First off, many thanks to all who replied, both publicly and privately to
my post about losing slowly on an Atkins-type induction program vs. my
previous successes with the Heller's program. I've been swamped with other
things recently so am a bit tardy in responding, but I've been giving it a
lot of thought and doing further research when I could.

I realize now that my assessment of a Paleo diet was a bit inaccurate. I
went back and read some things, and sure enough, a good Paleo diet is not
necessarily low in carbs. My confusion on this stemmed from the knowledge
that, compared to the SAD (Standard American Diet), *all* Paleo diets *are*
very low in carbs, but within the spectrum of Paleo eating this can vary
considerably from ultra low (ketogenic) to fairly high. Many people
mentioned that when some of us drop too low on the carbs, our weight-loss
stalls, which I suspect is what happened to me. Not to mention that on the
Atkins induction program, I was eating about 1000 calories less than on the
Heller's program. At 1400 calories, it's possible I was also going into
starvation/conservation mode which I had already been suspecting.

Seems to me the smart thing to do would be to take what had already worked
so well for me, and tweak it so that it's more Paleo. On the Heller's
program, I had been eating about 100 gm. of carbs per day, about half of
that from junk food desserts (hey, it's all allowed on their program). If I
move more toward fruit and nuts (maybe some of those desserts from the
recipe page - many thanks to the hard-working person who took the time to
put those together!) l think I'd be able stay within the program. I think
I'd been falling off the Heller's wagon in part because the refined, junk
food carbs were dragging me off. OTOH, without some concentrated source of
carbs, I don't think I could keep my carb levels up. I'm not sure I could
eat 100 gm of carbs per day in the form of salads!

Question on my ratios: typically on the Heller progam at around 2200
calories per day, I was getting 20% of my calories from protein, 30% from
carbs and around 50% from fat. Based on my recent reading, that fat number
seems high. In the interests of weight-loss, would it be your guess
(realizing that everyone is different), that more protein or carbs would be
a better way to limit the fat? I'm leaning toward more lean protein,but I'm
interested in other folks' opinions. Then again, if I cut back on the fat,
my calorie level is sure to drop, which might be a problem. What to do,
what to do :-)

BTW, are green peas and snow peas considered Paleo? I guess, technically,
they're immature seeds, not nuts or grains so I would think they're okay.

To answer some other questions:

Yes, I'm already a big water drinker. I get bottled spring water, and in
the summer can consume almost a gallon a day - somewhat less in the winter.
I carry a sport bottle everywhere. I rarely drink soda and never drink
coffee or tea.

No, I'm not much of an exerciser. I've always hated it. As one of you said,
maybe if I can figure out the right carb level for me, I'll feel more like
exercising. I found Arthur De Vany's website fascinating, though his
technical explanation of how to exercise properly made it seem kind of
daunting. The gist of it was (I think), that hunter-gatherer women walked a
lot while carrying weight. I could do that :-)

BTW, does anyone know when De Vany's book will be available? The website
just said 1998.

Thanks again for all your help.

Kathy
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