StarterPage
When people express interest in learning more about a paleo/primal diet (I’m happy to say it’s happening with increasing frequency), I send out a direct email with a collection of basic info and useful links. This page is that email. Enjoy!
The Elevator Pitch
Obesity and disease run rampant in modern civilization – we’re getting fatter and sicker – and it’s because we’re eating a diet we aren’t designed to. We evolved over 200,000+ years eating as hunter-gatherers, but we embarked on a massive dietary experiment when we began farming 10,000 years ago. The problems started with grains, and worsened with refined sugar and seed oils (commonly called “vegetable oils”). The key to reversing modern ailments such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease (to name a few) is to return to a diet that our bodies are built to eat. When you start eating a diet that aligns with your design, you’ll return to a healthy weight, reverse modern diseases, and escape the trappings of poor blood sugar control: you’ll sleep more soundly, rise with ease, and forget what 2:30 feels like. Eat how you’re meant to, and you’ll live with the health and happiness you’re meant to – it’s that simple.
The Simple Guidelines
- Eat real food, don’t eat garbage.
- Get some sleep (the more, the better).
- Get some exercise (ditch the treadmill and walk outside, sprint, or lift some weights).
- Get some sun (don’t fry yourself, but aim for at least 20 min in minimal clothing at least a few times per week).
Get Started!
Some recommend easing in, but I think that’s largely counterproductive. If you’ve been eating lots of refined carbohydrate, you may experience a short adaptation period, but that’s just your body regaining metabolic flexibility, essential for easy weight management and disease correction.
- Eat meat, healthy fat (just not seed oil), eggs, vegetables, and fruit.
- If weight loss is a goal, take a peek at MDA’s Carbohydrate Curve.
- No need to force the exercise. As your health and energy return with proper diet, you’ll want to get off the couch and get moving.
Recommended Reading
- Primal Blueprint 101
- Why eating grains (and the leaky gut they cause) is really bad
- I Have High Cholesterol, and I Don’t Care
- Eat Like A Predator, Not Like Prey
- Paleo Diet Infographic
- MDA’s Success Stories
- My First Six Weeks (F6W)
- The Paleo Solution Podcast
- PaleoHacks
- The Primal Blueprint
- The Paleo Solution
How to Handle Haters
You could always take the time to explain your reasoning to nay-sayers (or point them here), but sometimes people just don’t want to listen. I’ve found that the way your diet is received has a lot to do with how you present it. Say “I’m on a low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diet,” and you’ll get a healthy serving of lipophobic, misguided, heart-disease nonsense. Instead say, “I choose to avoid industrially processed packaged garbage in favor of whole, fresh foods”, and you’ll receive nods of approval. Of course, if you’d like to spark a contentious conversation, you’re welcome to.
Make a Promise to Yourself
If you eat this way, it will work. That fact alone made it easy for me to adhere to the diet strictly for the first six weeks. Now that I’ve restored my health and happiness, I allow “dietary vacations” once in a while without issue. Unfortunately, at the beginning, you have a smaller margin of error to afford yourself that luxury. Get to understand the lifestyle, then dive in. Set a period of time (I recommend six weeks, make it at least four) and adhere to your plan strictly. If you slip up, confront yourself and hit the reset button right away – get back on the wagon. Stick to your plan for the most part, and you’ll be amazed with the results.