Please Share... 0 0 0 0 0 0 When I began my Paleo Diet experiment on July 20, 2011 I had two goals in mind.  One was to lose more weight than my wife who was following the vegan diet simultaneously, and the other was lose some inches from anywhere on my body.  Well, the experiment is over and it’s time to provide the results. The of my Paleo Diet experiment was to determine if a person would lose more weight following the Paleo versus a vegan diet.  My wife, who is vegetarian, followed vegan principles while I followed the Paleo Diet.  One the first day of the experiment, we took our weight and measured the following areas on our bodies: chest, waist, hips, arm (around the bicep and triceps).  On the final day of the experiment we again weighed ourselves and took the same body measurements. Results Paleo Diet vs. Vegan Diet Change in Body Mass Comparison   Paleo Diet Vegan Diet   Start Finish Start Finish           Chest 49″ 48″ 41″ 40.5″ Waist 46.5″ 45″ 37″ 34″ Hips 46″ 44″ 43″ 41.5″Arms 15″ 14.5″ 13″ 13″ Weight 225 lbs. 224 lbs. 155lbs. 150 lbs. Net inches lost The participant of each plan lost a total of 5” Total weight lost  Paleo Diet:  net loss of 1 lb. Vegan Diet:  net loss of 5 lbs.   Exercise Routines The vegan participant performed more intensive cardio training on average than the Paleo participant. Both participants performed identical weight training programs over the six week period. Observations It was easier for the Paleo participant to meal plan.  The wide variety of protein sources made it easy to create many different types of meals.  The Paleo Diet follower increased his intake of fish and seafood during the experiment as compared to earlier dietary habits.  In order to obtain adequate protein, the Vegan follower had to increase her consumption of soy products and beans.  The Vegan participant had trouble “learning to like tofu and tempah”. The Vegan participant decreased the amount of grains she consumed during the experiment as compared tonormal consumption.  This was the result of her partner’s commitment to Paleo eating.  With no grains available for easy eating, she inadvertently reaped the benefit of being in a Paleo Diet environment. The participant in the Vegan Diet lost 4 more pounds than the Paleo Diet follower.  However, this statistic may not reveal the full truth.  The fact that the Paleo Diet participant lost 5 inches of total body mass in 6 weeks indicates that the amount of body fat the person carried decreased by more than 1 pound.     The Paleo diet follower gained more muscle mass than the Vegan follower as is evidenced by the same loss of body mass but less net weight loss overall.   This result shouldn’t be surprising.  Nancy Clark in from the journal The Physician and Sports Medicine expresses caution that although vegetarian athletes can consume adequate protein from their diet, they have to be willing to eat large amounts of plant proteins. This is often easier for men with hearty appetites thanfor weight-conscious women.  Perhaps this is what happened in this case.  The Vegan participant may not have eaten enough protein to develop as much muscle as the Paleo Diet participant. Conclusions Both the Paleo Diet and Vegan Diet offer effective methods for healthy weight loss.  The participants of both diets each lost a total of five inches of body mass and both experienced weight loss over the experiment period.  From a net weight loss perspective, the Vegan diet had more success. The Paleo diet enabled the participant to lose the same amount of body mass as the vegan participant yet, by providing ample protein sources for muscle building, the Paleo Diet participant gained more muscle mass over the experimental period. So, if your only goal is to lose weight, either the Paleo Diet or Vegan diet will do the trick.  However, if you want to lose weight and build muscle mass at the same time, this goal will be more easily accomplished by following the Paleo Diet.  This way of eatingprovides more readily available and more easily consumed protein sources.  Early man ate plenty of fish, seafood and meat.  They didn’t eat soy or tempah.  Maybe we shouldn’t eat it too. Please enable JavaScript to view the Like this: Like Loading...

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