PALEO PALEO PALEO

It's a love hate relationship I must say. I remember when I first heard of paleo, a friend of mine was changing her lifestyle to this diet. I thought how insane and difficult it must be. I didn't really understand what she was allowed to eat. It sounded like she'd be drinking a whole lot of water and eating nothing but air. After doing my own amount of research, it is clearly not just the essentials to keep you living. Everyone is welcomed to form their own opinions but here's mine after trying it out.

If you are looking to lose weight, it is a great diet to jump start weight loss. Now, I am not a fan of cutting out an entire food group for any reason. I truly believe everything in moderation. (Yes even taco bell every now and then) With that being said, this diet completely cuts out certain food groups. You are refrained from eating starches, sugars, legumes, starchy vegetables, and dairy. It sounds difficult, right? It completely is if you're like me where you love your cheese. I say this is a good diet for jump starting weight loss, because for the most part you are cutting out all the negative food groups like sugars and dairy products. I do however, believe that starches like quinoa or brown rice should be a part of your everyday meals especially if you are an active person. I also believe beans are a healthy fat and can be acquired in small amounts like avocados.

So what is the diet? It consists of any type of protein, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Thats it. It sounds pretty simple. If it at one time was living, you can eat it. If it comes out of a package or you can't pronounce the ingredients on the back, don't. For the most part, that is how everyone should be eating. With that being said, paleo goes a bit more extreme. In my research it shows that when it comes to protein, you can pretty much eat any animal based proteins from lean fish to turkey, to bacon and sausage. Most would argue that the amount of cholesterol and fat in bacon and sausage is probably something you shouldn't consume especially if trying to lose weight. 

* Something I learned: Peanuts are not a part of the nuts group that you can eat.* 
Did you know that in most weight loss programs, coaches will recommend that their clients switch to almond butter instead of peanut butter and eliminate peanuts substituting  it for almonds, cashews and other nuts. While peanuts do come from the ground, they are high in fat and can contribute to skin irritations like acne, eczema and rosacea. 

My advice on paleo diet: 

I don't think that anyone should be on a diet. The word itself tricks us into thinking that it is temporary and that after a certain stint of time it will be over and you can go back to normal living. Most people do, do this and this is why they see limited results or none at all. I find that deciding and dedicating yourself to make a lifestyle change is obviously the way to go and how to see the biggest difference in your body. The paleo diet is similar to most fad diets where you are cutting out a certain food group to lose the weight. I find that the moment you re-introduce those groups back into your diet that your weight comes back tenfold. My advice would be, if you are looking to lose weight eliminate the bad groups. Stop eating white bread, white rice, any bleached grains and switch to whole grain products. Eliminate cakes, cookies, chips, or anything that comes in a package where you cannot define the ingredients. Lastly, take out beverages like sports drinks, juices, sodas and alcohol. 

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