EAT PALEO! A Beginner's Guide

[BlakeComeaux]

I wasn't sure which category to put this under because this isn't just a recipe for a dish.. but a way of eating that will 100% without a doubt make you lose weight and make you healthier.

I know everyone must have heard of this "diet" and most think it's a fad or unsustainable... but it's not. It's a way of life honestly. It goes back to what our bodies were suppose to consume. If by some chance haven't heard of it, it's called the "Paleo" diet (a.k.a. "the caveman diet").

Let me give you the very basic intro:

What you can eat:
1. Meat
2. Fish
3. Veggies
4. Fruit
5. Nuts

The main foods to not eat:
1. Wheat or Grain: cut rice, pasta, potatoes, bread completely out of your diet.
2. Sugar: this is just obvious. Candy and Soda are Poisen to your body.

Now true paleo involves no dairy or legumes (beans). Honestly in my opinion, these things can be eaten in moderation. If pure weight loss is your goal, those main foods I've mentioned to avoid should be a major priority.

The wonderful thing about this diet is you can eat as much as you want.

A coworker that I convinced to eat Paleo committed himself day 1, cut out all wheat/grain/sugar cold turkey. In 8 weeks, he went from weighing 325 lbs to weighing 275 without stepping foot in a gym!

The success stories of this way of eating is never-ending. Now let me tell you what will be the hard part about this. This is what i've learned:

1. The first two weeks are very crucial.
Do not throw in a cheat meal for the first two weeks. You will actually seem very hungry the first few days. I swear I could have eaten a cow i felt so starving by the third day. You're body will start digging into the stored fats in your body. You might even feel tired BUT STICK WITH IT. After those two weeks I had more energy than ever. And everytime I sat down to eat, I never once finished eating and felt miserable or stuffed.

2. You have to be prepared!
And by prepared, I mean with food. It didn't take long for me to realize if I got home late at 7-8 and I didnt cook, there won't be anything for me to eat. You're grocery shopping will change completely. I always cook in bulk. I'll cook enough fish and chicken to last me a couple of days. I've eaten more veggies than I thought ever possible. But making leftovers in my opinion is critical in helping this work because some nights it will be way to easy to heat up some mac'n'cheese.

 I've hope I at least caught your attention. If you want to look at the science and benefits (or just learn more about) Paleo, I suggest Loren Cordain's book "the Paleo Diet". I didn't want to go into too much detail cause I wanted to keep your attention for this post. Not to mention they have some good cook books and recipes out there to help you switch things up for dinner.

The funny thing is when I see other fad diets or things like "advocare" diet, most of the time they are selling these supplements as their main sellor but the diet recommended is basically paleo. Like if people would just follow the eating guidelines without taking advocare products it would still work.

If there was a way for me to make money pitching and selling the Paleo Diet to people I would do it in a heartbeat! But I'm not getting paid (unfortunately haha) and I'm only writing this cause it works and I want others to see the great results. Plain and simple. Feel free to send me any questions. Cheers!

[emili]

Great that you found a lifestyle that suits you. It really comes out in your post. Best, E.

[WendyB]

Glad you found something that works!

I am going to move this to the weight loss forum

[SunsetRunner]

I'm on Day 3 and so far I'm doing pretty well on it.  I'm more of a savory fan than sweets fan so this is perfect!  I signed up for Advocare years ago and I've kept my membership because a friend of mine loves Spark and it keeps her off sodas but I no longer take the supplements.  

Curious as to your thoughts on protein powders for smoothies?  

[BlakeComeaux]

@SunsetRunner I always drink protein shakes right after my workouts. I think it's a great idea for those very active. Technically no... it's not paleo. BUT it's ok in my books. You drop those key items from your diet (bread/rice/starch/etc) and you'll see the weight fly off. 

[SunsetRunner]

@BlakeComeaux Which protein powder do you use?  I just came off Herbalife due to cost and the added chemicals in it.  I feel like it's the same as Advocare...not necessarily bad but I don't want those chemicals in my body.  Do you ever have a protein shake for a mid afternoon snack or breakfast?  I'm blessed to have a chef in our building who makes eggs and bacon or omelettes for me all the time. 

[BlakeComeaux]

Honestly I just buy it in bulk.. .Gold Standard Whey is basic and I can get for good cost offline. Most of the time, you're just paying for a label. Like Muscle Milk is delicious but no reason to pay the extra money for it. The only thing I'd say NOT to get is the protein from Walmart and Academy. Just a bunch of fillers in it. And I workout everyday for lunch so my shake comes right after... but if it's my day off yea I sometimes drink a shake for a snack

[SunsetRunner]

@BlakeComeaux Thank you so much for the information.  I'll check out the Gold Standard brand.  I will say that Perfect Fit protein is super yummy but it's expensive as well.  

[BlakeComeaux]

No problem! stick with it! you'll be dropping sizes and feeling better in no time.

[Christa4335]

Hi Blake,

It is 7 months into the year. How has your Paleo lifestyle gone? I just started paleo this week and not so bad. I ate decently healthy before but this will take it to the next level. My biggest problems were caffeine and sweets. I cut them out cold turkey a year ago for over 6 months so giving it a go again. 

[Dominique]

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@BlakeComeaux wrote:

The wonderful thing about this diet is you can eat as much as you want.

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I have to disagree with the above: no matter what diet approach you believe in, none will allow you to do away with the first law of thermodynamics. The paleo diet may be wonderful, but no matter what you eat and what you refrain from eating, you will gain weight if the energy value of your intake exceeds your expenditure. Or maybe what you mean is that it’s satiating enough to prevent you from overeating (which would be the case with many non-paleo diets as well)?

[Dominique]

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@Christa4335 wrote:

It is 7 months into the year. How has your Paleo lifestyle gone? 

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I like the idea of checking things after a few months! I think long-term sticking to any restrictive diet is very hard.

[tiffsterr]

I am also interested to hear how everyone is doing who is / was following a paleo diet.  I am recommitting to a mostly Paleo / carb restricted diet which totally has worked in the past for rapidly losing weight but I fell off the wagon a couple times.  My downfall is mostly bread and beer.

I think the total focus on weight/ slimness kind of misses a major point though.  A very clean organic diet of responsibly sourced fresh food by definition is gonna be healthier than food grown in factory farms with antibiotics or pesticides.  People with severe allergies are going to greatly benefit from eating clean food. 

I have been listening to Robb Wolf's Paleo Solutions podcast for over a year and it is very inspirational to hear about very sick people who fixed themselves with a paleo diet.  The podcast has a very strong focus on extreme fitness which is not really my thing but interesting to listen to as well.  I highly recommend it if anyone is looking for more reasons to eat well beyond just getting thin.

[BigAL19]

Im right there with you tiffsterr! I tend to follow the Paleo/Keto style of eating. I feel so much better eating that way. Bread is the toughest to give up more for convenience. Its just easier to eat a burger or sandwich. If I do cheat its usually with some good sourdough bread. I rarely crave desserts. I think what has helped me this time is increasing my good fats and lowering my protein. I finally got my new Fitbit Blaze today so that should help tracking things easier. Im looking forward to a productive week!

[elderwanda]

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@Dominique wrote:

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@BlakeComeaux wrote:

The wonderful thing about this diet is you can eat as much as you want.

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I have to disagree with the above: no matter what diet approach you believe in, none will allow you to do away with the first law of thermodynamics. The paleo diet may be wonderful, but no matter what you eat and what you refrain from eating, you will gain weight if the energy value of your intake exceeds your expenditure. Or maybe what you mean is that it’s satiating enough to prevent you from overeating (which would be the case with many non-paleo diets as well)?

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I agree 100%.  Personally, one of the reasons I became obese (170 pounds in my case) was because I was had developed the attitude that eating whole, nutritious foods was just what my body needed.  Well, that was true, except when you only burn about 1800 calories a day, you can't munch on a bowl full of raw almonds every evening without packing on some weight.  So now I'll have maybe 10 almonds, knowing that they contain the same amount of calories as I burn walking three-quarters of a mile.  I want to eat 50 almonds.  Or 100.  Counting them out and eating just a few does not come naturally to me, and it would be very easy to accidentally have another handful, and another, without even thinking.  Same thing with drizzling olive oil over my veggies, or plenty of other things like that.  Even when maintaining weight, I have to be constantly vigilant and never eat quite as much as I'd really like.  

[BigAL19]

LOL elderwanda...I did that a couple weeks ago. I found unshelled pistachios! After eating the whole bag I realized how dangerous they were without having to battle with shells. I don't think I will be buying them again 

[Dominique]

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@elderwanda wrote:

when you only burn about 1800 calories a day, you can't munch on a bowl full of raw almonds every evening without packing on some weight.  So now I'll have maybe 10 almonds

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On a related item: about a year ago, I started a topic titled "Do you weigh your nuts?" LOL.

[A_Lurker]

@BigAL19 - I like the unshelled pistachios myself.  Although I admit that I usually buy them around Christmas and make an easy chocolate bark with them and dried cranberries.  Nuts in general are dangerous for me.  I'm actually a little compulsive and have a food scale in the storage room where I store them.  I can choose what I'm going to take, but I'm very aware of what I take.  Back when I was counting calories I used to keep pre-measured 100 calorie packs of a number of items in 1/2 cup plastic containers.  Cheaper than buying those kind of things, but I would always refill them right after dinner.

[GershonSurge]

This is just the Atkins diet by another name. It's a certain formula for early disease and death. We don't know what cavemen ate. We know what a they ate in a few archaeological sites. Yes, they did eat grains. The method of determining this wasn't discovered until recently.

We do know what healthy long-lived populations ate. Starch based whole food plant based diets. If they ate meat, it was only on rare festivals. There are no significant exceptions.