What IS Paleo?!

I want to start by saying that I am NOT a nutritionist.  I am a mom who has estrogen dominance, PCOS, and is prediabetic.  Since starting to eat Paleo, all of my symptoms from these conditions have been greatly reduced or have become non-existent.  The information I offer on this blog is from research I’ve done online and books that I’ve read.  

So what the heck IS paleo anyway?  I’m glad you asked!

Paleo eating in short terms is eating food that is minimally, or more ideally not, processed. It’s whole meats, poultry, fish,  veggies, fruit, eggs, nuts in moderation (but not peanuts-they’re legumes) and healthy fats.  In other words, it’s eating the way nature intended us to eat.  Back in the caveman days, sugar, chemicals, and preservatives didn’t exist.  And neither did a lot of the diseases that exist nowadays.  If you haven’t read (or listened to) the book, “It Starts with Food,” I HIGHLY recommend you get your hands on it ASAP.  

Your body’s preferred source of energy is fats. Fat is a slow burning fuel and it’s more efficient for your body to use. However, due to the amount of carbohydrates that we consume on a daily basis in the western world, our bodies burn carbohydrates rather than fat. So, when we take in more carbohydrates than are needed for energy, our bodies store the rest as fat for later “just in case” (this process is left over from when we needed to store fat in case we couldn’t find food for weeks)

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), most people will never really be in danger of “not eating.” We almost never have to resort to using our fat stores for energy, so instead of us eventually burning the fat we’re storing in our bodies, we simply add to it, over and over and over again. This is a pretty good explanation of why there’s such an obesity problem in the United States and abroad.

The paleo diet changes a lot of this by doing one simple thing: removing a lot of the simple carbohydrates from your diet.

When this happens, your body can no longer get away with using cheap carbohydrates for energy, so it’s forced to use the fat stores. That’s good!

Without the constant stream of cheap carbohydrates that your body would normally turn into sugar your blood sugar drops to a normal level and your insulin levels begin to regulate. Regulated insulin levels allow a process called lipolysis to occur. Lipolysis is the process of your body releasing triglycerides (fat stores) to be burned as energy. That’s a bunch of big words. Basically these words mean that, by reducing the amount of cheap carbohydrates in your system, the paleo diet allows your body to start the process of burning fat.

So I’m sure you’re reading this list and thinking, “But...but….where’s my cheese? My peanut butter? Diet Coke?  How will I survive without them?”  Easily.  Trust me.  The first few days of transitioning into Paleo can be HELL, but once your body starts to clear out all the toxins and junk, you will feel MUCH better off.

So let’s start with what you shouldn’t eat and get that the heck out of the way-

-Legumes including beans, peas, peanuts, lentils, alfalfa sprouts, and soy (Oh, boy...don’t even get me STARTED on how bad soy is for you!!  We will save that for another day…)

-Dairy-now there is some debate in the paleo world on this one.  Some say none at all.  Some say whole milk and fermented dairy (yogurt) is okay.  Most say grass-fed butter is okay.  Personally, I avoid it all because if I have one, I’ll want the rest.  And dairy is an inflammatory food. I know if I go for a long period of time without it and then have some, I bloat like crazy.  

-Grains including corn and pseudograins.  Just no.  Forget they exist.  

-Sugar.  Again, another thing up for debate.  Some say raw honey and pure maple syrup are okay.  Refined including white and brown sugar is always a big fat no.
-Refined oils like vegetable, safflower, canola, etc.
-Fake meat-i.e. Hot dogs, anything overly processed.  

-Chemicals.  Do we even need to discuss this one?  If you can’t pronounce it or couldn’t raise/grow it yourself, don’t eat it.

-Alcohol.  Yep, I just went there.  Sorry.  I guess you’re the new designated driver.  ;)

What CAN you eat?

-Grass-fed meats including beef, pork, (yes, even BACON!  Just make sure it’s sugar and nitrate free), chicken, turkey, buffalo, and wild game.

-High quality deli meats (again, make sure they have no sugar, carregan, or nitrates.)
-Fish and seafood, but not breaded.

-Vegetables (corn and peas are NOT vegetables!) - fresh or frozen.  No canned.

-Fresh or frozen fruits but in moderation because they are quite carb-dense. No canned.

-Healthy fats-avocado, coconut, olives, nuts in moderation (NO PEANUTS), seeds, seed and/or nut butters (make sure there is no sugar)

-Healthy oils-olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, macadamia oil, ghee (clarified butter) and grassfed butter (optional)

-Herbs and spices (make sure there is no sugar or additives in blends!) including sea or himalayan salt.  

Beverages-Water (obviously), unsweetened teas, sparkling water, coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk (all unsweetened) coffee

The BIGGEST thing to succeeding at Paleo eating in the beginning is reading labels. You would be amazed at the things they sneak sugar and soy into.  Even things labeled “organic.”  I’ve fallen for it before.  It sucks. But once you find some favorite brands, shopping will become MUCH less of a chore.