Many of you have thought about it and most of you are already well beyond the starting position. However, for those of you unfamiliar…..going paleo reaps many benefits……

like:

• More nutrients & energy. Since nutrient-dense food make up the majority of the paleo diet, you naturally get more vitamins and nutrients your body craves, which ends up supplying your cells with vital energy.
• Crap-free eating. Going paleo eliminates many empty calorie, processed foods.
• Ditching the calorie counting. Going paleo means eating a whole array of whole foods which allows you to rely on your natural hunger cues for satiety.
• Hormone regulation. With the higher nutrient content and good fats your hormones respond, like by increasing performance and improving sleep.
• Discovering abdominal muscles.  By eliminating starchy, carb-dense, overly processed foods, going paleo is usually associated with a reduction in belly fat.

 

Going Paleo

When it comes down to the basics, I always tell people to just eat real food. Truthfully, our ancestors’ diet would have varied widely depending on what was in season, the animals around and their geographical location. Thus, when you start the paleo diet, you may need to play around with some food variations to see what works the best for you. I find a paleo approach mixed with carb backloading works really well for most people. At the end of the day, it is what works for you and how you ultimately look, feel, and perform.

 

 

 

 

• Indulge in bacon and eggs for breakfast, not pancakes, bagels, toast, or cereal.

• Top your eggs with hot sauce, salsa, guacamole, or homemade ketchup…..not fructose-full ketchup. 

• Add coconut milk or cream to your coffee … ditch the chemically sweetened Cinnabon creamers (for sweet, try a dash of cinnamon and/or stevia). 

• Eat nutritious cauliflower mashed potatoes, not carbohydrate-loaded, nutrient poor potatoes.

• Eat spaghetti squash, not spaghetti wheat pasta. 

• Eat mashed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, plantains, and/or  cauliflower, not bread or rolls. 

• Drizzle olive oil or coconut oil on your salads with Tamari (or gluten-free soy sauce), not vegetable or soybean oil based dressing.

• Eat meat roll-ups or lettuce-wrapped burgers with avocado or guacamole or homemade ketchup and/or mayo, not grain-wrapped burgers with ketchup or vegetable-oil-laden mayonnaise.

• Eat tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, macadamia nuts, Brazilian nuts, almonds, cashews), not peanuts. 

• Eat nut butter (e.g., almond butter) with celery and apples, not peanut butter with crackers. 

• Bake with coconut flour and/or almond flour, not white or wheat flour.

• Use tapioca (yuca) flour/starch or arrowroot starch for thickening or binding, not cornstarch.

 

Above all, just remember…….JUST EAT REAL FOOD!

 

🙂