Losing weight on Paleo

[KristinB]

Hi all, 

I am currently finishing up my first Whole30 and its going good.  In the past I have done a similar program that was solely to detox the body of sugar so this was actually easier than that since I could have fruits.  Anyways, my main "issue" I have been wondering about is losing weight on the Whole30 or Paleo diet.  Before I began my Whole30 I was actively trying to lose weight and had done a little weight watchers and tracking my calories, etc and had some good results.  I have not weighed myself while doing my Whole30 but I don't feel as if I am becoming any leaner.  I understand 100% that weight loss is not the goal with Whole30 and I love the fact that I am now eating whole foods, lean proteins, good fats, etc but I feel like the "good fats" portion becomes a slippery slope.  I see a bunch of recipes that call for large amounts of oils, salad dressings with a very high fat content, and some meats that arent exactly lean.  I do admit that it has been a struggle for me the last couple of years to get out of the mindset that fat is bad, and yes I know the common answer to this is "watch your portions, blah blah" but then you end up just eating veggies and chicken for the most part.  I see myself beginning to ramble here so I will wrap it up...all I'm asking is how do you go forward with Paleo/Whole30 when you want to lose some weight?  How can you tell if your body is one of those that doesn't respond well to the higher fat/protein low carbs/sugar diet?  I just don't want to spend the next 6 months struggling with my weight loss while I know that I am eating way healthier than I have in the past!!

[ladyshanny]

I understand where you're coming from and it is a valid concern. The way to figuring out how much fat you need (and really, how much of anything you need) is personal experimentation. Maybe you don't need a tonne of dense fat sources but do better with something like olives and avocado at meals for satiation. Maybe a tbsp of mayo or a fatty meat is good once in a while but not on the regular. Maybe if you make a mayo-based coleslaw, you don't add another fat source for that meal.

You are right, we don't need to "count" things because our bodies should be and are intuitive. The ticket is tuning in to that frequency and finding what your personal best intake looks like.  It'll be quieter feelings that will tell you what you need to know. It's all there, you just have to learn to dial in to it and the only way to do that is to really get quiet and personal and honest with yourself.