The Basic Essentials of Paleo Weight Loss

There has been a lot of hype on diets of late. This is mainly because of the increase of preventive diseases in our society. As soon as we found out that things like heart attacks, cholesterol, breathing problems and digestive problems are not meant to be as common as they are, many of us jumped on the diet and exercise bandwagon. One such diet that comes to mind is the Paleo Diet.

History of the Paleo Diet

Paleo weight loss is one of those that has been widely debated but seems to have a lot of success. The basis of this diet is the food that our ancestors, the cavemen, used to eat. The word “Paleo” itself is short for “Paleolithic” which points to the era of the caveman.

The idea is that they lived much longer and healthier lives because of what they ate and how they exercised. The food we eat now if full of fats, carbohydrates, and calories which make us unhealthy in the long run. The purpose of the Paleo diet is, therefore, to remove these things from our diet.

The earliest known book on this diet is the 1975 book The Stone Age Diet. Since that time, there have been a number of other authors who have written on the subject of the diet of early man and its implications on life today. What is in these books has led to the Paleo diet being what it is today.

There are some foods that are restricted from the Paleo diet and some that are allowed. This is what we shall look at next.

Your Basic Paleo Do’s and Don’ts

The foods that make up this diet are numerous and, as mentioned, are based on what the early men and women ate from day to day and how they ate it. There is a long list of foods to choose from so you can get creative with your recipes for maximum health.

Most of the foods you are allowed to have are green leafy vegetables, meat, fish and seafood, fruit and nuts and seeds. In each category, there are some foods that are permitted, others that are not and some that are but only in moderation for their carbohydrate content.

Meat is an important part of this diet. A qualification for the meat you eat while on the Paleo diet is that has to be grass-fed i.e. it has to have come from a herbivore. This is good news for meat lovers since they can have their pick from pork to beef, to poultry to mutton. Whatever the meat is as long as it comes from a herbivore, go ahead and dig in.

Fruit and veggies are the places to take precautions. Vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, celery and asparagus are all allowed in the Paleo diet. The ones you have to take in moderation are squash, yams, sweet potatoes and beets. Among fruit, you can have mangoes, papaya, different kinds of berries, avocados, lemons, figs, tangerines and the like, but you have to be very careful with bananas.

Avoid cereals, legumes, potatoes, dairy, excessive salt, refined oils and processed food while on this diet. This includes wheat based products, beer, beans, peas and peanuts which aren’t really nuts but legumes. Now if you have just started on this diet, you may be wondering how to move forward. Next, we will cover a few simple steps to get you started on the Paleo diet.

How to Begin at the Beginning

As with any diet, the Paleo weight loss plan may be hard to follow at first. It won’t be very easy cutting out some things you are used to liking your bowl of cornflakes or your precious fries and pizza, but that is where you have to get. The important things to remember are that:

• You are making a lifestyle change. Change one or two things first and then move forward.
• Exercise is also important. Much as you are eating better, the best way to lose weight is to combine this healthy eating with some movement.
• Pay attention to the rest of your life. While diet and exercise are important, remember to sleep well and reduce stress. These factors may stop your weight loss.
• Take it slow; some of these changes will not happen overnight and they are certainly not simple. Changing your diet slowly will ease the transition into the diet and will probably give you the incentive to keep it up.