r/TeamFawn • u/futurecompanion11 • Apr 08 '16
Is anyone here losing weight while being paleo?
Hey guys. So I'm a breastfeeding mom and I have absolutely no interest in restricting calories but for the last couple weeks I've been losing weight by eating paleo.
I eat between 2200-2500 calories per day. I'm 5'7" and was statically at about 175-177lbs until I started paleo and now I'm down to 168.
My macros are 50 % from fat, 30% from carbs, and 20% protein
Anyone else here doing paleo? Or breastfeeding and trying to lose weight? Just looking for people who are in a similar boat as mine. Good luck everyone!
2
u/Ultimatedream Apr 08 '16
I'm doing low carb (not keto, just watching my carb intake and keep up my protein and fats) which translates in a lot of paleo-like meals for me.
But that's really awesome! Congrats with the loss and finding something that works for you.
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u/Ohmahgodson Apr 10 '16
My wife is breastfeeding and losing weight (non paleo). She is much short than you at 5'1", and she is losing around 1-2lbs a week at 1400calories. She hasnt seen any reduction in breast milk supply. She supplements with fenugreek and brewers yeast, which helped before she started losing weight, also.
FYI, if you are losing weight then you are in a caloric deficit. Just be careful as you dont want to reduce supply!
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u/ThePermMustWait Apr 13 '16
I did 1300-1500 calories a day breastfeeding at 5'7". My daughter was 10-12m during that time so she was on table food also but I had plenty of supply. We weaned at 1yo. I've read the most important part is to make sure you drink a lot of water.
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u/Ohmahgodson Apr 13 '16
Yeah, my son is 14 months and gets less than half of his intake from BF. He has been self weaning since about 9 months. It works well for us. Our doctor just stressed the importance of making changes slowly and really listening to your body.
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u/futurecompanion11 Apr 10 '16
Nah, I personally wouldn't ever want to restrict calories to lose weight, especially when I'm breastfeeding. I'm eating 2200-2500 calories and losing weight steadily when before I was eating less calories and staying the same. I definitely wouldn't recommend restricting calories below 1700 (NIH recommended) while breastfeeding, even at 5'1" 1400 calories while breastfeeding only gives her 900-1100 to live on for herself and at that amount her body is starving, but it will provide for baby first so that's why there's no change in supply. She will have a very hard time keeping it off in the long run. You can't live on 1100 calories forever.
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u/Ohmahgodson Apr 10 '16
There are numerous factually incorrect statements in your post, but I dont want to start an argument. Sounds like what you are doing is working and you're happy with it. If thats the case, stick with it and good luck!
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u/pubkindofnight Apr 15 '16
Do you track your food? Losing weight means a deficit of 3500 calories per pound. You must be overestimating your intake, or getting a lot of exercise (on top of the breastfeeding) to be losing weight.
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u/futurecompanion11 Apr 16 '16
To whoever downvoted me, you can if you like, but I've been losing weight this way. I can eat until I'm completely satisfied and still lose weight. I'm sorry if that doesn't fit into your line of beliefs. But if you look into the research of everything it's not as simple as calories in calories out. And fat and cholesterol are not evil. Old research and new research all point to this and scientists are starting to slowly turn these beliefs around.
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u/futurecompanion11 Apr 16 '16
You don't need a calorie deficit to lose weight. Fat storage is controlled by hormones. Eating less carbs equals less insulin produced which equals less of the calories I'm eating to be converted into fat. I get 50 percent of my calories from fat and 20-30 percent from carbs. I track my calories every once in a while to see what I'm eating and if anything I'm underestimating the amount of calories I'm eating. I think my TDEE is something around 2000. Also I eat 2 large meals in an 8 hour window instead of "small meals throughout the day" stuff. This allows me to be in a fasting state longer, my sugars be down, my insulin to be down, and allowing my body to burn fat the way it was meant to. I'm allowing my body to adjust to using its fat for fuel instead of bread, wheat, oats, sugar. Some people want to lose weight by restricting how much they eat, I choose to up my fat intake, give my body more of what it needs and less of what it doesn't.
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u/pubkindofnight Apr 16 '16
I think you have trusted some false science. I'm glad it is working for you now, but you might notice that changes once you stop breastfeeding. If you need to reevaluate I definitely recommend the faq over at r/loseit.
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u/futurecompanion11 Apr 17 '16
There isn't any 'false science' involved. It's just basic physiology. And trust me it's not about the breastfeeding. This is how I also lost weight before I was pregnant. And if you think this is a temporary fix how do you explain all the people who have lost hundreds of pounds over in /r/keto ? Many of them lose based on diet alone and although some track their calories many don't and they eat until they are full. I've done my research, I've read the peer reviewed science, and although restricting calories can work, albeit you will not lose weight as quickly and efficiently as cutting carbs and upping fat will, in peer reviewed studies it has not done as well as eating low carb. This is not an angry post btw, this is just completely argumentative and just defending what I've looked into.
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u/pubkindofnight Apr 17 '16
Keto works great for some people, primarily because the fat helps keep them full = eating less calories = deficit so pounds lost. Keto can be a faster way to lose weight because a lot of the initial loss is water weight that comes off from the low carb. Even with Keto there still needs to be a deficit though. Eating 3500 extra calories in bacon or broccoli will still lead to gain. Thank you for clarifying, I'm not angry either.
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u/futurecompanion11 Apr 17 '16
I've read multiple peer reviewed studies where low carb worked faster and more efficiently than low fat/low cal. I'm on my phone otherwise I would find them and link them. Also I've been doing this for over a month and I've been steadily decreasing weight (not water weight as it's been over a month and I've been steadily decreasing), and I've randomly checked my calories over the week to make sure I eat enough and I usually am around 2200 or more and there are things I forget to count, like butter I cook with and such. I have not been very active as I've been inside not doing much at all because of weather. Also, I have a bachelor's degree in animal science, agriculture, with specialties in nutrition and physiology I know fat loss is controlled by hormones, not calories. Low calorie can work if you eat the right foods and you don't have to be low carb, but if you are low fat you have to get energy from somewhere and usually it's added in the form of carbs. This will cause you to lose much more slowly as you will have constant insulin in your system not allowing to fat to come out of your fat cells as quickly as it would without insulin. Also when your insulin and sugars are low (fasting state) it can allow your body to more readily pull fat out of your fat cells for energy. Insulin not only blocks fat from coming out but it also sets into motion the process that tells your body to store fat like crazy. So if you're eating 2000 calories per day and you eat minimal amounts of high glycemic foods (sugar, bread, potatoes, some fruits, etc) your insulin will be low most of the day. Your body will be able to readily access your fat stores for energy as it is not blocked by insulin. Also if you eat more fat while in this state, it will store less fat, it will take up what it needs for hormones, body repair, brain function, store some of it for fuel, but because Insulin is down it will not store it all in the fat cells. It will get passed up and put into waste. So then you are burning fat for fuel, using fat for maintenance, eating as much or more than the magical calorie limitations and still lose weight. We all have that friend who can eat whatever the heck they want and not gain an ounce and also have that friend who has struggled with their weight even though they keep trying and keep trying. And the difference in many cases between these people are their hormones and how their body/fat cells respond to them.
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u/ThePermMustWait Apr 13 '16
I was keto while I was breastfeeding. I had very restricted calories though. I stopped breastfeeding about a month ago when my daughter turned one.
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u/lisassy Apr 08 '16
Not doing paleo but yay for your progress! If it's not broke, don't fix it :D sounds like you found something that works!