I ate primal/paleo for a few months last year and I lost weight quickly on it. Then I went in the opposite direction and became a vegetarian and gained a lot of weight over the winter months. I'm toying with the idea of going back to primal eating but really don't want to give up being a vegetarian. I wonder if there's a way to do both? Or at least a very restricted meat eating primal eater? I need to look into this some more.

What about being a pescatarian? That would be very healthy. I think you'll have a hard time doing primal as a vegetarian. Not saying it can't be done, but it would be hard.

Giving up fish has actually been the hardest thing about being a vegetarian for me. Becoming a pescatarian may be a compromise between the two plans. I became a vegetarian after reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and also reading some of Dr. Ornish's books. I have a family tree full of cancers, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure etc. At first glance becoming a vegetarian made good health sense to me. However, at the rate I've gained weight since becoming a vegetarian it's definitely not healthy ugh! I started working on my weight loss last week and have lost 4lbs counting calories, but looking over my food choices the past week I haven't been eating very healthy. Long term it's just not sustainable to live off of Slim Fast lol.

Not a dumb question at all - the main difference is that Paleo/Primal focuses mostly on the quality of meat/eggs/veggies eaten as opposed to a free-for-all kind of approach. Paleo is strict no grain, no dairy (especially if you have known allergies/sensitivities but some folks still have a little yogurt or so), no processed foods, no salt, no sugar and limited starch (the occassional sweet potato or carrot is fine). The focus too is on grass-fed, quality meats and veggies. All organic, all natural (not grain fed beef or gmo chicken, etc).

I'm on day 4 and I like it. I have definitely had some sugar cravings and today I am feeling the "die off" effect of candida (as I am also following a candida-focused version of the diet for health). I am committed to 30 days to see how it goes!

Good luck all!!

Hi gals,
I'm new and looking for a buddy. Any takers?

Hi Bestrong,

I am seriously thinking about changing my lifestyle and starting the paleo diet. I am currently on the South Beach diet and have made it just over a week now with no grains and limited sugar (sneaked a biscuit).

I don't really need to lose a lot of weight but I have always eaten very badly and have low energy, bad skin and am prone to depression.

When are you thinking of starting?