Brand new to Paleo, five weeks and loving it.
Went to a bio sig practitioner and he got me started. I am very active, kettlbells 4 days per week, short runs or sprints 3/week.
I do a lot of slalom watersking and downhill sking.
I am 34, 5'7" and 168 pounds. I am trying to lean out and cut body fat. I am struggling with amount of caloric intake.
I am currently taking in 1600-1700/day. Shooting for 40% fat/20% carbs/40% protein. Not eating any dairy, gluten or fruits (other than 1/2 cup blueberries post workout). First four weeks, weight was falling off 16 pounds. Now seems to have stopped.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
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5 Answers
I think you are not eating enough for all the work you're doing. Why should your body put on muscle? You're telling your hormones that you're in a famine-it thinks it needs that fat for later!
Think about it evolutionarily. What lifestyle are you emulating by what you're doing?
I am nervous about eating more to loose weight. Any suggestions on calorie intake? I do weigh and measure everything.
Nicole, excellent thought "...what lifestyle are you emulating..." to view nutrition, activity, exercise, stress, rest, etc through the evolutionary lens. Key principle I should think.
You could try calorie cycling. There's solid research out there on up-down-day diets. I know if I decide to work harder at losing the extra 7-8 lbs. I'm carrying, that's how I'll do it. Basically, you eat a normal, weight maintenance amount on one day, and then 50% the next day. Some people do 500 calories on their down days, but I'm pretty sure I can't do that I'm convinced that my body just eventually just ramps metabolism down to the lower calorie level. That's *not* what I'm looking for as I have no desire to do caloric restriction for the rest of my life. I enjoy food too much!
"First four weeks, weight was falling off 16 pounds. Now seems to have stopped."<---This is a fairly common phenomena. One idea is that you are doing TOO much work. Your body may need much more recovery than you are giving it. What did the bio sig guy say about your cortisol level? Did he note any abnormal values? Do you ski year round? Are you skiing at a competitive level? If you are, then you probably need an in-season workout program which is usually less volume and intensity than an out of season program. In summary, I would reduce the sprints to one time per week. Reduce strength training to 1-2 x per week. Focus on low volume and high weight and continue to ski.
He did not mention anything about cortisol? I do ski year round, downhill snow skiing 3-4x/week November through March, Slalom waterskiing (fairly intense) 3-4x/week, April through October.
Forget ratios. Cut your carbs, get more quality fat; you are overtraining, not eating enough calories, or possibly both.
@Tony: paleo is supposed to be simple--eat real food when you're hungry. You seem to be somewhat preoccupied with weighing, measuring and counting the calories in your food. Downhill skiers need lots of calories, maybe up to 4000 to 5000 per day, but who's counting? Count your carb grams intermittently--keep at 50 or fewer per day. Your protein intake looks good--about 1gm per lb. or slightly less. Make up the rest in fat--fatty meats, offal, egg yolks, coconut oil, some nuts. If you still need more fat, add back some butter or ghee if you're not allergic to dairy. Don't count calories.
Any suggestions on what enough calories might be? Thanks!
Excellent and exactly right, Ed. More fat to develop the energy, fewer carbs to lose weight. Vary protein sources for nutrition. Perfect.
For weight loss, I would recommend reducing carbohydrates to 5%.
Yep - it's very easy to get more carbs than you think, I find that going basically "zero carb" leaves me room for indulgences such as nuts or cheese and probably balances out to "pretty low carbs". I'd also add pure fat - Ghee, beef tallow, coconut oil - the fat calories boost your vitality and don't make you put on weight. In my case the more fat I add the more weight I lose.
Three things I can think of:
Sleep, you'll need 8-10 hours, especially if you are working out a lot
Stress, make sure to maintain it and not be over stress all the time
Try intermittent fasting, I've heard of great weight loss results all over PaleoHacks for trying to lose weight
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CaveRat
(2997)
on June 19, 2011
at 06:18 PM
Excellent and exactly right, Ed. More fat to develop the energy, fewer carbs to lose weight. Vary protein sources for nutrition. Perfect.
CaveRat
(2997)
on June 19, 2011
at 06:16 PM
Yep - it's very easy to get more carbs than you think, I find that going basically "zero carb" leaves me room for indulgences such as nuts or cheese and probably balances out to "pretty low carbs". I'd also add pure fat - Ghee, beef tallow, coconut oil - the fat calories boost your vitality and don't make you put on weight. In my case the more fat I add the more weight I lose.
Ed
(11478)
on April 05, 2010
at 11:55 PM
@Tony: paleo is supposed to be simple--eat real food when you're hungry. You seem to be somewhat preoccupied with weighing, measuring and counting the calories in your food. Downhill skiers need lots of calories, maybe up to 4000 to 5000 per day, but who's counting? Count your carb grams intermittently--keep at 50 or fewer per day. Your protein intake looks good--about 1gm per lb. or slightly less. Make up the rest in fat--fatty meats, offal, egg yolks, coconut oil, some nuts. If you still need more fat, add back some butter or ghee if you're not allergic to dairy. Don't count calories.
Patrik
(10502)
on April 04, 2010
at 11:22 PM
@Tony Drake -- check out Robb Wolf's blog. He has a ton of info on Paleo and leaning out. http://robbwolf.com/
Nicole_3
(155)
on April 04, 2010
at 09:46 PM
You could try calorie cycling. There's solid research out there on up-down-day diets. I know if I decide to work harder at losing the extra 7-8 lbs. I'm carrying, that's how I'll do it. Basically, you eat a normal, weight maintenance amount on one day, and then 50% the next day. Some people do 500 calories on their down days, but I'm pretty sure I can't do that I'm convinced that my body just eventually just ramps metabolism down to the lower calorie level. That's *not* what I'm looking for as I have no desire to do caloric restriction for the rest of my life. I enjoy food too much!
Tony_Drake
(30)
on April 04, 2010
at 07:49 PM
Any suggestions on what enough calories might be? Thanks!
Tony_Drake
(30)
on April 04, 2010
at 07:48 PM
I am nervous about eating more to loose weight. Any suggestions on calorie intake? I do weigh and measure everything.
Tony_Drake
(30)
on April 04, 2010
at 07:47 PM
He did not mention anything about cortisol? I do ski year round, downhill snow skiing 3-4x/week November through March, Slalom waterskiing (fairly intense) 3-4x/week, April through October.
archaea
(2254)
on April 04, 2010
at 04:50 PM
Oh, I see. Interesting. Thank you
jm054
(1015)
on April 04, 2010
at 02:15 PM
"Bio Sig" = BioSignature is a system based on scientific evidence that where people store their body fat is an indication of their hormonal profile. http://www.charlespoliquin.com/TheBiosignatureMethod/TheMethod.aspx
Tim_Rangitsch
(4583)
on April 04, 2010
at 01:24 PM
Nicole, excellent thought "...what lifestyle are you emulating..." to view nutrition, activity, exercise, stress, rest, etc through the evolutionary lens. Key principle I should think.
archaea
(2254)
on April 04, 2010
at 06:47 AM
What is "bio sig"?