Why The Paleo Diet Works
I’ve come a full circle with The Paleo Diet or the Primal Blueprint lifestyle.
Like most people who embark on this journey I went all guns blazing for the first two years. Before I became Wholesome Mamma my blog was called Allee G’s Heath Blog where I wrote about workouts and food. I took pride in my new body and reveled in my newfound knowledge. I turned up my nose at pizza, couldn’t complete a day without a challenging workout and was a smug know-it-all.
As I grew and got comfortable in my evolutionary skin, paleo become second nature and touched every aspect of my life. I dissected all advice or hearsay and applied evolutionary logic to it. When I was pregnant I didn’t worry too much about cautionary well-meaning folk and went on hikes and workouts and ate as much of primal fare as I could. I figured that if our ancestors did tons of squatting, lifting, walking on uneven terrain, and eating real food when pregnant (we’re here aren’t we?), why couldn’t I?
After my son was born I exclusively breastfed (for 6 months), didn’t use artificial nipples like a pacifier, and am still breastfeeding as my paleo sensibilities do not allow me to give him the processed junk that formula is. Some of those ingredients on the Nestle Nan One formula make my skin crawl. I’ve raised him paleo and he doesn’t eat food his baby peers eat. I’ve raised him paleo by putting him in cloth nappies, wearing him, co sleeping, letting him eat dirt, allowing him to mouth everything, allowing him to build immunity, allowing him to fall, allowing him to play with sharp objects if they catch his fancy (and learn if he gets hurt), not buying battery operated toys, and letting him learn through experiment. (Unless of course his father is around in which case I differ the boy to his expertise whereby he will if given a choice build a wall around him so that he doesn’t get a scratch on his sweet precious skin.)
I am mamma Grok raising my stone-age baby (because that’s how they’re programmed) and adapting him to thrive in the modern world.
In the past few months my health has somewhat deteriorated. I wrote a post on reasons I suspect. Hormones could be one aspect, but also it could be that I am not eating as well as I was nutritionally speaking. I could be slacking off in the food department as well as workouts. All of us do at some point and I need to up the tempo once more.
Here is a picture of me taken yesterday and I am clearly nowhere near my Primal best.
Here is a post baby picture of me where I was in much better shape than I am today.
The reason for this story is to establish that paleo is not a magic formula whereby you continue to maintain the best health and shape no matter what. Like anything else it requires some work.
However the purpose of this post is to establish why the paleo/primal way of life works in spite of modern lifestyle challenges.
Since I have been in the habit off late to question all the status quo, why should the primal lifestyle or the paleo diet be spared? Today most of the stalwarts in the paleosphere are questioning previously hard held notions. Have a look at this post where Chris Kresser talks about legumes not being as bad as previously believed Or this one where he writes about Indian food and talks about the idli as being a ‘health’ food because it’s a fermented grain and has probiotic yeast strains.
Like I mentioned earlier a baby is born with the same instincts that a baby had in the stone ages. Still he adapts to handle technology like a seasoned pro in no time. We’re pretty adaptable and I am sure our bodies are slightly adaptable to eat some modern foods (like well prepared grains) too.
BUT I would still recommend highly going primal / paleo for anyone who wants to get healthy or lose weight or feel better or make a change. Here’s why:
The first step is to drop all grains, sugars, and processed foods. Once you do this for about 30 days you will see a sharp turnaround with your health no matter what your ailment. Migraines? Gone. PMS? Better. Not ovulating? You will soon. Bad skin? Better. Weight? Where’s it gone. Blood sugars? Normal. It really does seem like magic. Once you’ve done it its very difficult to go back to your previous life.
I can’t stress the point about processed foods needing to go enough. The factory process reduces foods to a bunch of chemicals that are highly toxic and cause inflammation. Inflammation is what manifests into bad skin/ irregular periods, IBS, belly fat etc. The hydrogenated vegetables oils that we eat are an example. Eating fats that are natural like coconut oil is the way to go. But if we said just remove processed foods, there would be a lot of confusion to a novice therefore negating grains and sugars along with processed foods works so well. Once you’re a seasoned pro you can add back fermented well-prepared grains and legumes.
The primal lifestyle ensures you eat lots of fats. Today’s low fat diets are wreaking havoc in our bodies. Energy sources are substituted to cheap quality carbs like bread, pasta, wheat etc. The real sources of energy should come from high quality fats like egg yolks, butter, coconut oil, ghee, red meat, fatty fish and other yum stuff. It’s nutritious and REAL food. FAT IS A FRIEND!
The primal lifestyle prompts you to take your health into your own hands. You tend to become your own doctor. You realize along the way that conventional wisdom just doesn’t cut it and you educate yourself about your body by listening to cues and digging deeper and investigating signals that your body is giving. A knowledge and experience rich community is out there, each sharing their own experiences through trial and error. No longer will you just pop pills or eat stuff without knowing exactly what’s in it. Even if you do slack off a little like I have, you will still go for quality first.
Helps you listen to your body. When health becomes a priority, you land up tuning in. If I feel slightly off, get a headache, or am generally down, I just won’t take it lying down (pun intended). I won’t pop pills but I’ll investigate for underlying causes by changing something around, like I’m doing right now.
Increases your understanding of nutrition. Good nutrition is everything. Therefore eating empty calories and filling your tummy with factory made chemicals just doesn’t cut it anymore, for me or for my baby or for my family. I yearn for veggies, or red meat, or fish when I don’t eat any of that for a bit.
Makes you start doing full body workouts and sprints. Exercise gets easier as you end up doing high intensity shorter stuff and don’t feel guilty if you just walk instead of sweating it out for hours in a gym. Since everything we do is from an evolutionary perspective any sort of movement, which is natural goes. If humans always did this it works. If humans didn’t do bicep curls it doesn’t work.
Makes you see everything from the evolutionary perspective. This just makes life so simple. If you’re taking care of yourself but watching tv till the wee hours with artificial light, it’s bound to take a toll. We’re not meant to do that. If you’re slathering yourself with products: sunscreen, lotions, perfumes, etc. it’s bound to react with your body in terrible ways. It’s just not natural. What’s natural is the sun, lots of it. Keeping your newborn in a crib away from your body? Get ready for some crying and other immeasurable consequences. Our babies are made to be held close. The examples are endless. Once you get into the habit of thinking this way, everything gets simple and beautiful.
Makes you strive for quality. Today I eat pizza. I discovered this wonderful place (Di-Napoli in Nariman Point) close to home that makes the dough fresh and makes it in a wood-fire oven and the ingredients feel like a perfect harmony of notes in an orchestra. Every ingredient in there makes my tongue tingle. I will eat pizza there once a month. I won’t touch the junk that is Dominos even for a bite. It makes me cringe. Being Paleo/ primal makes you look for quality in everything be it ingredients, sleep, a snack, a drink, lifestyle everything.
In a nutshell, going paleo is awesome in the short term. You lose weight, feel healthy instantly, love life, have fun in the sun, feel energetic etc.
But it’s also awesome in the long run as you strive for a better quality of life in every sphere. Life becomes worth living. It’s a positively life changing experience.
Don’t believe me? Try it. And that’s why most of us say it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.
Thanks for reading. Are you curious about the primal lifestyle? For those who are already paleo, do you feel this way too?
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Take care ,always listen your body and never force anything
🙂
Wow this is cool do u have like a diet plan for all or u know customized I’d be very interested in a good plan
Hi Ivan. Why don’t you mail me with specific questions and I’ll see of I can help you with a plan. Take care.
I like your summary. That must have taken some thought.
Hi Aloka,
Good site and very interesting information here.
I always had a doubt about Paleo diet. During Paleo age, the diet worked because humans were not assured three meals a day every day. They had food only when they could find, trap and kill animals.
Moreover, trapping an animal was not a straightforward business. Sometimes, they had to track an animal for 2, 3 days, where they have to slowly move through the hunting ground (such as the jungle, for eg.), being very silent, and thus most cases they had very little sustenance during time of the hunt… they would be constantly on the move, anf thus their bodies were constantly burning energy.
Back at the cave or the primitive settlement humans built during the paleo age, the women were also physically busy every minute. While the men hunted, women had to guard themselves and their babies, and they also were constantly on edge. A full stomach means drowsiness and with constant wildlife threat nearby, they never ate fully. Until the men came back with a big kill.
So, in this situation, where humans were half starved all the time, the paleo diet worked for them. Some sort of balance was maintained. But for us, in the 21st century, would it still work?
Most of us now are indoors, comfortable, no fear about predators, have regular meals every day, and also special binge sessions at least once a week in the name of parties, get-togethers, marriages, new restaurant reviewing etc etc. Physical stress and workout naturally – such as hard household work or building work or hunting work – is almost unheard of amidst cosmopolitan Indians. We do not even bend and sweep the floor, it’s either the vacuum or the maid!
So, how really does paleo diet work for a man or woman living such a sedantary life style in 2014? I am eager to hear your thoughts on this.
Hi,
You’re right ofcourse. There is no way we can be like our ancestors. our food the way it’s grown, the livestock (we’re eating cows instead of boars) and everything else has changed.
However this blue print works if you try your best to avoid artificial things. for example, avoiding packaged food, crisps, biscuits, etc can only be a good thing. avoiding artificial light by sleeping earlier, waking earlier is only healthier, eating cleaner foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs etc can only be better than eating hidden sugars, salts, oils that are factory altered etc.
trying your best to move more, walk wherever possible, take the stairs, move, do exercises that engage core muscles, can only be positive.
try to mix things up, don’t follow a routine, eat when hungry, if you’re not hungry- fast, etc. are things we can incorporate to be healthier.
the point is, if you do decide to change your lifestyle, it becomes a way of life. beyond a point you can’t help but adhere to society, do things that everyone else does, however small steps like ridding your pantry of processed foods, and hyderogenated vegetable oils, walking everyday etc, are a good step in the right direction.
we need to simplify our lives.
Hi Aloka,
Thanks for your detailed reply and sorry for my late one – thought I replied last year, but I clearly hadn’t! I understand your recommendation, it makes absolute sense to avoid processed and GMO foods. While I can never be a true Paleo – I love my millets! – I have cut them down to once a day. That is, if I have grains for breakfast, I don’t have them for dinner (and vice versa). This simple change has helped me shed six kilos in the last 5 months!
Again, I love my ice creams and chocolate, but being mildly lactose intolerent, I have them as an occasional treat, i.e., once a week during a special outing or unavoidable circumstances such a kid birthday or pooja etc. Along with switching from white rice to brown grains, I have also stopped eating “pink goo” chicken and switched over to country chicken. I believe moderation and a sensible approach to deleting wrong stuff from the diet goes a long way in easing into a largely Paleo lifestyle.
Meals themselves these days I have only a big breakfast and an early dinner, drinking lots of water in between so that the urge to snack is terminated. Because only in the last five decades three meals a day has become a (sad) practice, and an unnecessary burden on the stomach. I highly advocate two meals a day practise for those who want to live longer (it has been proven).
Rads
Hey Aloka,
U have complied about paleo lifestyle very interestingly. I m looking forward to start this diet. As i have a tendency to put on weight on and off. I want something which i can sustain for long.
I have few questions, like diet plans, exercise or things to avoid n all. It will be great if you can help me out with this first step of mine towards a healthy lifestyle.
Thanks
Hey Aloka,
I am Regular runner since last 4 months, but sometimes I feel, i need more energy, I tried Juice and Boiled eggs, I but due to tough work schedule generally I skip my diet habits, So please sujjest me some simple and healthy diet.