A newbie to Caveman Power Diet

[PinkCandy]

Hello!!

I am a 26 year old female from WA, and I started this lifestyle on Sunday weighing in at 66.2kgs, but as of this morning I am only down 0.3kgs. I have begun on stage one and plan to stay on this stage for 19 days in total before moving onto stage 2. My question is ... does it take awhile before results will be seen and will drinking lots of water speed up weight loss? I realise I am best to eat meat and veg for my one meal but after much bingeing etc am using stage one to ease into things before going really clean eg no bread, pasta etc. I am not eating huge meals at night and eat my meal within 30 minutes. Any tips for me that might see the weight start to drop a bit faster. I'd love to lose at least 5 kgs in the 19 days. Love the site!!

PinkCandy

[dulaxx12]

Hey there... I am no expert on the diet, as I am only on stage 5 after researching this for about three months.  However, I thought I could help a bit...

I don't necessarily think that losing weight is the end-all goal of the caveman diet.  It is, instead, a steady change of eating habits that, yes, can result in weight loss if that is how your body is meant to be.  Personally, I'm on day 5 of stage I, and without altering my previous cardio/weight training regimine, I'm actually up 4 pounds. 

My point is that the scale is really not your number one priority of measurement with this diet.  Returning your body to a natural state, enjoying foods that are healthier (that maybe you've never tried before - I never realized how much I love peaches and almonds), and living a healthier lifestyle are better measurables.  Don't look to the scale... How do you feel?

- I'll turn it over to one of the vets for feedback, but that's what I've learned so far.

[Phanatic]

As for water I usually rely on my body to tell me how much to drink. Make sure you're staying true to the diet, for example, are you eating some foods during the day that you should really be saving til your night meal? As you progress through the stages and adapt to fat metabolism, and normalize insulin and blood sugar, you'll begin to lose weight.
One other thing, make sure you're actually eating ENOUGH in that 30 minute meal. If you're eating too little, your body will sense that you're malnourished and go into starvation mode. It's just a theory of mine, but I think that by eating large at night you increase your metabolism, and when your body goes with little food during the next day, it's still adapted to your night time metabolism.
If you want to speed up weight loss a little, consider coffee or tea during the day (on caveman power you are mostly on a fat metabolism during the day, and caffeine works on the fat metabolic pathways if I recall correctly). There's nothing "caveman" about it, but it's a little tweak that will increase fat utilization, energy, and cognitive function - just keep it to reasonable hours so you can sleep properly. Oh, and welcome to the forums and your new health.

[Matt Emery]

I don't necessarily think that losing weight is the end-all goal of the caveman diet.  It is, instead, a steady change of eating habits that, yes, can result in weight loss if that is how your body is meant to be. 

My point is that the scale is really not your number one priority of measurement with this diet.  Returning your body to a natural state, enjoying foods that are healthier (that maybe you've never tried before - I never realized how much I love peaches and almonds), and living a healthier lifestyle are better measurables.  Don't look to the scale...

100% correct... it's all about re-training your body to desire healthy foods in healthy amounts, and beyond that, it's about self actualisation.  Losing weight fast is easy (technically speaking), but it is also risky, for example; you could negatively disrupt your liver or endocrine system.  Additionally, the weight you lose could be lean muscle... which could put you in the dreaded "skinny fat" category.

does it take awhile before results will be seen

Usually you will see results (weight loss or gain) within the first two weeks, but it is more important that you feel the results.

am using stage one to ease into things before going really clean

Excellent.

will drinking lots of water speed up weight loss?

Generally speaking, yes.  But I wouldn't treat water as a weight loss tool. I recommend consuming fluids in the same spirit as food i.e. healthy amounts at healthy times, according to what your body requires.

Any tips for me that might see the weight start to drop a bit faster.

No!

Love the site!!

Thank you!  And welcome aboard   

[Phanatic]

That site Mark's Daily Apple is pretty interesting, I like seeing real science applied to primitive diets.

[BigKhanz]

I noticed you called this a lifestyle, but from your questions it looks like you are approaching this like another weightloss solution. Losing weight isn't really what you are going for anyway. What you want, wether you realize it or not, is to change your Body Mass Composition. Your goal should be to lower body fat while building lean muscle. Doesn't matter if you are worried about health, how you feel about yourself or how you look in a bathing suit, don't think in terms of weight, think of how you look and feel. I always tell anyone who is just starting to really make fitness a part of there life to use the mirror and not the scale to judge results. (And before anyone jumps me about "visual fitness", I only tell this to those who are just starting)

Any tips for me that might see the weight start to drop a bit faster

EXERCISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd love to lose at least 5 kgs in the 19 days.

UMMM... that's a fairly large percentage of your total weight to lose in less than 3 weeks. You need to remember that fitness and health are a marathon not a sprint. You lose that high of a percent that fast and you will hurt yourself in the long run. 1st your cholesterol will shoot up. It won't be as bad as when you fast, but it is very common in rapid weight lose. 2nd your body is going to have trouble adapting with it's new found difficulty of absorbing fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. 3rd your blood sugar is going to go haywire, causing you to have very strong cravings to binge on foods that you are trying to avoid. This is a huge reason "diets" fail. You lose the weight so fast and then discover the "slingshot effect" that will bring you back even bigger.

And those are just a few problems you'll face.

will drinking lots of water speed up weight loss?

5-6 years ago I read an article that the vast majority of people are so chronically dehydrated that their normal thirst mechanism no longer functions and is nearly always confused as hunger in normal situations. It makes a lot of sense when you think about every time you've eaten, are full, but still feel hunger. Also, water boosts your metabolism, aids in digeston and is needed for nearly every biological function in the body. In short: DRINK MORE WATER

but I think that by eating large at night you increase your metabolism, and when your body goes with little food during the next day, it's still adapted to your night time metabolism

Actually, constantly eating one large meal only late in the day will have the effect of conditioning your body to work with fewer calories and store more fats while you sleep. Even with the grazing in phase one, I think you should vary the time of your "feast" daily so that you're body can't adapt. This even more important in phase two. It's been shown over and over that breakfast is the most important meal so make sure you eat something when you get up in the morning. Survey any group of 100 yr olds about healthy habits through out there lives and it's been shown repeatedly that the most common habit is consitently eating breakfast.

[PinkCandy]

Thankyou to all for you advice and help - am getting a better idea of how this works. I have read the warrior diet a few times now and been checking out fitness black book. For me i see this as a long term lifestyle, i have very bad bowels that when i eat too much in a day i find i am in pain and cannot sleep - i go almost 2 weeks at a time without doing any number 2s. I have seeked medical help etc and they have done all this stuff that has proved useless. Thats when i discovered this way of life, i posted on a forum ages back and found a lady in the US whom had solved her very same problem by living her life this way. I also do want to drop some fo my extra weight and am in no rush. Slow and steady wins the race. Anyways so i have done this for a week now - yes i lost 2.6kgs but the best thing is I am actually going to the loo, i am sleeping better. I feel better. I do feel a bit full and blocked in my tummy after i eat but come morning i am fine. I think I have been not eating enough for my one meal at night so am watching that. I don't have anything but water during the day. Thanks again for the advice everyone will check in in another week with how it is going.

[Phanatic]

The Warrior Diet has got good advice, you should also check out Ori Hofmekler's Radio show The Warrior Within, each show is archived here:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamericacms/Host/RSSFeed_449.XML
About your bowels, the only thing I could recommend would be SOLUBLE fiber. Not the stuff in cheerios or oats, but the kind that you get from fibrous vegetables and fruits. I read on Mark's Daily Apple that insoluble fiber can actually make bowel function worse over time, so that you end up needing more and more of it.

I suppose you could try eating yoghurt with active cultures acidophilus and bifidus to put some bacteria into your gut to aid digestion, but probiotics isn't something I know much about.