The Paleo Diet

[MoonShadows]

Is anyone else here familiar with or following the Paleo Diet? We came across it a few months back and have been following it for a while now. As a result, we have lost some weight (without trying!) and have never felt better. We've seen improvement in our mood, thinking, energy levels, and just general well-being. It takes some getting used to, but it makes a lot of sense as you learn about it, and I think it lends itself very well to those trying to live a homesteading style of life.

Basically...The paleolithic (or Paleo for short) diet is a nutritional plan based on the presumed diet of Paleolithic humans. It is based on the premise that human genetics have scarcely changed since the dawn of agriculture, which marked the end of the Paleolithic era, around 15,000 years ago, and that modern humans are adapted to the Paleolithic diet. The Paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils. Proponents argue that modern human populations subsisting on traditional diets, allegedly similar to those of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, are largely free of diseases of affluence (obesity, cardio-vascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, colitis, colorectal cancer, depression, and a whole host of others) and that Paleolithic diets in humans have shown improved health outcomes relative to other widely-recommended diets.

There is a great video (how we first found out about the Paleo Diet) at http://perfecthumandiet.us/ If you have Netflix, Amazon, Hulu or similar, you can probably view it for free or rent it for just a few bucks. It is well worth the watch.

Just interested in what others have to say or comments from others following this diet.

 

[chickenrunner83]

BRAVO!

Most Dr's today no less than those of us that research. It's a shame.

Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Jim

Most doctors today are in the business of making us sick to keep themselves in business.

 

[Prettypuddles]

My husband and I started the low carb / high fat diet (New Atkins) back in April 2013 when my husbands cholesterol came back a 'little' high. Our doctor promptly handed us a list of low fat/high carb foods to eat and help lower is cholesterol. I took one look at that list and my gut(pun intended) told me that this was so wrong. I did some research and found the low carb/hi fat was the way to go, and that there is no scientific proof that low fat diets lower cholesterol, nor reduce risk of heart disease. So, being the bad patient that I am, we did exactly opposite of what the doctor said to do. Neither my husband or I were 'fat', I could say that maybe we were on the higher end of 'normal'. We did however manage to lose a lot of weight. By October 13, my husband and I both 20 pounds each! Now we are in the lower end of 'normal'! We went back to the doctor and my husbands cholesterol went down a few points. I told the doc what I did and he nonchalantly said, "ya, that works too".
Since then our weight loss has leveled off and we were 'supposed to' add carbs back in to maintain. Well, since reading 'Grain Brain', 'Wheat Belly' the 'Paleo Solution' and many other books I came to the conclusion that I do not want to add back what made us 'fat' in the first place. I want to eat the way I am genetically designed to.
I found the Paleo Lifestyle and have been following that since.
Yup, there's more cooking involved. So what, its what we are supposed to do. Give up 30 minutes of TV one night and you can make all the food you need for the next day. I got creative, I can make meals in just a few minutes at a time.
I read somewhere "It's only effort until it's routine." That is so true. I will never go back. The food is just too good!
Oh, and by the way in severe circumstances Wendy's hamburger (although not grass fed beef) is great when traveling. I order a double baconator - no bun - salad instead of fries and a diet soda. 100% paleo, 80% of the time! when traveling.

Now that my chickens have started laying - I have lots of paleo foods to make with them!

 

[Aragon]

I started the Primal Paleo the day after Christmas. I cut the carbs and diet soda and lost nearly 15 pounds. The great part is I have kept it off. I like to think I am Paleo 90% of the time. It is challenging to eat at a restaurant and order Paleo. What I have found is most places waitresses or waiters will see that I left the bun and will comment that next time I can order it without the bun in a lettuce wrap. You have to give it at least 30 days, if after 30 days you don't feel/see a difference then go back to your old diet plan. But if you are like me I had tried a lot of different diets that would work intermiddenly. Which means it worked until I got tired of starving myself.

Paleo isn't about dieting at all, it is about choosing the right foods to fuel your body. Once in a while it is okay to eat breading on your chicken or to have a cookie. The next day jump right back on your routine. BTW you can eat chocolate as long as it is atleast 72% Cacoa ;p

 

[MoonShadows]

My husband and I started the low carb / high fat diet (New Atkins) back in April 2013 when my husbands cholesterol came back a 'little' high. Our doctor promptly handed us a list of low fat/high carb foods to eat and help lower is cholesterol. I took one look at that list and my gut(pun intended) told me that this was so wrong. I did some research and found the low carb/hi fat was the way to go, and that there is no scientific proof that low fat diets lower cholesterol, nor reduce risk of heart disease. So, being the bad patient that I am, we did exactly opposite of what the doctor said to do. Neither my husband or I were 'fat', I could say that maybe we were on the higher end of 'normal'. We did however manage to lose a lot of weight. By October 13, my husband and I both 20 pounds each! Now we are in the lower end of 'normal'! We went back to the doctor and my husbands cholesterol went down a few points. I told the doc what I did and he nonchalantly said, "ya, that works too".
Since then our weight loss has leveled off and we were 'supposed to' add carbs back in to maintain. Well, since reading 'Grain Brain', 'Wheat Belly' the 'Paleo Solution' and many other books I came to the conclusion that I do not want to add back what made us 'fat' in the first place. I want to eat the way I am genetically designed to.
I found the Paleo Lifestyle and have been following that since.
Yup, there's more cooking involved. So what, its what we are supposed to do. Give up 30 minutes of TV one night and you can make all the food you need for the next day. I got creative, I can make meals in just a few minutes at a time.
I read somewhere "It's only effort until it's routine." That is so true. I will never go back. The food is just too good!
Oh, and by the way in severe circumstances Wendy's hamburger (although not grass fed beef) is great when traveling. I order a double baconator - no bun - salad instead of fries and a diet soda. 100% paleo, 80% of the time! when traveling.

Now that my chickens have started laying - I have lots of paleo foods to make with them!

BRAVO!

Most Dr's today no less than those of us that research. It's a shame.

Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Jim

 

[ClovisMan]

I started a similar diet called the Primal BluePrint. http://www.primalblueprint.com/
I began on January 12th and have lost 11.8 lbs and about 3 inches off my waist. I haven't even started to do any real fitness training or weight-lifting other than everyday activities such brooder and coop building, etc. You don't even have to buy the books or anything. You can go to http://www.marksdailyapple.com and get some free downloads and get the jist of it. Beside, who doesn't like a diet where you can have bacon at every meal.

 

[Christy85]

My husband and I have been loosely following the "Primal" diet for 2-3 years now. When he first started on the diet, he lost more than 50 lbs. in about six months and hasn't gained it back!

Part of why I am looking to raise chickens is for the higher quality of meat and eggs, without additional hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. We also garden what we can organically-as-possible, and the chickens should help that with their fertilizer as well.

 

[Mark1]

My Wife, adult kids and myself have been on the Paleo diet for several months. We have never felt better, and my Wife who used to have 2-3 migraines a week, has only had 2 in the last 2 months. I'm an avid Mountain biker, and have more energy than ever before, and have lost 12 pounds without watching calories.
It is the only diet we have been on where you actually enjoy the food you get to eat. There are several great internet sources for an endless supply of great recipes, you won't even know your dieting.
We have a couple of good natural grocers near us, so buying non processed foods isn't a big issue(plus we have a huge organic garden every year), but you do need to read labels to make sure what your buying is Paleo friendly.

I pasted some of my favorite sites for recipes below.

http://cavegirlcuisine.com/
http://stupideasypaleo.com/
http://www.paleonewbie.com/
http://everydaypaleo.com/
http://paleomg.com/

Enjoy!

 

[henless]

I started a similar diet called the Primal BluePrint. http://www.primalblueprint.com/
I began on January 12th and have lost 11.8 lbs and about 3 inches off my waist. I haven't even started to do any real fitness training or weight-lifting other than everyday activities such brooder and coop building, etc. You don't even have to buy the books or anything. You can go to http://www.marksdailyapple.com and get some free downloads and get the jist of it. Beside, who doesn't like a diet where you can have bacon at every meal.

We do the Primal Blueprint also. I've been on it for about 6 months now and have lost a little over 43 lbs since starting.

My husband and I have been loosely following the "Primal" diet for 2-3 years now. When he first started on the diet, he lost more than 50 lbs. in about six months and hasn't gained it back!

Part of why I am looking to raise chickens is for the higher quality of meat and eggs, without additional hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. We also garden what we can organically-as-possible, and the chickens should help that with their fertilizer as well.

That is the reason why I'm getting my own chickens. For the great eggs and hopefully the meat. I've never processed chickens before, so that should be an adventure.

I eat meat, vegetables, fruit and small amount of dairy. I drink water, coffee and occasionally a diet soda, but not very often. It's really not hard, but does take some getting used to. I do know that on the occasions that I eat something I'm not suppose to, namely bread/breading products, I pay for it for the next several days.

 

[Countryfamily]

A little over a year ago my wife started our family on the primal blueprint diet also. When we started, it was dificult because she had very few recipes that were suitable. Fast forward to today and she has many recipe books with fantastic paleo recipes and the online resources have multiplied. We've both lost between 20-25 lbs with no effort and our body shapes are changing quickly with the addition to daily exercises. The kids continue to grow like weeds and are enjoying the diet. We aren't super strict about it. Instead we aim for a 80% clean diet leaving the other 20% for times or places where eating paleo isn't possible. Out here, the cost for eating this way is a little higher, however we have doubled our garden size and preparing to raise chickens and rabbits for meat. I will never go back to eating the way we did. The way our bodies have adjusted to the diet is proof enough to me that it's the right diet for us. If anyone is considering it, try it and let your body decide. FYI, you will likely go through a change sometime in the first few weeks where you feel terrible as your body is forced to remember to use fat for energy, but it will pass and you'll feel great!