#full automatic cashew processing plant
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parivartancm · 5 days ago
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Automatic Cashew Processing Plant: A Smart Investment for 2025 An automatic cashew processing plant is a powerful solution for businesses looking to improve efficiency, quality, and profitability in 2025. This fully integrated system automates key processes such as boiling, shelling, peeling, scooping, and grading, reducing manual labor and increasing output. Equipped with advanced cashew machinery, the plant ensures consistent performance, minimal kernel damage, and hygienic operations.
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giagrotechmachinery · 1 month ago
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Is Manual Grading Slowing You Down? Try Cashew Sizing Machines Instead!
Introduction
Choosing the right cashew sizing machine can make or break your cashew processing workflow. Whether you're a small-scale unit or a full-fledged processing plant, switching from manual sorting to an automatic nut sizing machine can significantly improve efficiency, consistency, and product quality. Let’s explore the different types of machines, how to choose the right one, and why GI Agro Technologies stands out as a reliable partner in this space.
Why Manual Sorting is Holding You Back
Manual sorting of cashew nuts is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to human error. It often leads to inconsistent sizes and affects the overall quality of your product. More importantly, it becomes unsustainable as demand grows.
That’s where modern solutions like the cashew nut sizing machine or raw cashew nut sizing system come in. These machines are designed to improve grading accuracy and productivity—two things every processor needs.
Types of Cashew Sizing Machines to Consider
Automatic Nut Sizing Machine Great for large-scale operations, these machines offer speed, precision, and minimal human involvement.
Raw Cashew Nut Sizing System Tailored for sorting raw nuts before shelling, helping to maintain uniformity during processing.
Cashew Nut Grading MachineIdeal for final-stage grading to guarantee that your product is well-organised and ready for the market.
RCN Sizing Machine Manufacturer Solutions If you’re working specifically with raw cashew nuts (RCN), machines from a reliable RCN sizing machine manufacturer like GI Agro Technologies are key.
Qualities to Consider in a Supplier or Manufacturer
When investing in equipment, it’s essential to work with experienced cashew sizing machine manufacturers and suppliers who understand industry needs. GI Agro Technologies, a leader in the field, offers machines that blend precision, durability, and user-friendliness.
Whether you’re looking for a compact cashew sizing machine or a fully automated grading system, GI Agro Technologies ensures you receive reliable and cost-effective solutions.
Final Thoughts
Aside from being a positive step, moving from human to machine-based sorting is also a wise business decision. With the right equipment, like an automatic nut sizing machine or a cashew nut grading machine, you can ensure consistent output, reduce labor costs, and increase market competitiveness.
So, if you’re wondering which cashew sizing machine is right for your business, start by defining your goals—and consider partnering with experts like GI Agro Technologies to find your perfect fit.
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thenutr · 10 months ago
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The Nut Milk Maker: A Game-Changer for Home Nutrition
In recent years, the plant-based milk industry has experienced a surge in popularity. Whether for dietary preferences, health reasons, or environmental concerns, more people are opting for almond, cashew, oat, and other nut milks over traditional dairy. Among the tools transforming the way we make these plant-based beverages at home is the nut milk machine, a device that simplifies and enhances the process of making fresh, nutritious milk from nuts and seeds.
What Is a Nut Milk Machine?
A nut milk machine is a specialized kitchen appliance designed to make homemade nut, seed, and plant-based milks. Unlike traditional methods, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, these machines automate the entire process. By combining nuts, seeds, or grains with water, the machine blends and filters the mixture to produce smooth, creamy milk.
How Does It Work?
The operation of a nut milk machine is relatively straightforward. The user starts by soaking nuts or seeds, if necessary, and then adding them to the machine’s designated compartment. Water is poured into a separate reservoir. The machine then uses a combination of high-speed blending and filtration to create the milk.
Most nut milk machines feature built-in heating elements, which can be used to warm the milk or cook it to achieve different textures and flavors. After blending and heating (if applicable), the machine separates the liquid from the pulp, ensuring a silky-smooth consistency without the gritty texture that can occur with homemade nut milk made by hand.
Benefits of Using a Nut Milk Machine
Convenience: Nut milk machines streamline the process of making plant-based milk. With preset programs and automatic functions, they eliminate the need for manual straining and blending, saving time and effort.
Customization: These machines allow users to experiment with different nuts, seeds, and flavorings. You can tailor the consistency and sweetness of your milk to suit your personal preferences, whether you prefer a rich, creamy almond milk or a lighter, more delicate cashew milk.
Nutritional Control: Homemade nut milk is free from additives and preservatives commonly found in store-bought versions. By making your own, you have full control over the ingredients, ensuring a fresh, nutritious product with no hidden chemicals.
Cost-Effective: While the initial investment in a nut milk machine may seem high, it can save money in the long run. Store-bought nut milk can be pricey, especially when purchased frequently. Making your own milk at home is more economical and reduces packaging waste.
Environmental Impact: By choosing to make your own nut milk, you reduce the environmental footprint associated with commercial milk production and packaging. Nut milk machines contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle by minimizing waste and energy consumption.
Choosing the Right Nut Milk Machine
When selecting a nut milk maker machine, consider factors such as capacity, ease of cleaning, and additional features like preset programs and heating elements. Some models come with extra attachments for making other types of plant-based milks, soups, or even smoothies. Reading reviews and comparing different brands can help you find a machine that fits your needs and budget.
The nut milk machine is more than just a kitchen gadget—it’s a game-changer for those who want to enjoy fresh, homemade plant-based milk with minimal effort. By automating the process, these machines offer convenience, customization, and control over the quality of your milk. As the demand for plant-based options continues to rise, investing in a nut milk machine is a step toward a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned plant-based eater or just exploring alternative milk options, a nut milk machine can be a valuable addition to your kitchen.
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deltaponline · 6 years ago
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Pumps to protect agriculture - Andritz supplies concrete volute pumps for flood control to Vietnam
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  In 2017, Vietnam achieved exports in the amount of 36.5 billion US dollars for agricultural products. The country in southern Asia is now aiming at 3.05% growth to reach an export figure of up to 40.5 billion US dollars for 2018. These figures illustrate the highly impressive transition in Vietnam from being a country plagued by famine to one of the world’s largest exporters of foodstuffs. This transformation began in the 1980ies. That was when Vietnam underwent a drastic change of role from importer to exporter. As a result of trade liberalization and agricultural reforms, the value of agricultural exports rose significantly. Today, Vietnam is the top exporter worldwide for black peppercorns and cashew nuts. In addition, the country ranks among the top 10 exporters of coffee, coconuts, rice, rubber, sweet potatoes, and tea. An industry under threat from climate change
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Picture 1: Based on the Kaplan turbine design principle, which Andritz has been installing successfully all over the world since 1926, the technology for concrete volute pumps was adapted and carefully considered concreting procedures were developed that ensure rapid execution and exact results. In view of this, agriculture is not just an important part of the GDP, but also continues to be one of the country’s most important employers. However, it is confronted time and time again with adverse weather conditions. With a total annual precipitation of 640 billion cubic meters, Vietnam is certainly one of the rainiest countries on earth, but this rainfall is not always distributed ideally over time and regions. 75 to 85 percent of this volume falls within four to five months during the monsoon period, mainly in the northern part of the country. The southeasterly monsoon occurring during this period brings severe weather every year. In particular, heavy and also incessant rain results in rivers and streams bursting their banks regularly and causing flooding. In 2008, flooding in Vietnam cost hundreds of lives. The capital Hanoi, where 20 people died in the floodwaters or after being struck by lightning, was also particularly badly hit. In addition to the lives lost, the severe weather resulted in a shortage of drinking water and basic foodstuffs. Following heavy rainfall in 2013, more than 30 people lost their lives and over 100,000 houses were flooded. In October and November 2016, Vietnam was struck by a total of three exceptionally heavy storms. Once more, flooding claimed 40 victims and again destroyed 100,000 houses as well as 1300 hectares of paddy fields. The figures for 2017 were similar. Climate change is making this situation continually worse. According to current forecasts by the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change), climate change will increasingly affect countries on the equator. In this respect, Vietnam is ranked among the countries with the highest risk. At an average emissions level, the scenario for 2080 to 2099 is predicted as having even higher annual rainfall in the months that already experience the heaviest rain. This was heralded only recently in the summer of 2018 by the tropical storm Son Tinh, which caused numerous floods. A pumping system to protect the flourishing tea business
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Picture 2: Vertical line shaft pumps could also be used for the Doan Ha pumping system. However, the general framework of this project makes concrete volute pumps much more suitable. This is due to the significant advantage they provide in applications with high flow rates and very low heads. As a result of the special design between the inlet and outlet, the pump is extremely compact, leading to significantly lower construction costs for the overall plant. As a result, different strategies have been developed in the past few decades to deal with these climate challenges, but also with the dynamic economic growth in the water sector. In addition to refurbishment and expansion of existing irrigation systems, these strategies also include building flood protection systems. Among them is the pumping system in the Thanh Thuy district of PhuTho Province. PhuTho is situated in the northeastern part of the country and is considered one of its poorest regions. The most important industry in the region is the cultivation of tea and produces around 100,000 tons per annum, 80,000 tons of which are exported. In order to increase this productivity and crop yield to improve not only the living standards and the ecological environment, but also to reduce poverty for farmers in the affected areas a new pumping station, Doan Ha, is to be built. It will have the capacity to reliably irrigate up to 672,000 square meters of paddy land creating an infrastructure for the formation of a large sample field. In addition to irrigation, the required two pumps to be installed in the station will also be able to drain up to 2,122,000 square meters of agricultural land if necessary. After coming out best in the review process for the tender in terms of meeting the project requirements and providing detailed proof thereof, Andritz was awarded the order to supply two concrete volute pumps together with the complete electromechanical equipment for the pumping station Doan Ha in a joint venture with a Vietnamese partner, HAIDUONG PUMP MANUFACTURING.,JSC (HAPUMA). Andritz – by no means an unknown technology group
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Picture 3: Concreting on site is the most economical solution first and foremost for particularly large concrete volute pumps used to transport brackish and sea water, while steel segments pay off especially with a small number of small pumps that do not have to convey sea water. Otherwise an additional, expensive coating or a construction made of stainless steel would be needed. The international technology group Andritz is not a newcomer to Vietnam. In addition to equipping numerous hydropower plants, such as Chau Tang, Nam Na 1 or Song Lo 6, Andritz also supplied ten vertical line shaft pumps in 2018 for the largest flood protection plant in Vietnam – Yen Nghia, near Hanoi. The station and its pumps were specially designed and built for flood protection purposes. This means that the pumps are only activated in case of need and then have to pump away large amounts of water at low head in the shortest possible time. Vertical line shaft pumps could also be used for the Doan Ha pumping system. However, the general framework of this project makes concrete volute pumps much more suitable. This is due to the significant advantage they provide in applications with high flow rates and very low heads. As a result of the special design between the inlet and outlet, the pump is extremely compact, leading to significantly lower construction costs for the overall plant. Three different designs guarantee the best pump solution Based on the Kaplan turbine design principle, which Andritz has been installing successfully all over the world since 1926, the technology for concrete volute pumps was adapted and carefully considered concreting procedures were developed that ensure rapid execution and exact results. The concrete volute pump consists basically of the concrete casing and the removable pump unit. This part can be removed easily for maintenance purposes. The concrete casing is resistant to any kind of water and requires no maintenance whatsoever. Both technologically and economically, concrete volute pumps are the best solution when it comes to transporting large volumes of water. The concrete casing has a long life cycle and is resistant to erosion as well as to brackish and sea water. And the material costs are also low. There are three different ways of building a pump of this kind: concreting on site, a construction with steel segments, or a design with prefabricated elements. The choice of construction is not arbitrary, but is defined by the respective requirements of the pump in each case and the general framework of the project. Concreting on site is the most economical solution first and foremost for particularly large concrete volute pumps used to transport brackish and sea water, while steel segments pay off especially with a small number of small pumps that do not have to convey sea water. Otherwise an additional, expensive coating or a construction made of stainless steel would be needed. For the design with prefabricated elements as used in Doan Ha, the pump volute is divided into a certain number of concrete blocks. The individual parts are manufactured according to Andritz’s specification in a local Vietnamese concrete factory and then forwarded to the project location and assembled directly on site. The advantages of this design are that there is no particularly exact and time-consuming work to be performed on the site and that the concrete volute surface is resistant to brackish or sea water, providing the same results as concreting on site. The concrete volute pumps designed especially for the Doan Ha project each achieve a flow rate of 12.5 cubic meters per second at a maximum head of 8.15 meters. Each of the pumps has a 1,000-kW motor for this purpose. The pumps reach an efficiency of up to 88 percent, while the motors can achieve efficiencies of up to 86 percent at 100 percent output. The pumps are designed for transporting natural water, i.e. river water and contaminated water, i.e. flood water. Both motors and pumps are monitored fully automatically by a monitoring and control system. The pumps and their components are designed for more than 70,000 operating hours. Completion including delivery and erection of the pumps in the pumping station is scheduled for 18 months after signing of the contract, which is mid-2020. Read the full article
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healthyeating43-blog · 6 years ago
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Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
New Post has been published on https://dietguideto.com/awesome/paleo-diet-beginner-guide-7-things-you-should-know-before-eating-like-a-caveman/
Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
So you wanna learn about the Paleo Diet, aka” the Caveman Diet ,” eh?
This is one of the most popular diets on the planet right now( up there with the Keto Diet ), and I bet you have questions.
Well I got answers, sucka!
And lots of LEGO photos.
In this massive guidebook, I’m going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the Paleolithic Diet( click each link to go right to that section ):
What is the Paleo Diet and how does it run ? Will I lose weight on the Paleo Diet ? What can I eat on the Paleo Diet ? What foods CAN’T I eat on the Paleo Diet ? Can I eat grains on the Paleo Diet ? Can I eat dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I eat cheese on the Paleo Diet ? Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of foods on the Paleo Diet What does a typical day look like on the Paleo Diet ? Is the Paleo Diet dangerous ? Paleo Recipes& Paleo Resource . Who shouldn’t do the Paleo Diet ? How to do the Paleo Diet safely .
Now, this guide is SUPER long, we are therefore took the liberty of converting it into a nicely designed guidebook for easy consumption( not literal intake, unless you print it on bacon ).
Grab your Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet free when you sign on in the box below: Get the FREE eBook! The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Paleo!
Discover if Paleo is for you
The one simple trick to know if your food is Paleo-friendly
Easy Paleo recipes for beginners to get you started
I identify as a:
Woman
Man
If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
As the great Mr. Flintstone once said, “Yabadabadooooo!”
What is the Paleo Diet and How does it Work?
Oh lord, another “diet.”
I know, it sounds like a fad/ marketing gambit, but The Paleo Diet isn’t really a “diet,” and it’s actually quite logical when you think about it.
It’s also the most time-tested diet ever.
Here’s the ENTIRE diet in a nutshell :P TAGEND
” If a cave person didn’t eat it, neither should you .”
As the theory runs, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice snacks, our ancient ancestors thrived as hunter-gatherers.
Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t changed that much since then.
And yet…these days we’re overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from far too many preventable diseases due to lifestyle choices.
So what the hell happened?
Agriculture!
And then delivery and Netflix.
A few thousand years ago, humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
We resolved down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today. Which is obviously great for a number of reasons :P TAGEND
Not get eaten by wild animals Electricity Automobiles Nintendo
The problem is that our bodies never adjusted properly to eating all the grains and sugar that we’re now consuming.
As paleo guru Robb Wolf sets it, think of a 100 -yard football field :P TAGEND
The first 99.5 yards are how long Homo-Sapiens spent as hunter-gatherers. As they became Really good at hunting and collecting our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years.
That last half-yard represents our species after the agricultural revolution, where our diet has changed( but our genetics haven’t ).
So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables and seasonal fruit, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains- bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.
66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.[ 1 ]
Clearly something’s not right, and we need to fix it.
The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to our ancestral roots.
To start eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start living healthier immediately.
To recap the rules of the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Only feed foods a caveman would eat See Rule# 1
Note that it doesn’t mention calorie counting or meal period or macro tracking. That’s part of the popularity of this diet: feed paleo approved foods when you’re hungry, and that’s it.
Will I Lose Weight on the Paleo Diet?
This is the question we get above all else :P TAGEND
” Will the Paleo Diet assistance me lose weight ?”
Probably. If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
It’s helped many people attain jaw-dropping transformations, including my friend Saint,( whose narrative you can read here ):
Or Staci from Team NF, our lead female trainer in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program ):
The Paleo Diet will work for you, if you do it right.
You need to have the right mindset, you need to focus on the right foods, and you need to structure your environment so that you’re not tempted to backslide and abandon the Paleo Diet after a few days.
However, it has nothing to do with what Fred Flintstone ate or didn’t eat.
It comes down to science and thermodynamics.
As I point out in our article on How to Lose Weight: What’s the Perfect Diet( For me ?), if you want to lose weight :P TAGEND
Eat fewer calories than you burn every day. Wishing to also be healthy? Eat mostly real food.
Want to KEEP the weight off?
Add# 3: Do those two things consistently for a decade.
Here’s WHY you’ll lose weight on the Paleo Diet:
You’re merely eating meat, fish, veggies, fruit, and nuts. These are foods that are full of nutrients, will build you feel full, but don’t have nearly as many calories as junk food. You are completely eliminating calorie-dense, often nutritionally insufficient, unhealthy foods. This means no grains( pasta, bread, rice ), no dairy , no beans. It also means no soda , no candy , no sugar.
And yup. When you merely eat real food and avoid all unhealthy food, you’re more likely than not going to run a caloric deficit- and thus lose weight.
Let me share a really obvious example.
200 calories of broccoli get you enough to fill up an entire plate :P TAGEND
Or … 200 calories will get you exactly 1/2 a Snickers bar :P TAGEND
Look at that: nobody can eat that much broccoli, and nobody merely fees half a candy bar!
My point is this: by eating Paleo-approved foods, you’re more likely than not to eat fewer calories than you did in the past automatically, which can lead to weight loss.
I dig into this in even greater detail in” Why can’t I lose weight ?” but it all comes down to” calories in, calories out .”
So YES, the Paleo Diet MIGHT help you lose weight.
You just need to eat fewer calories than you burn every day( Here’s how to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure ). And that is easier when you are eliminating foods that people tend to overeat :P TAGEND
Candy Soda Pasta Bread Dairy
But that’s all about what we’re eliminating. What are we maintaining !?
what Can I eat on The Paleo diet?
In order to follow the Paleo Diet Lifestyle, here are the foods that are Paleo endorse :P TAGEND
Meat*- steak, ham, pork, bison, boar. Organs- liver, kidneys, heart. Marrows- considering a theme here? Eat ALL parts of the animal! Fowl- chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that( try to) fly. Fish- cod, tuna, salmon, and so on. Eggs- Look for omega-3 enriched cage-free eggs. Veggie- spinach, broccoli, kale, carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions, etc. Petroleum- minimally processed, derived from plants: olive oil, coconut petroleum, avocado petroleum. Fats: ghee, lard, or other animal fats. Fruits- apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries. Nuts- almonds, walnuts, cashews, and their respective butters( almond butter is so good !) Tubers- Sweet potatoes and yams.
* If you can, aim for grass-fed beef and organic fruits and vegetables. But don’t go break the bank with your food purchases. Merely do the best you can.
As the Paleo Diet explains: Pick any of the foods from that listing and feed as much as you want of them.
You might have noticed that a lot of the foods above are loaded with fat. And depending on what your mom told you growing up, you might suppose fat is the devil.
So let me address that right away…
Do Eating Fat Make You Fat?
If you’re cut back on carbs, that means you’ll need to fill the void in your diet with the most controversial macronutrient :P TAGEND
Fat!
It’s gotten a bad rap over the past number of decades, so companies have been doing everything possible to stimulate everything low fat and “healthy! ”( while adding all sorts of preservatives, chemicals, and sugar ).
Yup…cut out the fat, increase the carbs….and appear where THAT has get us.
Why has fat been vilified? Rather than get into the politics of it myself, I’ll let Gary Taubes, writer of the incredibly thorough and well-researched Good Calories, Bad Calories take over.
As he discusses in an article he wrote for the New York Times a decade ago: [ 2 ]
These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now effectively failed the test of hour.
In particular, that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980′ s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma.( Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly through this period .)
They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal failings, and that on top of it all, the percentage of fat in the American diet has been decreasing for two decades.
Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as would be expected.” That is very disconcerting ,” Willett says.” It suggests that something else bad is happening .”
” Low fat” foods were created to follow conventional wisdom that fat induce you fat( which as stated in the above article doesn’t stand up to scrutiny ).
When a company makes a low fat food, they remove the fat and have to replace the flavor with something.
That “something” is usually sugar( and often more calories ).
Crap.
So, according to Taubes and Paleo folks, fat has been vilified and the real focus should have been on sugar and carbs all along.
Because healthy fats are valuable additions to our diet.
Here are some examples of Paleo-Approved Healthy Fats :P TAGEND
Avocados Almond( and almond butter) Fatty cuts of meat Walnuts Coconut oil Olive oil
In the Paleo Diet, fat constructions up a large portion of one’s diet.
If you’re worried about consuming fat and how it will affect your cholesterol, read our Full Guide to Cholesterol
WhAT Foods Can’t I eat On the Paleo Diet?
If you are looking to strictly follow the Paleo Diet, then you can’t eat foods that did not exist back in” Caveman times .”
Why?
Because- as those in favour of the diet point out- cavemen couldn’t eat those foods because they didn’t exist. There was no way to create cereal and candy – you could only eat what you detected or hunted.
So, that’s what the Paleo Diet advocates as the reason for avoiding these foods. And it serves as a good mental model to check with yourself: “Could a caveman have eaten this dinner? ”
And when you start to answer this question, you specifying the foods that you’re not allowed to eat on the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Grains like pasta, cereal bread, and rice Dairy like milk and cheese Candy, cookies, ice cream, and other processed foods
The Paleo Diet also almost completely eliminates sugar outside of fruit. No candy. No soda. No powdered donuts. Yup, even the mini white ones from the grocery store where you can eat like 100 of them( accidentally, of course ).
Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues is also available reversed by cutting out sugar and processed foods.[ 3 ]
But I understand grains and dairy are a bit more complex.
Let me explain :P TAGEND Can I Eat Grains on the Paleo Diet?
Unfortunately , nope.
The Caveman reason why: Grain require some amount of processing, and thus Cavemen would not have feed them.
The science and psychological reason why: we have a tendency to overeat grains and the other ” no no” foods on the Paleo Diet. They are calorically dense, nutrient insufficient, and they can wreak havoc on some people’s blood sugar levels.
This leads to a sugar rushed be accompanied by a crash, which can lead to more emotional or hungry overeating…and the process starts again.
Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video-” Why You Got Fat :”
youtube
Let’s get into some more reasons Paleo proponents indicate avoiding grains: most contain gluten and lectins.
What are they and what’s wrong with them? I’m so glad you asked :P TAGEND
Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant( hence all the new “gluten-free! ” items popping up everywhere ). Over time, those people who have gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from ingesting gluten: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.[ 4 ] Lectins are natural toxins that are present in grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grain have evolved to keep themselves from being feed by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, and they prevent the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.
Long story short: many people cannot process grains properly, and they are usually the food that causes people to eat too many calories. So by eliminating grains from your diet, you’re more likely than not going to eat fewer calories without counting calories.
That’s a Paleo win!
Do I Need to Avoid Carbs on the Paleo Diet?
Not necessarily.
That depends on your goals and your body – you are a special snowflake!
Some people function well on a high fat, low carb diet.
Others function better on a high carb, low fat diet.
Personally, I function better on a higher carb, lower fat diet( which is how I lost 22 pounds in 6 months ).
I will say the Paleo Diet is USUALLY a Low Carb diet, and large quantities of carbs are not required for somebody to be healthy regular diet.[ 5 ].
After all, carbs aren’t evil- they’re just…carbs.
Here is the logic and psychology behind why the Paleo Diet is low carb :P TAGEND
On a typical Western diet, we ingest plenty o’ carbs, and our bodies convert those carbs to a sugar called “glucose.” This is our body’s preferred method of fueling itself.
In the absence of carbs to create glucose to fuel our bodies, we have to do a few other things instead :P TAGEND
Transform stored fat into glycerol and fatty acids( this process is called lipolysis ). Burn fatty acids for energy or transform the fatty acids into glucose for energy( this is called gluconeogenesis) In the absence of glucose( through fasting or following a Keto Diet ), your body are generating ketones for fuel( called “ketogenesis” ).
We’re going to focus on the forms of weight loss NOT related to ” ketogenesis .” Unless you are avoiding all carbohydrates while running Paleo, or you are doing long fasts, you most likely won’t be in ketosis while running Paleo.
We do cover Paleo vs Keto: Which is Better if you’re deciding between the two.
Back to weight loss and Paleo: when you cut back on carbs, and thus most likely Also cut back on total calories devoured, you are creating a caloric deficit in your body.
And eat a consistent deficit over a long enough time period, BOOM caveman weight loss.
So, fewer carbs= less glucose in your system, less sugar accidents, less “hangry” moments and smaller opportunity of overeating= fewer calories devoured on average.
If you’re worried about adherence to the diet, I understand – it’s the toughest part of Paleo- sticking with it!
Knowing what to eat is part of it, but following this fairly restrictive lifestyle in a modern surrounding surrounded by cookies and candy and bagels and pasta is really difficult!
If this whole” Paleo, Carbs, and Weight Loss” thing is stressing you out, you’re not alone!
In fact, people like you are the reason we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
We work with busy people like you to structure a complete life overhaul: handcrafted workout routines, accountability, mindset alters, and nutritional strategies.
Can I eat Dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I feed Cheese On the Paleo Diet?
This also depends. Strict Paleo folks tend to stay away from it- a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.
Why? Because hunter-gatherers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling- milk was ingested as a baby through breast milk from their mother, and that was it.
So as Paleo-stans will tell ya, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption.
There is evidence that some adaptation to dairy has taken place throughout the years, specifically with people with pedigree in herding cultures, but this is not the majority of the population.[ 6 ]
Paleo purists will avoid dairy like the plague, while other paleo-ish people have found that eating dairy in its various sorts work for their genetics, objectives, and lifestyle.
“What about Cheese? Can I eat cheese on the Paleo Diet? ”
You do you, boo. But if you’re going Strict Paleo, then unfortunately cheese is OUT too.
If you’re just looking to lose some weight while following a “mostly Paleo” lifestyle, then adding some high quality cheese into some of your dinners can be okay.
Some cheese will tend to have lower amounts of lactose or casein- the parts of dairy that can cause digestion challenges.
So, if you’re not sure your body is processing dairy properly, remove dairy from your diet and only introduce it back in when you’re ready to see how your body responds.
If you’re not losing weight while eating a” Paleo+ Dairy” Diet, you’re still eating too many calories.
Consider cutting out dairy and see how your body responds.
Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of Food on the Paleo Diet
Because I like you as person or persons, I’ve generated a printable Paleo Diet Shopping List PDF you can bring with you to the grocery store to help you decide what to buy and what to avoid.
Simply right click on the image below and save as :P TAGEND
Feel free to publish this out and bringing it with you to the grocery store. If you happen to run into somebody else who has ALSO printed out this sheet, feel free to high five each other while singing Baltimora!
What is a Typical Day Like on the Paleo Diet?
Here is an example of a typical day on “The Paleo Diet” :P TAGEND
Breakfast: Omelet with spinach with fresh fruit. Lunch: Grilled chicken, kale, and avocado salad with vinegar and olive oil. Snack: Apple slicings and almond butter. Dinner: Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries. Dessert: Strawberries and a piece of 85% darknes chocolate.
That doesn’t sound so bad, right?
Make sure you check out our Paleo Diet Recipes and Resources section too for more options.
Start with a good protein source with each dinner( eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork) and then add a vegetable or fruit.
That’s it.
If you feel hungry constantly, understand that changing up a diet can cause a body a few weeks of adjustment.
Remember, your body is learning to operate on both fewer calories AND fewer carbs- depending on how low carb you go this could be a DRAMATIC change.
And this is often referred to as “carb flu, ” and it can be miserable! Your body might take multiple weeks to adjust to these new habits.
Going from a processed, high sodium diet to a paleo diet you will very often end up eating too little sodium, which is an essential nutrient.
So if you’re feeling tired all the time, try adding some salt to your food or consider an electrolyte supplement- this is what we recommend with our Keto readers too.
Is the Paleo Diet Dangerous?
The dismissive criticisms of the Paleo Diet generally fall into one of three categories :P TAGEND
Cavemen had short lifespans. So there. A recent article said that cavemen feed grains. So there. Eating that much meat is unhealthy. So there.
As I said at the beginning of this article, it doesn’t matter what cavemen or cavewomen ACTUALLY ate.
The reason this diet works has nothing to do with what our bodies are designed to eat or what cavemen feed 1,000 s of years ago.
The Paleo Diet CAN help you lose weight because it gets you to cut out junk food, focus on eating real food, and gives you a framework to evaluate speedily every food selection :P TAGEND
” Did a caveman eat this? Yes or no .”
That’s it!
By following this ONE rules, you’re likely to eat fewer calories than you used to, and thus you’re likely to end up healthier than before.
I personally don’t follow a Paleo Diet, but I do appreciate the fact that it’s easy to comprehend and gets people to take a more active approach in their food!
So, disregarding the fear mongering, tenet, and anthropological criticisms of what cavemen actually ate, what are the ACTUAL critiques of the Paleo Diet?
# 1)” Why is the Paleo Diet expensive ?”
Admittedly, while I recommend eating organic fruits and veggies, free-range chicken, and grass-fed beef whenever possible, these products can be more expensive in conventional stores due to the processes needed to get them there.
However, farmers’ marketplaces often have well-priced meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables that are locally grown and incredibly healthy.
Even if you’re spending a little more money than before, when you factor in your overall health, spending a few extra bucks on healthier food now is a wiser investment than thousands later on costly medical expenses.
Also, if you’re really short on cash, feeing the non-organic or grain-fed version of a meat, vegetable, or eggs is still better than feeing bread, pasta, fast food, and the like.
Most people simply compare the cost of a paleo snack with ramen noodles or pasta and bread and determine Paleo is prohibitively expensive.
Sure, it’s more expensive than those foods, but if you are smart with your money you can eat a much healthier snack and do so pretty inexpensively. Check out this guide on” How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank” for some tip-off and tricks.
( This doesn’t even factor in the whole” if you eat inexpensive unhealthy food now, you’ll pay thousands in medical bills and hospital visits and drugs later” argument which is valid too ).
# 2)” But cavemen had short lifespans! Of course they don’t have the diseases we do. We live way longer now .”
I agree with you here, but only because you don’t have to deal with the dangers of living back then. Again we don’t really care to live like cave people!
This is SIMPLY a construct that can help many build more informed food choices.
# 3)” Plenty of societies around the world consume grains and aren’t fat and unhealthy like us .”
Awesome- it seems like those people have found a solution that works for them. Have you read our big ass guidebook to eating a Plant-Based Diet?
The China Study is frequently cited when blaming the Paleo Diet- are concentrated on a vegetarian diet and consuming rice is healthier than the Paleo Diet. I respectfully disagree with the conclusions drawn from that book but that’s awesome if you want to go plant-based! [ 7 ] I’ll leave you to induce your own conclusions based on your own self-experimentation.
You’re here to learn about the Paleo Diet though, so let’s keep the focus there.
# 4)” But this is just a meat diet, and eating all meat is bad !”
First of all, consider your sources and do your research before jumping to the conclusions.
Next, this is not an all meat diet like the Carnivore Diet or uber-low carb diets like Keto or Atkins. The biggest component of the Paleo Diet?
Vegetables!
Every meal in a true Paleo diet has a moderate amount of healthy( properly raised chicken, grass-fed beef, hormone free, etc .) meat combined with nutritious veggies or a moderate sum of fruit.
# 5)” The Paleo Diet is too restrictive and I can’t live like this .”
This is the most valid criticism I personally have of the diet, as the best diet plan is the one you actually stick with and be adhered to on! The goal shouldn’t be to go” full paleo” for a few weeks merely going to go to how you were eating before.
Instead, the goal here should be to rethink your relationship with food and develop a strategy that you can live with permanently.
There’s nothing worse than going on diets and gaining and losing the same 20 pounds over and over. The Paleo Diet, like other diets, WORKS ONLY IF YOU STICK WITH IT PERMANENTLY!
This attains sense after all: stimulate temporary changes, get temporary results, right?
# 6)” Steve, I hate veggies. How do you construct veggies taste better? HALP .”
I got you. Heres how to start liking vegetables and how to attain veggies savour better.
We know this all too well, and we have helped thousands of people slowwwwly transition their diet over a long period of time to make change less scary, more permanent, and thus attain the weight loss permanent too!
If you’re overwhelmed or scared of changing too much, or maybe you’re just sick of dieting and want to find a solution that works for your busy lifestyle and situation, schedule a bellow with us to gain a better understanding of our 1-on-1 coaching program :P TAGEND
Paleo Recipes and Paleo Resources
Here’s our full list of Nerd Fitness Paleo/ Healthy recipes, and here are my three favorites :P TAGEND
10 Minutes of Prep, 10 Easy Meals Paleo spaghetti: freaking delicious, I promise How to Make Mini Paleo Pizzas .
I’ve also compiled a list of my favorite sites and recipe books in various regions of the internet that can help you get started :P TAGEND
# 1) Nom Nom Paleo -~ ATAGEND Michelle Tam and her husband Henry are amazing people, and their Paleo Blog is absolutely phenomenal. Great photos. Well written. Organized intelligently.
Their “Nom Nom Paleo” cookbook is a fun resource too, and a great place to get started with cooking for your Paleo lifestyle. Oh, what’s that? You have children and a spouse and you’re all trying to eat healthier too? This book is perfect for that as well!
# 2) Mark’s Daily Apple– Easily the most comprehensive resource on the internet for the Paleo Diet- Mark writes an article every weekday about everything Paleo, and it usually blows me away. Some of the posts can get overwhelming, so I indicate starting with his Primal Blueprint 101.
The Primal Blueprint– If you want to read about this stuff in a volume rather than on a computer screen, Mark’s book The Primal Blueprint is a great place to get started on not only what to eat, but why you should be eating it.
It’s educational, funny, real-world applicable, and teaches you how to primalize( just made that up) the rest of your life too.
# 3) Robb Wolf– Another great resource, and a guy I’ve already referenced in this article multiple times. Check out his site for a comprehensive FAQ on all things Paleo, a shopping list pdf( right-click and save ), and plenty of humor.
The Paleo Solution– This article would have been finished 3 hours earlier, but before I wrote it, I read ALL of Robb’s new volume. It severely had me laughing out loud at certain phases- not bad for a book on diet!
This book is a little less forgiving than Mark’s book above, but it’s still a great read.
# 4) Loren Cordain– Loren is considered the leading expert on the Paleo Diet- Robb is actually one of his students/ disciples/ Padawans.
Dr. Cordain is probably the foremost authority on this type of eating, which is why I actually enjoyed read both of his volumes.
MORE RECIPE RESOURCES :P TAGEND
Ready or Not! 150 Make Now Recipes– The newer book from Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo. It’s super fun. Plus she’s wearing a Nerd FItness t-shirt in some of her photos in the book, so I might be sliiiightly biased Mark’s Daily Apple– Although he sells the cookbook on Amazon, Mark also lists over 100 free primal recipes on his site. Pick something on the list, run buy the ingredients, and follow the instructions! So easy even a caveman can do it. Everyday Paleo– Great images, easy to follow recipes, and pretty interesting combinations. Click on FOOD in the Nav bar, and the meals are broken down into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
If you’re curious about The Paleo Diet’s recent popularity and thus it’s criticisms, we’ve written two other pieces on Nerd Fitness that might be of interest :P TAGEND
” The Paleo Diet Debunked ??” where I address a few of the more recent criticisms that have popped up.
” In Defense of a Paleo-Ish Diet” where I encompass how to live a mostly Paleo lifestyle but still enjoy the modern benefits of society.
Who Should and Who Shouldn’t Do the Paleo Diet?
I’m a fan of the Paleo Diet for the RIGHT person:
I love mental models that help us make sense of the world, and I guess for SOME people, the Paleo Diet has certainly help them cut down on overeating.
I personally do NOT follow a Paleo Diet, but I do have regulations that I follow.
Do whatever makes you happy and fits in your schedule. I like this kind of stress-free eating.
Regardless of whether or not grains should be vilified, I love this diet because I know it WORKS. I know people that have lost incredible amounts of weight and changed their lives within a matter of months.
People like Staci :P TAGEND
Regardless of how you feel about grains, we can all agree that eating more natural foods and less processed foods is better for you.
YOU SHOULD DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
You struggle with section control( entailing you can’t eat merely one cookie, or you tend to keep feeing even when you’re full ). You can stick with the changes you’re making permanently! Remember, temporary changes create temporary outcomes. You don’t mind eliminating some of your favorite foods completely.
YOU SHOULD NOT DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
The notion of giving up non-paleo foods makes you want to cry. You don’t mind learning about calories and want to track your food. Another diet sounds like a better fit for you!
Consider some of these other options instead:
The Mediterranean Diet which still includes portions of things like pasta or bread( note: I said PORTIONS , not platefuls )! Our guide on healthy eating and slowly adjust your nutrition- which would be my recommendation. My paleo-ish dietary philosophy that holds me healthy and happy.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to attain permanent adjustments to your nutrition.
If you don’t see yourself being able to permanently follow a Paleo Diet, I would advise a more’ wade in from the shallow aim‘ approach to dietary change!
How to Do the Paleo Diet Safely
Maybe you’re ready to try out this Paleo lifestyle, but you can’t commit fully. There are certain foods you refuse to give up, or you can’t afford to buy grass-fed beef at the moment.
That’s okay!
If you can even make a few small changes here and there( cut out liquid calories, switching out your rice for steamed vegetables, cut back on bread, etc .) you’ll start to see some changes.
Remember, 20% healthier is better than 0% healthier- as you get more comfy with the changes you can increase that percentage.
After all, I know how tough it is to stay loyal to a strict diet, especially without a plan to follow. It’s why we created free resources that can help you reach your goals faster without you also going crazy.
Get rid of the temptation: if you’re gonna go at this thing with a full head of steam, remove all the junk food from your house.
It’s going to take a few weeks for your body to adjust to burning fat instead of glucose, and you might want to eat poorly here and there. If there’s no food in your house to tempt you, it will be much easier to stay on target.
Now, it’s your turn.
Have you tried the Paleo Diet yet? What was your experience like? Have a criticism of the diet that I didn’t cover before? Do you have a favorite paleo resource?
Remember, one of the major Rules of the Rebellion is to question everything!
I hope this article gives you some food for thought( terrible pun, I know ), and gives you permission to question conventional wisdom and start addressing the issues in your diet!
In addition to this Beginner Paleo Guide, I hope you consider checking our 1-on-1 Coaching Program as well.
We have designed this program from the ground up to help people like you change their lives and fix their nutrition in a way that doesn’t suck.
Now, go forth. And feed like a caveman.
-Steve
PS: I’ll leave you with a mention of the Nerd Fitness Academy– it essentially gamifies your experience in transitioning into a Paleo lifestyle and diet, and provides you with specific instruction, snack plans, workouts, and a supportive community.
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photo sources: cavemen elephant hunt, caveman cooking over flame, cavemen hunt paleo bear, milk truck logo, darth vader vendor, storm trooper tomato, lego cook, chef and lego pig, lego explorer, lego muffin, lego bread and carbs, frozen caveman grok lego, lego clock, lego caveman forge for food, caveman with wheel, darth vader and ostrich lego, easing into water lego, lego man with pasta
Footnote( returns to text)
Adult Obesity Prevalence Map CDC.gov
What if its all Been a Big Fat Lie ? Take a look at this time magazine article on cancer patients who switched to a zero-sugar diet and assured positive results. You can read our full guide on Gluten check out the Inuit Paradox for a great read on societies that exist without almost any carbohydrates If you want to nerd out about this stuff, go wild with this study This is the most well-researched critique I’ve determine of the China Study: Denise Menger- China Study- Fact or Fallacy
Read more: nerdfitness.com
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computerguideworld-blog · 6 years ago
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Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
New Post has been published on https://computerguideto.com/awesome/paleo-diet-beginner-guide-7-things-you-should-know-before-eating-like-a-caveman/
Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
So you wanna learn about the Paleo Diet, aka” the Caveman Diet ,” eh?
This is one of the most popular diets on the planet right now( up there with the Keto Diet ), and I bet you have questions.
Well I got answers, sucka!
And lots of LEGO photos.
In this massive guide, I’m going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the Paleolithic Diet( click each link to go right to that section ):
What is the Paleo Diet and how does it work ? Will I lose weight on the Paleo Diet ? What can I eat on the Paleo Diet ? What foods CAN’T I eat on the Paleo Diet ? Can I feed grains on the Paleo Diet ? Can I feed dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I feed cheese on the Paleo Diet ? Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of foods on the Paleo Diet What does a typical day look like on the Paleo Diet ? Is the Paleo Diet dangerous ? Paleo Recipes& Paleo Resources . Who shouldn’t do the Paleo Diet ? How to do the Paleo Diet safely .
Now, this guide is SUPER long, so we took the liberty of converting it into a nicely designed guidebook for easy consumption( not literal intake, unless you print it on bacon ).
Grab your Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet free when you sign on in the box below: Get the FREE eBook! The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Paleo!
Discover if Paleo is for you
The one simple trick to know if your food is Paleo-friendly
Easy Paleo recipes for beginners to get you started
I identify as a:
Woman
Man
If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
As the great Mr. Flintstone once said, “Yabadabadooooo!”
What is the Paleo Diet and How does it Work?
Oh lord, another “diet.”
I know, it sounds like a fad/ marketing ploy, but The Paleo Diet isn’t really a “diet,” and it’s actually quite logical when you think about it.
It’s also the most time-tested diet ever.
Here’s the ENTIRE diet in a nutshell :P TAGEND
” If a cave person didn’t eat it, neither should you .”
As the theory runs, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice meals, our ancient ancestors flourished as hunter-gatherers.
Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t changed that much since then.
And yet…these days we’re overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from far too many preventable cancers due to lifestyle choices.
So what the hell happened?
Agriculture!
And then delivery and Netflix.
A few thousand years ago, humans detected farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today. Which is obviously great for a number of reasons :P TAGEND
Not get eaten by wild animals Electricity Automobiles Nintendo
The problem is that our bodies never adjusted properly to eating all the grains and sugar that we’re now consuming.
As paleo guru Robb Wolf sets it, should be considered a 100 -yard football field :P TAGEND
The first 99.5 yards are how long Homo-Sapiens spent as hunter-gatherers. As they became Genuinely good at hunting and meeting our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years.
That last half-yard represents our species after the agricultural revolution, where our diet has changed( but our genetics haven’t ).
So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains- bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.
66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.[ 1 ]
Clearly something’s not right, and we need to fix it.
The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to our ancestral roots.
To start eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start live healthier immediately.
To recap the rules of the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Only eat foods a caveman would eat See Rule# 1
Note that it doesn’t mention calorie counting or snack day or macro tracking. That’s part of the popularity of this diet: feed paleo approved foods when you’re hungry, and that’s it.
Will I Lose Weight on the Paleo Diet?
This is the question we get above all else :P TAGEND
” Will the Paleo Diet help me lose weight ?”
Probably. If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
It’s helped many people achieve jaw-dropping transformations, including my friend Saint,( whose narrative you can read here ):
Or Staci from Team NF, our leading female trainer in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program ):
The Paleo Diet will work for you, if you do it right.
You need to have the right mindset, you need to focus on the right foods, and you need to structure your environment so that you’re not seduced to backslide and abandon the Paleo Diet after a few days.
However, it has nothing to do with what Fred Flintstone ate or didn’t eat.
It comes down to science and thermodynamics.
As I point out in our article on How to Lose weight: What’s the Perfect Diet( For me ?), if you want to lose weight :P TAGEND
Eat fewer calories than you burn every day. Wishing to also be healthy? Eat mostly real food.
Want to KEEP the weight off?
Add# 3: Do those two things consistently for a decade.
Here’s WHY you’ll lose weight on the Paleo Diet:
You’re only feeing meat, fish, veggies, fruits, and nuts. These are foods that are full of nutrients, will make you feel full, but don’t have nearly as many calories as junk food. You are altogether eliminating calorie-dense, often nutritionally insufficient, unhealthy foods. This entails no grains( pasta, bread, rice ), no dairy , no beans. It also entails no soda , no candy , no sugar.
And yup. When you only feed real food and avoid all unhealthy food, you’re more likely than not going to run a caloric deficit- and thus lose weight.
Let me share a really obvious example.
200 calories of broccoli get you enough to fill up an entire plate :P TAGEND
Or … 200 calories will get you exactly 1/2 a Snickers bar :P TAGEND
Look at that: nobody can eat that much broccoli, and nobody only fees half a candy bar!
My point is this: by eating Paleo-approved foods, you’re more likely than not to eat fewer calories than you did in the past automatically, which can lead to weight loss.
I dig into this in even greater detail in” Why can’t I lose weight ?” but it all comes down to” calories in, calories out .”
So YES, the Paleo Diet MIGHT help you lose weight.
You simply need to eat fewer calories than you burn every day( Here’s how to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure ). And that is easier when you are eliminating foods that people tend to overeat :P TAGEND
Candy Soda Pasta Bread Dairy
But that’s all about what we’re eliminating. What are we keeping !?
what Can I eat on The Paleo diet?
In order to follow the Paleo Diet Lifestyle, here are the foods that are Paleo approved :P TAGEND
Meat*- steak, ham, pork, bison, boar. Organs- liver, kidneys, heart. Marrow- find a topic here? Eat ALL parts of the animal! Fowl- chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that( try to) fly. Fish- cod, tuna, salmon, and so on. Eggs- Look for omega-3 enriched cage-free eggs. Vegetable- spinach, broccoli, kale, carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions, etc. Petroleum- minimally processed, derived from plants: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil. Fats: ghee, lard, or other animal fats. Fruit- apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries. Nut- almonds, walnuts, cashews, and their respective butters( almond butter is so good !) Tubers- Sweet potatoes and yams.
* If you can, aim for grass-fed beef and organic fruits and veggies. But don’t go break the bank with your food buys. Merely do the best you can.
As the Paleo Diet explains: Pick any of the foods from that listing and eat as much as you want of them.
You might have noticed that a lot of the foods above are loaded with fat. And depending on what your mom told you growing up, you might believe fat is the devil.
So let me address that right away…
Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?
If you’re cut back on carbs, that means you’ll need to fill the void in your diet with the most controversial macronutrient :P TAGEND
Fat!
It’s gotten a bad rap over the past number of decades, so companies have been doing everything possible to induce everything low fat and “healthy! ”( while adding all sorts of preservatives, chemicals, and sugar ).
Yup…cut out the fat, increase the carbs….and look where THAT has gotten us.
Why has fat been vilified? Rather than get into the politics of it myself, I’ll let Gary Taubes, writer of the unbelievably thorough and well-researched Good Calories, Bad Calories take over.
As he discusses in an article he wrote for the New York Times a decade ago: [ 2 ]
These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now effectively failed the test of day.
In particular, that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980′ s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma.( Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly through this period .)
They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal failings, and that on top of everything is, the percentage of fat in the American diet has been decreasing for two decades.
Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as would be expected.” That is very disconcerting ,” Willett says.” It suggests that something else bad is happening .”
” Low fat” foods were created to follow conventional wisdom that fat hit you fat( which as stated in the above article doesn’t stand up to scrutiny ).
When a company makes a low fat food, they remove the fat and have to replace the flavor with something.
That “something” is usually sugar( and often more calories ).
Crap.
So, according to Taubes and Paleo folks, fat has been vilified and the real focus should have been on sugar and carbs all along.
Because healthy fats are valuable additions to our diet.
Here are some examples of Paleo-Approved Healthy Fats :P TAGEND
Avocados Almond( and almond butter) Fatty cuts of meat Walnuts Coconut oil Olive oil
In the Paleo Diet, fat constructions up a large portion of one’s diet.
If you’re worried about consuming fat and how it will affect your cholesterol, read our Full Guide to Cholesterol
WhAT Foods Can’t I eat On the Paleo Diet?
If you are looking to strictly follow the Paleo Diet, then you can’t eat foods that did not exist back in” Caveman day .”
Why?
Because- as those in favour of the diet point out- cavemen couldn’t eat those foods because they didn’t exist. There was no way to create cereal and candy – you could only eat what you discovered or hunted.
So, that’s what the Paleo Diet advocates as the reason for avoiding these foods. And it serves as a good mental model to check with yourself: “Could a caveman have eaten this meal? ”
And when you start to answer this question, you identify the foods that you’re not allowed to eat on the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Grains like pasta, cereal bread, and rice Dairy like milk and cheese Candy, cookies, ice cream, and other processed foods
The Paleo Diet also almost completely eliminates sugar outside of fruit. No candy. No soda. No powdered donuts. Yup, even the mini white ones from the grocery store where you can eat like 100 of them( accidentally, of course ).
Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues can be reversed by cutting out sugar and processed foods.[ 3 ]
But I understand grains and dairy are a bit more complex.
Let me explain :P TAGEND Can I Eat Grains on the Paleo Diet?
Unfortunately , nope.
The Caveman reason why: Grains require some amount of processing, and thus Cavemen would not have consume them.
The science and psychological reason why: we have a tendency to overeat grains and the other ” no no” foods on the Paleo Diet. They are calorically dense, nutrient insufficient, and they can wreak havoc on some people’s blood sugar levels.
This leads to a sugar rush followed by a accident, which can lead to more emotional or hungry overeating…and the process starts again.
Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video-” Why You Got Fat :”
youtube
Let’s get into some more reasons Paleo proponents indicate avoiding grains: most contain gluten and lectins.
What are they and what’s wrong with them? I’m so glad you asked :P TAGEND
Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant( hence all the new “gluten-free! ” items popping up everywhere ). Over time, those people who have gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from ingesting gluten: dermatitis, joint ache, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.[ 4 ] Lectins are natural toxins that are present in grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being feed by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, and they avoid the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.
Long story short: many people cannot process grains properly, and they are usually the food that causes people to eat too many calories. So by eliminating grains from your diet, you’re more likely than not going to eat fewer calories without counting calories.
That’s a Paleo win!
Do I Need to Avoid Carbs on the Paleo Diet?
Not necessarily.
That depends on your goals and your body – you are a special snowflake!
Some people function well on a high fat, low carb diet.
Others function better on a high carb, low fat diet.
Personally, I function better on a higher carb, lower fat diet( which is how I lost 22 pounds in 6 months ).
I will say the Paleo Diet is USUALLY a Low Carb diet, and large quantities of carbs are not required for somebody to be healthy regular diet.[ 5 ].
After all, carbs aren’t evil- they’re just…carbs.
Here is the logic and psychology behind why the Paleo Diet is low carb :P TAGEND
On a typical Western diet, we ingest plenty o’ carbs, and our bodies convert those carbs to a sugar called “glucose.” This is our body’s preferred method of fueling itself.
In the absence of carbs to create glucose to fuel our bodies, we have to do a few other things instead :P TAGEND
Transform stored fat into glycerol and fatty acids( this process is called lipolysis ). Burn fatty acids for energy or transform the fatty acids into glucose for energy( this is called gluconeogenesis) In the absence of glucose( through fasting or following a Keto Diet ), your body can create ketones for fuel( called “ketogenesis” ).
We’re going to focus on the forms of weight loss NOT related to ” ketogenesis .” Unless you are avoiding all carbohydrates while running Paleo, or you are doing long fasts, you most likely won’t be in ketosis while going Paleo.
We do cover Paleo vs Keto: Which is Better if you’re deciding between the two.
Back to weight loss and Paleo: when you cut back on carbs, and thus most likely ALSO cut back on total calories ingested, you are creating a caloric deficit in your body.
And eat a consistent deficit over a long enough time period, BOOM caveman weight loss.
So, fewer carbs= less glucose in your system, less sugar crashes, less “hangry” moments and smaller chance of overeating= fewer calories consumed on average.
If you’re worried about adherence to the diet, I understand – it’s the toughest part of Paleo- sticking with it!
Knowing what to eat is part of it, but following this fairly restrictive lifestyle in a modern environment surrounded by cookies and candy and bagels and pasta is really difficult!
If this whole” Paleo, Carbs, and Weight Loss” thing is stressing you out, you’re not alone!
In fact, people like you are the reason we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
We work with busy people like you to structure a complete life overhaul: handcrafted workout routines, accountability, mindset alters, and nutritional strategies.
Can I feed Dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I eat Cheese On the Paleo Diet?
This also depends. Strict Paleo folks tend to stay away from it- a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.
Why? Because hunter-gatherers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling- milk was ingested as a baby through breast milk from their mother, and that was it.
So as Paleo-stans will tell ya, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption.
There is evidence that some adaptation to dairy has taken place throughout the years, specifically with people with ancestry in herding cultures, but this is not the majority of the population.[ 6 ]
Paleo purists will avoid dairy like the beset, while other paleo-ish people have found that ingesting dairy in its various forms work for their genetics, goals, and lifestyle.
“What about Cheese? Can I feed cheese on the Paleo Diet? ”
You do you, boo. But if you’re going Strict Paleo, then unfortunately cheese is OUT too.
If you’re just looking to lose some weight while following a “mostly Paleo” lifestyle, then adding some high quality cheese into some of your snacks can be okay.
Some cheeses will tend to have lower sums of lactose or casein- the parts of dairy that can cause digestion challenges.
So, if you’re not sure your body is processing dairy properly, remove dairy from your diet and only introduce it back in when you’re ready to see how your body responds.
If you’re not losing weight while feeing a” Paleo+ Dairy” Diet, you’re still feeing too many calories.
Consider cutting out dairy and see how your body responds.
Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of Foods on the Paleo Diet
Because I like you as person or persons, I’ve created a printable Paleo Diet Shopping List PDF you can bring with you to the grocery store to help you decide what to buy and what to avoid.
Simply right click on the image below and save as :P TAGEND
Feel free to publish this out and bring it with you to the grocery store. If you happen to run into somebody else who has ALSO printed out this sheet, feel free to high five each other while singing Baltimora!
What is a Typical Day Like on the Paleo Diet?
Here is an example of a typical day on “The Paleo Diet” :P TAGEND
Breakfast: Omelet with spinach with fresh fruit. Lunch: Grilled chicken, kale, and avocado salad with vinegar and olive oil. Snack: Apple slicings and almond butter. Dinner: Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries. Dessert: Strawberries and a piece of 85% darknes chocolate.
That doesn’t audio so bad, right?
Make sure you check out our Paleo Diet Recipes and Resource section too for more options.
Start with a good protein source with each dinner( eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork) and then add a vegetable or fruit.
That’s it.
If you feel hungry constantly, understand that changing up a diet can cause a body a few weeks of adjustment.
Remember, your body is learning to operate on both fewer calories AND fewer carbs- depending on how low carb you go this could be a DRAMATIC change.
And this is often referred to as “carb flu, ” and it can be miserable! Your body might take multiple weeks to adjust to these new habits.
Going from a processed, high sodium diet to a paleo diet you will very often end up eating too little sodium, which is an essential nutrient.
So if you’re feeling tired all the time, try adding some salt to your food or consider an electrolyte supplement- this is what we recommend with our Keto readers too.
Is the Paleo Diet Dangerous?
The dismissive criticisms of the Paleo Diet generally fall into one of three categories :P TAGEND
Cavemen had short lifespans. So there. A recent article said that cavemen feed grains. So there. Eating that much meat is unhealthy. So there.
As I said at the beginning of this article, it doesn’t matter what cavemen or cavewomen ACTUALLY ate.
The reason this diet runs has nothing to do with what our bodies are designed to eat or what cavemen ate 1,000 s of years ago.
The Paleo Diet CAN help you lose weight because it gets you to cut out junk food, focus on eating real food, and gives you a framework to evaluate speedily every food choice :P TAGEND
” Did a caveman eat this? Yes or no .”
That’s it!
By following this ONE rules, you’re likely to eat fewer calories than you used to, and thus you’re likely to end up healthier than before.
I personally don’t follow a Paleo Diet, but I do appreciate the fact that it’s easy to comprehend and gets people to take a more active approach in their food!
So, disregarding the fear mongering, tenet, and anthropological criticisms of what cavemen actually ate, what are the ACTUAL criticisms of the Paleo Diet?
# 1)” Why is the Paleo Diet expensive ?”
Admittedly, while I recommend eating organic fruits and veggies, free-range chicken, and grass-fed beef whenever possible, these products can be more expensive in conventional stores due to the processes needed to get them there.
However, farmers’ marketplaces often have well-priced meats, eggs, fruits, and vegetables that are locally grown and unbelievably healthy.
Even if you’re spending a little more money than before, when you factor in your overall health, spending a few extra bucks on healthier food now is a wiser investment than thousands later on costly medical expenses.
Also, if you’re really short on cash, feeing the non-organic or grain-fed version of a meat, vegetable, or eggs is still better than eating breads, pasta, fast food, and the like.
Most people simply compare the cost of a paleo meal with ramen noodles or pasta and bread and determine Paleo is prohibitively expensive.
Sure, it’s more expensive than those foods, but if you are smart with your fund you can eat a much healthier snack and do really pretty inexpensively. Check out this guide on” How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank” for some tip-off and tricks.
( This doesn’t even factor in the whole” if you feed cheap unhealthy food now, you’ll pay thousands in medical bills and hospital visits and medications later” argument which is valid too ).
# 2)” But cavemen had short lifespans! Of course they don’t have the diseases we do. We live style longer now .”
I agree with you here, but merely because you don’t have to deal with the dangers of living back then. Again we don’t really care to live like cave people!
This is SIMPLY a construct that can help many attain more informed food choices.
# 3)” Plenty of societies around the world consume grains and aren’t fat and unhealthy like us .”
Awesome- it seems like those people have found a solution that works for them. Have you read our big ass guidebook to eating a Plant-Based Diet?
The China Study is frequently cited when blaming the Paleo Diet- are concentrated on a vegetarian diet and ingesting rice is healthier than the Paleo Diet. I respectfully disagree with the conclusions drawn from that volume but that’s awesome if you want to go plant-based! [ 7 ] I’ll leave you to induce your own conclusions based on your own self-experimentation.
You’re here to learn about the Paleo Diet though, so let’s keep the focus there.
# 4)” But this is just a meat diet, and eating all meat is bad !”
First of all, consider your sources and do your search before jumping to the conclusions.
Next, this is not an all meat diet like the Carnivore Diet or uber-low carb diets like Keto or Atkins. The biggest component of the Paleo Diet?
Vegetables!
Every meal in a true Paleo diet has a moderate amount of healthy( properly raised chicken, grass-fed beef, hormone free, etc .) meat combined with nutritious veggies or a moderate quantity of fruit.
# 5)” The Paleo Diet is too restrictive and I can’t live like this .”
This is the most valid criticism I personally have of the diet, as the best diet plan is the one you actually stick with and be adhered to on! The goal shouldn’t be to go” full paleo” for a few weeks merely to go back to how you were eating before.
Instead, the goal here should be to rethink your relationship with food and develop a strategy that you can live with permanently.
There’s nothing worse than going on diets and gaining and losing the same 20 pounds over and over. The Paleo Diet, like other diets, WORKS ONLY IF YOU STICK WITH IT PERMANENTLY!
This attains sense after all: stimulate temporary alterations, get temporary results, right?
# 6)” Steve, I hate vegetables. How do you induce veggies savour better? HALP .”
I got you. Heres how to start liking vegetables and how to construct veggies savour better.
We know this all too well, and we have helped thousands of people slowwwwly transition their diet over a long period of time to make change less scary, more permanent, and thus construct the weight loss permanent too!
If you’re overwhelmed or scared of changing too much, or maybe you’re just sick of dieting and want to find a solution that works for your busy lifestyle and situation, schedule a bellow with us to gain a better understanding of our 1-on-1 coaching program :P TAGEND
Paleo Recipes and Paleo Resource
Here’s our full list of Nerd Fitness Paleo/ Healthy recipes, and here are my three favourites :P TAGEND
10 Minutes of Prep, 10 Easy Meals Paleo spaghetti: freaking delicious, I promise How to Make Mini Paleo Pizzas .
I’ve also compiled a list of my favorite sites and recipe books around the internet that can help you get started :P TAGEND
# 1) Nom Nom Paleo -~ ATAGEND Michelle Tam and her husband Henry are amazing people, and their Paleo Blog is absolutely phenomenal. Great photos. Well written. Organized intelligently.
Their “Nom Nom Paleo” cookbook is a fun resource too, and a great place to get started with cooking for your Paleo lifestyle. Oh, what’s that? You have kids and a spouse and you’re all trying to eat healthier too? This volume is perfect for that as well!
# 2) Mark’s Daily Apple– Easily the most comprehensive resource on the internet for the Paleo Diet- Mark writes an article every weekday about everything Paleo, and it usually blows me away. Some of the posts can get overwhelming, so I suggest starting with his Primal Blueprint 101.
The Primal Blueprint– If you want to read about this stuff in a volume rather than on a computer screen, Mark’s book The Primal Blueprint is a great place to get started on not only what to eat, but why you should be eating it.
It’s educational, funny, real-world applicable, and teaches you how to primalize( just made that up) the rest of your life too.
# 3) Robb Wolf– Another great resource, and a guy I’ve already referenced in this article multiple times. Check out his site for a comprehensive FAQ on all things Paleo, a shopping list pdf( right-click and save ), and plenty of humor.
The Paleo Solution– This article would have been finished 3 hours earlier, but before I wrote it, I read ALL of Robb’s new book. It severely had me chuckling out loud at certain points- not bad for a volume on diet!
This book is a little less forgiving than Mark’s book above, but it’s still a great read.
# 4) Loren Cordain– Loren is considered the leading expert on the Paleo Diet- Robb is actually one of his students/ followers/ Padawans.
Dr. Cordain is probably the foremost authority on this type of eating, which is why I really enjoyed reading both of his books.
MORE RECIPE Resource :P TAGEND
Ready or Not! 150 Make Now Recipes– The newer book from Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo. It’s super fun. Plus she’s wearing a Nerd FItness t-shirt in some of her photos in the book, so I might be sliiiightly biased Mark’s Daily Apple– Although he sells the cookbook on Amazon, Mark also lists over 100 free primal recipes on his site. Pick something on the list, go buy the ingredients, and follow the instructions! So easy even a caveman can do it. Everyday Paleo– Great paintings, easy to follow recipes, and pretty interesting combinations. Click on FOOD in the Nav bar, and the meals are broken down into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
If you’re curious about The Paleo Diet’s recent popularity and thus it’s criticisms, we’ve written two other pieces on Nerd Fitness that might be of interest :P TAGEND
” The Paleo Diet Debunked ??” where I address a few of the more recent criticisms that have popped up.
” In Defense of a Paleo-Ish Diet” where I cover how to live a largely Paleo lifestyle but still enjoy the modern benefits of society.
Who Should and Who Shouldn’t Do the Paleo Diet?
I’m a fan of the Paleo Diet for the RIGHT person:
I love mental models that help us make sense of the world, and I suppose for SOME people, the Paleo Diet has certainly help them cut down on overeating.
I personally do NOT follow a Paleo Diet, but I do have rules that I follow.
Do whatever builds you happy and accommodates in your schedule. I like this kind of stress-free eating.
Regardless of whether or not grains should be vilified, I love this diet because I know it WORKS. I know people that have lost incredible amounts of weight and altered their lives within a matter of months.
People like Staci :P TAGEND
Regardless of how you feel about grains, we can all agree that eating more natural foods and less processed foods is better for you.
YOU SHOULD DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
You struggle with portion control( entailing you can’t eat just one cookie, or you tend to keep eating even when you’re full ). You can stick with the changes you’re making permanently! Remember, temporary alters make temporary results. You don’t mind eliminating some of your favorite foods entirely.
YOU SHOULD NOT DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
The idea of giving up non-paleo foods makes you want to cry. You don’t mind learning about calories and want to track your food. Another diet sounds like a better fit for you!
Consider some of these other options instead:
The Mediterranean Diet which still includes portions of things like pasta or bread( note: I said Sections , not platefuls )! Our guide on healthy eating and slowly adjust your nutrition- which would be my recommendation. My paleo-ish dietary philosophy that maintains me healthy and happy.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to make permanent adjustments to your nutrition.
If you don’t see yourself being able to permanently follow a Paleo Diet, I would advise a more’ wade in from the shallow end‘ approach to dietary change!
How to Do the Paleo Diet Safely
Maybe you’re ready to try out this Paleo lifestyle, but you can’t commit fully. There are certain foods you refuse to give up, or you can’t afford to buy grass-fed beef at the moment.
That’s okay!
If you can even make a few small changes here and there( cut out liquid calories, switching out your rice for steamed veggies, cut back on bread, etc .) you’ll start to see some changes.
Remember, 20% healthier is better than 0% healthier- as you get more comfortable with the changes you can increase that percentage.
After all, I know how tough it is to stay loyal to a strict diet, especially without a plan to follow. It’s why we created free resources that can help you reach your goals faster without you also going crazy.
Get rid of the temptation: if you’re gonna go at this thing with a full head of steam, remove all the junk food from your house.
It’s going to take a few weeks for your body to adjust to burning fat instead of glucose, and you might want to eat poorly here and there. If there’s no food in your house to tempt you, it will be much easier to stay on target.
Now, it’s your turn.
Have you tried the Paleo Diet yet? What was your experience like? Have a criticism of the diet that I didn’t cover before? Do you have a favorite paleo resource?
Remember, one of the major Rules of the Rebellion is to question everything!
I hope this article gives you some food for thought( terrible pun, I know ), and gives you permission to question conventional wisdom and start addressing the issues in your diet!
In addition to this Beginner Paleo Guide, I hope you consider checking our 1-on-1 Coaching Program as well.
We have designed this program from the ground up to help people like you change their lives and fix their nutrition in a way that doesn’t suck.
Now, go forth. And feed like a caveman.
-Steve
PS: I’ll leave you with a mention of the Nerd Fitness Academy– it essentially gamifies your experience in transitioning into a Paleo lifestyle and diet, and provides you with specific instruction, meal plans, workouts, and a supportive community.
###
photo sources: cavemen elephant hunt, caveman cooking over flame, cavemen hunt paleo bear, milk truck logo, darth vader vendor, storm trooper tomato, lego cook, chef and lego pig, lego explorer, lego muffin, lego bread and carbs, frozen caveman grok lego, lego clock, lego caveman forge for food, caveman with wheel, darth vader and ostrich lego, easing into water lego, lego man with pasta
Footnotes( returns to text)
Adult Obesity Prevalence Map CDC.gov
What if its all Been a Big Fat Lie ? Take a look at this time magazine article on cancer patients who switched to a zero-sugar diet and considered positive results. You can read our full guide on Gluten check out the Inuit Paradox for a great read on societies that exist without almost any carbohydrates If you want to nerd out about this stuff, go wild with this study This is the most well-researched criticism I’ve receive of the China Study: Denise Menger- China Study- Fact or Fallacy
Read more: nerdfitness.com
0 notes
fitnessexpert00-blog · 6 years ago
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Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
New Post has been published on https://fitnessqia.com/awesome/paleo-diet-beginner-guide-7-things-you-should-know-before-eating-like-a-caveman/
Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
So you wanna learn about the Paleo Diet, aka” the Caveman Diet ,” eh?
This is one of the most popular diets on the planet right now( up there with the Keto Diet ), and I bet you have questions.
Well I got answers, sucka!
And lots of LEGO photos.
In this massive guidebook, I’m going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the Paleolithic Diet( click each link to go right to that segment ):
What is the Paleo Diet and how does it run ? Will I lose weight on the Paleo Diet ? What can I eat on the Paleo Diet ? What foods CAN’T I eat on the Paleo Diet ? Can I eat grains on the Paleo Diet ? Can I feed dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I feed cheese on the Paleo Diet ? Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of foods on the Paleo Diet What does a typical day look like on the Paleo Diet ? Is the Paleo Diet dangerous ? Paleo Recipes& Paleo Resource . Who shouldn’t do the Paleo Diet ? How to do the Paleo Diet safely .
Now, this guide is SUPER long, we are therefore took the liberty of converting it into a nicely designed guidebook for easy consumption( not literal intake, unless you publish it on bacon ).
Grab your Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet free when you sign up in the box below: Get the FREE eBook! The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Paleo!
Discover if Paleo is for you
The one simple trick to know if your food is Paleo-friendly
Easy Paleo recipes for beginners to get you started
I identify as a:
Woman
Man
If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
As the great Mr. Flintstone once said, “Yabadabadooooo!”
What is the Paleo Diet and How does it Work?
Oh lord, another “diet.”
I know, it sounds like a fad/ marketing gambit, but The Paleo Diet isn’t really a “diet,” and it’s actually quite logical when you think about it.
It’s also the most time-tested diet ever.
Here’s the ENTIRE diet in a nutshell :P TAGEND
” If a cave person didn’t eat it, neither should you .”
As the hypothesi goes, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice snacks, our ancient ancestors flourished as hunter-gatherers.
Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t altered that much since then.
And yet…these days we’re overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from far too many preventable illness due to lifestyle choices.
So what the hell happened?
Agriculture!
And then delivery and Netflix.
A few thousand years ago, humans detected farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
We determined down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today. Which is obviously great for a number of reasons :P TAGEND
Not getting eaten by wild animals Electricity Automobiles Nintendo
The problem is that our bodies never adjusted properly to eating all the grains and sugar that we’re now consuming.
As paleo guru Robb Wolf sets it, should be considered a 100 -yard football field :P TAGEND
The first 99.5 yards are how long Homo-Sapiens spent as hunter-gatherers. As they became Really good at hunting and collecting our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years.
That last half-yard represents our species after the agricultural revolution, where our diet has shifted( but our genetics haven’t ).
So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains- bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.
66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.[ 1 ]
Clearly something’s not right, and we need to fix it.
The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to our ancestral roots.
To start eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start live healthier immediately.
To recap the rules of the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Only feed foods a caveman would eat See Rule# 1
Note that it doesn’t mention calorie counting or meal period or macro tracking. That’s part of the popularity of this diet: feed paleo approved foods when you’re hungry, and that’s it.
Will I Lose Weight on the Paleo Diet?
This is the question we get above all else :P TAGEND
” Will the Paleo Diet assist me lose weight ?”
Probably. If you can actually apply the rules of the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
It’s helped many people attain jaw-dropping transformations, including my friend Saint,( whose narrative you can read here ):
Or Staci from Team NF, our result female trainer in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program ):
The Paleo Diet will work for you, if you do it right.
You need to have the right mindset, you need to focus on the right foods, and you need to structure your environment so that you’re not seduced to backslide and abandon the Paleo Diet after a few days.
However, it has nothing to do with what Fred Flintstone ate or didn’t eat.
It comes down to science and thermodynamics.
As I point out in our article on How to Lose Weight: What’s the Perfect Diet( For me ?), if you want to lose weight :P TAGEND
Eat fewer calories than you burn every day. Want to also be healthy? Eat mostly real food.
Want to KEEP the weight off?
Add# 3: Do those two things consistently for a decade.
Here’s WHY you’ll lose weight on the Paleo Diet:
You’re merely feeing meat, fish, veggies, fruit, and nuts. These are foods that are full of nutrients, will construct you feel full, but don’t have nearly as many calories as junk food. You are altogether eliminating calorie-dense, often nutritionally insufficient, unhealthy foods. This means no grains( pasta, bread, rice ), no dairy , no beans. It also entails no soda , no candy , no sugar.
And yup. When you only feed real food and avoided all unhealthy food, you’re more likely than not going to run a caloric deficit- and thus lose weight.
Let me share a really obvious example.
200 calories of broccoli get you enough to fill up an entire plate :P TAGEND
Or … 200 calories will get you exactly 1/2 a Snickers bar :P TAGEND
Look at that: nobody can eat that much broccoli, and nobody only fees half a candy bar!
My point is this: by eating Paleo-approved foods, you’re more likely than not to eat fewer calories than you did in the past automatically, which can lead to weight loss.
I dig into this in even greater detail in” Why can’t I lose weight ?” but it all comes down to” calories in, calories out .”
So YES, the Paleo Diet MIGHT help you lose weight.
You simply need to eat fewer calories than you burn every day( Here’s how to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure ). And that is easier when you are eliminating foods that people tend to overeat :P TAGEND
Candy Soda Pasta Bread Dairy
But that’s all about what we’re eliminating. What are we maintaining !?
what Can I eat on The Paleo diet?
In order to follow the Paleo Diet Lifestyle, here are the foods that are Paleo endorse :P TAGEND
Meat*- steak, ham, pork, bison, boar. Organs- liver, kidneys, heart. Marrow- insuring a topic here? Eat ALL parts of the animal! Fowl- chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that( try to) fly. Fish- cod, tuna, salmon, and so on. Eggs- Look for omega-3 enriched cage-free eggs. Veggie- spinach, broccoli, kale, carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions, etc. Petroleum- minimally processed, derived from plants: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado petroleum. Fats: ghee, lard, or other animal fats. Fruits- apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries. Nuts- almonds, walnuts, cashews, and their respective butters( almond butter is so good !) Tubers- Sweet potatoes and yams.
* If you can, aim for grass-fed beef and organic fruits and vegetables. But don’t go break the bank with your food purchases. Merely do the best you can.
As the Paleo Diet explains: Pick any of the foods from that listing and eat as much as you want of them.
You might have noticed that a lot of the foods above are loaded with fat. And depending on what your mom told you growing up, you might believe fat is the devil.
So let me address that right away…
Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?
If you’re cutting back on carbs, that means you’ll need to fill the void in your diet with the most controversial macronutrient :P TAGEND
Fat!
It’s gotten a bad rap over the past number of decades, so companies have been doing everything possible to make everything low fat and “healthy! ”( while adding all sorts of preservatives, chemicals, and sugar ).
Yup…cut out the fat, increase the carbs….and appear where THAT has gotten us.
Why has fat been vilified? Rather than get into the politics of it myself, I’ll let Gary Taubes, author of the incredibly thorough and well-researched Good Calories, Bad Calories take over.
As he discusses in an article he wrote for the New York Times a decade ago: [ 2 ]
These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now effectively failed the test of period.
In particular, that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980′ s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma.( Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly through this period .)
They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal failings, and that on top of it all, the percentage of fat in the American diet has been decreasing for two decades.
Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as expected to be completed.” That is very disconcerting ,” Willett says.” It suggests that something else bad is happening .”
” Low fat” foods were created to follow conventional wisdom that fat construct you fat( which as stated in the above article doesn’t stand up to scrutiny ).
When a company makes a low fat food, they remove the fat and have to replace the flavor with something.
That “something” is usually sugar( and often more calories ).
Crap.
So, according to Taubes and Paleo folks, fat has been vilified and the real focus should have been on sugar and carbs all along.
Because healthy fats are valuable additions to our diet.
Here are some examples of Paleo-Approved Healthy Fats :P TAGEND
Avocados Almond( and almond butter) Fatty cuts of meat Walnuts Coconut oil Olive oil
In the Paleo Diet, fat constructions up a large portion of one’s diet.
If you’re worried about consuming fat and how it will affect your cholesterol, read our Full Guide to Cholesterol
WhAT Foods Can’t I feed On the Paleo Diet?
If you are looking to strictly follow the Paleo Diet, then you can’t eat foods that did not exist back in” Caveman day .”
Why?
Because- as those in favour of the diet point out- cavemen couldn’t eat those foods because they didn’t exist. There was no way to create cereal and candy – you could only eat what you observed or hunted.
So, that’s what the Paleo Diet advocates as the reason for avoiding these foods. And it serves as a good mental model to check with yourself: “Could a caveman have eaten this snack? ”
And when you start to answer this question, you specifying the foods that you’re not allowed to eat on the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Grains like pasta, cereal bread, and rice Dairy like milk and cheese Candy, cookies, ice cream, and other processed foods
The Paleo Diet also almost completely eliminates sugar outside of fruit. No candy. No soda. No powdered donuts. Yup, even the mini white ones from the grocery store where you can eat like 100 of them( accidentally, of course ).
Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues can be reversed by cutting out sugar and processed foods.[ 3 ]
But I understand grains and dairy are a bit more complex.
Let me explain :P TAGEND Can I Eat Grains on the Paleo Diet?
Unfortunately , nope.
The Caveman reason why: Grains require some amount of processing, and thus Cavemen would not have feed them.
The science and psychological reason why: we have a tendency to overeat grains and the other ” no no” foods on the Paleo Diet. They are calorically dense, nutrient deficient, and they can wreak havoc on some people’s blood sugar levels.
This leads to a sugar rush be accompanied by a crash, which can lead to more emotional or hungry overeating…and the process starts again.
Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video-” Why You Got Fat :”
youtube
Let’s get into some more reasons Paleo proponents indicate avoiding grains: most contain gluten and lectins.
What are they and what’s wrong with them? I’m so glad you asked :P TAGEND
Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant( hence all the new “gluten-free! ” items popping up everywhere ). Over period, those people who have gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from consuming gluten: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.[ 4 ] Lectins are natural toxins that are present in grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being eaten by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, and they prevent the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.
Long story short: many people cannot process grains properly, and they are usually the food that causes people to eat too many calories. So by eliminating grains from your diet, you’re more likely than not going to eat fewer calories without counting calories.
That’s a Paleo win!
Do I Need to Avoid Carbs on the Paleo Diet?
Not inevitably.
That depends on your goals and your body – you are a special snowflake!
Some people function well on a high fat, low carb diet.
Others function better on a high carb, low fat diet.
Personally, I function better on a higher carb, lower fat diet( which is how I lost 22 pounds in 6 months ).
I will say the Paleo Diet is USUALLY a Low Carb diet, and large quantities of carbs are not required for somebody to be healthy regular diet.[ 5 ].
After all, carbs aren’t evil- they’re just…carbs.
Here is the logic and psychology behind why the Paleo Diet is low carb :P TAGEND
On a typical Western diet, we devour plenty o’ carbs, and our bodies convert those carbs to a sugar called “glucose.” This is our body’s preferred method of fueling itself.
In the absence of carbs to create glucose to fuel our bodies, we have to do a few other things instead :P TAGEND
Transform stored fat into glycerol and fatty acids( this process is called lipolysis ). Burn fatty acids for energy or transform the fatty acids into glucose for energy( this is called gluconeogenesis) In the absence of glucose( through fasting or following a Keto Diet ), your body are generating ketones for gasoline( called “ketogenesis” ).
We’re going to focus on the forms of weight loss NOT related to ” ketogenesis .” Unless you are avoiding all carbohydrates while running Paleo, or you are doing long fasts, you most likely won’t be in ketosis while going Paleo.
We do cover Paleo vs Keto: Which is Better if you’re deciding between the two.
Back to weight loss and Paleo: when you cut back on carbs, and thus most likely ALSO cut back on total calories ate, you are creating a caloric deficit in your body.
And eat a consistent deficit over a long enough time period, BOOM caveman weight loss.
So, fewer carbs= less glucose in your system, less sugar crashes, less “hangry” moments and smaller chance of overeating= fewer calories consumed on average.
If you’re worried about adherence to the diet, I understand – it’s the toughest part of Paleo- sticking with it!
Knowing what to eat is part of it, but following this fairly restrictive lifestyle in a modern environment surrounded by cookies and candy and bagels and pasta is really difficult!
If this whole” Paleo, Carbs, and Weight Loss” thing is emphasizing you out, you’re not alone!
In fact, people like you are the reason we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
We work with busy people like you to structure a complete life overhaul: handcrafted workout routines, accountability, mindset changes, and nutritional strategies.
Can I feed Dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I feed Cheese On the Paleo Diet?
This also depends. Strict Paleo folks tend to stay away from it- a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.
Why? Because hunter-gatherers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling- milk was eaten as a newborn through breast milk from their mom, and that was it.
So as Paleo-stans will tell ya, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption.
There is evidence that some adaptation to dairy has taken place throughout the years, specifically with people with pedigree in herding cultures, but this is not the majority of the population.[ 6 ]
Paleo purists will avoid dairy like the plague, while other paleo-ish people have found that devouring dairy in its various sorts work for their genetics, aims, and lifestyle.
“What about Cheese? Can I eat cheese on the Paleo Diet? ”
You do you, boo. But if you’re going Strict Paleo, then regrettably cheese is OUT too.
If you’re just looking to lose some weight while following a “mostly Paleo” lifestyle, then adding some high quality cheese into some of your meals can be okay.
Some cheeses will tend to have lower amounts of lactose or casein- the parts of dairy that can cause digestion challenges.
So, if you’re not sure your body is processing dairy properly, remove dairy from your diet and only introduce it back in when you’re ready to see how your body responds.
If you’re not losing weight while feeing a” Paleo+ Dairy” Diet, you’re still eating too many calories.
Consider cutting out dairy and see how your body responds.
Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of Food on the Paleo Diet
Because I like you as a person, I’ve generated a printable Paleo Diet Shopping List PDF you can bring with you to the grocery store to help you decide what to buy and what to avoid.
Simply right click on the image below and save as :P TAGEND
Feel free to publish this out and bringing it with you to the grocery store. If you happen to run into somebody else who has ALSO printed out this sheet, feel free to high five each other while singing Baltimora!
What is a Typical Day Like on the Paleo Diet?
Here is an example of a typical day on “The Paleo Diet” :P TAGEND
Breakfast: Omelet with spinach with fresh fruit. Lunch: Grilled chicken, kale, and avocado salad with vinegar and olive oil. Snack: Apple slicings and almond butter. Dinner: Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries. Dessert: Strawberries and a piece of 85% dark chocolate.
That doesn’t voice so bad, right?
Make sure you check out our Paleo Diet Recipes and Resources section too for more options.
Start with a good protein source with each dinner( eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork) and then add a vegetable or fruit.
That’s it.
If you feel hungry constantly, understand that changing up a diet can cause a body a few weeks of adjustment.
Remember, your body is learning to operate on both fewer calories AND fewer carbs- depending on how low carb you go this could be a DRAMATIC change.
And this is often referred to as “carb flu, ” and it can be miserable! Your body might take multiple weeks to adjust to these new habits.
Going from a processed, high sodium diet to a paleo diet you will very often end up eating too little sodium, which is an essential nutrient.
So if you’re feeling tired all the time, try adding some salt to your food or consider an electrolyte supplement- this is what we recommend with our Keto readers too.
Is the Paleo Diet Dangerous?
The dismissive criticisms of the Paleo Diet generally fall into one of three categories :P TAGEND
Cavemen had short lifespans. So there. A recent article said that cavemen eat grains. So there. Eating that much meat is unhealthy. So there.
As I said at the beginning of this article, it doesn’t matter what cavemen or cavewomen ACTUALLY ate.
The reason this diet works has nothing to do with what our bodies are designed to eat or what cavemen ate 1,000 s of years ago.
The Paleo Diet CAN help you lose weight because it gets you to cut out junk food, focus on eating real food, and gives you a framework to evaluate speedily every food selection :P TAGEND
” Did a caveman eat this? Yes or no .”
That’s it!
By following this ONE rules, you’re likely to eat fewer calories than you used to, and thus you’re likely to end up healthier than before.
I personally don’t follow a Paleo Diet, but I do appreciate the fact that it’s easy to comprehend and gets people to take a more active approach in their food!
So, disregarding the fear mongering, tenet, and anthropological criticisms of what cavemen actually eat, what are the ACTUAL criticisms of the Paleo Diet?
# 1)” Why is the Paleo Diet expensive ?”
Admittedly, while I recommend feeing organic fruits and veggies, free-range chicken, and grass-fed beef whenever possible, these products can be more expensive in conventional stores due to the processes needed to get them there.
However, farmers’ marketplaces often have well-priced meats, eggs, fruit, and vegetables that are locally grown and unbelievably healthy.
Even if you’re spending a little more money than before, when you factor in your overall health, spending a few extra bucks on healthier food now is a wiser investment than thousands later on costly medical expenses.
Also, if you’re really short on money, eating the non-organic or grain-fed version of a meat, vegetable, or eggs is still better than eating bread, pasta, fast food, and the like.
Most people simply compare the cost of a paleo dinner with ramen noodles or pasta and bread and determine Paleo is prohibitively expensive.
Sure, it’s more expensive than those foods, but if you are smart with your fund you can eat a much healthier snack and do really pretty inexpensively. Check out this guide on” How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank” for some tip-off and tricks.
( This doesn’t even factor in the whole” if you eat inexpensive unhealthy food now, you’ll pay thousands in medical bills and hospital visits and drugs later” argument which is valid too ).
# 2)” But cavemen had short lifespans! Of course they don’t have the diseases we do. We live route longer now .”
I agree with you here, but only because you don’t have to deal with the dangers of living back then. Again we don’t really care to live like cave people!
This is SIMPLY a construct that can help many make more informed food choices.
# 3)” Plenty of societies around the world consume grains and aren’t fat and unhealthy like us .”
Awesome- it seems like those people have found a solution that works for them. Have you read our big ass guidebook to eating a Plant-Based Diet?
The China Study is frequently cited when blaming the Paleo Diet- focusing on a vegetarian diet and devouring rice is healthier than the Paleo Diet. I respectfully disagree with the conclusions be learned from that volume but that’s awesome if you want to go plant-based! [ 7 ] I’ll leave you to make your own conclusions based on your own self-experimentation.
You’re here to learn about the Paleo Diet though, so let’s keep the focus there.
# 4)” But this is just a meat diet, and feeing all meat is bad !”
First of all, consider your sources and do your search before jumping to the conclusions.
Next, this is not an all meat diet like the Carnivore Diet or uber-low carb diets like Keto or Atkins. The biggest component of the Paleo Diet?
Vegetables!
Every meal in a true Paleo diet has a moderate amount of healthy( properly created chicken, grass-fed beef, hormone free, etc .) meat combined with nutritious veggies or a moderate amount of fruit.
# 5)” The Paleo Diet is too restrictive and I can’t live like this .”
This is the most valid criticism I personally have of the diet, as the best diet plan is the one you actually stick with and be adhered to on! The aim shouldn’t be to go” full paleo” for a few weeks only to go back to how you were eating before.
Instead, the goal here should be to rethink your relationship with food and develop a strategy that you can live with permanently.
There’s nothing worse than going on diets and gaining and losing the same 20 pounds over and over. The Paleo Diet, like other diets, WORKS ONLY IF YOU STICK WITH IT PERMANENTLY!
This attains sense after all: build temporary alterations, get temporary outcomes, right?
# 6)” Steve, I dislike veggies. How do you induce veggies savor better? HALP .”
I got you. Heres how to start liking vegetables and how to induce veggies savor better.
We know this all too well, and we have helped thousands of people slowwwwly transition their diet over a long period of time to make change less scary, more permanent, and thus induce the weight loss permanent too!
If you’re overwhelmed or scared of changing too much, or maybe you’re just sick of dieting and want to find a solution that works for your busy lifestyle and situation, schedule a call with us to gain a better understanding of our 1-on-1 coaching program :P TAGEND
Paleo Recipes and Paleo Resource
Here’s our full list of Nerd Fitness Paleo/ Healthy recipes, and here are my three favourites :P TAGEND
10 Minutes of Prep, 10 Easy Meals Paleo spaghetti: freaking delicious, I promise How to Make Mini Paleo Pizzas .
I’ve also compiled a listing of my favorite sites and recipe volumes around the internet that can help you get started :P TAGEND
# 1) Nom Nom Paleo -~ ATAGEND Michelle Tam and her husband Henry are amazing people, and their Paleo Blog is absolutely phenomenal. Great photos. Well written. Organized intelligently.
Their “Nom Nom Paleo” cookbook is a fun resource too, and a great place to get started with cooking for your Paleo lifestyle. Oh, what’s that? You have kids and a spouse and you’re all trying to eat healthier too? This book is perfect for that as well!
# 2) Mark’s Daily Apple– Easily the most comprehensive resource on the internet for the Paleo Diet- Mark writes an article every weekday about everything Paleo, and it usually blows me away. Some of the posts can get overwhelming, so I indicate starting with his Primal Blueprint 101.
The Primal Blueprint– If you want to read about this stuff in a volume rather than on a computer screen, Mark’s book The Primal Blueprint is a great place to get started on not only what to eat, but why you should be eating it.
It’s educational, funny, real-world applicable, and teaches you how to primalize( just made that up) the rest of your life too.
# 3) Robb Wolf– Another great resource, and a guy I’ve already referenced in this article multiple times. Check out his site for a comprehensive FAQ on all things Paleo, a shopping list pdf( right-click and save ), and plenty of humor.
The Paleo Solution– This article would have been finished 3 hours earlier, but before I wrote it, I read ALL of Robb’s new volume. It severely had me laughing out loud at certain points- not bad for a volume on diet!
This book is a little less forgiving than Mark’s book above, but it’s still a great read.
# 4) Loren Cordain– Loren is considered the leading expert on the Paleo Diet- Robb is actually one of his students/ adherents/ Padawans.
Dr. Cordain is probably the foremost authority on this type of eating, which is why I truly enjoyed reading both of his volumes.
MORE RECIPE Resource :P TAGEND
Ready or Not! 150 Make Now Recipes– The newer volume from Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo. It’s super fun. Plus she’s wearing a Nerd FItness t-shirt in some of her photos in the book, so I might be sliiiightly biased Mark’s Daily Apple– Although he sells the cookbook on Amazon, Mark also lists over 100 free primal recipes on his site. Pick something on the listing, run buy the ingredients, and follow the instructions! So easy even a caveman can do it. Everyday Paleo– Great paintings, easy to follow recipes, and pretty interesting combinations. Click on FOOD in the Nav bar, and the meals are broken down into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
If you’re curious about The Paleo Diet’s recent popularity and thus it’s criticisms, we’ve written two other pieces on Nerd Fitness that might be of interest :P TAGEND
” The Paleo Diet Debunked ??” where I address a few of the more recent criticisms that have popped up.
” In Defense of a Paleo-Ish Diet” where I cover how to live a largely Paleo lifestyle but still enjoy the modern benefits of society.
Who Should and Who Shouldn’t Do the Paleo Diet?
I’m a fan of the Paleo Diet for the RIGHT person:
I love mental models that help us make sense of the world, and I think for SOME people, the Paleo Diet has certainly help them cut down on overeating.
I personally do NOT follow a Paleo Diet, but I do have rules that I follow.
Do whatever attains you happy and fits in your schedule. I like this kind of stress-free eating.
Regardless of whether or not grains should be vilified, I love this diet because I know it WORKS. I know people that have lost incredible amounts of weight and altered their lives within a matter of months.
People like Staci :P TAGEND
Regardless of how you feel about grains, we can all agree that eating more natural foods and less processed foods is better for you.
YOU SHOULD DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
You struggle with portion control( meaning you can’t eat only one cookie, or you tend to keep feeing even when you’re full ). You can stick with the changes you’re making permanently! Remember, temporary alters make temporary outcomes. You don’t mind eliminating some of your favorite foods entirely.
YOU SHOULD NOT DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
The notion of giving up non-paleo foods attains you want to cry. You don’t mind learning about calories and want to track your food. Another diet sounds like a better fit for you!
Consider some of these other options instead:
The Mediterranean Diet which still includes portions of things like pasta or bread( note: I said PORTIONS , not platefuls )! Our guide on healthy eating and slowly adjust your nutrition- which would be my recommendation. My paleo-ish dietary philosophy that keeps me healthy and happy.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to stimulate permanent adjustments to your nutrition.
If you don’t see yourself being able to permanently follow a Paleo Diet, I would advise a more’ wade in from the shallow end‘ approach to dietary change!
How to Do the Paleo Diet Safely
Maybe you’re ready to try out this Paleo lifestyle, but you can’t commit fully. There are certain foods you refuse to give up, or you can’t afford to buy grass-fed beef at the moment.
That’s okay!
If you can even make a few small changes here and there( cut out liquid calories, switch out your rice for steamed vegetables, cut back on bread, etc .) you’ll start to see some changes.
Remember, 20% healthier is better than 0% healthier- as you get more comfortable with the changes you can increase that percentage.
After all, I know how tough it is to stay loyal to a strict diet, especially without a plan to follow. It’s why we created free resources that can help you reach your goals faster without you also going crazy.
Get rid of the temptation: if you’re gonna go at this thing with a full head of steam, remove all the junk food from your house.
It’s going to take a few weeks for your body to adjust to burning fat instead of glucose, and you might want to eat poorly here and there. If there’s no food in your house to tempt you, it will be much easier to stay on target.
Now, it’s your turn.
Have you tried the Paleo Diet yet? What was your experience like? Have a criticism of the diet that I didn’t cover before? Do you have a favorite paleo resource?
Remember, one of the major Rules of the Rebellion is to question everything!
I hope this article gives you some food for thought( terrible pun, I know ), and gives you permission to question conventional wisdom and start addressing the issues in your diet!
In addition to this Beginner Paleo Guide, I hope you consider checking our 1-on-1 Coaching Program as well.
We have designed this program from the ground up to help people like you change their lives and fix their nutrition in a way that doesn’t suck.
Now, go forth. And feed like a caveman.
-Steve
PS: I’ll leave you with a mention of the Nerd Fitness Academy– it essentially gamifies your experience in transitioning into a Paleo lifestyle and diet, and provides you with specific instruction, meal plans, workouts, and a supportive community.
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photo sources: cavemen elephant hunt, caveman cooking over fire, cavemen hunt paleo bear, milk truck logo, darth vader vendor, storm trooper tomato, lego cook, chef and lego pig, lego explorer, lego muffin, lego bread and carbs, frozen caveman grok lego, lego clock, lego caveman forging for food, caveman with wheel, darth vader and ostrich lego, easing into water lego, lego man with pasta
Footnotes( returns to text)
Adult Obesity Prevalence Map CDC.gov
What if its all Been a Big Fat Lie ? Take a look at this time magazine article on cancer patients who switched to a zero-sugar diet and watched positive results. You can read our full guide on Gluten check out the Inuit Paradox for a great read on societies that exist without almost any carbohydrates If you want to nerd out about this stuff, go wild with this study This is the most well-researched critique I’ve detect of the China Study: Denise Menger- China Study- Fact or Fallacy
Read more: nerdfitness.com
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Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
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Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things You Should Know Before Eating Like a Caveman!
So you wanna learn about the Paleo Diet, aka” the Caveman Diet ,” eh?
This is one of the most popular diets on the planet right now( up there with the Keto Diet ), and I bet you have questions.
Well I got answers, sucka!
And lots of LEGO photos.
In this massive guide, I’m going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the Paleolithic Diet( click each link to go right to that segment ):
What is the Paleo Diet and how does it run ? Will I lose weight on the Paleo Diet ? What can I eat on the Paleo Diet ? What foods CAN’T I eat on the Paleo Diet ? Can I feed grains on the Paleo Diet ? Can I eat dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I feed cheese on the Paleo Diet ? Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of foods on the Paleo Diet What does a typical day look like on the Paleo Diet ? Is the Paleo Diet dangerous ? Paleo Recipes& Paleo Resource . Who shouldn’t do the Paleo Diet ? How to do the Paleo Diet safely .
Now, this guide is SUPER long, we are therefore took the liberty of converting it into a nicely designed guide for easy intake( not literal intake, unless you print it on bacon ).
Grab your Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet free when you sign up in the box below: Get the FREE eBook! The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Paleo!
Discover if Paleo is for you
The one simple trick to know if your food is Paleo-friendly
Easy Paleo recipes for beginners to get you started
I identify as a:
Woman
Man
If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
As the great Mr. Flintstone once said, “Yabadabadooooo!”
What is the Paleo Diet and How does it Work?
Oh lord, another “diet.”
I know, it sounds like a fad/ marketing gambit, but The Paleo Diet isn’t really a “diet,” and it’s actually quite logical when you think about it.
It’s also the most time-tested diet ever.
Here’s the ENTIRE diet in a nutshell :P TAGEND
” If a cave person didn’t eat it, neither should you .”
As the hypothesi goes, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice dinners, our ancient ancestors prospered as hunter-gatherers.
Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t altered that much since then.
And yet…these days we’re overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from far too many preventable cancers due to lifestyle choices.
So what the hell happened?
Agriculture!
And then delivery and Netflix.
A few thousand years ago, humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today. Which is obviously great for a number of reasons :P TAGEND
Not getting eaten by wild animals Electricity Automobiles Nintendo
The problem is that our bodies never adjusted properly to eating all the grains and sugar that we’re now consuming.
As paleo guru Robb Wolf sets it, should be considered a 100 -yard football field :P TAGEND
The first 99.5 yards are how long Homo-Sapiens spent as hunter-gatherers. As they became REALLY good at hunting and collecting our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years.
That last half-yard represents our species after the agricultural revolution, where our diet has changed( but our genetics haven’t ).
So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains- bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.
66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.[ 1 ]
Clearly something’s not right, and we need to fix it.
The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to our ancestral roots.
To start eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start living healthier immediately.
To recap the rules of the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Only eat foods a caveman would feed See Rule# 1
Note that it doesn’t mention calorie counting or meal timing or macro tracking. That’s part of the popularity of this diet: eat paleo approved foods when you’re hungry, and that’s it.
Will I Lose Weight on the Paleo Diet?
This is the question we get above all else :P TAGEND
” Will the Paleo Diet assistance me lose weight ?”
Probably. If you can actually apply the standards of the the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.
It’s helped many people attain jaw-dropping transformations, including my friend Saint,( whose story you can read here ):
Or Staci from Team NF, our leading female trainer in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program ):
The Paleo Diet will work for you, if you do it right.
You need to have the right mindset, you need to focus on the right foods, and you need to structure your environment so that you’re not tempted to backslide and abandon the Paleo Diet after a few days.
However, it has nothing to do with what Fred Flintstone ate or didn’t eat.
It comes down to science and thermodynamics.
As I point out in our article on How to Lose Weight: What’s the Perfect Diet( For me ?), if you want to lose weight :P TAGEND
Eat fewer calories than you burn every day. Want to also be healthy? Eat mostly real food.
Want to KEEP the weight off?
Add# 3: Do those two things consistently for a decade.
Here’s WHY you’ll lose weight on the Paleo Diet:
You’re merely feeing meat, fish, veggies, fruits, and nuts. These are foods that are full of nutrients, will make you feel full, but don’t have nearly as many calories as junk food. You are wholly eliminating calorie-dense, often nutritionally deficient, unhealthy foods. This means no grains( pasta, bread, rice ), no dairy , no beans. It also means no soda , no candy , no sugar.
And yup. When you merely eat real food and avoided all unhealthy food, you’re more likely than not going to run a caloric deficit- and thus lose weight.
Let me share a really obvious example.
200 calories of broccoli gets you enough to fill up an entire plate :P TAGEND
Or … 200 calories will get you exactly 1/2 a Snickers bar :P TAGEND
Look at that: nobody can eat that much broccoli, and nobody only eats half a candy bar!
My point is this: by eating Paleo-approved foods, you’re more likely than not to eat fewer calories than you did in the past automatically, which can lead to weight loss.
I dig into this in even greater detail in” Why can’t I lose weight ?” but it all comes down to” calories in, calories out .”
So YES, the Paleo Diet MIGHT help you lose weight.
You merely need to eat fewer calories than you burn every day( Here’s how to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure ). And that is easier when you are eliminating foods that people tend to overeat :P TAGEND
Candy Soda Pasta Bread Dairy
But that’s all about what we’re eliminating. What are we maintaining !?
what Can I eat on The Paleo diet?
In order to follow the Paleo Diet Lifestyle, here are the foods that are Paleo endorse :P TAGEND
Meat*- steak, ham, pork, bison, boar. Organ- liver, kidneys, heart. Marrow- find a theme here? Eat ALL parts of the animal! Fowl- chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that( try to) fly. Fish- cod, tuna, salmon, and so on. Eggs- Look for omega-3 enriched cage-free eggs. Vegetable- spinach, broccoli, kale, carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions, etc. Petroleum- minimally processed, derived from plants: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil. Fats: ghee, lard, or other animal fats. Fruit- apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries. Nuts- almonds, walnuts, cashews, and their respective butters( almond butter is so good !) Tubers- Sweet potatoes and yams.
* If you can, aim for grass-fed beef and organic fruits and vegetables. But don’t go break the bank with your food buys. Simply do the best you can.
As the Paleo Diet explains: Pick any of the foods from that list and feed as much as you want of them.
You might have noticed that a lot of the foods above are loaded with fat. And depending on what your mom told you growing up, you might believe fat is the devil.
So let me address that right away…
Do Eating Fat Make You Fat?
If you’re trim back on carbs, that means you’ll need to fill the void in your diet with the most controversial macronutrient :P TAGEND
Fat!
It’s gotten a bad rap over the past number of decades, so companies have been doing everything possible to stimulate everything low fat and “healthy! ”( while adding all sorts of preservatives, chemicals, and sugar ).
Yup…cut out the fat, increase the carbs….and seem where THAT has gotten us.
Why has fat been vilified? Rather than get into the politics of it myself, I’ll let Gary Taubes, writer of the incredibly thorough and well-researched Good Calories, Bad Calories take over.
As he discusses in an article he wrote for the New York Times a decade ago: [ 2 ]
These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now effectively failed the test of hour.
In particular, that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980′ s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma.( Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly through this period .)
They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal failures, and that on top of it all, the percentage of fat in the American diet has been decreasing for two decades.
Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as expected to be completed.” That is very disconcerting ,” Willett says.” It suggests that something else bad is happening .”
” Low fat” foods were created to follow conventional wisdom that fat attain you fat( which as stated in the above article doesn’t stand up to scrutiny ).
When a company makes a low fat food, they remove the fat and have to replace the flavor with something.
That “something” is usually sugar( and often more calories ).
Crap.
So, according to Taubes and Paleo folks, fat has been vilified and the real focus should have been on sugar and carbs all along.
Because healthy fats are valuable additions to our diet.
Here are some examples of Paleo-Approved Healthy Fats :P TAGEND
Avocados Almond( and almond butter) Fatty cuts of meat Walnuts Coconut oil Olive petroleum
In the Paleo Diet, fat builds up a large portion of one’s diet.
If you’re worried about consuming fat and how it will affect your cholesterol, read our Full Guide to Cholesterol
WhAT Foods Can’t I eat On the Paleo Diet?
If you are looking to strictly follow the Paleo Diet, then you can’t eat foods that did not exist back in” Caveman period .”
Why?
Because- as advocates of the diet point out- cavemen couldn’t eat those foods because they didn’t exist. There was no way to create cereal and candy – you could only eat what you determined or hunted.
So, that’s what the Paleo Diet advocates as the reason for avoiding these foods. And it serves as a good mental model to check with yourself: “Could a caveman have feed this dinner? ”
And when you start to answer this question, you identify the foods that you’re not allowed to eat on the Paleo Diet :P TAGEND
Grains like pasta, cereal bread, and rice Dairy like milk and cheese Candy, cookies, ice cream, and other processed foods
The Paleo Diet also almost entirely eliminates sugar outside of fruit. No candy. No soda. No powdered donuts. Yup, even the mini white ones from the grocery store where you can eat like 100 of them( accidentally, of course ).
Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues can be reversed by cutting out sugar and processed foods.[ 3 ]
But I understand grains and dairy are a bit more complex.
Let me explain :P TAGEND Can I Eat Grains on the Paleo Diet?
Unfortunately , nope.
The Caveman reason why: Grain require some amount of processing, and thus Cavemen would not have eaten them.
The science and psychological reason why: we have a tendency to overeat grains and the other ” no no” foods on the Paleo Diet. They are calorically dense, nutrient deficient, and they can wreak havoc on some people’s blood sugar levels.
This leads to a sugar hurry-up followed by a accident, which can lead to more emotional or hungry overeating…and the process starts again.
Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video-” Why You Got Fat :”
youtube
Let’s get into some more reasons Paleo proponents suggest avoiding grains: most contain gluten and lectins.
What are they and what’s wrong with them? I’m so glad you asked :P TAGEND
Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant( hence all the new “gluten-free! ” items popping up everywhere ). Over hour, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from consuming gluten: dermatitis, joint ache, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.[ 4 ] Lectins are natural toxins that exist in grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being eaten by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, and they prevent the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.
Long story short: many people cannot process grains properly, and they are usually the food that causes people to eat too many calories. So by eliminating grains from your diet, you’re more likely than not going to eat fewer calories without counting calories.
That’s a Paleo win!
Do I Need to Avoid Carbs on the Paleo Diet?
Not inevitably.
That depends on your goals and your body – you are a special snowflake!
Some people function well on a high fat, low carb diet.
Others function better on a high carb, low fat diet.
Personally, I function better on a higher carb, lower fat diet( which is how I lost 22 pounds in 6 months ).
I will say the Paleo Diet is USUALLY a Low Carb diet, and large quantities of carbs are not required for somebody to be healthy regular diet.[ 5 ].
After all, carbs aren’t evil- they’re just…carbs.
Here is the logic and psychology behind why the Paleo Diet is low carb :P TAGEND
On a typical Western diet, we devour plenty o’ carbs, and our bodies convert those carbs to a sugar called “glucose.” This is our body’s preferred method of fueling itself.
In the absence of carbs to create glucose to fuel our bodies, we have to do a few other things instead :P TAGEND
Transform stored fat into glycerol and fatty acids( this process is called lipolysis ). Burn fatty acids for energy or transform the fatty acids into glucose for energy( this is called gluconeogenesis) In the absence of glucose( through fasting or following a Keto Diet ), your body can create ketones for ga( called “ketogenesis” ).
We’re going to focus on the forms of weight loss NOT related to ” ketogenesis .” Unless you are avoiding all carbohydrates while going Paleo, or you are doing long fasts, you most likely won’t be in ketosis while going Paleo.
We do cover Paleo vs Keto: Which is Better if you’re deciding between the two.
Back to weight loss and Paleo: when you cut back on carbs, and thus most likely Also cut back on total calories ingested, you are creating a caloric deficit in your body.
And eat a consistent deficit over a long enough time period, BOOM caveman weight loss.
So, fewer carbs= less glucose in your system, less sugar accidents, less “hangry” moments and smaller opportunity of overeating= fewer calories eaten on average.
If you’re worried about adherence to the diet, I understand – it’s the toughest part of Paleo- sticking with it!
Knowing what to eat is part of it, but following this fairly restrictive lifestyle in a modern surrounding surrounded by cookies and candy and bagels and pasta is really difficult!
If this whole” Paleo, Carbs, and Weight Loss” thing is emphasizing you out, you’re not alone!
In fact, people like you are the reason we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
We work with busy people like you to structure a complete life overhaul: handcrafted workout routines, accountability, mindset changes, and nutritional strategies.
Can I feed Dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I eat Cheese On the Paleo Diet?
This also depends. Strict Paleo folks tend to stay away from it- a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.
Why? Because hunter-gatherers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling- milk was ingested as a newborn through breast milk from their mom, and that was it.
So as Paleo-stans will tell ya, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption.
There is evidence that some adaptation to dairy has taken place throughout the years, specifically with people with pedigree in herding cultures, but this is not the majority of the population.[ 6 ]
Paleo purists will avoid dairy like the beset, while other paleo-ish people have found that eating dairy in its various kinds work for their genetics, aims, and lifestyle.
“What about Cheese? Can I feed cheese on the Paleo Diet? ”
You do you, boo. But if you’re going Strict Paleo, then regrettably cheese is OUT too.
If you’re just looking to lose some weight while following a “mostly Paleo” lifestyle, then adding some high quality cheese into some of your meals can be okay.
Some cheese will tend to have lower sums of lactose or casein- the parts of dairy that can cause digestion challenges.
So, if you’re not sure your body is processing dairy properly, remove dairy from your diet and only introduce it back in when you’re ready to see how your body responds.
If you’re not losing weight while eating a” Paleo+ Dairy” Diet, you’re still feeing too many calories.
Consider cutting out dairy and see how your body responds.
Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of Foods on the Paleo Diet
Because I like you as a person, I’ve made a printable Paleo Diet Shopping List PDF you can bring with you to the grocery store to help you decide what to buy and what to avoid.
Simply right click on the image below and save as :P TAGEND
Feel free to publish this out and bring it with you to the grocery store. If you happen to run into somebody else who has ALSO printed out this sheet, feel free to high five each other while singing Baltimora!
What is a Typical Day Like on the Paleo Diet?
Here is an example of a typical day on “The Paleo Diet” :P TAGEND
Breakfast: Omelet with spinach with fresh fruit. Lunch: Grilled chicken, kale, and avocado salad with vinegar and olive oil. Snack: Apple slice and almond butter. Dinner: Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries. Dessert: Strawberries and a piece of 85% darknes chocolate.
That doesn’t audio so bad, right?
Make sure you check out our Paleo Diet Recipes and Resources section too for more alternatives.
Start with a good protein source with each meal( eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork) and then add a vegetable or fruit.
That’s it.
If you feel hungry constantly, understand that changing up a diet can cause a body a few weeks of adjustment.
Remember, your body is learning to operate on both fewer calories AND fewer carbs- depending on how low carb you go this could be a DRAMATIC change.
And this is often referred to as “carb flu, ” and it can be miserable! Your body might take multiple weeks to adjust to these new habits.
Going from a processed, high sodium diet to a paleo diet you will very often end up eating too little sodium, which is an essential nutrient.
So if you’re feeling tired all the time, try adding some salt to your food or consider an electrolyte supplement- this is what we recommend with our Keto readers too.
Is the Paleo Diet Dangerous?
The dismissive criticisms of the Paleo Diet generally fall into one of three categories :P TAGEND
Cavemen had short lifespans. So there. A recent article said that cavemen eat grains. So there. Eating that much meat is unhealthy. So there.
As I said at the beginning of this article, it doesn’t matter what cavemen or cavewomen ACTUALLY ate.
The reason this diet runs has nothing to do with what our bodies are designed to eat or what cavemen ate 1,000 s of years ago.
The Paleo Diet CAN help you lose weight because it gets you to cut out junk food, focus on eating real food, and gives you a framework to evaluate quickly every food selection :P TAGEND
” Did a caveman eat this? Yes or no .”
That’s it!
By following this ONE rules, you’re likely to eat fewer calories than you used to, and thus you’re likely to end up healthier than before.
I personally don’t follow a Paleo Diet, but I do appreciate the fact that it’s easy to comprehend and gets people to take a more active approach in their food!
So, disregarding the fear mongering, dogma, and anthropological criticisms of what cavemen actually feed, what are the ACTUAL criticisms of the Paleo Diet?
# 1)” Why is the Paleo Diet expensive ?”
Admittedly, while I recommend feeing organic fruits and veggies, free-range chicken, and grass-fed beef whenever possible, these products can be more expensive in conventional stores due to the processes needed to get them there.
However, farmers’ marketplaces often have well-priced meats, eggs, fruit, and veggies that are locally grown and unbelievably healthy.
Even if you’re spending a little more money than before, when you factor in your overall health, spending a few extra bucks on healthier food now is a wiser investment than thousands later on costly medical expenses.
Also, if you’re really short on money, eating the non-organic or grain-fed version of a meat, vegetable, or eggs is still better than feeing bread, pasta, fast food, and the like.
Most people simply compare the cost of a paleo dinner with ramen noodles or pasta and bread and determine Paleo is prohibitively expensive.
Sure, it’s more expensive than those foods, but if you are smart with your fund you can eat a much healthier snack and do really pretty inexpensively. Check out this guide on” How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank” for some tips and tricks.
( This doesn’t even factor in the whole” if you eat inexpensive unhealthy food now, you’ll pay thousands in medical bills and hospital visits and drugs later” argument which is valid too ).
# 2)” But cavemen had short lifespans! Of course they don’t have the diseases we do. We live way longer now .”
I agree with you here, but only because you don’t have to deal with the dangers of living back then. Again we don’t really care to live like cave people!
This is SIMPLY a construct that can help many construction more informed food choices.
# 3)” Plenty of societies around the world consume grains and aren’t fat and unhealthy like us .”
Awesome- it seems like those people have found a solution that works for them. Have you read our big ass guidebook to eating a Plant-Based Diet?
The China Study is frequently cited when blaming the Paleo Diet- are concentrated on a vegetarian diet and ingesting rice is healthier than the Paleo Diet. I respectfully disagree with the conclusions drawn from that volume but that’s awesome if you want to go plant-based! [ 7 ] I’ll leave you to stimulate your own conclusions based on your own self-experimentation.
You’re here to learn about the Paleo Diet though, so let’s keep the focus there.
# 4)” But this is just a meat diet, and eating all meat is bad !”
First of all, consider your sources and do your search before jumping to the conclusions.
Next, this is not an all meat diet like the Carnivore Diet or uber-low carb diets like Keto or Atkins. The biggest component of the Paleo Diet?
Vegetables!
Every meal in a true Paleo diet has a moderate amount of healthy( properly raised chicken, grass-fed beef, hormone free, etc .) meat combined with nutritious veggies or a moderate quantity of fruit.
# 5)” The Paleo Diet is too restrictive and I can’t live like this .”
This is the most valid criticism I personally have of the diet, as the best diet plan is the one you actually stick with and be adhered to on! The objective shouldn’t be to go” full paleo” for a few weeks only going to go to how you were eating before.
Instead, the goal here should be to rethink your relationship with food and develop a strategy that you can live with permanently.
There’s nothing worse than going on diets and gaining and losing the same 20 pounds over and over. The Paleo Diet, like other diets, WORKS ONLY IF YOU STICK WITH IT PERMANENTLY!
This makes sense after all: make temporary alters, get temporary results, right?
# 6)” Steve, I detest veggies. How do you attain vegetables taste better? HALP .”
I got you. Heres how to start liking vegetables and how to build veggies taste better.
We know this all too well, and we have helped thousands of people slowwwwly transition their diet over a long period of time to make change less scary, more permanent, and thus construct the weight loss permanent too!
If you’re overwhelmed or scared of changing too much, or maybe you’re just sick of dieting and want to find a solution that works for your busy lifestyle and situation, schedule a bellow with us to gain a better understanding of our 1-on-1 coaching program :P TAGEND
Paleo Recipes and Paleo Resource
Here’s our full list of Nerd Fitness Paleo/ Healthy recipes, and here are my three favorites :P TAGEND
10 Minutes of Prep, 10 Easy Meals Paleo spaghetti: freaking delicious, I promise How to Make Mini Paleo Pizzas .
I’ve also compiled a listing of my favorite sites and recipe volumes around the internet that can help you get started :P TAGEND
# 1) Nom Nom Paleo -~ ATAGEND Michelle Tam and her husband Henry are amazing people, and their Paleo Blog is absolutely phenomenal. Great photos. Well written. Organized intelligently.
Their “Nom Nom Paleo” cookbook is a fun resource too, and a great place to get started with cooking for your Paleo lifestyle. Oh, what’s that? You have children and a spouse and you’re all trying to eat healthier too? This volume is perfect for that as well!
# 2) Mark’s Daily Apple– Easily the most comprehensive resource on the internet for the Paleo Diet- Mark writes an article every weekday about everything Paleo, and it usually blows me away. Some of the posts can get overwhelming, so I suggest starting with his Primal Blueprint 101.
The Primal Blueprint– If you want to read about this stuff in a book rather than on a computer screen, Mark’s book The Primal Blueprint is a great place to get started on not only what to eat, but why you should be eating it.
It’s educational, funny, real-world applicable, and teaches you how to primalize( just made that up) the rest of your life too.
# 3) Robb Wolf– Another great resource, and a guy I’ve already referenced in this article multiple times. Check out his site for a comprehensive FAQ on all things Paleo, a shopping list pdf( right-click and save ), and plenty of humor.
The Paleo Solution– This article would have been finished 3 hours earlier, but before I wrote it, I read ALL of Robb’s new book. It severely had me laughing out loud at certain points- not bad for a book on diet!
This book is a little less forgiving than Mark’s book above, but it’s still a great read.
# 4) Loren Cordain– Loren is considered the leading expert on the Paleo Diet- Robb is actually one of his students/ disciples/ Padawans.
Dr. Cordain is probably the foremost authority on this type of eating, which is why I actually enjoyed reading both of his books.
MORE RECIPE RESOURCES :P TAGEND
Ready or Not! 150 Make Now Recipes– The newer volume from Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo. It’s super fun. Plus she’s wearing a Nerd FItness t-shirt in some of her photos in the book, so I might be sliiiightly biased Mark’s Daily Apple– Although he sells the cookbook on Amazon, Mark also lists over 100 free primal recipes on his site. Pick something on the listing, go buy the ingredients, and follow the instructions! So easy even a caveman can do it. Everyday Paleo– Great scenes, easy to follow recipes, and pretty interesting combinations. Click on FOOD in the Nav bar, and the meals are broken down into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
If you’re curious about The Paleo Diet’s recent popularity and thus it’s criticisms, we’ve written two other pieces on Nerd Fitness that might be of interest :P TAGEND
” The Paleo Diet Debunked ??” where I address a few of the more recent criticisms that have popped up.
” In Defense of a Paleo-Ish Diet” where I encompass how to live a mostly Paleo lifestyle but still enjoy the modern benefits of society.
Who Should and Who Shouldn’t Do the Paleo Diet?
I’m a fan of the Paleo Diet for the RIGHT person:
I love mental models that help us make sense of the world, and I guess for SOME people, the Paleo Diet will really help them cut down on overeating.
I personally do NOT follow a Paleo Diet, but I do have rules that I follow.
Do whatever stimulates you happy and accommodates in your schedule. I like this kind of stress-free eating.
Regardless of whether or not grains should be vilified, I love this diet because I know it WORKS. I know people that have lost incredible sums of weight and changed their lives within a matter of months.
People like Staci :P TAGEND
Regardless of how you feel about grains, we can all agree that eating more natural foods and less processed foods is better for you.
YOU SHOULD DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
You struggle with portion control( entailing you can’t eat only one cookie, or you tend to keep eating even when you’re full ). You can stick with the changes you’re making permanently! Remember, temporary changes make temporary results. You don’t mind eliminating some of your favorite foods wholly.
YOU SHOULD NOT DO THE PALEO DIET IF :P TAGEND
The idea of giving up non-paleo foods induces you want to cry. You don’t mind learning about calories and want to track your food. Another diet sounds like a better fit for you!
Consider some of these other options instead:
The Mediterranean Diet which still includes portions of things like pasta or bread( note: I said Portions , not platefuls )! Our guide on healthy eating and slowly adjust your nutrition- which would be my recommendation. My paleo-ish dietary philosophy that holds me healthy and happy.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to stimulate permanent adjustments to your nutrition.
If you don’t see yourself being able to permanently follow a Paleo Diet, I would advise a more’ wade in from the shallow aim‘ approach to dietary change!
How to Do the Paleo Diet Safely
Maybe you’re ready to try out this Paleo lifestyle, but you can’t commit fully. There are certain foods you refuse to give up, or you can’t afford to buy grass-fed beef at the moment.
That’s okay!
If you can even make a few small changes here there are still( cut out liquid calories, switch out your rice for steamed veggies, cut back on bread, etc .) you’ll start to see some changes.
Remember, 20% healthier is better than 0% healthier- as you get more comfortable with the changes you can increase that percentage.
After all, I know how tough it is to stay loyal to a strict diet, especially without a plan to follow. It’s why we created free resources that can help you reach your goals faster without you also going crazy.
Get rid of the temptation: if you’re gonna go at this thing with a full head of steam, remove all the junk food from your house.
It’s going to take a few weeks for your body to adjust to burning fat instead of glucose, and you might want to eat poorly here there are still. If there’s no food in your house to tempt you, it will be much easier to stay on target.
Now, it’s your turn.
Have you tried the Paleo Diet yet? What was your experience like? Have a criticism of the diet that I didn’t cover before? Do you have a favorite paleo resource?
Remember, one of the major Rules of the Rebellion is to question everything!
I hope this article gives you some food for thought( terrible pun, I know ), and gives you permission to question conventional wisdom and start addressing the issues in your diet!
In addition to this Beginner Paleo Guide, I hope you consider checking our 1-on-1 Coaching Program as well.
We have designed this program from the ground up to help people like you change their lives and fix their nutrition in a way that doesn’t suck.
Now, go forth. And feed like a caveman.
-Steve
PS: I’ll leave you with a mention of the Nerd Fitness Academy– it essentially gamifies your experience in transitioning into a Paleo lifestyle and diet, and provides you with specific instruction, snack plans, workouts, and a supportive community.
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photo sources: cavemen elephant hunt, caveman cooking over fire, cavemen hunt paleo bear, milk truck logo, darth vader vendor, storm trooper tomato, lego cook, chef and lego pig, lego explorer, lego muffin, lego bread and carbs, frozen caveman grok lego, lego clock, lego caveman forge for food, caveman with wheel, darth vader and ostrich lego, easing into water lego, lego man with pasta
Footnote( returns to text)
Adult Obesity Prevalence Map CDC.gov
What if its all Been a Big Fat Lie ? Take a look at this time magazine article on cancer patients who switched to a zero-sugar diet and assured positive results. You can read our full guide on Gluten check out the Inuit Paradox for a great read on societies that exist without almost any carbohydrates If you want to nerd out about this stuff, go wild with this study This is the most well-researched criticism I’ve see of the China Study: Denise Menger- China Study- Fact or Fallacy
Read more: nerdfitness.com
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9 Ways to Get Kids to Drink Healthy Green Smoothies
If you’re in the habit of drinking a green smoothie every day, you already know how healthy and delicious it is.
You probably even reap some of the benefits, including more energy, weight loss, better digestion, skin tone improving, and fewer cravings for sweets and processed foods. (My survey of 175 new green smoothie drinkers yielded these top 5 answers, published in The Green Smoothies Diet [2009]).
Of course, it’d be even better if you could get your family on the bandwagon – and if you’re like hundreds of parents who have asked me over the years, you may be wondering how to get kids to drink healthy green smoothies.
The nice thing about getting more nutrient density in a child’s diet, in the form of a pint of green smoothie a day (which is 7+ servings of raw greens, superfoods, and fruit), is that he or she is less likely to beg you for candy and treats, especially as an after-school smoothie becomes a habit.
In this article:
Start with something your kids already love.
Be smart about how you serve it.
Include your kids in the selection and preparation process.
Teach them to whip it and shake it!
Work with your kids — not against them.
Pull back on pressure, but take responsibility.
Make it matter — what’s in it for them?
Set a good example?
Challenge each other.
The epic battle between kids and parents who want them to eat their veggies is a common one, but including greens as part of a healthy diet is crucial for children’s development, as well as reducing the risk of chronic disease and helping maintain a healthy body weight.1
The US Department of Agriculture ChooseMyPlate tool2 recommends that kids fill their half their plates with fruits and vegetables at every meal, aiming for one to two cups of fruits and one to three cups of vegetables each day, depending on a child’s age and sex. Sadly, the Center for Disease Control reports that 60% of kids don’t meet daily recommendations for fruit, and 93% don’t eat enough vegetables.3
And most other government estimates are far lower. The USDA reports that the average American child eats just 1-2 vegetables and fruits daily, with most of those being in the form of ketchup, french fries, and the juice to wash it all down.
These aren’t exactly the best fruits and vegetables. (If I were in charge of classifying foods, I’m not sure that I would call french fries a vegetable.)
What if you could get spinach, kale, chard, sprouts, blueberries, cashews, flaxseed, ginger, and turmeric in your child (just an example of what you could throw in the blender) before she starts her school day, every day? It’s brain food for getting A’s and staying focused and happy!
And what’s even better, it’s not particularly expensive, and it can be achieved in 10 minutes every morning, with a good blender.
As a parent, would you be excited about that?
Green smoothies are the best way to get lots of nutrients in little time.
If you can get your kids on board with green smoothies, you have an easy way to help them get the vitamins, minerals, calcium, fiber, and other nutrients they need.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make it happen and make it easier. I’m a veteran green-smoothie mom, having raised four children to adulthood drinking green smoothies daily. I think I’ve pretty much seen it all, and everything I share with you below came from the “school of hard knocks.”
For instance, I learned early in the process NOT to send the daily pint of green smoothie to school in the lunchbox. It’s too easy for them to not drink it, because 5th graders care about little more than not standing out among their peers. Blended spinach isn’t exactly standard in school lunches.
For us, the green smoothie as breakfast or after-school snack worked better, because I was there to supervise it.
What happened when I took my eye off the ball? I once found 11 pints of rotten green smoothies in my younger daughter’s bedroom, in a toy “treasure chest.” Apparently she hadn’t learned to “treasure” nutrition yet. I had been wondering what happened to all my pint jars, which sent me on a treasure hunt that ended in Libby’s closet.
(Happy update: that same girl loves plant-based, whole-foods nutrition nowadays, and is away at college and asking for tips and help on a weekly basis because she’s learned she feels better when she eats greens, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and nuts and seeds as the foundation of her diet. Teaching your kids correct principles when it comes to nutrition is something we both model and teach, and the benefits aren’t always immediate.)
Check out some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned through the years for how to get kids to drink healthy green smoothies, and watch your kids start slurping!
MAKE IT FAMILIAR AND FUN
1.    Start with something your kids already love.
To get kids to drink green smoothies painlessly, think of developing this habit as a process, rather than an event. If your kids are new to whole foods, and you’re trying to right the course now that they’re rather addicted to processed foods, start out simply with ingredients they already love.
Make sure some dark-colored berries are involved at first; a “green smoothie” doesn’t actually have to LOOK green (a color that kids may react to negatively, at first) — it just has to have greens in it!
A green smoothie can come out looking purple, orange, pink — any color of the rainbow!
Use flavorful fruits like berries, pineapple, or peaches that have natural sweetness – and use only mild-tasting greens like spinach to start. After your kids love green smoothies, you can sneak in higher amounts of greens and other superfood ingredients like cabbage, sprouts, bee pollen, and ginger.
Here are two yummy green smoothie recipes, with video demos, that are perfect for starting kids out with:
Greena Colada Smoothie
Bumble Berry Pie Smoothie
2.    Be smart about how you serve it.
Getting your child to try a green smoothie can be an uphill battle, but a little creativity goes a long way. Whip up a concoction and give it a fun name you know will entice your child.
If your child can’t get enough of Marvel comics, make a vivid green smoothie and call it “Hulk Juice.” Younger kids might respond well to “Frozen Elsa Elixir” if they’ve watched Frozen 361 times, or “Thomas the Tank Engine Turbo Fuel” if they love talking trains, as my youngest son Tennyson did.
  Make it even more appealing by putting it into a fun “character” cup or a colorful kid-friendly container that belongs to just him or her and can be used only for green smoothies – and you may just get your kids to drink super-healthy goop every day of the week. I know one family who started with shot glasses of green smoothie and worked up from there!
MAKE IT HANDS ON
3.    Include your kids in the selection and preparation process.
Turn your family green smoothie experience into a bonding opportunity, and get your kids in on the fun! In fact, it just might be “training” that you can hand off to the eldest children, as a permanent assigned job, which might be called “Family Sous Chef.”
Decide on what kind of potion or hero-juice you’re going to whip up, and make a list of ingredients together, guiding your kids toward healthy, reasonable options. Then, go on a scavenger hunt together at the grocery store or farmers’ market to pick out the ripest, juiciest, green-smoothiest ingredients you can find.
To get your kids even more invested, plant a green smoothie garden. Talk with your kids about what ingredients they’d like to plant, aiming for easy-to-grow produce like greens and strawberries. You can even purchase miniature citrus trees if they’re suitable for your area.
Gardening is one way to get your kids more interested and invested in what they eat.
Whether you create it in a small plot in the backyard or in a few containers on your patio, your kids will love digging in the dirt, planting the seeds, and watching the garden grow. Of course, you won’t have ingredients immediately, but when your produce is ready for harvest, your kids are bound to be excited about finally tasting all their hard work in a delicious green smoothie.
If they grow it, shop for it, or prepare it, they are far more likely to enjoy drinking it.
4.    Teach them to whip it and shake it!
If your kids are old enough, let them handle any age-appropriate kitchen tasks. Collecting the ice or peeling oranges may be fun for younger kids, while older children might be able to help clean vegetables or juice citrus fruits. Even the little ones are probably able to press the button on the blender under your close supervision.
A kid-friendly, healthy recipe book with easy smoothie recipes is a great way to get them excited about taking the initiative in healthy choices. My Big Book of Green Smoothies features 50 kids’ photos, submitted by my readers, and even a horse, bunny, and dog green smoothie mustache I didn’t ask them for! Let kids see that other kids do it, and love it, and they’ll be more likely to jump in and join you.
MAKE IT EASY
5.    Work with your kids – not against them.
If your child automatically rejects anything that’s green, don’t be afraid to adjust. Maybe it’s time to step back, meet him where he is, and quietly start praising every positive choice (like a full glass, instead of a shot glass, or a smile on his face rather than pouting or complaining).
Maybe it’s time to have a full-fledged incentive chart. What does she get if she drinks a pint a day, for a full month? (Make sure the reward isn’t a box of ice cream or a package to herself of Oreos. Can you say “mixed messages”?)
We all respond to encouraging behaviors and praise. I’ve seen very famous, successful adults do fairly ridiculous things to please a teacher in a training and earn a small reinforcer.
What would your child be willing to do to spend a few hours with Mom and Dad, ice skating on a Friday night, all by himself, no siblings included? (This was a common reward for completing a goal chart for my kids as they were growing up.)
If your kids are young, no pressure here, but as an older parent, I’d love to share this with you:
From ages 0 to 11, you have a lot of control. Later, you will have decreasing impact on your children’s choices, so not only am I telling you to enjoy being the center of your child’s world; I’m also suggesting that you take very seriously that ages 0-11 is where you create habit. You are creating deep associations with food that will be powerful for the rest of their lives. Your child will have a very difficult time changing his associations with food — positive or negative, junk food versus nutritious options — after setting those tastes and habits and attitudes in the early years.
So, I’m asking you to consider how your example, what you talk about, and what you present to your children has everything to do with whether they’ll be healthy at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and beyond.
That might feel heavy. But it matters. Even if everything you serve isn’t the “perfect” diet, do you think you will ever be sorry if you’re writing a blog post like this, 20 years from now, telling other people you made a blender full of superfoods-and-greens smoothies every day your kids were growing up?
I don’t think you will. I don’t think you’ll say, “I just wish I hadn’t fed my kids all that healthy food.” No parent has ever said it, and none ever will.
(Quite the opposite. Check out this blog post I wrote, collecting reactions from parents when I said, “What do you wish you’d done differently, as a parent?” You WILL find responses that say, “I wish I’d modeled and taught healthier dietary choices.” You’ll find no one saying the opposite.)
6.    Pull back on pressure but take responsibility.
“Forcing” your kids to eat anything can backfire. Once I watched one of my girlfriends, on a weekend at the lake with our little kids, hold her son down and shove pieces of a hot dog in his mouth. It was a shocking sight — an otherwise good mom driven to momentary insanity because her little guy was severely constipated and refusing to eat meals.
But just because we don’t “force,” does that mean everything should be a “choice,” even when a child is 3 years old, 7 years old, 10 years old?
Take advantage of the time in your child’s life when you have the most influence on them.
My own advanced study of child development leads me to this basic conclusion: we are not equipped to make all of our choices at a very young age. We should have increasing choice the older we get. And how a family rule or requirement is presented makes all the difference.
Remember when your mom made you clean your plate because kids in China were starving?
(I’m one of 8 children in a one-income military family [read: money was scarce, groceries were rationed], and I remember many times I woke up in the morning to have my dinner plate still at the table, and I wasn’t allowed to have oatmeal until I ate the two cold pieces of zucchini stuck to the plate from the night before. Because “there are starving children in Africa.” I always wondered, will they not starve if I eat all my zucchini? Or, is there any way I can send the starving children this zucchini? Because I would really love to.)
I don’t think everything about the “eat what you’re served” old-school mentality is bad. It’s an easy mentality to criticize, since most of us who were forced to “clean our plate” had to later overcome an eating disorder. (I gained the Freshman 15, because I didn’t have the self-awareness that I could go through the buffet line and then not eat every bite I’d put on my tray.)
On the upside, though, my 7 siblings and I will all eat pretty much anything, regardless of how it tastes. This serves us well in making our food choices based on what that food will do for us, rather than all our choices being related to whether it “tastes good.”
How can we have the best of both worlds from old-school parenting (“eat your vegetables, dammit”) and new-agey parenting (“here are some choices”)?
I understand that modern parenting believes that everything should be just giving your child choices. However, it’s foolishness to think that if you offer a kid a piece of pizza, versus a vegetable tray, that any kid would choose the veggies.
(I’ve actually tested this on groups of 25 children and gotten 0 takers each time on the vegetables.)
Most adults can’t resist junk food when it’s available to them — how can we expect kids to do any better?
I often tell my kids, “There are two kinds of foods. The kind we eat because it’s good for us, and the kind we eat because it tastes good. Most of our choices need to be in the first category. So just eat it, please.”
I think I’ve said it so many times, it’ll be quoted from the mic at my funeral, and all my kids will laugh their heads off.
It’s not very New-Agey parenting, I know. Parenting advice today is all about not “making” anybody do anything and just helping kids feel good about anything they choose as long as it’s not murder or grand larceny.
But it was all theory, this idea that kids should never be required to do anything; they should just be shown some vegetables on a regular basis, in case they might feel like trying some, and to break down their aversion to them.
Part of “getting real” about our responsibility as parents, as the primary teacher and behavior model, is not bringing junk food into the house.
It’s already next-to-impossible to avoid kids being fed donuts and soda at daycare, school, and even church.
So we’re doomed if sugary garbage foods are constantly tempting our kids in the pantry and fridge. The home is where food habits are taught, where most meals are eaten, and it’s where our children will learn habits that either serve them well, or lead them into obesity, the dieting yo-yo, and health problems for life.
I didn’t have junk food in my home. Ever. Not everyone will agree with that philosophy or practice, but I decided to give some healthy respect to how addictive these foods are and just not bring them home in the first place.
But if you put chocolate in my pantry, no matter what my PLANS were, I’d have it all gone within two days, guaranteed.
And I’m a certifiable health nut, with a fully developed frontal lobe, at my age, aware of higher purposes and consequences of my actions. And still, I’m helpless against chocolate. I’ve learned I just cannot have it in my house.
It’s rather foolish to think we can put Cheetohs and Diet Coke in our pantry and expect our kids to make healthy decisions and go for the big salad instead. While this is the prevailing popular parenting advice, I think it lacks a healthy respect for the addictive qualities of processed foods that are hurting our children, and dogging virtually all of us, into adulthood.
I am responsible for the food I bring into my home. I am responsible for the eating habits I show my children I am committed to.
And I am responsible for the things I need to know, and then teach, my children, about health, consequences, and how to optimize their life using food choices.
Parents are responsible for modeling healthy eating habits for their kids.
Oh, and one more thing:
While it might be tempting to try offer a green smoothie as a treat or a reward, that can send the wrong message to your kids.
Treating food as fuel for a healthy body is a smarter strategy for helping your kids to develop healthy eating habits and attitudes. It takes more creativity as a parent, to avoid defaulting into “food as a reward,” but even rewarding kids with a green smoothie teaches them some dangerous thought patterns.
Once I went to my children’s charter school and asked that my child not be assigned to a popular, excellent 5th grade teacher for the following year. Why? Because she rewarded all good behavior in her classroom with a drawer full of candy.
It wasn’t just that I didn’t want my daughter eating candy all day, which is bad for her physical health. It’s also that I didn’t want psychological hard-coding, at that impressionable age, that if you do something good, you deserve some junk food.
7. Make it matter: What’s in it for them?
When I talk to my kids about a healthy choice I wish they would make, I always talk about health benefits that matter to them.
Be very specific.
For instance, a motivated student will care that getting lots of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes will help her think more clearly and perform better on tests.
An athlete will care that all the muscles he depends on for fast-twitch activities, like pitching and fielding and hitting, are optimized when the foods highest in minerals keep the neurons and muscle fibers firing.
A child with acne will care that gluten, dairy, or sugar (or more than one of these) are causing inflammation in his gut and liver, showing up on his skin.
If you don’t have that conversation, he will think that his acne is a skin problem. (It’s never a skin problem–it’s a hormone and a gut problem, and while terrifying drugs like Accutane can mask symptoms, the problem remains.)
If I have any regrets as I look back at the time I had with each of my four children, it usually starts like this:
“I wish I had talked to him more about…..”
Deciding to have regular conversations with the kids about food, and its impact on the symptoms they complain about, is part of great parenting.
We must do it without heavy judgment or condescension. Information is best received by teens and young adults, I’ve found, if you start with this:
“You probably already know this, but….”
Try that. It’s magical. It disarms them from their automatic response of trying to prove to you how smart, independent, and sophisticated they are.
A series of smaller conversations about healthy eating will probably be more effective than one huge lecture.
And keep the conversations that could be construed as “lectures” short. Kids tune out instruction that goes on at length (you can probably imitate the teacher in Charlie Brown, symbolic of every time we’ve all spaced off during a long lecture).
I remember thinking I did a great job of teaching my kids about sex.
Later, my then-21 year old daughter scolded me, “You told me so much, all at once — you should have spread that out, and had lots of conversations over the years.”
And it was true, I realized. I delivered a mighty sermon on human sexuality, complete with a fabulous nuanced values statement of my own — and then considered the job done.
The best kind of sex ed is delivered, like most classes, in bits and pieces.
Food and nutrition are so very important — they deserve a lot of coverage. Not just “eat your vegetables!” But rather, focus on the WHY. Know your facts about food and health, and be very specific, and make it relevant.
MAKE IT A FAMILY AFFAIR
8.    Set a good example.
If you’re wondering how to get your kids to drink healthy green smoothies, it’s likely you already drink them yourself – but if you don’t, it’s time to start.
Kids learn by watching you, and modeling healthy food attitudes and behaviors will help them to develop their own. As an older parent, let me assure you that the results of what you model to your kids will be clear only as they become teenagers and adults.
Kids pay attention to your choices, and everything you eat matters. If your kids see you drink a green smoothie but then devour an entire bag of chips every night or scrape half of your own serving of broccoli into the trash, while taking seconds of the chicken dish, that green smoothie probably isn’t having the effect you hope it will.
Example is far more powerful than lectures.
9. Challenge each other.
Gamifying your daily green smoothies is a quick way to get the whole family into the habit. Try a green smoothie challenge where everyone commits to adding one smoothie per day for a set amount of time. I like a nine-day challenge, because it’s long enough for kids to see great results in their energy and sleep and try a variety of different smoothies.
At the dinner table, have the kids share with you what they notice during and after the 9 days. Maybe the family can discuss whether to continue on with the 9-day challenge. Ask them if they notice they have better/more poop and any other changes.
  Getting kids to drink greens can seem daunting in a world where few of their friends, and none of their social life, models this kind of choice – but it’s not impossible. With a little creativity and lot of patience, you can teach your kids to love making healthy choices that have long term positive consequences.
A FINAL NOTE
Because I did battle with the junk food world myself, and learned everything I write about in this blog post from experience raising four children, I wrote a book that many parents find very useful, to engage their children in making good choices.
The Adventures of Junk Food Dude is all about a boy named Connor who is suffering in grade school due to his diet being primarily processed food. Like one-third of America’s children today, he is significantly overweight.
Another boy in class, the Green Smoothie Guy, befriends him and challenges him to eat no processed sugar for 4 days. He teaches his new buddy how to make a green smoothie.
As Connor changes his habits, his family is inspired, and things turn around for him at school, too.
Many parents have told me that this book, geared for ages 4 to 11, is their child’s favorite book, and that they re-read it to them often.
Some parents tell me that their child asks, at the grocery store, “Mom, is this a Junk Food Dude food, or a Green Smoothie Guy food?”
When this book debuted, I made green smoothies for kids at book readings all over Utah, hosted by health food stores, and I let them choose a badge that said, “I’m a Green Smoothie Guy!” (or Girl)
A quiz at the end of the book lets your child point to foods Green Smoothie Guy taught Junk Food Dude about–foods they could choose more, so that they perform better in academic, athletics, and life in general.
READ NEXT: How one GreenSmoothieGirl reader is raising her kids to be healthy eaters–great tips!
  Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.
    [1] Pem D, Jeewon R. Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Benefits and Progress of Nutrition Education Interventions- Narrative Review Article. Iran J Public Health. 2015;44(10):1309-21.
[2] US Department of Agriculture “Choose My Plate – Kids” Retrieved from: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids
[3] CDC Newsroom: Children eating more fruit, but fruit and vegetable intake still too low. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0805-fruits-vegetables.html
  Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links, which allows you to support our mission without costing you extra.
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derrickappleus · 6 years ago
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Keto Snacks: These are the Best and Worst Low-Carb Snacks
There are plenty of benefits to eating fewer carbs, but it’s hard to know what the best and worst low-carb snacks are. For starters, studies have proven that people following low-carb diets burn more fat than those eating low-fat diets. I know that sounds crazy, right? But it actually works. When you eat healthy fats (like those found in olive and fish oils), your body has an easier time burning excess fat stored in your body.
Because we’ve been conditioned to eat low-fat as opposed to low-carb, the change in diet can definitely be a struggle. Carbs provide us with fast energy, which is ready to be used quickly after being consumed. The major problem with carbs? If you’re not using them for energy, they turn to fat. That’s why you can eat a low-fat diet and still have high body fat.
Low-carb diets like the Ketogenic diet are becoming increasingly popular due to their health benefits. If you’re ready to try eating fewer carbohydrates but you’re not sure where to start, this quick list will help you understand the best and worst snacks for when you’re eating low carb.
The Best Low-Carb Snacks
1. Hummus
Hummus is a delicious dip that can be flavored with savory or sweet spices. It’s packed with loads of protein thanks to its main, powerhouse ingredient: chickpeas. This well-balanced snack can help balance out blood sugar and cravings. Check out this list of hummus recipes for inspiration!
2. Cashew Butter
Any nut butter is a great source of healthy fats, but cashew butter is something a little different than run-of-the-mill peanut butter. Cashew butter is deliciously creamy and super versatile. Make an easy snack from your childhood with this clean eating nut butter and jelly sandwich!
3. Strawberries
Most berries are low in carbs and sugar, which is perfect when you’re looking for a sweet treat that’s also low in carbs. Berries are also full of antioxidants, and strawberries can be paired with plenty of flavors to create unique combinations. Try making this Mint Yogurt with Strawberries recipe for a morning pick-me-up!
4. Cottage Cheese
I’m going to be honest with you: I’m not a fan of cottage cheese (I just can’t get over the texture). But the health benefits it offers can’t be beat. So what do you do? Repurpose this food into something unique, especially if you’re like me when it comes to cottage cheese. Make these Skinny Cottage Cheese Pancakes for a low-carb treat!
5. Tofu
Tofu gets a bad rep, and usually for legitimate reasons. Most people don’t know how to properly prepare tofu and it ends up being soggy and flavorless instead of living up to its full flavor potential. When prepared properly, tofu can make a tasty snack because it’s packed full of plant-based protein! Get the rundown on tofu with our DIY guide.
6. Pumpkin Seeds
Also known as pepitas, pumpkin seeds are a great low-carb snack. They’re easy to eat on-the-go on their own, but they can also be used to top dishes with an extra healthy crunch. Plus, they’re heart healthy! Roasting them gives them more flavor, so check out these recipes to for some inspiration.
7. Red Grapefruit
Citrus is amazing for its fat-burning properties, but red grapefruit is the king. It might be a popular breakfast food, but you can also add citrus into salads for a fresh and tart flavor. Try this Purple Potato, Grapefruit, and Asparagus Salad for a light and healthy low-carb snack!
8. Edamame
A plant-based protein like edamame is a quick and easy way to get fuel on the go. Fresh or roasted, flavored or plain, this little plant can do it all. It’s becoming much more common, which also means it’s easier to find at the grocery store. Check out these other amazing and delicious plant-based proteins for more low-carb ideas!
9. Greek Yogurt
Everyone eating healthy knows that Greek yogurt should be a staple ingredient in their diet. It’s supremely versatile on its own, or you can use it as an ingredient in a dish. It’s easy to pack a cup and eat it as a midmorning snack, but don’t be afraid to experiment with it. Make something different, like these Buckwheat Crepes with Fruit Filling.
10. Avocado
Of course, everyone knows that avocado is a delicious superfood, but it’s always worth mentioning for any low-carb diet. Avocados have plenty of healthy fats and they’re another food that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. For a simple snack, nothing beats a classic: Avocado Toast.
The Worst Low Carb Snacks
1. Juice
Many people think it’s okay to drink juice because it’s made from fruit…so it must be healthy, right? Unfortunately, juice tends to be pretty high in carbs and added sugars. Get a jump-start on your day with the same flavor of juice but without all the added extras with one of these great smoothie recipes.
2. Gluten-Free Foods
If you have Celiac disease, ignore this one! But, if you think “gluten-free” means “carb-free,” you’re probably wrong. Gluten-free foods are still made with carbohydrates, and sometimes there are even added ingredients to help add a boost of flavor. Instead, opt for whole grains and complex carbs when you do decide to eat carbohydrates.
3. Margarine
Eating the right kinds of fats is so important. Margarine is full of processed vegetable oils, making it one of the worst choices around. Olive oil is well-known as one of the best (and healthiest fats) out there, thanks to its prominence in the Mediterranean diet. Check out all of the benefits of olive oil here!
4. Sweetened Yogurt
Anything with added sugar is an automatic no-go for when you’re trying to eat healthy. It’s especially important to avoid added sugars when you’re on a low-carb diet. Not only do they add extra carbs, but they also add simple carbs, which are the worst kind to consume. Get that same sweet taste without all the junk in this Berry and Chia Yogurt Parfait.
5. Milk
While milk isn’t inherently bad, it’s also not the best choice for a low-carb diet. Sugars from the lactose add carbs to the milk, so try nut milks instead. These have become increasingly popular, just make sure to check the ingredients to make sure there aren’t any added sugars! Give nut milks a try with this Almond Protein Smoothie.
6. Corn
Most people know that starchy vegetables like white potatoes should be avoided when following a low-carb diet. What surprises people, though, is that corn is considered a starchy vegetable! There are a lot better choices when it comes to eating low-carb vegetables, so why not try broccoli instead?
7. Pre-Packaged Granola Bars
Granola is a great snack when you make it yourself. You’re able to dictate every ingredient, so you know exactly what goes into it. The problem with buying it at the store is that these bars full of added ingredients you don’t need in your diet. Try one of these 13 low-sugar granola recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth, instead.
8. Cereal
A lot of cereals market themselves as being healthy, with tag-lines like “whole grains” and “added vitamins and minerals.” Unfortunately, these companies are boasting these statements without having any actual science behind them. You think you’re getting a healthy breakfast when you’re really not! Make one of these low-carb breakfast recipes instead.
9. Dried Fruits
While they’re fine in moderation, it’s easy to overindulge in dried fruits. This is another one of those foods that’s typically packed full of added sugar, so fresh is always better when it comes to fruits. A lot of low-carb dieters avoid fruit altogether. If that’s what you want to do, try one of these fruit infused water recipes for a sweet taste without all the carbs.
10. Sugar-Free Foods
Don’t be fooled by the allure of a sugar-free food. Companies love sneaking in crazy chemicals and other unhealthy ingredients to compensate for lost flavor from sugar. Always opt for whole, naturally low-sugar foods when you’re eating low-carb. We recommend making a filling dish that will keep your hunger at bay, instead.
It might seem overwhelming at first, but follow these guidelines for the best and worst low-carb snacks and you’ll be on your way to a low-carb diet in no time! Remember, SkinnyMs. has meal plans as well, so we’ll be here with you every step of the way. Stop making excuses and get started on your new lifestyle today!
Looking for even more SkinnyMs.? Be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for even more amazing content!
The post Keto Snacks: These are the Best and Worst Low-Carb Snacks appeared first on Skinny Ms..
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trendingnewsb · 8 years ago
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A Wholesome Diet Is What You Need to Gain Happiness: 30 Natural Low-Carb Foods
The Importance of Low-Carb Diet
In the last few decades, health authorities have guided us towards a diet low in calories and fat. The issue is, even when many people stick to these diets, they tend not to get desired results [1]
The alternative available is a diet low in carbs. This involves restricting a high intake of carbohydrates in the form of starches and sugars replacing them with protein and fat. Diets low in carb reduce appetites which in turn makes your calorie intake lower and weight loss is effortless, provided that carbs are kept down.
Cutting Carb Intake Improve Your Health from Several Aspects
Studies clearly indicate that low carb diets are beyond weight loss. Cutting down on your carb intake has a range of significant benefits:
It reduces hunger levels
It is an “automatic” program of weight loss without the need to count calories.
Low-Carb diets result in a greater percentage of weight loss than low-fat diets
Low-Carb diets benefit metabolic health. This reduces blood sugar, blood pressure and various other health complications are alleviated.
All of this means you can eat until you are full, feel the satisfaction and still manage to lose weight.
The Perfect Amount of Carb Intake
There is no clear cut definition of exactly what constitutes a “low carb diet”. What is low for one may not be low for another. The carb intake for an individual depends on gender, age and body composition, personal preferences, lifestyle, levels of activity, food culture and the current metabolic state of health.
Physically active people with more muscle mass tolerate a higher level of carbs than ‘desk-bound’ people. Metabolic health is an important factor. People can get obese and even diabetes with a metabolic syndrome. Those that fall into this category cannot tolerate the same carb intake as those that are healthy.
By simply removing unhealthy carb sources from your daily diet in the form of refined wheat and sugar additives, you are well on the path to better health. To enjoy metabolic benefits fully you have to restrict other sources of carb,
Let us get down to what you may eat:
Every single vegetable
Fruit combination varieties
A portion of healthy starches like sweet potatoes, potatoes and healthy grains like oats and rice
******Base meal plans around foods with a low carb content to lose weight and improve overall health.
Most low carb foods are healthy, delicious and nutritious.
The 30 Most Low-Carb Foods:
1. Eggs (Carbs: Almost 0)
Eggs are a healthy and nutritious source of food, loaded with multiple nutrients, including nutrients for the brain as well as compounds that can improve eyes.
Meats
All meats types are close to a zero level of carb except liver that contains approximately 5% of carbs
2. Beef (Carbs: 0)
Beef is a satisfying food form loaded with nutrients like B12 and iron. There are various beef types like ground beef, steak and hamburgers.
3. Lamb (Carbs: 0)
Lamb contains numerous nutrients including B1. Lamb is grass-fed, and is high in fatty beneficial acids.
4. Chicken (Carbs 0)
Chicken is the most popular meat in the world. It has beneficial nutrients, and is a good protein source. On a low carb diet, it is better to choose wings and thighs, the ‘fattier’ portions.
5. Pork inclusive of Bacon (Carbs 0, in most cases)
Pork is delicious meat type and bacon one of the favorites for low-carb dieters. Bacon is a meat that processed meat, so it is not a “health food”. It is however, acceptable to moderate amounts when on a low-carb diet. Buy bacon locally, without the artificial ingredients. Read labels to check sugar content to ensure carbs are kept at the zero level.
Other low carb meats include Turkey, Bison, Veal and Venison.
Seafoods
Seafoods are healthy and nutritious, high in Omega 3 fatty acids, iodine and vitamin B12, with no carbohydrates.
6. Salmon (Carbs: 0)
Salmon is the most popular fish type for the health conscious since it contains Omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is also loaded with B12, iodine, and contains vitamin D3.
7. Trout (Carbs: 0)
Trout, like salmon is a fish type which is loaded with important nutrients including Omega-3 fatty acids.
8. Sardines (Carbs: 0)
Sardines are eaten whole,with bones. Sardines are nutrient-dense consisting of every kind of nutrient needed by the human body .
9. Shellfish (Carbs: 4-5%)
Shellfish are nutritious and should be part of meals. They consist of a high protein percentage and are low in fat.
Other Low-Car Seafood include: Shrimp, Lobster, Haddock, Tuna, Herring, Cod, Catfish and Halibut.
Vegetables
Most vegetables have a low percentage of carbs. Cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens are the lowest, and majority of the carbs in them contain fiber. Root vegetables like sweet potatoes and potatoes are high in carb content.
10. Broccoli (Carbs: 7%)
Broccoli can be eaten raw or cooked. It contains high levels of vitamin C, K and fiber with cancer-fighting compounds.
11. Tomatoes (Carbs: 4%)
Tomatoes, high in potassium and vitamin C are essentially berries or fruits, but used as vegetables.
12. Onions ( Carbs: 9%)
Onions are tasty plants adding powerful flavor to meals. They are high in antioxidants and fiber, and consist compounds that are anti-inflammatory.
13. Brussels Sprouts (Carbs: 7%)
Brussels sprouts are nutritious vegetables, related to kale and broccoli. High in vitamins C and K, they contain beneficial compounds.
14. Cauliflower (Carbs: 5%)
Versatile and tasty cauliflower, is a vegetable high in folate and vitamins C and K.
15. Kale (Carbs: 10%)
Kale, a popular vegetable among the health-conscious, is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, vitamin K, as well as carotene antioxidants.
16. Eggplant (Carbs: 6%)
Eggplant is high in fiber, a fruit consumed like a vegetable.
17. Cucumber (Carbs: 4%)
Cucumber has a mild flavor, consisting mainly of water, with a small vitamin K percentage
18. Bell Peppers (Carbs: 6%)
Bell peppers have a satisfying and distinct flavor and are high in fiber, vitamin C as well as carotene antioxidants.
19. Asparagus (Carbs: 2%)
Asparagus, a delicious spring vegetable, is high in fiber, folate and vitamin C, together with carotene antioxidants. It has a high protein content.
20. Green Beans (Carbs: 7%)
Green beans are legumes, consumed as vegetables. They are high in nutrients that include vitamin C, protein, fiber, vitamin K, potassium and manganese.
21. Mushrooms ( Carbs: 3%)
Mushrooms are not plants, but treated as vegetables. They contain potassium, and have a high content of B-vitamins.
Other Vegetables low in carbs include: Celery, Zucchini, Spinach, Swiss chard and Cabbage
Except for the root vegetables that are starchy all vegetables have a low percentage of carbs . You can consume vegetables in large proportions and stay within carb limits.
Berries and Fruits
Fruits are higher in carbs than vegetables and may be controversial but olives and avocados are high in healthy fats and berries low in sugar are excellent.
22. Avocado (Carbs: 8.5%)
The avocado is unique in its healthy fats content. High in potassium and fiber it contains a variety of nutrients. About 78% of carbs present in avocado are fiber.
23. Olives (6%)
The olive is delicious and high in copper, iron, fat, and vitamin E.
24. Strawberries (8%)
Strawberries are low carb and nutrient-dense. They are high in manganese, vitamin C and various antioxidants.
25. Grapefruit (11%)
Grapefruits, a citrus fruit, is very high in vitamin C as well as carotene antioxidants.
26. Apricots (11%)
The apricot is a delicious fruit with a low carbs and is filled with potassium and vitamin C.
Other fruits in the low carb range include: Lemons, Oranges, Kiwi, Mulberries and Raspberries
Nuts and Seeds
Seeds and nuts are low in carbs. They are high in fiber, fat, protein and a variety of micro-nutrients. Nuts are usually eaten as snacks. Seeds are used to add crunch to recipes and salads. Nut and seed flours like almond flour and coconut flour are used to create low-carb baked delights.
27. Almonds (22%)
Almonds are crunchy, tasty and loaded with vitamin E, fiber, and magnesium.
28. Walnuts (14%)
The walnut is high in ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid ALA, and contains wide range of other nutrients.
29. Peanuts (16%)
Peanuts are essentially legumes that are consumed as nuts. High in fiber, vitamin E and magnesium and other key minerals and vitamins.
30. Chia Seeds ( Carb: 44%)
Chia seeds trend as a popular health food all around the world. They are rich in nutrients and used in various low-carb recipes. They are the richest dietary fiber source. Due to the high fiber the carbs are digestible in essence.
Other seeds and nuts in the low-carb range include: Hazelnuts, Macadamia nuts, Cashews, Coconuts, Pistachios, Flax seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds.
Featured photo credit: www.tfuni.com via tfuni.com
Reference
[1]^Authority Nutrition: 23 Studies on Low-Carb and Low-Fat Diets – Time to Retire The Fad
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parivartancm · 2 months ago
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Who is the Best Cashew Machine Manufacturer and Why?
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parivartancm · 3 months ago
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parivartancm · 8 months ago
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parivartancm · 3 months ago
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Which is the India's Best Fully Automatic Cashew Processing Plant Manufacturer?
Parivartan Cashew Machinery offers cutting-edge cashew processing solutions designed for speed, precision, and consistency. Our Full Automatic Cashew Processing Plant ensures high productivity with minimal labor. Trusted by businesses across India, Africa, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South America, and the Middle East. Upgrade your cashew processing today with Parivartan Cashew Machinery!
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