I've been on Paleo for a while now and I'm down 45 lbs on the year. My weight is below what it was when I was 19 and my performance exceeds what I was at during my physical peak in the military.
I recommend it to everyone that asks and to family members that don't.
It's lower carb than a standard diet but I personally eat fruit everyday and I eat veggies that are high in carbs. Going extreme low carb seems to f with me.
It's basically the elimination of sugar and grains (rice, wheat, corn...). One of the best books that I can recommend is
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Pale...balanced+bites
The recipes rock and she breaks down the diet in a very basic way. There's a lot of other books that get way more scientific but those seem to scare people away.
Sign up for this newsletter and get yourself his workout book
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/subsc...#axzz24l6P4cJj
It's helped me simplify things. I no longer f around with long distance cardio and I regularly kick my own ass with his sprinting program. My friend who is a marathoner was blown away by basic sprints and we were both sore as a mofo after our first attempt. It's a great workout. I also dig the basic pullup/pushup workouts. I'm building muscle faster that I ever did with crazy weight workouts.