Paleo Diet...5000 calories a day and losing weight!!

So I was on vacation this past week.  Struck up a conversation with a man from Denmark in a Super 8 Motel in Nevada.  His girlfriend is a doctor and I suspect he is a medical doctor also...He didn't want to say, but he knew tons of obscure medical information that I was throwing out.  Here are a few interesting things he said.
In Denmark they will not perform WLS on someone unless the patient has a BMI of 52 or higher.  The doctors will try and work with diet and exercise.  They try to eliminate all simple carbs and go with a gluten free diet.  He said they can many times resolve type 2 diabetes with those 2 steps!!  My personal feelings are that since Denmark has socialized medicine, they don't want to pay for the surgery.  In Denmark they believe the malabsorption issues far outweigh the benefits of WLS.  They feel the life span is about the same or up to 5 years less with WLS.  A side note, we know the VSG is very popular in Europe for this very reason.
He then said he used to be about 250 pounds...He had dropped down to 215 by using the Paleo Diet.  He said he was eating 5,000 calories a day!!  He said he was exercising regularly, but he had completely elimated all simple carbs, breads, and gluten from his diet.  He said the issue is sugar and carbs...Not fats!  We know that carbs turn into sugar in our livers...so eat what you want...Just no simple carbs at all.  I'm going to look into the Paleo Diet and see if it has merits.  It almost seems like the Adkins Diet with vegetables.  Thoughts?? 

The science of low carb diets is something along the lines of that the human body does not require carbohydrates to survive. However our bodies require dietary fats and protein. If you just feed your body what it need, then you should lose some weight. I don't know anyting about the paleo diet, but I know atkins works if you can stick to it.

I don't see the significance of gluten free. It doesn't necessarily mean low carb. I know a RNYer who eats gluten free because she has IBS, but she says gluten free carbs affect her weight just like whole grains would.

My first thoughts are that I'm not taking weight loss advice from a guy who lost only 35 pounds. 

My second thought is that they can believe whatever they want in Denmark, but what he says they believe doesn't jive with decades of research and clinical data and I suspect he's completely misrepresenting what goes on there and what mainstream medicine says because of his own biases.

Now, I have nothing against the paleo diet. There are some good things about it and, except for the 'no dairy' thing, it's a lot like I eat already especially in the distribution of proteins to fats to carbs. But a lot of people who follow it have a kind of religion about it and aren't reliable reporters as to it's pros and cons.

Also, it's not really "Atkins with vegetables" because (a) you eat vegetables on Atkins and (b) you don't eat dairy on the Paleo diet.

The Paleo diet is heavy on meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts. (Atkins would have you limit fruit because of the sugar.) You don't have grains at all even unprocessed ones because "that's not how our ancestors ate" (and don't get me started on how historically inaccurate that is or how the justification for eating this way is full of psuedo-science because I could go on all night). I'm not sure how Atkins feels about grains, but I'm pretty sure you are allowed to have carbs from any source as long as you keep your grams under a certain number.

Your probably right...I haven't looked at Atkins or the Paleo diet so I really can't say.  Just remember people saying (here and elsewhere) the Atkins can be hard on the liver...Going into ketosis on and off over the years can't be good for the liver.  I'll look more into both diets tommorow...Dead on my feet from driving back from Montana.  Brian 

I would love to do the Paleo diet except I start jonesing if I give up cheese and cream AND carbs.

My latest thing is to eat more raw veggies and very few simple carbs and high carb complex carbs.

The raw meat thing is a turn off too.

I really think that if we go back to the diet that our ancestors thrived on before the introduction of processed foods, we would be a lot healthier.  For me that would mean a Mediterranean diet with lots of natural type exercise, like stomping grapes and herding goats up and down mountain sides.

That's it!  I am starting a Mediterranean Gym..."Stomp grapes, herd goats, and pick olives to a new you!!!"  "And for only $19.99/month with no contract and no joining fee!!!" 

I'm in!!!

Throw in wine tasting and I'll take a lifetime membership!

Just remember...........if it has the word "diet" in it, is already starts to reek of deprivation. 

I still believe, as humans with MANY choices, good and bad, we cannot live in deprivation mode....it lends itself to binging. 

While I'm intrigued by all the fad diets, and Lord knows I tried most of 'em pre-WLS, I'm still sticking to moderation and lots of exercise.  This is the healthiest I've been in my life, and I'm in the BEST shape physically at 46 years old!

Kim

The Paleo Diet  uses the term Diet in the traditional sense of its definition, which is just "the kind of food you eat". (Similar to saying one is on a vegetarian diet.)

Lots of my friends who do it aren't overweight or struggling with weight at all. They just think it's healthier and they feel better on it.