The question of how much food one should consume has come to us at Paleo Plan in many forms. Some people write in asking if a particular meal they ate was too much food. Some people have written in saying they’re often hungry on the diet. Others ask why they’re not losing weight, even though they’re following the diet strictly. So let’s discuss this.
First of all, your gender, age, height, weight, activity level, and how much weight you want to lose or gain (if any) determine your caloric needs, so every person is totally different. You can figure your caloric needs out at free diet journaling sites like www.myfitnesspal.com, www.fitday.com, and others. Still, if it tells you you need 1500 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week, that’s just an estimate. It’s a robot making its best guess given the scientific equations available to it. Every person is different.
Having said that, if you’re one of those people who just isn’t losing weight after being on the diet for months and months, I’d listen to what the robot has to say. That is, after you listen (REALLY listen) to what your body has to say. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to figure out how much food to eat.
1. Are you feeling tired and weak regularly? If so, have you been eating Paleo for fewer than 3 weeks? If yes, then you may still be detoxing. Don’t change anything yet – just muscle through this first part and take it easy on yourself (read: don’t exercise like a maniac and get a lot of sleep). Then after the first month if you’re still feeling tired and weak, add more fat to your diet for two or three weeks in the form of fatty meats (pasture raised), coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil, tallow, lard, bacon grease, and avocados. If you still don’t feel better, add more starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and squash, and eat more fruits of all kinds. I don’t care what they say about bananas.
2. Are you hungry? If so, are you ACTUALLY hungry or are you just craving old foods out of habit? Or are you hungry for love or comfort and trying to get it from food? If your stomach is actually speaking to you in gurgles and rumbles, you need to eat. The meal plan at Paleo Plan and the meal plan in the ebook provide anywhere from 1,450 to 1,900 calories per day. That means it’s perfect for some people, too much for very small people trying to lose weight, and not enough for very active people or very large people. Use it as a template. And eat when you’re hungry, but know that hunger can mean a lot of different things. Some people use the word “empty” to describe how they feel in the beginning of the diet. Empty isn’t the same as hungry. I think empty is the absence of that “normal” bloated feeling you have after eating dairy and grains. Eat when you know your body needs sustenance.
3. Are you very active? By very active I mean do you work out more than 3 times per week at a high intensity level for longer than a half hour? If so, you’re going to need either more fat or more carbs. Some people can train their bodies to run on fat and very few carbs. Some people can’t. Some of us just need carbs, especially if you’re an enduro athlete or doing any sort of endurance training regularly. Give your body what it needs, and if you need more carbs, eat them. Oh, I could go on and on about this one.
I’d love to hear your own experiences with hunger, figuring out how much to eat on the diet, and carbohydrate consumption in the comments.
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12 Comments
Mary
Avocados I’ve enjoyed in guacamole. Tried them fresh: peeled and sliced…headache…twice in two days….allergic.
Love bananas with cinnamon and walnuts!
Amy
Hi Neely, I just finished my first week of eating paleo and lost ten pounds. Woohoo! Although the more I learn I realize I need to make some changes moving forward. Mostly I find I’m not eating enough calories. I need to lose 100 pounds and myfitnesspal.com states I should be eating 1530 calories. With eating so many veggies and protein I find that I’m more than satisfied throughout the day. Will that change as my body gets used to the new lifestyle? One thing I need to double check is my serving sizes – maybe I’m actually eating more than I think. Any suggestions for measuring? For reference, here’s one of my days:
Breakfast – Berry protein smoothie (whey protein, coconut milk, frozen berries)* – 290 cal
Lunch – Salad with 1/2 avocado & balsamic vig – 201 cal
Snack – Medium Apple with 2 tbsp Almond Butter – 221 cal
Dinner – Salmon, Sweet Pototo, Broccoli – 464 cal
TOTAL calories – 1,176
*Bad habit that I know NOW needs to stop :-)
Neely
@Amy – For now, just keep doing what you’re doing if you’re not feeling hungry. Looks like you’re eating high fat, moderate protein, low carb. If you’re not super active, this should work just fine. What myfitnesspal.com does is give you an estimate of how many calories you should eat. If it’s less, that’s fine. But if you do end up feeling hungry only eating this amount of food, start eating more. You’ll just have to keep tweaking it to make it work for you. Good luck!
GiGi Eats Celebrities
Salmon is my go-to for sure! :) Oh and I cannot forget spaghetti & butternut squash!
christina
Hi –
So I’m about 85% Paleo. I also fit into the highly active category. I’m not sure I’m eating enough. What carbs would you list as the key go to food sources outside of yams?
-C
Neely
@christina – I’d say squash, fruit, honey, and tapioca flour if you’re super duper active and can’t get enough carbs from those foods.
Bethany
Im really new to this whole thing. I’ve been doing an on ramp to crossfit for three weeks and have been working on improving my diet as my trainer suggests. What I’ve changed so far is I’ve added breakfast, and cut out all fast food. Also, I’m eating mostly meat with some veggies and fruits. The thing is, my trainer kept telling me I’m not eating enough. Now I feel like I’m fueling up for a possible morph into the Hulk(ette)!! And I don’t feel so hot much of the time. I’m working out at crossfit twice a week and eating like I’ll be competing in the world strongest. Additionally, I think if I keep eating flesh like this, my body will just begin to refuse to keep it down. Ugh. I’m always tired anymore and nauseated much of the time. As u can imagine its not doing much for my mood. I started on this journey because I’m fat, lazy, unhappy and unattractive, and want to change my whole self. While I’m doing what I’ve been told I seem to be feeling worse. Is this expected to be a permanent lifestyle change? My body really isn’t liking this much food, particularly this much meat!! Ugh!! Odd to hear from a fat girl, but I really think most of my previous calories came from beer. Lots and lots of beer. Now it’s from an inordinate amount of food. I will talk to my trainer about all of this, he listens very well and is very knowledgable. I’m just reaching out a bit.
Neely
Bethany – You may actually be eating too much meat and not enough fat and carbs. Or you may be detoxing and that’s why you feel like crap. There’s no need to just eat meat :) Veggies and fruits and some nuts and seeds here and there can really help the diet feel more sustainable and variable. Check out some of our recipes for more help in the recipes tab above. Good luck!
Richmond chiropractor
Thanks for the helpful information. I have been recommending the Paleo diet to many of my patients.
Mlock
i dont know how much i am suppose to eat each meal, gives me the recipes, do i only have 1 serving? of an 8 serving recipes?? thanks everyone… :-)
Margarita
I am currently on the 5th day of paleo dieting and I do intense intervak training 6 days a week for about 45 mins to an hour. I cut all carbs completely and I find myself being hungry all the time. I also see that i get tired a lot and i have low energy. Is that normal? what should I do ?
Neely Quinn
Margarita – Here, read these :)
http://www.paleoplan.com/?s=carbs