Im on and off paleo ( mainly off I give in to my sugar/carbs cravings easily )

but i was just wondering how soon after you went paleo (for me it is so far no dairy + grains) did you start losing weight? do you count calories ?


also, do those urges to go crazy on carbs ever go away?
im doing fine for a day or two and then stuff my face with bread, even though it doesnt do me any good...what is it with me...

You can't expect to lose the urges if you continue to give into them. Sorry, wish I could give you other news but that's the truth. Gluten is very addictive for some people, but you can kick it. Just don't keep resetting the counter.

As an example I went through a period where I was obsessing on chips. The more I ate, the more I wanted. I finally got control of myself and quit. The first week I had a lot of cravings (substituted by more paleo friendly things), the next week not so bad. Before long a month had gone by. Now over a year has gone by and I get a craving maybe once every 6 weeks, and it is easily overcome.

You might experience some benefits pretty quickly but if you're gluten sensitive then you might not until you stop abusing the bread-drug.

Weight loss is so highly individual I won't even begin to speculate.

i think i'm gluten sensitive - i always feel bloated after i eat bread and my arthritic knee pain is much worse.

but it is soooo hard to say NO. and its crazy, because i willingly eat something i know is damaging my health!

i think i will try to give at least a week. just will try really, really hard. dont care about them fresh bunns from bakery in the morning )

Start viewing grains as allergens. Read Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, then see if you want to gorge on the bread.

I saw results very quickly, but I stayed on plan...no grains no SUGAR!! I lost 10 pounds my first month and about 5 every month following. I'm down 32 pounds after a little less than 5 months. Everyone is different though.

I ate tons of bread before I started. I really had to look at it as an allergen (and it is!!). I don't want to get diabetes and arthritis....so I don't eat it.

Good luck! You can do it...we all did!

I gave up:

Dairy first
Then gluten
Then sugar (Atkins)
Then all grains (Paleo)

It was a long process that took over a year. I lost 10 or 15 pounds before even starting Atkins, and lost another 10 or 15 afterwards. By the time I got to Paleo I was pretty much at my goal weight already.

I never had a hardcore gluten addiction because it always made me feel hungry instantly, and that made cake, sandwiches and bagels very unsatisfying. But I did eat potato chips for quite a while after that - they never made me feel bad at all, and I only gave them up because they weren't on Atkins induction. They were a lifesaver a couple times when I was away from home and there was nothing else to eat. I actually found them quite filling.

If you're getting cravings, I recommend eating something else. Bacon is always a good choice, but if you really want carbs, try some gluten-free carbs like potato chips, nuts, or berries with coconut milk. Even white sugar is better than gluten in my opinion. Dealing with the cravings one at a time was much easier for me than a total switch in diet.

In my experience with the cravings it goes like this.
First, cut out all grains (including rice), sugers, beans, etc..
Or in other words just stick with eating Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts and Meat.
Once that is done.
It takes about 3 days for me to get over the strong cravings, maybe 4 days.
Then comes the sneaky days, the cravings are not as strong so you start convincing yourself that are in control so having just one meal of something you like won't hurt. Thats why I call these the tricky times. Its like craving cold war.

That lasts about 4 to 7 more days.
After that, the cravings become truly easier to control.
You will still get the odd craving from time to time, but it will be much easier to just ignore.

That's just my experience, its +/- several days for people.

As for weight loss.
Like Nancy said, it depends on how insulin resistant and gluten sensative you are. For me, I really need to cut out all non-Paleo foods.
My wife for example seems to be able to eat more non-Paleo foods and still lose the weight. Note: I am not talking about Icecream and cake and Nachos.. I mean stuff like popcorn, a few fries here and there.

But for me, if I cut it all out, within 3 days I definitely start to see progress. Sometimes before, but always by 3 days I see progress.
Well, unless I overdose on Fruits and Nuts.


Hope this helps.

In a general sense it's taken me years to "feel better." I saw a lot of immediate results, like improved mood and focus, but over the past 3 or 4 years, my reactions to accidental "glutening" have become milder, and I think, maybe, it's possible that my gut is just now beginning to settle down to a level that people might consider normal. Although I'm a lot more regular and I have a lot less nausea, cramps, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and headaches, they still come back occasionally. The gas has never quite gone away but in the last couple weeks it seems like it's been a little less. My energy has increased very gradually - I never saw the big burst that Atkins claims you will get, but over the years I've had less and less fatigue, and better and better sleep.

It's just 2 days grain-free, but it feels ok so far. I live with my whole family and they bake a lot - homemade bread and all, so I find it hard, but I just had eggs and bacon and I'm feelin gooooood, freakin good


I'm allowing myself fruits, even though for weight loss sake I know I should limit them. I need to stay off grains for a few weeks, so I keep my fruits for now. Apart from that I think Im doing good, no abstinence symptoms.

I've only seen Good calories, bad calories lecture on youtube, but I read lots of stuff about paleo. The best blog I ever came across is http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/ Packed with info, worth reading.

It's called "Post-Traumatic Grain Disorder'.

When I started Atkins, it took about 5 days for the worst of the carb cravings to go away.

When I started a more Paleo eating plan, what I noticed is that within 2 days after an accidental or intentional glutening - getting super strict, eliminating soy, gluten, dairy, corn..you name it - I feel really good and the bloating comes right back off super fast. If I just go back to a more 'general' low carb plan, it takes a lot longer to get past the gluten effect (like weeks!).

I used to think it was this 'special' diet - someting I tried after reading a book called "The False Fat Diet", which is all about food intolerances and allergies, but not really about low carb at all. Seemed kind of complicated - trying to incorporate eliminating the 7 most-commonly allergenic foods in conjunction with my Atkins diet. Felt like I needed this super-special, overly complicated 'plan' that seemed to work best for me. I was combining what I learned about food intolerances with my Atkins plan.

Meanwhile - Paleo does it *all*. Not complicated, don't need to count, don't need to go on various rounds of 'elimination diets' either.

I feel a bit silly about my 'Atkins plus no sensitive seven foods' routine. Always thought that 'Paleo' sounded so tough, too hard or whatever, and yet I was willing to blend an elimination diet of sorts with Atkins?

Couple of tips:
--------------
- to speed up the transition and get away from those cravings as quickly as possible, try to do this without fruit for the first couple of weeks (and don't give into bread, no matter what!)

- to speed up weight loss, keep an eye on nut portions.

Good luck!

You've got something there, Nancy. Janine didn't even want to go down a street called "Wheat Sheaf Lane" today.

The aversion training really works. Just repeat "poison" to yourself. Even if you don't believe it, the message will take effect and you'll eventually be slightly repulsed by it.

when i think about it, there's definitelly something going on with dairy. can't bring myself eating it if wanted to... kind of don't consider it edible anymore. so hope, that will happen with grains.

still ok, today was great. i dont really count carbs at all. had lots of fruits today, but all i care about is eating whole, paleo foods. will cut on fruits later (maybe after summer - we have full garden of fruits i just crave)
i will weigh myself next week and see how it works for me, but what i can see even now: simply not eating refined carbs = flatter stomach. good

One of the things wheat does is give you wheat belly, a very bloated appearance. It's great when you stop eating gluten because that wheat belly goes away! I get it from dairy as well.

My grocery has an in-store bakery. The smell used to entice me to buy carbage, but after avoiding grains for a year, I actually started to find that yeasty smell nauseating. I still do 4 years later.