What is Paleo?
What is the Paleo Diet?
The Paleo Diet is based on one simple rule – if the cavemen didn’t eat it, you shouldn’t either. Initially scientific studies of Paleolithic man and what he ate at that time brought up to our modern world the idea of the Paleo Diet. This is basically the diet our bodies were biologically designed to eat. It lets to tap into our genetic potential, helping us to live a healthier and happier lives. I think Durant in his book “The Paleo Manifesto” was the best to described Paleo, saying: “Eating a Paleolithic diet is not about historical re-enactment. It is about mimicking the effect of such a diet on the metabolism with foods available at the supermarket.”
Nowadays the scientific world is taking seriously the concept of the Paleo diet. There are many studies on the Paleo Diet. And most studies have found that a diet rich in lean protein and plant-based foods (which is Paleo) can make you:
- feel fuller
- control blood sugar levels
- help you lose weight
- can lower the risk of heart disease
- reduce the blood pressure
- reduce inflammation
- reduce acne
- promote optimum health
- enhance athletic performance
NO Counting Calories
In my opinion, the coolest part about the Paleo diet is that it DOES NOT INCLUDE COUNTING THE CALORIES. Eat when you’re hungry, don’t eat when you’re not. It is that simple! And you eat as much as you need until you’re full as long as that food is on the Green Paleo list. But to follow Paleo in a long run you need to have the right set of mind, you need to focus on the right foods. You need to start thinking and living differently than you used to. Cause Paleo is not a diet, PALEO IS THE WAY OF LIFE! At the same time Paleo is very forgiving. So you will not be deprived of the foods you enjoyed before. You will have a flexibility to include “open meals” into your weekly menu, as was described by Loren Cordain in his book “The Paleo Diet”.
As for me, when I first tried the Paleo diet I went “cold turkey” and did not let any prohibited foods for the first 2 weeks. To be honest, I did feel a bit tired for the first couple days as my body needed to adjust to a new style of eating. But after those couple days my energy level went up to the roof and pretty much stayed that way. Now I feel more positive about the life, I feel good and I am NEVER hungry! Not to mention I believe I look my best now then ever. All my skin issues disappeared, I feel FIT, healthy and happy. It turned out my body was not processing dairy as well as I thought it did. So Paleo is worth trying for sure, even though it has lot of criticisms.
Debates about the Paleo diet
Since The Paleo Diet‘s publication in 2001, there has been a lot of debate about the Paleo diet. It has a lot of controversy and criticisms. Paleo is cutting out the whole groups of foods from the Food pyramid developed by USDA. Nutritionists disagree as to whether cutting dairy, whole grains, and legumes from the diet is healthy.
Well… that is true, Paleo diet is not for everyone. But most nutritionists would agree on at least one thing about Paleo – cutting down on processed foods like refined flour products, artificial cheese, packaged meats, potato chips, and sugars will benefit our bodies. People with high blood pressure can benefit from Paleo diet because it eliminates sodium.
Read more about Paleo and Nutrition […]
Benefits of Paleo
In short, Paleo is a nutritionally dense whole-foods diet, that is maximizing foods that heal and minimizing foods that harm our bodies. According to Sarah Ballantyne, PhD and her book “Paleo Principles”, Paleo diet can improve a vast array of health conditions. It’s great for: 
- weight normalization (overweight people tend to lose weight but underweight people tend to gain weight)
- foundation for a healthy digestive system
- supports healthy growth of a diversity of probiotic bacteria in the gut through its focus on prebiotic and probiotic foods
- reduces inflammation
- supports normal functioning of the immune system
- supports liver detoxification system
Ready more about the Paleo Health benefits […]
Foods you should eat on Paleo
You will include in your menu these nutrient dense whole foods such as:
- Fresh organic meats (including animal organs)
- Wild-caught fish and other seafood
- Fresh fruits
- Vegetables
- Eggs
- Nuts and seeds
- Unrefined oils, like olive oil and coconut oil
- Lots of water!
It is very important to have a variety of these on your plate because different food supplies different nutrients. Rule of a thumb is to have a Rainbow on your plate, which means you have to include foods of all colors. And the more colorful your plate the better. In spite of common believes about Paleo as a protein-based diet, Paleo is a PLANT-BASED diet. This means your plate should have at least two thirds or even more plant foods and only one third animal foods. In addition, Paleo is encouraging the highest quality foods. The shopping cart should consists of grass-fed or pasture-raised meats, wild-caught seafood, organic local fruits and vegetables whenever possible.
See the full list of foods ALLOWED on Paleo diet […]
Foods to avoid
For the most part, Paleo excludes foods known to be inflammatory, disrupt hormones, or negatively impact the health of the gut. You need to avoid on Paleo:
- Processed food
- Gluten and all other grains and pseudograins
- Legumes (including peanuts and soy)
- Dairy
- Refined sugar
- Potatoes
- Refined vegetable oils, such as canola
See the full list of foods to AVOID on Paleo […]
Paleo and Lifestyle
Paleo exercise is based on the same principle as the Paleo Diet itself – do what we were designed to do. This means incorporating movement into your whole life. Move as much as you can, don’t sit in front of the computer for 14-16 hours a day. It KILLS our bodies.
When I was working as a personal trainer and massage therapist I had a category of people who were probably having the most muscle issues, at least from my point of view. They were programmers and lawyers. But even if your work requires so, you still can take a 2 min break every hour to stretch those muscles, take a cup of water or green tea and get back to work. Put an alarm for every hour on your clock if you can not control your time or get the Apple Watch that reminds you to stand up every hour. Just move! And your body will thank you for that.
Exercising is highly encouraged on Paleo. But not the “chronic cardio” that increases cortisol levels, inflammation, and damages your cells. Do the weight training, CrossFit, yoga, running outside, hiking, biking… Mix and match! But don’t forget about the importance of rest and recovery time. Your workouts should leave you strong and energized, not constantly sore and exhausted.
So… Spend a lot of time outside to get enough Vitamin D, drink lot of water and sleep at least 8 hours a day. That’s the Paleo lifestyle in short. It fits me, it might fit into your life as well. Try it if you dare 😉 . Pretty sure you will like this lifestyle, at least you will feel happier and healthier.
Read more about Living Paleo […]
Long-Term Focus
Because the Paleo focus is a long-term health, this diet and lifestyle allows for imperfection, especially at first. According to Loren Cordain in his book “The Paleo Diet”, you can cheat for 3 meals a week, calling them “open meals”, gradually reducing and eventually eliminating those meals by the time. There are other approaches to Paleo like 80/20 or 90/10 rule. In other words, you have the flexibility to experiment and find what works best for you and fits into your life for the long term.
On Paleo our body will take stored fat and burn it for the energy instead of carbs, because there is no grains, no sugar, no processed foods, no diary which means lower carbs. Don’t worry, you will still get just enough carbs from vegetables, sweet potatoes, and fruits. But if you’re not ready to cut out grains, dairy and legumes completely from your diet, just try to minimizing them gradually.
To summarize
In conclusion I would like to mention again and again: Paleo is not a diet, Paleo is a way of life! This is the way of eating and living that anyone who wants to live healthy and happy can commit to for the rest of their entire lives. Yes, Paleo is not for everyone AND it can get more expansive than processed conventional foods, but this investment is well worth it. It is always better to prevent than treat. By all means, healthy eating is surely a lot cheaper than any medical bills… So give it a try. You might like it as well.
And of course, please check with your doctor before starting on this plan or in fact any other diet plan.