The Paleo Diet: Eat Like a Caveman for Optimum Health

tim_fitbuilt4life

Also known as The Caveman Diet, The Paleolithic Diet, Neanderthal Diet, Hunter-Gather Diet, whatever DIET you wish to call it, I’m going to talk to you about my favorite way of eating for a lean and healthy body. I hear it all the time: “Should I eat carbs? Is fat bad? What kind of foods should I eat? Am I getting enough protein in my diet?”

While all of these are very valid questions, I’d take to eliminate a lot of confusion and talk about why eating like a caveman will yield stellar results for your body, high energy levels, and is overall just a healthy way of living.


Welcome to the Paleo Diet Processed Foods Have Sadly Become the Foundation of the American Diet


Many of today’s commercial foods are loaded with sodium, hydrogenated oils, processed sugars, and preservatives. Let’s face it, America’s diet is not the healthiest. When over two-thirds of the country is overweight, don’t you think we should take a step back and figure out where we’ve gone wrong? Look at the average American’s pantry. It’s probably full. Not good. Weird euphemism? Well it makes sense. You see, if I ate like the average American, I would be in big trouble because I don’t have nearly enough cupboards to hold all of those boxed-up preservative-filled “food products.” Here’s what I’m getting at: Back when cavemen roamed the earth, they didn’t have Nabisco or the Keebler Elf to feed them. They couldn’t go to the store and pick up a box of Trix cereal. And because of this, I can say with confidence that they also carried a lean athletic physique… the kind of physique you’re reading my articles for! No, they lived off of meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, and anything else edible they could find that came from nature. That, in my opinion, is the way we as humans are supposed to eat. The more unprocessed and natural food comes, the better off you’re going to be eating it. Remember… YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. If you want to look like a donut, by all means, eat donuts. But I eat Paleo as much as possible, and largely credit my leanness to this way of eating.

Foods to Eat on Paleo

Again, anything that could be found in nature and is unprocessed. It’s actually very simple. Here are the staples of the diet:

Meat
Eggs
Fish
Veggies
Roots
Fruit
Nuts

I know, the food list isn’t too extensive, but you’d be surprised how many great tasting recipes you can make using just these ingredients. Your taste buds might need some time to get used to this way of eating, but your body will appreciate the change, and you will become leaner, more energetic, and become a healthier you… Not a bad deal!

Foods To Avoid

Processed foods (basically anything that comes in a box or bag)
Refined sugars
Starches (breads, pasta, flour, wheat, rice, corn)

I recommend you take this model of eating and lay it as your Nutritional Foundation. As I’ve said before, nobody eats perfect 100% of the time. It wouldn’t be human if we did. We all love ice cream and we all love pizza, so please enjoy your favorite foods! Just not all day, everyday.

Paleo Alternatives to Common Processed Foods

God and Mother Nature actually created real foods that you can use to substitute other not-so-healthy foods. You can easily Google how to prepare all of these, and should be able to find them at the grocery store:

Instead of noodles… get spaghetti squash (delicious, I use it all the time!)
Instead of rice… get cauliflower and make “cauliflower rice”
Instead of sugary laden desserts… get fresh berries and enjoy them for dessert
I will post some of my favorite Paleo recipes and give you guys some ideas on some amazing meals!

What to Expect from Switching to Paleo

By eating this way, you will naturally lower your carb intake by removing all the starches and sugars. Most people eat way more carbs than they need, and much of it gets stored as bodyfat. You will get sufficient protein from your meat, eggs, and nuts. You will get your micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from your fruits and veggies. You will tend to not overeat. You will feel more energetic and feel better! The bottom line is that this is a great way of eating, and one that I use myself and highly recommend!

Dbow0207

You know I was on this diet when i first started MFP, and thats what helped me loose my first 30lbs with the help of exercise of course, I may need to restart it.

BR1986FB

I eat this way and it's been very successful (42+ lbs lost, down 7 jean sizes and 13% bodyfat) for me over the last 6 months. I can't stand the term "Caveman Diet" though because that's not really correct.

Eats_With_A_Fist

Wife and I have just started transitioning our diet to Primal Blueprint...looks like it's almost the same. May differ on the workout strategy...It's awesome....I've had more energy than ever!

TK421NotAtPost

The Paleo Diet.....sSo easy, a caveman (or caveperson) can do it!



Hehe, I don't think you can go wrong with replacing processsed foods with all natural, whole foods...but I will never understand the whole Paleo/Primal/Caveman monikor....especially when it's not even fully clear as to whether or not Paleo man ate starchy grains or not. I can understand shunning a big plate of spaghetti or a cup of Ben and Jerry's, but I hardly think that shunning a half cup of organic brown rice is 'paleo'.

muffintopminx

Very interested. But I sure do loooooooooooooove cheese! I don't think I could ever do it 100%.
But I would like to reduce the carbs, sugar and process foods I eat. Thanks for the info!

janiepumphrey

Very interested. But I sure do loooooooooooooove cheese! I don't think I could ever do it 100%.
But I would like to reduce the carbs, sugar and process foods I eat. Thanks for the info!

Paleo diet + cheese is not that bad, actually ... I was doing that for many months and I saw lots of health benefits.
I eventually gave up cheese because it started to give me withdrawal headaches if I went more than a day without it, and that bothered me.

borys12

Hi, Just today browsing internet , found paleo diet, and realized that it was exactly the way I used at the beginning of my weight
loss journey. And it was very effective. Without exercising I lost 4 stones.

I still eat this way, but adding some forbidden food ( home made cakes i.e. ) too often. It's time to go back to basics !

For all interested in this way - highly recommended ! It always works!

mraphael

I just discovered this diet recently also. I workout at Crossfit and this is a diet MANY of them follow. We are going to slowly start doing this in my house. The first thing I have to tackle is cleaning out all the pantry goods that are not on the plan.....

ShampooIsBetter

The only thing tripping me up on this is crackers. I eat a ton of whole wheat crackers and I can eat them with almost anything. I have had 2 meals today and had ten with each meal. Breakfast was 3 scramabled eggs and 10 crackers, and lunch was a cup of cottage cheese and ten crackers. Like a true caveman, I like to eat without a fork or spoon. I like to scoop everything into my mouth with crackers.

Some have told me to sub Pork Rinds for crackers, and I gotta admit that does work (cottage cheese and BBQ pork rinds is awesome), but I believe a man can only eat so many of those things before he falls over dead.

BR1986FB

I just discovered this diet recently also. I workout at Crossfit and this is a diet MANY of them follow. We are going to slowly start doing this in my house. The first thing I have to tackle is cleaning out all the pantry goods that are not on the plan.....

Seems like Paleo & Crossfit go hand in hand.

WomanofWorth

Great post. I see a lot of variation across forums regarding how much fruit to eat on paleo. I like a variety of fruit and don't want to be relegated to only eating berries, so how much fruit is allowed?

MB_Positif

I see that you posted this a few days ago and probably won't be back to read this, haha...but just in case...thanks for posting. I am very interested in trying to eat this way. We eat bread, rice and noodles in my house, but the frequency has gone way down since I joined MFP.

Pangui

While there is clearly some great advice about reducing our dependency upon processed and nutrient-deficient foods, I am not sure I understand the enamoration of eating like a caveman. The average lifespan of the Paleolithic Man was about 30 years. Clearly, they wouldn't have to worry about diseases like heart disease and cancer. They could have eaten just about anything and lived for 30 years.

I do agree with much of the premise of this eating approach; however, I don't think we have to go back 10,000-15000 years to find an ideal diet in society that generally leads to healthy disease-free old age. There are examples of societies living into their 100s all over the planet. Sadly, they are dimishing as their diets become more "Westernized". I think these are the examples we should be researching and emulating.

I am not criticizing this diet, especially if it works for you. But, if it doesn't, don't despair. There are other healthy approaches and you don't have to eliminate your favorite foods entirely.

MiladyMetal

I eat half of my daily amount of carbs mostly they come from my fruits and I love to eat whole grain pita pockets at least one small one a day and could NEVER give up cheese I don't eat a lot of cheese like the processed spreads! However, my main staple is, frozen fruit smoothie with water and 1/4 c lowfat milk, I do have a 2 ounce bowl of homemade granola in the morning with almonds, and sometimes a 1/4 c of mozzarella shredded and my gorgonzola or feta which I WILL NEVER give up. LOL I eat lowfat meats, and keep them to 6 ounces a day. With nuts, and lowfat meat, certain veggies(love spinach in everything just about and mashed cauliflower) and my cheese in small amounts I have been losing weight steadily and healthily. I am not big on pasta so I don't eat it. I love every now and again to make JAG a brown rice, kidney beans, linguica and onions. I weigh my portions and hold myself accountable. Everything in moderation but NO junk food, no soda, not even diet hear, I use Truvia if I need sugar and will use light brown sugar if need be in recipes so am not afraid to sometimes but NO donuts, cookies etc. I'm not gonna say I don't have an ice cream at least once or twice a month in the summer but soft serve on a cone with jimmies (chocolate sprinkles for those who don't know the new england lingo ) This has worked for me at least! I guess we all have to find what works for us and what we are willing to eat and not eat. Congrats on all of you who have lost weight, it is all about our mindset! God speed my friends!

teagansdad

I'm just starting on this program myself, after spending several weeks reading about it and going over the evidence supporting it. I'm on day two, and I'm feeling pretty good! Even on the 2nd day, I'm noticing that I'm not getting the "low blood sugar" dizziness that I usually get when I haven't eaten for 2 or 3 hours.

I do want to respond to something here:

While there is clearly some great advice about reducing our dependency upon processed and nutrient-deficient foods, I am not sure I understand the enamoration of eating like a caveman. The average lifespan of the Paleolithic Man was about 30 years. Clearly, they wouldn't have to worry about diseases like heart disease and cancer. They could have eaten just about anything and lived for 30 years.

Keep in mind that the average lifespan figures are just that -- an average. High infant and child mortality rates will pull that average lifespan figure down very rapidly. Infections, warfare, predators, or a food supply suddenly vanishing would all result in dramatically shorter lifespans. Modern technology has dramatically reduced the danger of infections, lowered infant mortality rates, and mostly guarantees that we won't run out of food. Modern society has mostly eliminated the danger of wild predators, and at least in North America, warfare is not a danger for the majority of the population.

There is evidence that in hunter-gatherer societies (both Paleolithic and the few which survived into the modern era), adults who do live into their 60s, 70s, and 80s maintain a level of health and vigor that is uncommon in North America. The so-called "diseases of affluence" which so many senior citizens in the western world suffer from are virtually unknown.

The Paleo diet isn't about trying to emulate the diet of our Paleolithic ancestors; it looks back to the diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors because it may give us an understanding of that diet which evolution by natural selection has adapted us to over the course of hundreds of thousands of years. Homo sapiens sapiens emerged as a distinct species about 200,000 years ago, and a primarily agrarian diet has existed for less than 10,000 years. As Loren Cordain is fond of pointing out, that's only 333 generations and is unlikely enough time for our species to adapt to such a radical change in our diet.

I think that it's a pretty simple and elegant principle; beyond simply looking towards a "natural" diet in the sense of eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods, the Paleo diet takes it a step further and tries to determine the diet which our physiology is best adapted to. Obviously the modern world bears little resemblance to the world of the Paleolithic era, but we are genetically almost identical to our Paleolithic ancestors.

Many of the Paleo sources that I've read advocate a 95-5, 90-10, 85-15, or even 80-20 split between Paleo "approved" food and "whatever you want without going overboard with it" meals, so that's anywhere from 1 to 4 meals per week to enjoy special treats or attend a social/family gathering.

Further reading on hunter-gatherer lifespans:

http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/gurven/papers/GurvenKaplan2007pdr.pdf

http://paleodiet.com/life-expectancy.htm

http://www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/angel-1984/angel-1984-1a.shtml

http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2010/02/paleo-life-expectancy.html

tim_fitbuilt4life

Thanks for the information, this is great!