I’ve been hearing alot about this Paleo lifestyle lately. Many books have been published the last few years or so promoting the Paleo diet as a way to lose weight and promote better health. The recent buzz regarding this way of eating has become more popular by the wave of Crossfitters in gyms across the country. Crossfit just finished doing a 30 day challenge eating only the Paleo way. So, what exactly does a Paleo diet entail?
First, let’s describe Paleo itself. Paleo, short for Paleolithic, is a pre-historic period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered. It extends from the earliest use of stone tools some 2.6 million years ago. During this period, humans gathered in small tribes and lived by gathering plants, hunting, and scavenging for wild animals. Basically, our ancestors foraged through the woods looking for fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and if they were lucky, stalk and killed a wild animal fo some sort. So, why all the buzz?
The caveman way is all about natural foods to help achieve better health and the perfect physique. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. The human race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods to our bodies. Hence, the start of the agricultural revolution. Our society has become detached to the food we’ve been eating in nature for millions of years that has allowed us to become a highly evolved species.
The Paleo diet idea is that our genes and physiology evolved through the process of natural selection and are most adapted to be nourished with the food that we evolved around. That includes the whole array of animal protein (beef, fish, shellfish, poultry, pork, lamb, bison, …) including their fat and organs as well as eggs, vegetables and limited amounts of fruits and nuts.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, some of the foods that we started eating in large quantity since the beginning of the agricultural revolution about 10,000 years ago are completely foreign to our genes and metabolism and wreak havoc in our body, often causing what we call the metabolic syndrome or diseases of civilization. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and a host of other conditions that were unknown to our ancestors while destroying us today.
After learning more about the Paleo diet, I decided to start a challenge with my boot camp group to figure out my own results. We’ve been going at it for a little over a week now. The challenge seemed somewhat hard due to the fact that we had to give up starches, beans, and dairy. Starches were not too difficult for me as I only eat oatmeal, ezekial bread, and the occasional handful of tricuits. Dairy was the hardest to give up. I really enjoy my Grande, Sugar-free, Vanilla latte every morning. But, it has been a week now and things are going smoothly. I’m missing my latte a little but the changes have been wonderful. My body is burning fat more efficiently. I’ve lost about 3 pounds the last week, some of it water with the lack of carbs and some fat. Body fat tests indicate a drop of a little over a half percent. My energy has increased, my workouts are stronger, I feel more satiated throughout the day and my sleep has vastly improved. We’ll see what happens the remaining two weeks. I will post a basic meal plan and a Paleo grocery list in the next few days for anyone intersted in trying to go Paleo. I highly recommend eliminating dairy, minimizing the amount of grains in your diet, and loading up on the veggies regardless if you choose to go Paleo or not.
