I mentioned a few months ago that Henry and I were trying the Paleo diet, also known as the Paleolithic diet or the Caveman diet. We did it because Henry’s friend suggested he give it a try. He went on and on about how good he feels, about how he was able to trim up, how easy it is to do. Yada yada.
In the simplest terms, the Paleo diet focuses on eating the most optimal, non-processed foods while eliminating all grains, and legumes. Processed foods include anything with wheat (bread, crackers, pasta, etc.), dairy, including butter (some forms of the diets let you have whole milk), and any processed meats like bacon, sausage or deli meat. It also advises eating optimal veggies – so nothing really starchy like white potatoes, peas, or corn. Beans and legumes (peanuts) aren’t allowed either.
As you can see, there’s a limited number of items you can eat…. they consist of unprocessed meat, veggies, fruits and nuts.
When Henry presented the eating plan I had several reservations. I knew I could cut out all the food groups, but I wasn’t sure why I needed to cut out all grains (rice, lentils, barley, oats, quinoa) and beans. I’ve tried over the last year to cut down our meat consumption and raise our bean consumption. Obviously this does not work with the Paleo diet.
I agreed to do it because I knew Henry really wanted to try and doing it alone is difficult, especially if someone else does your grocery shopping and dinner cooking. We agreed to do it for 30 days and see how we felt. Henry felt great and lost 35 pounds. Not kidding. I felt awful, but have the flattest stomach I’ve had for a long time – all without exercising.
Here’s the interesting thing – when you first start the diet, NOT eating sugar is hard, really hard. The more you do it, the less you want the breads and sugars… the more you crave fresh food. You get into a groove of what you can and can’t eat and there’s less thinking involved.
After the first 30 days, I decided I was going to be less strict. The first week was a free-for-all… I couldn’t keep my hands off all the forbidden foods. The food was good, but it made me feel gross… really, really gross, especially wheat. I now typically eat a Paleo diet with some cheats thrown in. I decided if I truly want something (typically a dessert or beans, I’m going to eat it within reason). I don’t crave wheat or dairy at all. Oh, and to clarify, we never cut out processed meat. I mean, really, who can live without bacon?
*for those worrying about it, our kids are NOT on the Paleo diet.
Comments (8)
I’ll echo your thoughts and say that I’ve just now completed eating in a modified paleo style for 30 days. I’ve lost between 10-15 lbs and I feel great. I “cheat” by eating small amounts of cheese and yogurt and I will never be able to live without bacon a couple of times a month. Cutting out rice, bread and beans has been easy for me and I was surprised that I can now enjoy black coffee after years of the sweetest dessert coffee drinks 3-4 days a week. Belonging to a CSA helps because we have had fresh fruits and veggies all summer. Lots of friends have shared their home garden extras too. It is easier to shop for food now, I just stay on the outside walls of the grocery store for produce and meat. I skip all the temptation in the middle (cookies, crackers, frozen pizza, ice cream). Dinner is easy, grill meat, serve with 2 types of veggies and if we are still hungry, we’ll grab some fruit. This winter we’ll be eating winter squash, roasted cauliflower, and roasted root veggies and lots of kale. I hoping to drop another 10-15 lbs before the holidays and then stick with this new style of eating. Best of luck to anyone starting out. If I can do it, you can too!
Tiffany
haha thanks for throwing in the disclaimer 😉
we’ve been paleo for almost a month now & I must say I feel the best than I’ve felt in the last 10 years! I have more energy & of course dropping a few pounds always makes a gal happy. Do you have any favorite recipes? Our favorite so far is a recipe that I’ve cooked for sometime-just adapted slightly for paleo-roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and onions—–I could eat a double batch by myself. I remember the first time I cooked sprouts-my husband snarled his nose up when he knew I was trying a new recipe–but now we fight over any leftovers. Congrats on the flat tummy w/out exercise—I know the feeling!
When you say you feel awful, what do you mean? I’m strongly considering cutting a lot of these things from my diet, and I don’t see how it could make me feel worse. My gut has been off lately. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but dairy and gluten seem to be big culprits.
Two questions…can you post some of your favorite go-to Paleo recipes (or links at least)? Also, how did this diet change change your grocery budget? We have been trying to change our diet to more high protein, high produce, but I’m having a hard time keeping my husband off of wheat/all carbs…I think I’m going to try really hard to convince him to try this for a month and see how it goes, just not really sure where to start.
I lied, I have a third (and fourth)question. What does Henry take for lunch? My husband is a sandwich eater (he will take leftovers, but usually prefers a sandwich). Also…any alternative to pizza?? 🙂
we like to lay 2 pieces of deli meat out and fill with lettuce/spinach, tomato slices, and banana peppers-roll this up and have a paleo sandwich. the peppers almost taste like a dressing to me.
@sarah: I’ll try to work on a post of recipes for you. I don’t know that our budget is more or less…. I buy less processed food and more produce. I think it evens out, but I haven’t counted the pennies. Henry eats at a cafeteria at his office a lot and will either get an entree salad, or a piece of grilled meat with veggies. I eat salads a lot at home. At restaurants, I sometimes will order a sandwich, wrap, or burger without the bread. If your husband doesn’t like to eat veggies, fruits, and nuts, he will have a hard time snacking with a Paleo lifestyle. Hope this all helps.