Drastic food change (possibly Paleo diet or clean eating

melizerd

So I've been here a year now and I'm down 71lbs (YAY me!!!) And I'm working out a lot now, and I am really loving it too! I'm strength training and doing cardio etc. I like to keep it fun too.

The thing that I'm starting to REALLY think my diet, I mean I eat better now than I did last year but I know it can get better. I'm really to the point where I want to cut out as much hidden crap as possible.

So I've started reading about different diets, and the Paleo Diet jumped out at me. I mean I love dairy (I live in Wisconsin LOL) but I'm willing to give it a really good try.

My question is how do you get started with something WAY different from what you normally do? Does anyone have good links for grocery lists and recipes etc? Do I just need to bite the bullet and buy something like http://paleorecipebook.com/cookbook/?page_id=52 to get started?

How do I basically toss out everything I have and start over (LOL). Is there a way to ease into something else? I just want to learn more about CLEAN eating and what it really means and what things I need to look for in foods, especially hidden things like HFCS, etc. I already feel better having cut out junk food type things etc so now I think I'm ready for the next step.

HELP! I don't even know where to start.

Elleinnz

If you want to learn more about clean eating - which is different from paleo by the way the website "thegraciouspantry" is a fantastic place to start.....

She has tips how to start, shopping list etc......and wonderful recipes...

ohfong77

I love the book "Eat to Live" and would recommend it as a book to learn from and even "lean into" but I can't say "go for it" because I haven't been able to do it 100%. It's a major lifestyle change but I would say - reading this book will give you great insight into the standard American diet.

Paleo - I've heard good things too but I have my opinions on this too.

Clean eating is always a good way to go....the more natural - the better.

Good luck with your journey ....and I always say ...it's one meal at a time.....so change one meal....then work on the others

Pebble321

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on how to make a change like this.

For me, the best way is to pick one meal to focus on at a time. For example, start with breakfast, have a hunt on google for "clean eating" or "paleo" breakfast ideas and run with it. Once you are comfortable with breakfast, move onto lunch.

Other people might prefer to throw out everything in the pantry and start afresh with a specific eating plan from a book or website, but that's not the way I would do it

TropicalKitty

If you are interested in Paleo stuff, there are threads here and plenty of wonderful MFP'ers that can enlighten you on the lifestyle. And I think one of the popular sites for Paleo is marksdailyapple.com

As for how do you start, that's up to you. I can sometimes be a stickler about finishing some of the things I already have in the house since I spent the money. But then there are days that I don't care and throw things out. You don't have to get a cookbook, unless that's your thing. Google is awesome, the recipe section on here is awesome. You have plenty of free resources. Also, I think a lot just comes down to eating naturally.

There are no tricks. Simple, real food. Grocery store perimeter is generally the real foods. I'm a farmers' market gal and am all about the local foods. Try different things and see what fits your life best.

Cheers!

xraychick77

paleo is pretty specific about its particulars.

the whole clean eating thing can be defined differenty by everyone. mostly its eating foods that are not or minimally processed with no chemicals or gmos. you cook everything yourself and if you eat meat, you eat only hormone/biotic free meat. you get fresh veg and fruit and cook that stuff all yourself. myself, i use frozen or canned (no salt) veggies a lot and consider that 'clean'..others may not. i eat as clean as i can, but i do eat greek yogurt, cheese, soy milks, whole grains etc that are processed.

i am not overly familiar with paleo dieting..but look at this way..we evolved. we continue to evolve..what our ancestors ate was what they had available..nuts, berries, roots etc..no grains or dairy. and very little meat. what our bodies need today are different than what they needed tens of thousands of years ago..heck even hundreds of years ago. so i dont really buy into the whole paleo diet.

yeabby

I did Paleo as a 45 day Challenge, that I kept going beyond that. It was a great way to get the body cleaned out and truly I did enjoy it. However, no starch (hardest for me), no grains and no dairy isn't a lifetime way of living for me.

LadyOfOceanBreeze

:drinker: HI! sounds like with your history, I would def ease into it, whereby replacing like 10% of the dairy

and meats each day over maybe a 10 days and then try to go as raw as possible.

It's funny cuz' when eating raw the recipes just kinda make themselves. ya' get yourself a blender

and a food processor and go for it. yeah, there are lots of websites around with recipes too.

I just like to use my imagination

bottom line you don't wanna upset your system by doing things all at once, ease into it.

:glasses: not only that it will help your willpower to stick with it I think, doing it slowly as you

get used to your new "lifestyle", hope this helps, ENJOY!:flowerforyou:

TropicalKitty

paleo is pretty specific about its particulars.

the whole clean eating thing can be defined differenty by everyone. mostly its eating foods that are not or minimally processed with no chemicals or gmos. you cook everything yourself and if you eat meat, you eat only hormone/biotic free meat. you get fresh veg and fruit and cook that stuff all yourself. myself, i use frozen or canned (no salt) veggies a lot and consider that 'clean'..others may not. i eat as clean as i can, but i do eat greek yogurt, cheese, soy milks, whole grains etc that are processed.

i am not overly familiar with paleo dieting..but look at this way..we evolved. we continue to evolve..what our ancestors ate was what they had available..nuts, berries, roots etc..no grains or dairy. and very little meat. what our bodies need today are different than what they needed tens of thousands of years ago..heck even hundreds of years ago. so i dont really buy into the whole paleo diet.

Evolution isn't that quick. It takes a long, long time to accumulate the changes. Our basic needs aren't going to change drastically, especially when you look at the changes in technology. Most of our food sources stayed fairly constant until technology advanced where we could manipulate the crops and bring things elsewhere. Like look at what the Europeans did to the Americas with their crazy crops.

momocurti

I hit a slump and my sister (who is a Registered Dietitian, a certified personal trainer and regional champ triathlete) sent me the Eat Clean Diet Recharged book. It outlines clean eating really well, offers tips on how to get started, recipes and weekly meal plans. There's also Clean Eating magazine (www.cleaneatingmag.com) that adds to what you learn in the book.

I can't tell you how much better I felt after just a few days of eating clean: slept better, no antacids (this was a problem for me prior to starting clean eating), my skin was more radiant, my hair started to look better. Seriously. And my body started changing within the first week.

Highly recommend it!!

suzieqdiva

Tosca Reno has written many books on the concept of clean eating. I am reading her "Your best body now" & she talks a lot about eating healthy, organic wholesome & non-processed foods in small & balanced portions & explains a lot of the concepts in digestible bites. I would recommend checking her books out on Amazon, or even borrowing them from your local library & see if this is something that makes sense to you.

She even has a workbook as well as cookbooks, but you do not necessarily need to get those.. if you get the concepts & start applying it.. works well too.

Good luck & keep us posted on your progress.. would love to hear more about you learn:)

petrapocket

Here's a couple fun blogs that I like (although I think 1 of them is vegan) they eat a lot of clean foods and whole foods. www.hungryhungryhippie.com
www.heathereatsalmondbutter.com

melizerd

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

I already buy organic and local as much as I can. So we've reduced the amount of junk we ingest that way. So I think I like the idea of easing into something more by starting with one meal and then working up to it being everything (or almost everything). I don't think I can completely give up things like cheese and dairy but I know that I could drastically reduce the amount we eat.

It's good to just get some feed back from people here, because everyone is amazing, because there are just SOOO many things on the internet it's hard to know what's worth trying and what's not.