Todd Reed <[log in to unmask]> posted this:

>>I consistently lose weight and am perhaps a bit under my ideal weight.
>>My wife, on the other hand, seems to be consistently gaining and
beginning to look distinctly Rubenesque in her portrait. She's gained
perhaps 10 lbs, and I've lost 5-8 pounds.

>>I've been reading the thread about rice with interest. I'm thinking
>>if this continues we're going to have to do some modification away
from being so strict and maybe try adding some rice.

There is nothing magical about rice and weight loss. Compared to nuts,
french fries, or potato chops, cookies, and candies, rice is a low calorie
density food.  In Asia, the diet is generally low in fat and contains
limited amounts of protein.   Rice is considered the main dish and it is
generally considered very rude to take large helpings of the meat and
vegetable side dishes. Overall, the diet is low in total calories, compared
to the typical Westerner diet and the Asian countries typically suffer from
more restriction in total food quantity and availability.   But one need not
eat rice to reap the benefits of some lower calorie density foods.  Fibrous
vegetables and low glycemic fruits are low in calorie density.  Eating more
of these and less of the high fat foods could help your wife.

Most men carry more lean mass (muscle) than women and therefore burn more
calories, even at rest.  There is nothing wrong with having a good, healthy
appetite, but what you choose to fill up on can make a difference in whether
you lose or gain weight on a paleo diet.  (Very few people I've met can eat
nuts, seeds, bacon, sausage, and other high fat foods with abandon and NOT
gain weight.)  Increasing activity level and doing exercise that builds lean
mass is always a good idea, but you still have to be aware of what you are
eating and how it fits with your body's needs, hunger, metabolism, and
health goals.  There are many interpretations of paleo diet out there.  They
may produce varying degrees of health or sveltness.

Loren Cordain, Ph.D., has a new book due out in January:  The Paleo Diet.
Check it out on <amazon.com>  It will be a fascinating read!  Cordain also
has an article in the Jan. 2002 issue of "Alternative Medicine" (a magazine
found in major news stands and some health food stores).  In his book and
this article---if they don't cut too much---about how much more fat is
contained in modern factory farmed meat than in wild game (or modern
grassfed meat): he discusses some of the problems people may encouter when
trying to replicate a paleo diet.  For example, if one eats grain fattened
meat, eats the skin of conventional poultry, then adds oils or nuts to
meals, or noshes on large amounts of nuts, or eats bacon or sausage
regularly or daily, one will take in far more fat and calories than were
found in typical hunter gatherer diets.  This can lead to imbalances in
fatty acids metabolism and a gain of body fat (particularly among women, who
generally have less muscle mass and therefore burn fewer calories than men).

Most people are amazed to discover how many calories are contained in a
handful of nuts (400 calories), or a cupful (800).  They are nutrititous,
but very calorie dense.  It is not hard to gain weight (esp. for women) as a
result of eating nuts in quantity.  Cordain suggests using them as a
condiment---sprinkled over salads or other dishes.  Bacon and sausage are
also very high in fat and calories per volume, whereas fibrous vegetables
and low glycemic fruits are low in calories per volume (but have a high
nutrient density).  They are the bargain foods often overlooked when people
switch from a typical Western diet to a paleo diet.

Cordain has published papers indicating that some groups may have consumed 3
to 4 pounds of produce per day.  Sound impossible?  A large apple or pear or
small bunch of grapes can weigh half a pound; 2 medium or 1 large carrot or
beet, 1/4 pound; a bunch of broccoli (spread over two meals), one pound; 1
small sweet potato (4 ounces) or 1 medium sweet potato (1/2 pound)... If you
eat generous amounts of produce at each meal (with your protein) you can
actually eat a large amount of food but take in fewer calories than if you
load up on fat rich foods.

It is unlikely paleo people had access to nuts in the quantity we now do.
We can get them shelled, ready to eat.  Paleo people had to crack them with
stones.  Or, Natives to the American continent, had to crack pinon nuts with
their teeth---a laborious process as a recall as a child growing up in the
SouthWest.  I did not eat them by the cupful that way!  Paleo people didn't
have free (liquid) oils either.

Most primitive diets were limited in one respect or another---either
protein, or carbs, fat, or at certain times--- quantity.  They had to work
harder (burn more calories) to hunt and gather their foods and often had to
eat what was there, not having a ton of choices.  We have such abundance of
food around us and most of our modern foods (like meat) are far more calorie
dense than meats paleo people had access to year round.  For this reason,
some paleo diet experts say that we have to be very conscious in choosing
what we eat, to replicate the nutritional value of primitive diets and avoid
excesses of things that can cause imbalance. This can mean choosing the
leanest cuts of meat, eating more breast meat than dark meat poultry,
removing skin from poultry, or if occasionally leaving skin on, avoiding
adding additional fat or oil to a meal, and using oils and nuts and seeds
sparingly. It is also important to make sure you are taking in some EFAs
(essential fatty acids) daily.  These are important for metabolism.

You might want to have fruit, or hard boiled eggs or very lean meat with
fruit for snacks and trying some of the things listed above.

Rachel