On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Michael Audette wrote:

>   Variety, is a key you people seem to forget time after time.

Actually, I don't think I forget it at all, assuming that I'm one
of "you people."  I think it's essential to good nutrition.  On
those occasions when I have tried less varied diets, such as lots
of fatty meats and greens and not much else, it was in the
attempt to get some weight loss going.

> Unlimited refers to Paleo type foods, but not any one food.

Is that in Neanderthin, or is it your private interpretation of
paleo?

> Unlimited, in terms of nature is very different from unlimited quantity in a
> grocery store.

Funny, I thought "unlimited" meant without limits.  In any case,
perhaps we should be discussing "unlimited" in terms of its usage
in Neanderthin, where we are not advised to limit consumption of
any food, except fruits.  In "Manna from the supermarket" we are
not told about any limits either.

> Even Todd Mutant would loose weight, in a "natural" setting.
> Have you ever heard of anyone, who survived being lost in the woods or
> jungle, and ate what they found around them, and gained weight? Perhaps
> those with a problem of loosing weight on a paleo type diet, should try
> survival training instead.

Indeed.  This is a good illustration of the point I was making.
In that natural setting my activity level would be higher and it
would be more work to get those calories.  More than likely I
would incur a caloric deficit and lose weight.  Calories matter.

I don't say that Neanderthin is a bad book.  No book on nutrition
can serve every purpose.  But I have learned the hard way that no
matter how "correct" my diet is, there is no weight loss without
a caloric deficit.  Ketosis doesn't matter.  I am not the only
one to have this experience.  Others on this list have had a
similar experience, as I know from private e-mail.  Some became
very discouraged, thinking themselves failures in the "paleo
way."  They weren't failures; they were misinformed.  The body
has no reason to burn its stored fat for fuel if more than enough
energy is coming in from the diet.  The whole physiological point
of body fat storage is to have an energy cache for times of
scarcity.  What sense would it make to deplete it in times of
abundance?

Todd Moody
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