Hi there,
Incase you’re wondering what the words primal / paleo / evolutionary lifestyle mean then this page is for you.
To cut the long story short, the primal way of eating and living life means emulating our ancestors and eating and moving the way our species was designed to. No more counting calories.
Homo sapiens (that’s us) have been around for 200,000 years and agriculture came into being a mere 10,000 years ago. Before that, we thrived on animal fat, veggies, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds and nuts. There was no grains or processed foods.
Our ancestors foraged for foods, moved a lot, ran fast in short bursts to catch prey, slept at night time when the sun set, didn’t have modern day stressors, did not run marathons, did not sit in chairs – you get the drift.
Trying our best in today’s modern world to eat and move the way we were designed to is – I truly believe- the answer to great health, a happy weight, and the answer to all our modern health woes.
While most websites talk about a paleo diet or primal lifestyle, I’d like to add that there is no one ‘diet’ that works for everyone. Only a template whereby you eat nutrient dense, toxin free, whole foods based diet, and experiment with what works and does not work for you.
The way to do this is by eliminating grains, sugar and processed foods for a month and then adding back foods that work well for you.
Here is a list of foods you should be eating:
animal fat
dairy fat
lean meat
all meat
eggs; specially the yolks
nuts and seeds
yoghurt
veggies veggies and more veggies
salads with lots of fat
olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, and butter
Here is a list of foods you should avoid:
grains
sugar
legumes
packaged foods
Fitness:
For centuries and centuries people were so much more active than we are today.
People walked. And walked and walked and walked.
People hunted, which means they did short sprints, short bursts of high intensity interval training.
People climbed, lifted heavy things, dragged animal carcasses back to their families, climbed trees,
People did not run for hours at the same pace, nor did they work out their biceps and triceps for hours at a time.
They did functional movements, which were more natural and more effective. Their whole bodies especially their core had to be strong to lift really heavy things.
Lean muscle mass, bone density, core and functional strength, agility, and a high metabolism were the results of these movements.
And for us primal folk, aping their movements is how we keep fit.
Right here are useful links that will answer all your questions.
Mark’s Daily Apple – Primal Blueprint 101 – Helpful links, with answers to anything and everything to do with living the evolutionary lifestyle.
Wellness Mama – Wellness 101 – A great website for those interested in natural living with simple explanations of complex topics.
Chriss Kresser – When you’re ready to go beyond paleo and adopt a paleo template.
Or read my take on the lifestyle in What is the Primal / Paleo lifestyle, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Hi there Aloka. I really like your blog. I am travelling to India for three weeks, mostly spending time in Rajasthan. I love Indian food – it’s my favourite cuisine by far. The problem with this is that I’ll end up gorging for three weeks on delicious yet potentially unhealthy food. Do you have any advice on how to eat well during my trip? Of course it wouldn’t be worth the trip if I didn’t try some things that aren’t exactly paleo, but can you recommend certain dishes, types of restaurants, street vendors etc that are good for both my taste buds and my health? Thanks so much. Joyce
Hi Joyce,
Well all I can say is try to eat the kebabs wherever possible for a meal and ask for a green salad whenever you get it. Apart from that there’s not much you can do. Rajasthani street food is definitely not paleo but like you said its un avoidable.
Honestly, I’d say just eat what you must and enjoy new foods. But definitely try not to eat unless you’re hungry. You could try interminant fasting every now and then on your trip.
I think as long as you don’t go overboard, stay away from the sweet stuff and realise that most of the food will be made in terrible oil, you’re good.
Enjoy.
Aloka,
Avoiding grains, sugar and packaged food i can understand but why are we avoiding legumes ?
Does that mean being a vegetarian, i would need to give up eating all kinds of dal?
Yes. Legumes are in the same category as grains though not as aggressive when it comes to lectins. Being a veg is tough when it comes to eating this way. You need to figure out what you can include of drop after experimentation.
Hi Aloka
I’ve been 80% primal for a few years now but getting my mother who is as you can imagine. being indian, very grains orientated. Any resouces you have or plans for getting a veggie gujju mother (veggie no more) interested in primal lifestyle? I am good with eating similar meals most days but mother is a food snob.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Nitant
Hi nitant,
That’s a tough one. A gujju mother is interested in paleo? Hats of to you! I am gujju and have had no luck with my gujju family. 🙂
I guess the main thing you can do is convince her to drop all grains and sugar for a month. Tell her that she should try it for a small timeframe and then add back grains.
She can add back rice and fermented grains like idli.
Just ask her to change the balance from grains to veggies in her food. She should also change the oils foods are cooked in.
As Indians grain are so entrenched in our foods that I feel the first step is for her to understand the mindset of why and the rest will fall into place.
Good luck!
Hey Aloka,
Just perusing and quite curious. I wanted to ask, how do you fit fiber into this diet?
Also, is daal good or bad?
That fiber is good for you is a myth. Fiber tears up your intestinal lining. The myth was floated by the mncs when they launched high fiber cereals.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dietary-fiber-is-bad-for-sex-thats-the-only-claim-about-it-that-isnt-a-myth/
For healthy people, including a variety of fibrous whole plant foods, fermented foods, and high-fat dairy as tolerated should eliminate the need to supplement with extra fiber, especially those insoluble fibers that are from sources high in anti-nutrients. A Paleo diet with some level of attention paid to the quality and quantity of vegetables, fruits, and starchy tubers can provide adequate levels of soluble fiber to feed the friendly bacteria in the gut that convert these fibers into beneficial short-chain fats like butyrate.
Source – http://chriskresser.com/myths-and-truths-about-fiber
Hi Aloka,
I am an Indian living in Ireland who has been paleo’ing for the last 2 years. I will be visiting India soon and I am dreading the fact that I can’t stay Paleo. Could you please give me any advice in where to get good sources of meat ? and possibly seafood ? veggies clearly is no issue in India 😀
PS: I will be living in Salem (a city near Bangalore) so possibly no access to big supermarkets.
The good news is that the veggies and meat options in india are not that bad or hormone pumped as they are in the west. The bad news is that it’s getting there.
I would suggest that once you move locate your local meat shops and markets and talk to the people selling the meat. Sometimes you may be surprised and sometimes it may lead you to a good source.
Awareness is not there as yet so you may have to do a little digging, but it’s not that difficult to stay primal here. When you eat out and eat kebabs and meats cooked in bad oils you will not have a choice as most places use pretty bad ingredients and are simply not aware.
Thank you Aloka 🙂 I will try and follow your advice. I will even try and get back to you with a comment of how I got on 😀
I would love that. I also want to add that since u r living in a smaller town I may not be that bad but do beware of the oils more than the meal and veggies.
That is so true, thanks for the tip 🙂 will be doing my own cooking from the looks of it in a completely veggie family, oh the joys 😛
Wow. Such an interesting and inspiring blog!
Thank you ambika 🙂
hi
wanted to check for vegetarians how do we get proteins in t
his diet
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Hi Aloka,
A complete pleasure to read your blog…I am desperately trying to go paleo along with getting my 2 boys n husband, already ditched the grains and sugar and have been trying to search for good free range meat in Mumbai…your info would be great help to me. Thanks.
Great work. Makes me happy that atleast someone in Mumbai knows about Paleo.
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Hi,
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