Hey team, I was thinking of doing a short Paleo experiment for a week. For those unfamiliar with Paleo, it's a certain type of eating that's believed to mimic the way our ancestors ate before the advent of agriculture. In its strictest form, it's the raw food diet; the mainstream form is basically lean meats/fish + eggs + veggies + fruit + nuts and no grains of any sort, no legumes, and no dairy; and the least restrictive form allows dairy (albeit organic only) but still eschews legumes and grains. Of course, you are not allowed any sugar or artificial sweeteners, and no processed foods. But there's no limits on fat intake, no calorie counting, and no portion control (not that it's an issue for sleevers!).

I was thinking of trying this for a week just to see how sustainable it would be and to see how it'd make me feel. There are all kinds of claims as to improvement in your sleep, digestion, energy levels, loss of cravings, disappearance of afternoon crashes, depression, etc etc, and I basically just want to test that.

Anyone with me? I'm thinking of doing the modified version with dairy - just because I'd like to continue with my whey Protein shakes. I'll be using almond milk instead of milk in my shakes, though, but I'll let myself have an organic Greek yogurt or two here and there if I feel like it.

I would like to start on Monday, just to make things easier and give myself the weekend to prep some meals, and hopefully find a few people to do this with me for support and exchanging experiences!

Good job! My book came yesterday, so I am preparing.

Hey team, still sticking to the plan about 90%. Had some semi-sweet fudge from Rocky Mtn chocolate Factory today; Wednesday, I had a few bites of a dark chocolate pistachio tart, and Monday, I had a few squares of dark chocolate. Still finding it easy to be grain/legume/processed food-free, and there's been no other sugar in my diet except the aforementioned treats.

Went and bought some cool stuff, like duck eggs and quail eggs, frozen oyster meat, escargot, etc - keeps things exciting.

I am so glad I found this thread! I am pre-surgery, but I eat mostly paleo due to my celiac disease. My splurge is kifir and some gluten free goodies. I have lost weight, but I feel I need to go through this procedure to finally kick this thing. All of the Primal Blueprint books are amazing, another awesome cookbook is Make it Paleo. Blackberryjuice- are you Crossfitting? You look amazing. I hope to start Crossfit when I loose 50 lbs.

I am so glad I found this thread! I am pre-surgery, but I eat mostly paleo due to my celiac disease. My splurge is kifir and some gluten free goodies. I have lost weight, but I feel I need to go through this procedure to finally kick this thing. All of the Primal Blueprint books are amazing, another awesome cookbook is Make it Paleo. Blackberryjuice- are you Crossfitting? You look amazing. I hope to start Crossfit when I loose 50 lbs.

Hey, thanks! And yes, I'm Crossfitting, been for about 9 months now. It's definitely a tough program if you are very heavy, but even so, we have some folks at my gym who are 50+ lbs overweight, and they are still able to do 90% of the stuff and modify the rest (mostly things like pull-ups that are extra-tough if you are obese). On the upside, those of us who used to be fat are usually pretty strong, haha.

I've followed the diet about 95% this week, I had 3 squares of Ritter Sport chocolate on Monday. I also had some 86% dark chocolate, but considering the nutritional value, I don't really think it qualifies as a cheat. I'm down 5 lbs in 3 weeks, which is crazy considering I'm not eating fewer calories than I did before this - I'm still in the 1800-2300 range.

I just splurged on a large freezer from Kijiji so I could buy meat in bulk for less....excited! I threw out a lot of my grain-based groceries because now that I've been at it for 3 weeks, I don't think I'll be going back to my old eating habits any time soon. I'm just keeping a few things in case I have a friend over or something, and that's it.

Hey, thanks! And yes, I'm Crossfitting, been for about 9 months now. It's definitely a tough program if you are very heavy, but even so, we have some folks at my gym who are 50+ lbs overweight, and they are still able to do 90% of the stuff and modify the rest (mostly things like pull-ups that are extra-tough if you are obese). On the upside, those of us who used to be fat are usually pretty strong, haha.

I've followed the diet about 95% this week, I had 3 squares of Ritter Sport chocolate on Monday. I also had some 86% dark chocolate, but considering the nutritional value, I don't really think it qualifies as a cheat. I'm down 5 lbs in 3 weeks, which is crazy considering I'm not eating fewer calories than I did before this - I'm still in the 1800-2300 range.

I just splurged on a large freezer from Kijiji so I could buy meat in bulk for less....excited! I threw out a lot of my grain-based groceries because now that I've been at it for 3 weeks, I don't think I'll be going back to my old eating habits any time soon. I'm just keeping a few things in case I have a friend over or something, and that's it.

I knew it! I can't do Crossfit until I loose at least 50 lbs, as I have had multiple leg surgeries over the years. The last 2 were from doing sports that I did when I was thin and certainly should not have been doing at my current weight. I hope to be doing Crossfit by the first of the year if all goes as planned. I love eating paleo, I feel so much better. Better than years of gluten free eating. I am glad to hear that you are able to be so active and eat paleo. I am not much for synthetic anything or chemicals- I am not looking forward to the Protein shakes that you drink post-op. I will of course choke them down, but do you have any suggestions of something I could make that would have the protein without the artificial stuff?

I am not much for synthetic anything or chemicals- I am not looking forward to the protein shakes that you drink post-op. I will of course choke them down, but do you have any suggestions of something I could make that would have the protein without the artificial stuff?

Well, I haven't tried it yet, BUT I did buy an all-natural protein powder from Whey Gourmet - who I know makes very good shakes, I have their regular protein powders. http://www.wheygourmet.com/products/wheygourmetnaturelle.php It has a minimal list of ingredients, it's basically just whey isolate, flavor, and stevia for a sweetener - so about as natural as it gets for artificial sweeteners. I haven't tasted it yet, but someone rated it 8/10 on this one website, and given how good their other shakes are, I'm assuming it's above average.

Hey Blackberry - you started this thread over 2 months ago, how's Paleo going now? Sleevemeup - Tara's Whey is an all natural, organic, fair-trade etc. etc. protein powder. The dark chocolate one is really delicious, it's just like Ghirardelli cocoa powder!

Blackberry, that story of the wierdos and marzipan is great, but also scary! I almost feel like that guy was "casing" you, like him and his gf were lurking for ... something! eep! I'm still crossfitting btw, although between having the flu and going on vacation I haven't been to the gym for more than gentle yoga in .. 4 weeks, cripes! I'm actually afraid to return to crossfit, it will be so painful, but I miss it terribly.

Also, I have a question that may be indelicate so private msg me if it is - how did paleo, and then cheating, affect your um, digestion?? Any issues?

Thank you for the suggestion- There is also Vegasport, which is gluten free too. Kinda gritty, but the taste is great! I will try Tara's!

I came late to the party, but would LOVE to try this. I know raw meat is not required, but my meat is cooked so rare that it may as well be. I like blue/red centers on my steaks.

I think this will work because I lost 1.2 pounds yesterday and all I ate was 8.5 oz. of tri tip and 1 cup of broccoli.

I only worry about doing long hikes without the sugar. Last time I tried that after 7 hours of hiking, I got really cold, got the shakes and had some intense muscle pain.

P.S. The dark chocolate probably helped. I eat 72%, but maybe I should look for a higher cocoa content.