The Paleo Diet

The Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet is all the rage at the moment. In my opinion it's a great way of eating. The Paleo diet is basically all the foods we hunted or foraged for when we were cavemen. The Paleolithic era was around 2.5 million years in its dutation and only ended when agriculture progressed and started to dominate the way we ate around 10000 years ago. It's difficult to argue that it's not a natural way of eating simply because we have eaten this way for so long.

The foods predominantly on the Paleo diet are:

• Meat
• Fish
• Eggs
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Seasonal local fruit and vegetables
• Herbs and Spices

In my opinion the paleo diet is fantastic if you are looking to get lean. The reduction of carbohydrates naturally promotes the burning of fat, as the body isn't looking to burn sugar (from the carbs) first. The main difficulty of this diet is the lack of 'normal' foods that we are used to eating. Basically all the foods we eat due to the introduction of farming i.e bread, pasta, dairy, caffeine, etc. You also need to apply a fair amount of preparation and ensure these foods are in the house. No nipping to the bread-bin when feeling hungry!

However if you applied the above foods 80% of the week you would still lean out. Your energy levels would be good as long as you had adequate protein and good fats at meal times. If you are looking to build muscle in the gym then you can still follow this plan. If you find it hard to put on muscle then simply add in potatoes and rice to the equation.

A typical Paleo day may look like this:

• Breakfast - Eggs, ham, grilled mushrooms and grilled tomatoes
• Snack - Nuts and seed mix
• Lunch - Fish and mixed salad
• Snack - Cold meats
• Dinner - Steak with baked vegetables.
• Late evening - Berry mix

If you ate this way for the majority of the week with the occasional 'off' day or meal then you would shed pounds and change your bodyshape quite quickly.

Eat how we were designed to eat and feel the difference! If it wasn't around 2 million years ago, simply don't eat it!

                                         

Oli