The word “diet” is not a strange one these days, as everyone is chasing some sort of meal plan to become fitter and to lose weight.
Well, the best part of the Paleo diet is that it is not exclusively a weight loss diet. It is more a diet that promotes a healthy lifestyle, a high-quality nutrition, based on the requirements of your organism, which will also lead to a weight of excess loss, helping your body gain a more balanced weight.
So you can follow the Paleolithic diet if you want to lose some pounds, but you can also choose this diet if you want to look better, feel better, have more energy and an excellent overall state.
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But what does Paleo mean? What makes it so special and efficient?
The Paleo diet guidelines are to eat the same foods that our ancestors used to eat, before the development of the society, the appearance of chemicals and processed foods, of microwave ovens and other inventions that were supposed to make our lives easier, but end up poisoning us instead.
It may sound a bit primitive to eat what cavemen once ate, but these people were always fit, were able to chase their prey throughout the wilderness and had a better body shape than the majority of us. These humans used to eat whole foods, like fruits and vegetables, nuts, leafy greens, and slightly cooked lean meats such as beef or seafood.
So you see, you won’t find in the Paleo diet food list cereals and their flours, which contain gluten, sugars, bread, pasta, processed foods, junk foods, sweets and so on. All of these foods are the results of the modern age, made to be tasty and fill the bellies of the growing masses, but without providing the nutrition our body needs.
Thus, together with the modern age, a high number of new diseases started to appear, many of them caused by these processed foods, which are move convenient and affordable, following only the principle of taste and not the nutritional value. So when following the Paleo diet meal plan, you will eliminate all these toxic foods from your organism and start to feel better.
But, even if the Paleolithic diet is incredibly healthy for you, have in mind that your body will need to get used to the new dietary changes. You have fed it with processed foods for so much time already, making it feel weird when starting to provide it suddenly only with whole foods.
So be patient and let it adjust, as it is a period in which you may not feel at your best. This period will not last too long, according to the power of adapting of each of us, and you will soon feel the great effects of this healthy diet.
Why choose the Paleo diet?
Unfortunately, the grim number pinpointing to Americans that already exceeded the limit of being overweight are much too high. The eating habits of most people in the US, like choosing fast food instead of a healthy meal, eating too many processed foods, filled with saturated fats and sugars, led to having about 66% of Americans in a fight with overweight. Also, more than a third of the people are obese, which is an enormous proportion.
All of these people are not only suffering because of too much weight, but they are also exposed to developing a very wide set of diseases. Heart conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint issues, damage of internal organs, even cancers, because the body is subjected to so much stress, due to excessive weight and unhealthy eating habits. We must all start doing something, and the first thing we can do is dump the old lifestyle and adopt a much healthier diet, based on whole foods.
As mentioned before, the average caveman was very well-developed, from a physical point of view. He was tall, had muscles extremely well-built, was athletic and fast. Now, isn’t this the goal of figure we all want to reach? Isn’t this the reason we all go to the gym and start dieting? Well, with the Paleo diet, you will be able to eat the same foods these people used to eat and acquire the same silhouette.
The best part of the Paleolithic diet is that you don’t have to suffer because of starvation. You will have a rational number of meals, plus snacks, but all of them made out of healthy foods, only slightly cooked in a healthy manner, if the case. And feeding your body the nutrients it needs, you will help it become healthier, supporting weight loss and the tendency to reach an ideal weight in your case.
You see, our body is an incredible machine, so if you give it the fuel it needs to run properly, it will immediately start adjusting its functions, just the way they were supposed to run. So you will start feeling more energized, happier and refreshed, you will be more active and dispose of excess body mass.
Here is a success story.
But what happened during history that made us forget about eating healthy?
In the beginning, the man was a hunter and gatherer, having his diet based on the fruits and legumes he managed to find, and on the lean meat of prey.
Later on, in his attempt to make life more comfortable, he discovered farming. It is when grains started to be a part of his diet. Bread, pasta, and other cereal-made products were introduced. This was also the point when man began to get fat. Because he didn’t do the same amount of physical effort and was eating farming products, many of them containing flour and starches, the body’s functions stopped being respected, so the weight shifted, increasing.
Higher levels of blood sugar will also mean more insulin released by the body, in the attempt to reduce the sugar in the blood. But no matter how much insulin the body will release, you won’t be able to burn more than you need, to sustain your daily activities. The rest of it will be stored in the form of fat deposits. And in the case of a person that is working all day long in an office, like most of us, it is easy to understand that most insulin is not burned, but transformed into fat.
If you are wondering from where your body will take its energy, in the Paleolithic diet, you should know that fruits and vegetables have everything you need. Sugars can also be found in these foods, enough to provide you all the energy you want, to sustain even a very active person, in a healthy manner.
Beans and many leafy greens contain more proteins than lean meat. Besides these, the foods in this diet also contain anti-oxidants, extremely useful to keep our body protected against exterior aggression and diseases, fibers, mineral, and vitamins.
Paleo food list PDF from michaelalanspencer.com
With other words, this is a complete diet, providing you with everything you need, with nutrients not found in processed foods. By following the diet of our ancestors, we will eat the way our body was made to, respecting its principles and promoting better health and extended lifespan. Back in the days, cavemen used to eat what their organism dictated, in the lack of so many temptations, wrapped in nice looking packages, waiting on store shelves.
Keep in mind that the Paleolithic diet is not a regular diet, not promoting starvation. You can eat as much as you want, until you feel full, as long as you respect the foods contained in the diet. You will notice that you won’t need to eat too much, because these foods are so nutritious, proving all the fuel your body needs.
Start this diet as soon as possible, and you will see how the constant feeling of fatigue will disappear, you will have more will to live, feel more energetic, and start looking better.
Do your shopping and start putting in your cart any fresh fruits of vegetables. Still, you may want to replace potatoes with sweet potatoes, as they are healthier. Eat as many leafy greens as possible. Replace chocolate bars, or other sweet snacks, with fruits. Seeds, nuts and eggs are also a part of the diet.
Paleo diet shopping list
Once in a wild, you can treat yourself with meat, coming from farm animals fed with grass. The fish though should be wild, and not farmed. Also, don’t hesitate to use all sort of spices to flavor your meals. But do opt for the dried natural spices, sea salt, raw honey, balsamic vinegar, and other high-quality and non-processed spices. It is impossible to get bored while on this diet since there are so many delicious paleo recipes you can prepare every day.
The Best Paleo Diet Cookbooks
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Last update on 2023-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API