On Mon, 1 Nov 1999, Troy Gilchrist wrote:

> While NeanderThin may not have worked for you as you have applied it, Ray
> has hundreds of letters and emails from people who have achieved astounding
> results. Usually, when people have a problem with weight loss on
> NeanderThin, they are eating too many carbs or are cheating (if only in
> small amounts) on a regular basis. If they are exercising, they aren't doing
> so on a regular basis.

Too many carbs is definitely not it, unless you maintain that one
must be in ketosis to lose weight, and this was not stipulated in
the edition of Neanderthin that I have.  I don't doubt at all
that many people achieve dramatic results in weight loss.  I
only know that I have not, and it is not explicable as too many
carbs, unless 50 to 75g is too many.  But I have tried lower carb
versions a number of times, with no appreciable difference in
results.  As for cheating, while I don't claim perfect
compliance anymore, there was a time when I did.  It made no
difference.  My main "cheat" these days is I don't object to the
tiny amounts of vinegar in things such as mustard or hot sauce.

> I seem to recall that you lift weights once a week. If you consulted a
> personal trainer, he/she would tell you that you can't stay on the same
> exercise schedule for a long period of time and see continued success. You
> have to change things up every 6 to eight weeks at the very least. Were you
> to engage in a more chaotic exercise program (as recommended by Art De Vany
> and Loren Cordain), you might see a significant change in your body
> composition. When you're in a rut, you have to try new things. I know of
> several people on NeanderThin who have plateaued and then restarted fat loss
> through exercise and dietary variety.

I agree with this completely, but I would only point out that
such measures are non-dietary and do not change my observation
that Neanderthin alone without caloric restriction has not
corrected my weight problem.  A good exercise program is
important, and I don't doubt that mine could be improved.  My
comments about weight are not meant to disparage the Neanderthin
diet but merely to provide some counterpoint to claims that on
this diet one can reach an "ideal" body composition while eating
"unlimited amounts" of paleo foods.

Nobody has ever told me that my body composition is ideal.  I
have no doubt that I would be (and was) a lot fatter eating
unlimited amounts of non-paleo foods.  But I am still fat.

Todd Moody
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