No carbs? Paleo is just Atkins with a different name

[KC Sunshine]

No carbs? Paleo is just another form of Atkins.

Or so says a friend of mine who eats an Atkins-inspired diet.

TBH, I don't really know how it's different, except that Crossfitters are more likely to be eating Paleo than Atkins haha.

What are your thoughts?

[Susan W]

It's simply not so. First..this is W30 not paleo. Similar to some Paleo but there are so many versions, I will just talk about W30. W30 is not no carb. It isn't even low carb depending what your needs are. What we don't eat are PROCESSED carbs. We eat carbs in the form of lots of vegetables and some fruit. We don't eat grains, beans, sugar or dairy. We also don't eat Atkins type bars and drinks. We eat fabulous meats, eggs, veggies and healthy fats.

[Guest]

So, I know I saw a similar post here or on Facebook recently and I thought there was a blog about it. Anyway, I can't find any of that.

Whole30 and paleo are similar, although Whole30 is very specific and paleo really varies. The foods that are included and excluded are there because of the way they effect people physically and psychologically.

And, like Susan said, this is not low-carb. It may end up being lower because the food we have on our plates are more nutrient dense.

I'm sure a moderator can explain better. I swear Melissa wrote something very recently.

[Megan H]

slw600 and Nico are spot on about W30's approach to carbs.

The other thing to remember is Atkins is all about losing wight. W30 is not remotely about losing weight. It's about being healthy. I see that as the biggest and most important distinction between the two programs.

From what I understand, while on Atkins, participants go through several phases, and the types of food allowed at each stage varies depending on how far along you are in your weight loss. Eventually people reach a "maintenance" mode, but if they start to put on weight they are meant to go back a stage and restrict more foods.

For the record, the only reason I know anything about Atkins is from a gossip mag at the hairdressers. (Have to keep my credibility hehe)

[Adagio]

Whole30 is a program that uses the basic guidelines of the Paleo diet, but it is not the Paleo diet. Neither W30 or Paleo diet is low carb.

The "Paleo" way of eating concentrates on eating food that is in its natural state, not processed and packaged, or with additives/preservatives, or synthetic chemicals. It is not a low-carb diet.

Anyone who claims that Atkins and Paleo are the same doesn't really know what they are talking about.

Paleo way of eating isn't about losing weight, it's about eating the way our ancestors ate before farming grains came into play.

People have made that same statement to me, and I suggested that before they make that assumption, they should educate themselves.

[MelliebuStacey]

Atkins is a diet. A fundamentally flawed one. Whole9 is a lifestyle. It's sustainable and not all cult-y.

[1Maryann]

I did Atkins for a long time with poor results before I found this. On Atkins, I could have Splenda and cheese, and real cream in my coffee. But I had to restrict my lunch salads to 1 cup of greens, and I couldn't have sweet potato until Phase 3. I could have all those gooey bars and gross shakes with a gazillion unpronounceable ingredients in them, but had to limit my vegetables at dinner time to 1 cup of broccoli.

I struggled to lose weight on Atkins, and I wonder how much of that was because at the same time I was restricting healthy foods, I was being encouraged to consume things that cause inflammation?

I lost 22 pounds eating this way in just three months, without even trying. No weighing, measuring, just eating.