I’ve been eating a mostly Paleo diet for 2 weeks now and I thought I would share with you some of my thoughts, and experiences. Now before any die-hard Paleo eaters reprimand me, I am not following the diet 100%. There are two reasons for this:- (a) in my opinion modern life makes this nearly impossible, and I live in a small town which makes it even more impossible, and (b) it is my sincere belief that there are foods that nourish your body, and foods that nourish your wellbeing, and you need both to survive.
Am I a doctor, nutritional scientist or genius with a scientific PhD? Not at all, but I happen to know my body best, and no amount of confusing scientific mumbo jumbo (which often suffers from disparity anyway) will convince me otherwise.
For those new to the Paleo way of eating I urge you to read everything you can. Like me you will probably be a little confused on certain things … can I eat coconut oil or not? Can I use olive oil or not? Can I eat bacon or not? And so on and so forth. Some advocate only lean meat, avoiding fatty cuts (like bacon) at all costs. Others seem okay with eating fatty meats, even to the point of preferring it. Some think olive oil is as bad for you as other vegetable oils; others think it’s okay (especially if it has added Omega-3s).
In 2 weeks I have lost 3.5lbs, which is great news for me, especially when you consider what I’ve been eating.
An average breakfast for me looks like this:-
4 rashers/slices bacon
2 boiled eggs
Large portion of mixed berries (usually strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries).
This week I also had salmon one morning instead which was really nice, and kept me full till lunch better than the bacon, so I’ll probably switch to that and save the bacon for a treat. Today I wasn’t too hungry so just had an apple and 4 small rashers of bacon.
For lunch I will have anything from steak, to salmon, sardines, and ground beef/bison. It depends on what I am hungry for that day and what I have available in the freezer. After logging on to FitDay I decided to add more salads and fruits to my lunch menu to flesh out my nutrition.
Today I had:-
2 boiled eggs
2 servings of sardines (canned in spring water)
I huge salad consisting of about 2 cups red leaf lettuce, 2 cups romaine and 2 cups spinach
Large bowl of mixed berries (blackberries and blueberries)
Dinner tonight will consist of steak, but I am going out to a restaurant rather than cooking at home.
It’s been surprisingly easy to cut out the non-Paleo foods, especially as I haven’t exactly forbidden it. What I have noticed however is I have absolutely no desire to eat breads, pastas, potatoes, fast food, candy (aside from dark chocolate) or other processed foods. I’m also, surprisingly, not missing dairy too much, but then I have substituted it with almond milk which satisfies any dairy desires. Again, Paleo die-hards will chastise me for drinking almond milk, but whatever … here’s my hand … speak to it.
Which brings me to food to nourish the soul. The modern world has brought us treats such as chocolate and sugar to our tables. While I agree that these items should be consumed in much less quantities, I do not believe that they should be eliminated entirely. Why? Because these foods help feed our well being. Overindulgence is not what I advocate, even though in the past I have been guilty of this myself. Since switching to Paleo I have discovered that I no longer need sugary treats as often, but when I do I really enjoy it and feel a definite boost in happiness.
The trick is to try and keep your treats as Paleo as possible. My two guilty pleasures are 85% dark chocolate and almond milk. However, I am not going to turn down chocolate cake and ice cream on the odd, rare occasion that I need it! After all, I am a woman, and sometimes I need to indulge in order to stay sane.
I shall post an update once I’ve been eating Paleo a little bit longer, but at the moment I am very happy with the diet and feeling of well being. I would encourage everyone to research it and give it a go. Whatever you decide, remember don’t be afraid of fats! That steak is not going to kill you. Rather, it just might save your life.
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