Hopelessly addicted to carbs!!!

[Patrick]

For people with serious weight issues the psychological component is a huge and usually primary element. You can read all sorts of things about good and bad food choices, macronutrient ratios, and the optimal diet for eliminating fat. That is all really good information, but if you don't re-orient your attitudes about food then you are not addressing the causative factor. Pull the trigger, own your choice, and stick to your guns.

I think a low-carb diet that's focused on meats and veggies is what you ought to do. You are carrying weight that is harmful to your health, and that will cut fat pretty quickly. Call it paleo or whatever you else... the name doesn't matter at all. But don't eat processed or sugarry shit for a while and see where it gets you.

Ignore all the righteous indignation about what you SHOULD know... some people like to shift the focus from the person who needs a little friendly help towards themselves. You are taking some early steps at radically affecting your health... Just keep going.

[mrflibble]

I think that you are all correct that I should deal with the weight loss first and circle back to the strength.

You don't have to make it an either/or. You've done well starting with SS and gaining strength while keeping your weight constant. That should make the fat loss much easier (and more sustainable) than if you tried without any strength base whatsoever.

I do agree that you should prioritise fat loss, but at your current strength and fat levels, you should still be able to slowly gain strength as you do. You might even like to consider 531, seems quite a few people have done well with it on a caloric deficit. It certainly seems easier to add conditioning to it than to standard SS.

[cannibal.horse]

Paleo is such bs. Either you eat too few calories and you lose weight or you don't.

[Patrick]

Paleo is such bs. Either you eat too few calories and you lose weight or you don't.

It ought to go without saying that we've got our opinions, they're our own, and we're perfectly right to hold them. But your viewpoint on paleo is not helpful to this guy and you didn't say anything to help him. Instead, you hit your steam release valve on account of having seen the word paleo one too many times. Priorities... there's a guy asking for help and there's a diet you don't like -- do you think you reacted as kindly and as helpfully as you would like to have?

[cannibal.horse]

It ought to go without saying that we've got our opinions, they're our own, and we're perfectly right to hold them. But your viewpoint on paleo is not helpful to this guy and you didn't say anything to help him. Instead, you hit your steam release valve on account of having seen the word paleo one too many times. Priorities... there's a guy asking for help and there's a diet you don't like -- do you think you reacted as kindly and as helpfully as you would like to have?

because rather than impose an artificial construct of 'don't eat this, eat that' which is based on the opinions of people wearing tin foil hats and is pretty much impossible to follow long term, I think the OP should just eat what he likes and feels comfortable eating based on what works for his calories/marcos.

I love bread, pasta and cereal. I eat them every damn day. Brb, squatting 205kg whilst losing 5kg bodyweight.

[DoctorWho]

I'm with Patrick. Maybe I am personalizing this, but what the OP has been doing has not been working for his weight. Many people cut way down on processed flour foods, starches, and sugar, then don't feel hungry but lose weight. At least I did, and in a way that worked just like Rip's clarification article. I don't know whether that's called paleo or what, but lots of meat, dairy, and salads worked like a charm for me, and was easy in every way.

[Bazza20]

No need to eat paleo or low carb to lose weight.

People do tend to lose weight low carb, just like they do on any diet when the calories are below maintenance but low carb diets are great for killing any strength gains. So people often just end up smaller, weaker, shitter versions of how they were before.

[michael dowling]

I will just say that with a strict paleo diet (you do eat carbs on paleo but get them vegetables and things like sweet potatoes) I went from 215 to 179 lbs in 6 weeks or so, I wasn't counting calories at all or trying to lose a ton. I was doing CF at the time too, CF + paleo is definitely a solid way to lose weight. If your primary goal is weight loss do paleo and condition like 6 times a week until you're not fat anymore. If your goal is strength continue with SS and watch your diet a little better, then move to something like 531 where you can conditioning, lose 1 lbs a week and still gain strength.

However if your goal is real strength gains while looking to drop 100 lbs, I would recommend readjusting your goal because that will prove impossible and you'll be spinning your wheels mostly.

[LudwigVan]

If paleo/low-carb/keto works, then that's great. But it works for the same reason any diet works, which is creating a caloric deficit that you can stick to. If cutting out carbs makes you miserable, it may not be the way to go. But there has to be a change somewhere, and it's going to be at least a little difficult, otherwise everybody would do it.

[simonsky]

If paleo/low-carb/keto works, then that's great. But it works for the same reason any diet works, which is creating a caloric deficit that you can stick to. If cutting out carbs makes you miserable, it may not be the way to go. But there has to be a change somewhere, and it's going to be at least a little difficult, otherwise everybody would do it.

A "caloric deficit" on a keto (<30g carbs) diet is much higher than a high carb diet.

I've bumped my calories by about 300-500 but I still lost weight on keto-ish style dieting. I'd even bet my house I'd lose more weight by going full on keto while bumping my calories up even more.