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Should You Limit Carbs on the Paleo Diet?

No two people lose weight in the same way. This is why it is hard to determine how many carbs each person should consume every day. Some people may find that they can lose weight while eating 40 grams of carbs each day, while others have to limit their choices to fewer than 20 grams.

In order to find how many carbs you should be consuming you will need to track your weight loss results. Start off by keeping a food and exercise journal. This way you can review it each week and see exactly what you ate and how many pounds you lost.

You should also take into account your exercise level as well. If you are an athlete training for a sporting event you can eat more carbs than a person who is trying to lose weight.

Even though you have your list of recommended foods for the Paleo Diet they each contain different amounts of calories and carbohydrate levels. Just because a food is listed doesn’t mean you can eat them all day in huge quantities. You should take your overall calories into consideration as well.

A good example of this would be nuts. Yes they are allowed on the Paleo diet but they are also very high in calories. Nuts are best used as a snack and limited to a small handful, around 10-12 nuts each day.

Another area to be careful with carbs and sugars is with fruit. Again fruits are healthy and good for you, but some fruits contain large amounts of sugar. If you are trying to lose more than just a few pounds limit your fruit to one or two pieces per day.

Sweet potatoes are another recommended Paleo food but are also high in calories. Eating a sweet potato is a good choice for lunch if you are planning on an afternoon of high activity, such as gardening. Your body needs energy to perform this task and by eating before exercising you can burn off the calories. It is best to avoid eating sweet potatoes for dinner. You are less likely to be active in the evening and the calories will just sit on your body.

When starting out on the Paleo diet limit your choices of high carbohydrate foods and choose those which are rich in fibre such as vegetable. This will help maximize your weight loss efforts.

By keeping track of how many carbs you consume you can see how your body reacts. If you aren’t losing each week then cut back on your carbs and fruits. As you reach your desired weight loss goal you can slowly add these back in.

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