How many time has someone started a popular weight loss diet and it either didn’t work, or the results didn’t last long before the weight loss came right back?
In America now, there are over 30 states that have 25% or more of the adults and children that are overweight or obese.
Since the beginning of this obesity epidemic, the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases have increased over the years. This results in new fad diets that are introduced to the media every year and soon after, everyone is trying it out to lose those pounds fast. These fad diets don’t usually entail lifestyle changes, rather they suggest a quick fix to a person’s weight loss problem.
There are weight loss supplements and extreme diets that cut out one or more food groups entirely. This can make it difficult for most people to stick with. One of these diets suggests that if we pick up the eating lifestyle of our Paleolithic ancestors, we could become as healthy and fit as they were millions of years ago.
This Paleo diet was first thought of by Dr. S. Boyd Eaton and Melvin Konner in the mid 1980’s when they did primary research into what our ancestors ate and what affects this diet would have on current Homo sapiens. They found that the “ideal diet [is] found in the nutritional practices of our Stone Age ancestors”.
At the turn of the 21st century, Dr. Loren Cordain took his interest in diet, health and anthropology and picked up Eaton and Konner’s ideas and wrote a book outlining what this Paleo diet entails. Similarly to Eaton, Cordain believed that today’s humans are genetically adapted to eat the same way our ancestors did over 2 million years ago.
Dr. Cordain (2011) said that this Paleo diet is the “key to speedy weight loss, effective weight control, and above all, lifelong health”.
The Paleo diet is a high protein diet which allows you to eat as much lean meat, fish and seafood as you want with a moderate intake of carbohydrates and fats. Fruit and non-starchy vegetables are the main source of carbohydrates for this diet. It suggests eliminating dairy, cereal grains and refined sugar from the diet as well as reducing sodium intake since our Paleolithic ancestors did not have access to these types of food.
This diet was shown to help increase metabolic rate, satisfy appetite, and improve insulin sensitivity. He believes that it is impossible to overeat with this diet (p. 63). It targets any and all people who wish to lose weight and begin a healthier lifestyle.
However, the studies on this diet focus on people who are suffering from insulin resistant metabolic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, as well as those who are suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
Dr. Cordain also suggests that this diet can help clear up acne as well, due to the connection of acne to insulin resistant diseases.
The overall success rate for this diet is unclear. There have only been a handful of research studies done to show the effects of the paleo diet, most of which were done over a short period of time.
However, most all of the studies conclude that the paleo diet leads to a decrease in blood pressure, total cholesterol and LDL with a general increase in HDL and significant weight loss. With this diet focusing on a three level program, it could make it easier to start and stick with for a long time.
Level I focuses on making the beginning changes on the diet while allowing several open meal per week which allows the dieter to cheat by eating foods that some would feel difficult to give up.
Level II focuses on maintenance by cutting down the number of open meals to a few a week. Finally the third level is responsible for the most weight loss. In Level II, you are only allowed one open meal a week. The successful part of this diet is most likely due to the levels being suggestions.
You don’t have to start at level I, but you also don’t have to progress through every level. If the dieter feels like they are achieving their goals at level I than they can stick with that level.
However, with any diet with food restrictions, there are concerns about getting proper nutrition. Other concerns with this diet include the difficulty to follow the guidelines with today’s on-the-go lifestyle as well as the accessibility to some foods.
The types of food this diet recommends can be difficult to find and may also be more expensive than foods most people would normally buy. These complications may lead to the dieters to give up with this diet.
However, with the allowance of the occasional open meal, it may help ease into the paleo diet more than other diets that restrict cheating.
I feel that this diet could be a beneficial starting place for those who are looking to make a healthy change in their lifestyle. However, since there aren’t many long term studies researching this diet, it may not be the best diet for long-term health maintenance.
For some people though, any change, even the smallest change, could mean a world of difference for their health. I do agree with the elimination of processed food and foods that have a lot of preservatives in them.
However, I do think that a moderate consumption of whole grains and dairy products could help people to ensure they are getting and adequate amount of the necessary nutrients as well as allowing a full well-rounded diet.
Pair this diet with proper amounts of exercise and it may be just what some people may need for weight loss and a healthy life. It is a diet I am interested in trying to see if it improves my lifestyle in a healthier way.