thought they were the same) and realised I definitely feel more comfortable with primal as a rule. I still eat to much dairy though and need to cut back a bit I think. I've also been having a few non-primal dinners this week as dh is on leave so been cooking. I don't have the heart to refuse his efforts even if they do involve oven chips.

I've dumped the meusli for breakfast now and just have loads of nuts, fruit and seeds with a bit of milk or Greek yogurt. Also got a routine lunch for work of a couple of eggs, some ham or cooked meat and general salad bits. Sometimes I do some microwave bread or a bannana muffin for a treat.

Now I have stopped thinking of carbs and grains as standard, defualt foods its getting much easier. Still some way from 100% primal but getting closer I think.

Hear my roar its funny how grains suddenly lose their draw and it all gets easier isn't it. Wish I had a microwave so i could try that bread.

Favadi dairy is weird like that, my ds can have cheese and fromage frais but if has cows milk instead of goats milk he starts to get chesty/wheezy - it always clears up as soon as he goes back to goats milk.

I had sweet potato pancakes this morning using a leftover roasted potato and two eggs, it was very easy but not quite as delicious as it looked. I had to choose from the lunch menu at bella so I had salad and lemon risotto for lunch.

Riffy I got the poultry control pants roasting bags in wilkinsons during my break - very bargainous I am ridiculously looking forward to trying them

Tried making almond butter - it was a flop. Now have lots of clumpy almond paste to use up! Has anyone made their own almond butter successfully? I think my mistake was in soaking the nuts.

I won't bother until you perfect the technique and advise us all then! I got a new gadget today, for making noodles from veg. DH looked well impressed, until I actually seved him the courgette noodles for dinner.

Charlie, how did the noodles taste what did you eat them with?

I have lost 3lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really wasn't expecting it given the amount of nuts and dates I have eaten this week

They were good I thought. I added them to stir fry with chicken and satay sauce.

I made blueberry muffins this morning, ok but will try out a different recipe next time I think. I had one with an almond milk latte for breakfast.
Going to make banana and strawberry ice cream for pudding tonight, frozen fruit straight into the food processor, anyone tried it?

Well done on the weight loss!!

I have done the ice cream with bananas and mangos on their own and with strawberries and coconut cream - it does work - a bit more like a sorbet though. The bananas need to be ripe and brown really for it to be sweet and ice cream like. Its a good idea to leave the frozen slices soften a small bit first depending how strong your blender is. My blender has a desert function (clearly not a nut butter function though!).

How was the latte - sounds like a perfect weekend breakfast! I am planning to make one later. I made almond milk yesterday which was mega easy, but haven't tasted it yet, I might need to sweeten it? I had bought cheap nutbags ahem from Amazon when doing this before but never used them.

Will try coconut milk next. My tesco express now sells refrigerated cartons of Alpro coconut milk but it has sugar and other ingredients so I probably wont buy it.

Oh and your stir fry sounds really delicious will have to try that too!

Is making almond milk an economic or health thing? I've been using alpro unsweetened, I think it's ok. The latte was good, the milk steamed better than I expected, and I sprinkled cinnamon on top. With the muffin it did feel like a treat weekend breakfast.
I've put the ripe bananas and strawberries in the freezer so we'll see. DH is missing his puds so I hope it works.

No it was more a case of what can I do with this bag of almonds!

I'm not sure how dilute the Alpro is, so potentially its more expensive. If someone is sensitive to Guar gum or stabilisers it is perfectly easy to make though and you can use the leftover almond pulp in place of ground almonds for baking (I made chocolate brownies - they were too bitter but my family liked them after lunch with ice cream, also blitzed some with dates which was nice for me)

My latte was ok (dp thought it was disgusting though) I will have to buy the alpro and do a taste test! I would probably do the whole process of making almond milk and pulp/ground almonds again, but maybe i will try with white almonds next time.

How was the ice cream?

The ice cream was a big hit, DH suggested going to the fruit farm up the road tomorrow to stock up on various fruits, he remembered they also sell it ready frozen by the kilo! He's quite keen on ice cream. I liked it too but my favourite is always a vanilla with toffee and nuts combo like pralines and cream so I'm never going to replicate that.

Aww that's brill your dh is getting into the spirit of things .

You could do pralines and cream www.eatlivegrowpaleo.com/2012/07/paleo-ice-cream.html not sure that's really v paleo though but good weekend treat! I haven't tried proper ice cream just blending frozen fruit but love the idea of it.

Wow thanks for that link, well worth a go for an occasional treat. I'd only eat ice cream now and again anyway as I'm incapable of stopping once I start. My DH loves sweet stuff but he's type 2 diabetic so I'm really trying to find healthier alternatives for him. I really believe this way of eating could massively improve his health but I need to take it steady, not too bossy. He's still eating some whole grain bread at the moment, and a few new potatoes or brown rice, but I've cut down his helpings and otherwise he gets what I eat.

Sounds difficult Charlie, I hate it when my dp gets too interested in what I am eating but some support is helpful at the same time. My dp and I are both trying to lose some weight but I cannot convince him to cut out bread. He also thinks salt and fat are the enemy and you shouldn't eat too many eggs. We are both doing one thing the same which is helpful and that is not eating once the children have gone to bed and a weekly weigh in. Have either of you noticed any benefits to this way of eating yet?

Took the children for a birthday treat lunch, there was nothing really i could eat but had a latte ... oh well its saving money and weight-loss at the same time!

It is difficult when you go out to certain places isn't it. We had oversees visitors for a couple of weeks, lots of wine and dinners out and before I started this I'd booked a lovely afternoon tea for us all. I couldn't really back out so ended up eating a couple of smoked salmon sandwiches and a scone with jam and cream, plus a glass of champagne the weekend before last. I did feel it took me a week to feel right again. They've gone back now so I'm on the straight and narrow.

I have definitely noticed health benefits in terms of my psoriasis and arthritis, plus significant weight loss. I'm not weighing but I have gone down nearly 2 back sizes in bras and can get my tightest jeans off without undoing them - need new jeans! DH has gone down a waist size and I'm really keen to see his blood results next time he has his diabetic check. Are you having to cook different meals if your DP isn't keen on this way?

I made spag Bol tonight with veg noodles, it was lovely.

Wow well done Sounds like there is a lot there to keep you both motivated.

Dp and I are eating more or less the same dinner but he will only have eggs about once a week and doesn't like it if I add salt during cooking. generally dp is having toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. I guess if his weight is improving then that is important in itself though.

So no rash this week I think it must be a mixture of having breakfast as soon as I wake up rather than trying to extend the fast; getting to bed a little earlier; and keeping up the carbs by having some occasional non gluten cheats (mainly easi yo yoghurt - it's homemade ;) ) and cooking extra veg like sweet potato at dinner time to save and have with my breakfast.

How is everyone doing?

I made meatballs at the weekend which were really tasty. I had broccoli and asparagus with them instead of pasta.

Also I have actually found another breakfast/pudding that I can eat! Eggs often make me feel sick so I can't have them for breakfast, and this really limits my breakfast choices. But chia seeds make a really nice pudding that also goes well with berries for breakfast. I mixed two tablespoons of chia with half a can of coconut milk then added half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a good sprinkle of dessicated coconut, then put it in the fridge for a couple of hours and the seeds plump up to make a kind of milky rice pudding/tapioca affair. I also tried adding a tsp of cinnamon and half a tsp of cardamom which was spicy and nice, like a rice pudding I have had in Indian restaurants.

My DH has embarked on The Whole 30 today. He has lost about three stone eating paleo (he started at the same time as me) but has had lots of days when he fell off the wagon, and when he eats non-paleo he really eats crap - lots of toast, crisps, ice cream, etc. It's so weird to watch him now and realise that he is bingeing on sugar/carbs because of the addictive drug-like effect they have on the brain. He always feels crap after eating non-paleo - his belly bloats up massively, he feels more tired, farts like a warthog etc. He has been feeling headachey and moody today as a result of the sugar withdrawal again - I find it so frustrating, he has already gone through this before and then begun to feel a million times better, and now he's back at the start. I really hope he can stick to it now for his and his health's sake!

I have bought the chia seeds today to give that a go Riffy, but I just made some mini frittatas in prosciutto cups for tomorrow. I was having green smoothies every day but getting a bit bored of them on a daily basis and have also discovered I'm allergic to kiwi fruit which I was adding to them. Would you have that chia pudding often? I'm still wary of the calories.

I think I'm going to do the whole 30, printed off the info earlier and going to read through it tonight.

I hope you enjoy the chia pud now I've recommended it Charlie! I wouldn't worry about the calories, I know it's loads but when you eat paleo it all seems to work out IYSWIM. And coconut milk is really good to eat because it's full of nutrients and healthy fats and it helps your body go into ketosis (which I am a bit fuzzy about but it's something to do with your body burning fat instead of carbs/muscle which in turn is good for your brain and weightloss). I've made another batch today because DH loves it with berries. Saying that I would probably only eat it 3 or 4 times a week (can't quite get rid of the calorie monster whispering in my ear - he keeps telling me to stop eating nuts as well! )

Good luck if you decide to do the Whole 30!

Yes let us know how you go with w30 - if you are doing that you really shouldn't need to calorie count because it is fairly strict. Sounds like it shouldn't be too big a jump from what you are already doing?

I have always wondered about 20 day sugar detox - has anyone managed to find out what it involves? I am guessing it is a bit more like traditional low carb?

Riffy - I think I have similar issues to your dh

Well I made the chia pud last night, but with almond milk. It wasn't quite thick enough so I just made another for tomorrow with coconut milk and another spoonful of seeds and it's set solid in half an hour, clearly need more practice!

I'm going to need to get a lot more organised as cooking from scratch every night after getting home from work is getting quite hard going. By the time I sat down to eat tonight I actually felt quite odd.

Charlie would a slow cooker and a timer plug be any use for dinner, you could make lone pot meals, I really like spanish chicken in my slow cooker? Most modern slow cookers run fast so if you are out all day you would probably need a timer. When the weather is like this I think salad is the way forward though!

I was very lasy today and had mackerel from the tin and peas when I was making the children's dinner

Good plan, I don't use my slow cooker much as it is too fast when I'm out all day. I hadn't thought of using a timer. I do make a lot of salads but with packing them for lunch too it gets a bit dull. I only made the honey mustard chicken from nom nom paleo tonight, but marinating first and making cauliflower rice etc it seemed to take ages. I was tired and hungry, I think I need some fall back options for days like today, I used to rely on M&S.