I was on Atkins and lost 50lbs., but I hit a serious plateau. I couldn't move past the 245 mark for nothing, so I thought. So, I switched to Neanderthin and broke past my plateau. Now, before you think I'm going to preach about the wonders and magic of doing Neanderthin, let me first share why I was able to breakthrough my plateau. First, on Atkins he erroneously preached that calories don't count. Guys don't fall for this and use common sense here. I use to think that I could eat the same amounts of food and as long as I kept my carbs low and my ketostix were purple, I was burning fat. LOL! Yes, I lost weight because of the full feeling eating a LC diet gives to some, not all, folks. So, I ate less calories and didn't notice; however, I finally reached a point where my calorie intake matched my calorie burn which equals a plateau.

OK, so enter our friend Ray Audette. I love this book more for the chapter that compares the different primates' digestive systems--fascinating stuff IMO! So, I stopped eating cheese and started to exercise more, and guess what? I broke through my plateau and promptly dropped another 35lbs for that year. Do I attribute this to my switching from Atkins to Neanderthin? Of course not! It was because I was following a LC diet and I became vigilant with understanding and manipulating both sides of the energy balance equation. IMO, there's no need to switch from this plan to the next because they all get you to manipulate one side or the other of the energy balance equation (must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight and/or you must consume less calories than you consume). If everyone hasn't done so already, I suggest that you read Ellis's Net Carb Scam and Ultimate Diet Secrets, and Colpo's The Great Cholesterol Con. The way that I eat is based on scientific research and real results that can be measured! I really respect Ray Audette and his book and recommend as one of the top three books that inspired my transformation; however, I'm no longer following anyone else's plan since the research on what we should eat as our optimal diet has been established, not without continued debate of course. For instance, I LOVE raw cashews and I still eat cheese, not as much as before, which I know Audette writes against. Well, obviously, these things have not affected my results or my health because I know that for weight loss or maintenance the calorie is KING and diet composition is second ...

The research results for me is the history of our evolution. It has also been proven that if you mess with the natural scheme of things, eventually an imbalance will occur.

I wonder, are you eating this optimal diet? If so, please share it with us!

But surely the whole point is that simplicity is the best? I found that the good Dr. A allowed so many different foods (and later on frankenfoods) that I personally ate too much. Reading his 1972 book is quite different from the later editions. The first week of induction is very Paleo. But as usual, the first thing we read on the Newbie posts is: so ok, I'm in week 2 of Atkins - can I have cream, can I have peanut butter, can I have catsup, can I have low carb bread, can I have Dreamfields pasta, can I have cheese, and how much etc." And on and on it goes. The decision does not seem to be a complete change in thinking and eating. It seems to be how much can I get away with?

On NeanderThin I eat meat/fish/fat, greens when I feel like it, and berries - that's it. And it is simple and effective.

If it comes in a can, box, tub, package, or bag DON'T EAT IT. Now that's a diet.

And that is the best advice that we can give to anyone (and follow ourselves).

(Although I need a poke to carry home my pasture-raised beef roast...)

If your "poke" is made from buffalo hide, sewn with gut thread and a whale bone needle we'll allow it!

...........Dang it!

Hello PreoteusOne. I believe that I'm eating the optimal diet for us, but let me be clear about the optimal diet, and I'm taking this from Anthony Colpo's The Great Cholesterol Con. Any optimal diet should have two requirements:

1. It must keep blood glucose levels well within normal range
2. It must deliver as many protective vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, and plant phenols per ingested calorie as possible

And I think understanding the energy balance equation is obvious for weight loss and maintenance; however, I think that those following a Paleo-style diet are eating the optimal diet, save the arguments over dairy and certain nuts (or should I say legumes). And when I say research, anthropological nutrition is a major part of that. Personally, the only items I eat that aren't on Audette's list are cheese and cashews.

fallsgal, I couldn't agree with you more. The KISS (keep it sweet and simple) my little twist, philosophy is best applied to any aspect of life IMO. The more I've read about diet and exercise, the more I realize how they both should be very simple routines to follow because these are the ones that we will stick with. Most Atkins newbies are more concerned with losing weight fast and the reason why besides lower your carbs is not fully explained to them. However, what I appreciate about what Audette did in his book is that he educated his reader on the history of the human gut! When he compared out gut to the swamp baboon, it blew me away and further reinforced the point that we should eat the foods we were designed to eat. This approach is much more explanatory than keep your carbs low and you'll have this metabolic advantage and lose weight without counting calories. Man, what hogwash and we are seeing the results of many mis-guided low carbers who wholeheartedly believe that carbs count more than calories.

right on. I don't even check the Atkins threads anymore because I get so pissed off that some folks are always looking for a loop hole. There is just one way to lose weight: find the foods that make you feel your "real" best, not your "sugar high" best. Don't eat if you aren't hungry, and stop when you are satisfied not stuffed.

Another bonus is cost savings. If it comes in a bag, box, bottle, package etc. don't buy it - that leaves lots of cash over for meat and veggies.

It also saves time on label reading!

Fallsgal,

I couldn't agree with you more; however, the LC community needs to really start coming together IMO. Even the Atkins crowd who are looking for LC ways of substituting their bad habits need to be brought up to speed. I don't know; many LCers are so close to having the dietary puzzle solved. I mean, we don't have to convince them that eating saturated fat isn't bad for them! So, that's more than half the battle right there. Also, I think that we need to start emphasizing calories first and then diet composition because many LCers are so confused about what it more important counting calories or carbs thanks to Atkins, Suzanne Somers, and many other calories don't count gurus.

I don't know what do you guys think since those who follow a Paleo life-style is usually has read more than the average Atkins-ite, ya know?

Thanks ...

I agree, and we (Paleo people) need to foster it.

However....

For me, I find that I, as a striving Paleolite, have more in common with raw foodists and vegans than the Atkins crowd, particularly with the raw foodists. Sure, we have our differences (usually about meat), but we both desire and work for fresh, organic produce. I just don't see that sort of concern with the general LC-ers or Atkins group.

It would be nice if LC-ers in general could come together, but really, I share about as much in common with the Atkins crowd as I do with the fat phobics or wheat addicts. They can all have all the dairy, bacon, and artificial sweeteners they want. But what they are doing is, in my belief, a short-lived, narrowly focused way of eating more for losing weight than gaining health.

This is just my opinion, and probably unsolicited at that.

Well... I don't feel I have that much in common with raw foodists and vegans at all actually. There are Atkins folks who are concerned about pesticides and such, they just happen to also use dairy products. And there's probably lots of paleo people who can't afford being totally organic, grass-fed and free range. I would include myself in that category. At the farmer's market this weekend strawberries were selling for $5 for 3 pints of conventional or $13 for 3 pints of organic.

I think there's a big fat common ground between Paleo and Atkins in those folks who have discovered lots of food intolerances but don't really want to make everything from scratch or shun all technological advancements in the preparation and storage of food. There's always the danger of meal plans becoming religion and I always hate seeing that happen, it stops people from communicating.

The problem with getting all righteous about it is that there's always someone out there that's probably doing an even better job (or thinking they do) and sneering down their noses at us.

It's like that episode of South Park, when everyone decided to drive hybrid cars. The smog lifted, but was replaced by a giant cloud of smug. It was eventually decided that hybrid cars were a great idea - as long as people didn't get all over themselves for driving one, and start loving the smell of their own farts just bc they felt all environmental and stuff.

I remind myself often that if it weren't for gluten/casein intolerance, I'd still be popping in to McDonald's now and then or chowing down on a low-carb bar or Dreamfields pasta or [insert low-carb frankenfood here]. I figure as long as about 90% of my food is sharp-stick acquireable, I'm rockin'.

But yeah, most do start out to lose weight. For some, the focus shifts...not for all. And yeah, at times it can be frustrating. Mind, my BF eats nothing but processed crap so I have a high tolerance...and lots of practice keeping my bloody mouth shut! (While secretly loving the smell of my own farts, of course.)

LOL! That sounds hilarious.