Paleo,
I happened to be talking to a dietitian about this last year as I was in charge of some wounded soldiers who were struggling to maintain lean bodies while they were recovering.
Her advice was that despite a lot of interest in different types of energy sources (like saturated and unsaturated fats, simple and complex carbohydrates, ratings on glycemic index) the only reliable indicator of what is going to happen to your body fat percentage is the relatively simple relationship of energy input vs energy output.
That’s not to say that there aren’t other health considerations attached to your choice of energy sources, but in terms of body fat, it doesn’t matter if you get your x000 calories from nuts and animal fat or from a bag of white sugar.
I remember two guys being particularly successful with weight loss, one who went to the same dietitian and she basically worked out his average daily output and told him how much to put in every day. The other chap did the same thing with a website that I think was called myfitnesspal. They had some kind of calculator and he did the same thing. Lost 17kg in 6 months … about 37 pounds? And the only exercise he could do was a daily walk no longer than an hour.
In terms of paleo diet, I’ve tried it and I can best describe it’s effects as “misery”. I think it’s probably very well suited to business men whose physical activity is limited to 3 times a week in the gym and whose goal is a lean body with minimal effort. It is a simple way to reduce your energy intake, because you’ve pretty much cut out about 2/3 of your normal dietary energy sources.
Happiness in my life is always about balance. Balance for me includes white bread lathered in butter, chocolate and jellybeans 😉
