Anyone interested in a Paleo / Primal thread?

[RubyGoat]

I've recently started doing Primal, so far I've found it easier to stick to than standard low carb. Does anyone else follow a similar WOE? There was a long thread several years ago, but I can't find anything more recently.

What's the difference?

Mark's Daily Apple - Mark Sissons is the man who came up with the Primal WOE. This is the I follow.

Sorry, will have to do links separately. My tablet is ridiculous & can't handle links in 1 post.

A guide to Paleo.

Previous post was meant to say, my tablet can't handle multiple links in one post.

Essentially, Paleo seems to be closer to regular low carb/keto. It allows higher fat but requires more restrictions on carbs, especially fruits. Primal doesn't specifically restrict fruit, it does just point out that if you are trying to lose weight they may impede your progress. I'm losing weight just fine while eating plenty of fruit. Lost 5 lb in January, & I had a few days in bed due to not feeling well.

Primal allows dairy (preferably unpasteurised) if you can digest it ok. Most paleo guides don't.

Paleo seems mostly concentrated on the diet side of things. In contrast Primal is a whole lifestyle, it encourages you to think about having good sleeping patterns, exercise (not just how much but when & what type you do, sometimes less is more, rest is important). Relaxation is important, getting lots of fresh air, natural light, etc.

Not sure about paleo, but Primal specifically allows for you to take time off from the diet every so often. 80/20 is how they describe it. Stick to it 80% of the time. If you allow regular "treats", you will be less likely to blow it & give up.

I tried keto, a few years ago. Totally couldn't manage it, I felt really ill. Ketosis doesn't suit me at all. But I've stuck to this just fine. There's no requirement to aim to be in ketosis on Paleo or Primal, as you are supposed to eat lots of veg on both (especially primal) although it's an option if you want to.

I find primal very similar to the Low Carb Bootcamp in that it emphasises unprocessed real foods and allows dairy.

@StuntNun true, but OTOH it also allows the higher carb vegetables & even fruits if you want them (I do) which regular style low carbing doesn't. It was because of the strict limitations on fruit & veg that I struggled with low carb. I love my veg but I can only take so much meat... apparently quite a few people get to their target weight on low carb, then switch to either primal or paleo.

I agree with you about the unprocessed aspect of Primal. Definitely appeals to me. I have quite a few food intolerances so the unprocessed foods part of the diet is a definite plus.

I think a lot of the restrictions on the various low carb / keto plans is for the sake of simplicity. It's easier to say "eat as many mushrooms as you want but don't eat carrots" than it is to say "carrots are about 10% carbohydrate so they need to be limited if you want to lose weight."

Have you heard of the If It Fits Your Macros approach? It's more flexible because your focus is on meeting macronutrient goals rather than on "good" or "bad" foods. So you could eat a doughnut if you like... so long as the rest of your foods for the day make up your chosen macronutrient profile.

I'm at weight maintenance and, although I am low carb, I do make exceptions where I choose to. So I might have a roast potato with my Sunday lunch, or a piece of cake on my DC's birthday, or put kidney beans in my chilli con carne. Like you say, it's the 80:20 approach (although 90:10 or even 95:05 works better for me.)

Having said that, for people that are trying to lose weight it is very frustrating when the scales refuse to budge. And it can be difficult to fine tune what someone is eating when they are eating carbier foods. So I can see why the simplicity of red / yellow / green foods works so well for weight loss.

Haha luckily I don’t really like doughnuts, unless they’re freshly cooked. The cold ones from the supermarket - yuck.

I’ve been trying to lose weight for a couple of years now. It’s been slowly creeping upwards instead. This is the first thing that has worked at all, & it also hasn’t felt like absolute torture. I definitely notice it when I eat carby salty foods though ( e.g. crisps - my main weakness). I put about a pound back on & it takes a couple of days to start going in the right direction again. Been steadily losing a fraction of a pound each day, when I don’t eat refined carby crap. Fruit etc doesn’t seem to be a problem so far.