The best way to eat in order to achieve weight loss.
We need food and water in order to survive. However, there are some foods that just aren’t actual food. Those foods are the ones that cause things like weight gain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal problems. In today’s blog we are going to talk about the best way to eat in order to achieve weight loss without needing to starve yourself. Remember, you are what you eat. Before we list the foods that will make you the healthiest and most fit you, we wanted to tell you about where this lifestyle and way of eating comes from.
Our Paleolithic ancestors were the healthiest and most robust until agriculture brought cereal grains (rice, wheat, corn, barley, etc) into our lives after which our rates of diseases like heart disease and cancer increased exponentially.
“What were we like as hunter-gatherers, and what happened when we changed to agriculture?...Our [Hunter Gatherer] ancestors were remarkably healthy. They were as tall or taller than modern Americans and Europeans, which is a sign they ate a very nutritious diet. They were virtually free of cavities and bone malformations that are common with malnutrition. Despite a lack of medical care, they had remarkably low infant. mortality rates, yet had better than 10 percent of their population live into their sixties. (1).
“Our genetics are nearly identical to those of our early H. Sapien ancestors from 100,000–200,000 thousand years ago. We are genetically wired for a life that is all but gone now, and our health reflects this. The change from HG to agriculturalist that I described to you is typical of every transition we have studied. We moved from a nutrient-dense, protein-rich diet that was varied and changed with location and seasons to a diet dependent upon a few starchy crops. These starchy crops provide a fraction the vitamins and minerals found in fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. These “new foods” create a host of other health problems ranging from cancer to autoimmunity.” (1)
If you ever hear the words the Paleo lifestyle this is what they are talking about: It's going back to eating and living the way humans are designed- like nature intended (to the best of our abilities).
So, the goal for you is to eat the way we were designed I eat. Below we have listed the foods that are allowable on the Paleo Diet, because bees are the foods that we ate until agriculture changed our world (and health.
Let’s say you love tacos but just because corn isn’t on this list doesn’t mean you can’t have it. You can still make tacos out of almond flour, cassava flour, coconut flour, or tiger nut flour. Don’t deprive yourself, just make better choices.
After 30 days you will introduce one thing at a time (for 3 days) into your diet to see how you react. If you don’t react then you can continue eating that food. Then introduce one more food and so on until you test everything out.
For example: after 30 days of being on the Paleo diet you eat cheese and notice no reaction after 3 days then continue eating it, then you eat corn and notice dandruff or irritability that wasn’t there before, then its a sign that corn should be taken out for good or at least until the gut heals some more.
Free-range pasture raised meats & poultry
Beef
Bison
Lamb
Elk
Yak
Chicken
Ostrich
Duck
Venison
Turkey
2. Wild caught fish
Preferably the ones with the least amount of mercury such as:
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- Anchovies
- Sardines
- Herring
3. Organ meats
4. Free-range pasture raised eggs (especially the yolk which is full of Vitamin D, selenium, and choline)
5. Starchy plants
Yams
Sweet potato
Tapioca
Taro (also called malanga)
Yuca (also called cassava or manioc)
Plantains
Breadfruit
Tigernut (root vegetable despite the name)
6. Whole fruit (just be aware that some have a higher glycemic index than others and can affect your insulin causing drops in energy after a small burst).
Non-starchy Vegetables (too many to list)
Artichokes
Asparagus
Bean sprouts
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumber
Eggplant (also known as aubergine)
Mushrooms
Onions
Peppers (also known as capsicum)
Salad greens
Spinach
Tomato
Turnips
Zucchini (also known as courgette)
Fermented foods
Kimchi
Saurekraut
Coconut kefir
Beet kvass
Traditional fats
Coconut oil
Olive oil
Butter
Ghee
Red palm oil
Palm kernel oil
Macadamia nut oil
Lard
Beef tallow
Olives
Coconuts
Avocados
Nuts (if you aren’t allergic and preferably soaked to reduce phytates)
Seeds (same as above)
Pink Himalayan sea salt
Celtic sea salt
Herbs & spices
Now that you know what foods are on the Paleo Diet and how beneficial it is to eat the way your ancestors did. Go ahead and start your 30 day journey towards optimal health by doing the elimination and only eating what is Paleo (so no grains, dairy, soy, corn, hydrogenated oils, processed sugars or artificial sweeteners).
Resources
Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf
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