Thin Person going Primal page

[Deniece]

Can a relatively thin person loose fat if they follow a paleo diet? I am 22 years old, 5'7.5'' and around 132 pounds. I would like to loose 12 lbs of fat to be at my pre-college weight. I know paleo works with weight loss if you are overweight, but is it just as effective if you are still in the normal weight range for your height?

Also, should I decrease my protein intake to that of a 120 lb person? I heard from somewhere that your protein intake is equal to your weight in kg. Has anyone else heard about this?

[noodletoy]

there are different metrics for calculating protein needs, the minimum being about .7 gms per pound lean body mass.

you sound as though you are at a good weight, but want to drop bodyfat? eating primal will help your health. if you want to burn fat and build muscle you need resistance training.

[Saoirse]

yes. i've never been particularly overweight, but would prefer a lower BF%. without paying too much attention to exercise or dietary intake (other than being primal most of the time), I've watched myself lean out a little more. I'm not very motivated, so it's taking a while. At this point, i think all it would take for me is a week or two of clean eating and regular exercise before I reached my ideal.

Based on reading others' success stories, and my own experiences with leaning out (and then growing a little fat again), once you're inside your ideal weight range, the game plan changes. It seems that calories do start counting, and you must be more careful about eating clean. Like I said, it would only take a few weeks for me to reach my ideal. so why don't I? I have, several times. for a while, I eat cleanly (in other words, i go mostly strict paleo with short periods of slight hunger during the day-> typically two big meals per day, for a total of around 1500-1800 cal/day); my tummy remains flat and you can start to see muscle definition in my arms, back, and upper abs. after a while i decide that food tastes better than skinny feels, so i loosen up on my dietary restrictions (reintroduce sugar, ice cream, etc.) and then gain a little chub and water weight. Most people probably don't notice that much; my husband doesn't. but i really do. My clothes fit tighter, especially around my waist. I lose my lovely hourglass figure (which is difficult to maintain with my short torso).

Anyway, I guess that I'm saying that for me, at a more ideal weight, the details start to really matter if I want to achieve that lean look. Your emphasis should be on the most nutritious foods; my "clean eating" is generally around 3/4 - 1 lb meat per day, around 9 cups of low-carb vegetables and some fruit (generally berries, but sometimes i eat other fruits like nectarines and cantaloupe), and a little of other foods like dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, butter, etc. I think i could be a little more lenient and still achieve leanness if i was exercising regularly.