Losing weight, feeling great

Blue's Personal Paleolithic Diet
(a Lacto-Paleo version)

The Stats:

I'm 46 years old, mother of 5 under 8, graphic designer/web designer (so mine is a sedentary job). Weighed 322lbs in March 2007, current weight (Sept. 2009) 170lbs.

The Journey:

First a little background (as briefly as possible): I've been overweight my entire adult life. During my bad first marriage I ballooned up to over 360lbs. I was miserable and depressed, and I also suffered infertility. I had sporadic, heavy periods, with bad cramping (I suspect some of those were early miscarriages) and despite trying, never concieved that I am sure of.

After I kicked my crap first husband out in 1997, I resolved to lose weight. Low fat diets were all the rage at the time, so I did low fat.

I began walking religiously and after an initial drop of aboutt 20lbs, I stalled. I began to cut more calories and fat, walked more, drank more water. By the end I was eating only one meal a day: a small skinless chicken breast and a small serving of steamed veg. I would often go without eating anything at all for up to 2 days at a time.

I lost 180lbs in 18 months - half of my body weight. I weighed 181lbs.

I was also miserable, sick all the time, and had no energy. I was irritable to the point of almost losing my job. I snapped and snarled, cursed and yelled, at everyone. I had constant headaches and the lethargy was unbearable. My periods pretty much disappeared and I went on the mini pill to regulate them.

In 1999 I had 3 grand mal seizures. I had no history of seizures and they were never explained.

I began to eat 'normally' (read: 'sensibly') and maintained my weight easily. I never had another seizure but suffered fugue states for years afterward.

At the end of 2000, I met my current, 'keeper' husband, married him on April Fools Day 2001 and conceived our first child (yep, on the pill). I weighed 187lbs when I went in to my first OB appointment.

Over the next 6 years I had 5 children and ate whatever I wanted ("for the baby"). Mid March 2007, 2 weeks after my last was born, I weighed 322lbs. I again resolved to lose all the weight I'd gained.

I also remembered how horrible those 18 months were when I was dieting. I remembered the seizures. (I had been put on 500m of Dilantin/day and had weaned myself off of them in 2006). I read about the low-carb diets just gaining popularity and, faithfully thinking that "a calorie is a calorie" and that all I needed to do was cut calories, I gave it a try. *shrug* It didn't matter which diet, right?

Let's just say that it was an entirely different experience.

For starters I never really even had to try hard to lose weight. Just eliminating most carbs and sugars caused the pounds to melt off of me, slowly but surely, without my doing or counting anything.

Best of all I wasn't hungry, my disposition was positively sunny, and I was happy. By August 2008 I had lost 100lbs and I ran across the Paleolithic diet.

I'm a huge science head and fan of genetics and evolution (I named my first child Darwin) and the theory just made sense to me. If we evolved over 2 million years eating a certain way, then it makes sense that our bodies might do better on that old, familiar diet.

Over the month of September (2008) I pared all grains, all starchy veg, and all sugars from my diet. In the new year I very much limited my caffeine and artificial sweetener intake. I also gave up Nightshades as I'd read about the links to nightshade and arthritis / skin problems. (I have arthritis in both knees and rosacia). I also upped my fat intake.

As of this writing I weigh 169lbs (my goal is 145lbs), my arthritis and asthma are vastly improved, my Rosacia is GONE, I'm only hungry once a day, then I eat what I please that's on my plan, but best of all, I am bursting with energy! It's been incredible. I actually cleaned my house, LOL!

I said over on my Paleo Page, there is no one Paleolithic / Primal / Neanderthal / Warrior / Stone Age / Caveman diet. Everyone adapts a diet to suit her needs - what works for her. Mine isn't strict Paleo - I eat some dairy - so I'd call it Lacto-Paleo.

In maintainance (not losing weight, not gaining weight) I eat about 2500-3000 calories per day, do NO intentional cardio but I do some strength training - mostly body weight stuff. I eat as much fat as I can and try to keep the carbs under 10g/day - I generally stick with leafy greens and cruciferus veg (collards, cabbage, broccoli). Ususally, I'm almost 100% carnivore, subsisting for weeks on just meat, eggs, and a tiny bit of dairy

I eat:

• Red meat, skin-on poultry, fish (any and all - the fatter the better. I prefer pork and cook everything in bacon grease, lol) I do eat minimally processed meats like bacon and sausage but carefully check the label. It has to be just meat and spices.
• Non-starchy (no potatoes or corn), Non-nightshade (no tomatoes, peppers, or eggplant), vegetables
• Eggs
• Cream, Cheese, and butter (this is not Paleo. I eat a pretty small amount.)

I season with dry herbs and fry or broil almost everything. I eat a large amount of veg raw. My non-Paleo weaknesses are : artificial sweeteners, decaf coffee and caffeine-free Diet Coke, and alcohol.

Yes, I drink alcohol. Jack Daniels Black label to be exact. I figure that since I don't eat sweets, shop for recreation, smoke cigarettes, or sleep around, I get one evil, LOL!

My point is that no one diet works for everyone. We are all different. You should adapt your diet to your own unique needs. If chocolate is your one true love, then eat your chocolate! (in moderation).

I do NOT eat:

• Any grains or grain products (bread, crackers, corn, rice, etc)
• Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers)
• Legumes (beans, peas, peanuts), especially Soy - which is packed with phytoestrogens, anti-nutrients, and toxins
• Any processed food, especially Frankenfoods like "diet bars", "100 calorie snacks", shakes, or meal replacements
• High Fructose Corn Syrup or sugar (catsup, mayonnaise, cakes, cookies, sweets, etc)
• Hydrogenated oils, especially soybean oil
• Fruits, including savory fruits like tomatoes, peppers, and avocados. Fruit is packed with fructose, which is just sugar, and you can get all the nutrients in fruit, elsewhere.

Finally, I do take a few suppliments: Fish oil, Vitamins C and D, and Magnesium.

Take a look at a sample menu from Blue's average day.

I've been Lacto-Paleo for 1 year now(at this writing) and could certainly eat this way forever. I don't miss any of the foods I used to eat. I'm never hungry in between my meals, never obsess about eating, and I love, love, love the food I eat, now!

That's it. I hope it's helped, clarified, or amused you today! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments, and check out my Thrifty Mom Dot Com blog for more helpful diet info, thrifty tips, parenting rants, and a bit of snark.

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