Newbie looking for weight loss food recommendations page

[knickerbocker]

Still waiting for Mark's book to arrive but been reading through the forums and trying to get up to speed on PB eating . I need to drop about 45 lbs and I want my food choices to really support that... I've seen some forum comments about avoiding certain PB approved food if you really want to maxmize fat loss... most have had to do with avoiding nuts.

Any other recommendations of what to eat or avoid ?

[davem]

I don't avoid nuts. I avoid grains.

Eat real food. No processed stuff. Avoid grains. (Corn and rice included.) Since you're trying to hit a weightloss goal, journal your food (I dig fitday.com for this) and set a daily carb target. Mine is 75g.

Avoid potatoes as well, lot of carbs for relatively little in return, although sweet potatoes from time to time are good. Enjoy your vegetables, as you're going to eat a lot of them.

[knickerbocker]

yep... I've got the basic premise down about grains, potatos, soda, sugar, ect...
I'm wondering more about foods that are generally a part of BP eating, but may not be the best for weight loss... again several folks on here have said nuts, while good, hampered their weight loss efforts

[JTWolflied]

Some people also have had problems with dairy hampering their fat loss efforts (I've found I do better without it). It just comes down to the individual, and it'll probably take a little bit of testing at first to find out what works and what doesn't for you.

[davem]

well, nuts are fatty. Fat = calorically dense. I see them as fine, and use them whenever I want, I just don't go in for a pound of nuts at a time.

Vegetables, minimize starches.
Good fats, of which nuts are part of it.
Good meats, fat use based on proclivity and type of meat.

I'd say journal your intake first, and see where you end up, then worry about whether nuts are more or less optimal for you than X foodstuff. Some people avoid dairy, I'm all about it. Am I losing weight? My belt says so.

[Apex Predator]

Nuts, dairy and fruit can hold some people back.

[Lewis]

Still waiting for Mark's book to arive but been reading through the forums and trying to get up to speed on PB eating . I need to drop about 45 lbs and I want my food choices to really support that... I've seen some forum comments about avoiding certain PB approved food if you really want to maxmize fat loss... most have had to do with avoiding nuts.

Any other recommendations of what to eat or avoid ?

Well, while you're waiting for the book to arrive, read through the online Primal Blueprint 101. Here's the link:

Primal Blueprint 101 | Mark's Daily Apple

If you want to to lose weight, stay at the appropriate point on Mark's "Carbohydrate Curve". Calories have absolutely nothing to do with weight-loss, as Mark has repeatedly explained. You will, however, find people posting brain-dead comments about "calorically-dense" foods on this forum. Ignore them. Carbs are all you need to count. Carbohydrates drive insulin drives weight-gain. So don't eat more of them than you can handle. Low-carb diets are used medically by a number of physicians for treating patients with many intractable problems, including obesity and diabetes because they work. Here's a FAQ from a doctor doing just that that's well worth reading:

Dr. Jay's Blog: Jay Wortman, M.D. on the science & clinical experience related to low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets & traditional First Nations style diets

You shouldn't eat too many nuts, because they're high in polyunsaturates, including omega-6. No more than a handful at a time and that probably not every day. Besides they are also high in antinutrients such as phytic acid. This is why Mark now (post-the publication of the book) says it's best to soak them in salted water for at least 7 hours:

Soaking Seeds and Nuts | Mark's Daily Apple

Good luck.

[davem]

Brain dead? Stuff it.

Eat 5k calories and try to lose weight. Someone wants to optimize, so common sense dictates that you don't eat certain foods like they're going out of style, fat dense nuts being one of them. Yes, calorie in isn't exactly calorie out, but there's plenty of legit research pointing to correlations. That's just basic right there.

[Paleobird]

I'm timing it to see how long it takes DFH to show up with his Star Trek face palm and say, "Calorie Theory, Again?"

[davem]

... UCSF running significant research studies on such theories...