Cracking the Paleo Diet Code: Lose Weight Fast With Primal Eating & Intermittent Fasting (How to Lose Weight Your Way) (2 page)

I briefly mentioned what the Paleo diet was at the
beginning of the book; otherwise all of my cavemen jokes would have been for naught. Here is the extended definition of the Paleo diet.

It can be argued that in the prehistoric period, people ate organic, naturally grown food. They hunted for free-ranging animal meat. They gathered wild fruits and vegetables. They supplemented their diets with fire-roasted nuts and seeds.
They dug up roots. They drank mostly water. Because of this, they were in relatively good health.

Cavemen had to eat whatever they could find and exercised regularly. I guess if every time you walked out the front door there was something trying to eat you
, then you probably stayed in shape. What I find most fascinating about the Paleo diet is that there were no carbohydrates in the form of pasta, etc.

And yet somehow those foods are t
he very things that we all believe we need for energy. We believe we need pasta, grains and processed carbs to keep our energy up. If that is the case, how was it the cavemen were able to have the energy to outrun predators and hunt for days at a time?

It wasn’t until about the last 10,000 years that we deviated away from the
healthy caveman diet, which is right around the time man discovered agriculture. For the 200,000 years before that, the cavemen had to chase down their food, defend their land, and survive many obstacles.

But one day
, someone either figured out how, or were influenced, to start planting and growing their own food. Domesticating animals became the norm vs. having to go out every day and hunt one down. Now instead of having to go out and find food, you just stepped out into your backyard, grabbed a few potatoes and sent Ol’ Bessy to the butcher, well you milked her first and then off she went.

As with anything we humans do
, just having enough wasn’t enough. In the past 10,000 years we started mass producing food to the point that we throw away as much as we eat. Wasting food like this would have been unheard of in caveman times. I wouldn’t want to guess how much of the animal they ate, but I am guessing anything that was edible. There wouldn’t have been any kid in the caveman family pushing his roots away saying he didn’t like them.

The parents would just say “then you can starve to death” and the kid most likely did
, or he learned to eat what was available. The Paleo diet unfortunately became a thing only the cavemen did in history books. There just weren’t enough of them left anymore to keep their diet mainstream.

Look at the food we eat now
: It isn’t what we were designed to eat, and our bodies are trying to let us that with more disease and obesity then the cavemen would have ever seen. How we eat is like a lion trying to live on watermelon or a cow only eating fish. It just isn’t the right foods for what we are.

The Paleo diet is something that can change your life and potentially improve your health to the point
that your daily aches and pains disappear. If you are still unsure about all of this, keep reading and you will see how easy it is to make this part of your lifestyle.

Don’t let the caveman talk scare you away
: While the Paleo diet seems restrictive, you are going to discover in Chapter 5 just how much food you have available to choose from.

Well if you have been beating your body up with a horrible nutritional assault you can expect to have a rough start. I never try to sugar coat the potential side effects when I am coaching a client. I don’t want to scare them from trying, but I also want them to realize their bodies are going to be unhappy with the changes to start, but very thankful shortly after that.

Any change in diet
, especially one from unhealthy to healthy, can result in some side effects. These do pass and sure beat the side effects of disease and death an unhealthy lifestyle can lead us to.

During the first month of transitioning to the Paleo lifestyle
, people’s reactions will be heavily varied. Some will lose a lot of weight, some get really grumpy, and many will experience a perceived lack of energy.

You are going to experience a natural detox
that will not be the most pleasant. Once you stop consuming processed foods and the toxins they contain, your body will start the natural healing process. It will start to release the toxins in your system in the form of headaches, frequent bathroom breaks and may leave you feeling a bit lethargic, like a flu only in a healthy way.

This will also be a time when your cravings will be in full swing. The toxins that are leaving your body are highly addictive
, and your body at this point still believes it needs them. It is really important that you stay as committed as possible during this phase, and most cravings will disappear after about two weeks.

As you transition
, it is also important that you keep exercising. You might not feel like exercising but you would be missing out on a huge benefit in making the transition easier. Sweating! By getting out there and sweating you are going to get those toxins out that much faster. Do not be surprised if your sweat smells different.

I noticed when I detoxed with a lifestyle change that my sweat almost smelled metallic
, which probably shows how many toxins were leaving my system. I also noticed the sweat made my skin itch, which it never did before. I was probably sweating out pure phosphoric acid due to the amount of pop I used to drink. It is crazy what our body goes through to get rid of all the crap we put into it, but it is a very necessary step.

If you struggle with m
oodiness, stabilization can be expected over time. If you don’t believe that excess sugar in your diet doesn’t affect your mood you would be wrong. If you don’t believe me then try babysitting a bunch of kids and give them some extra sugar. They will go through all the emotions of alcohol consumption: All happy, then grumpy and end it with a crying fit most of the time. If you find you are moody in life right now, it could be due to excessive sugar.

One of the best things you can expect
to happen after the side effects subside is feeling awful every time you choose to eat junk food. It is amazing what our body tells us once it is able to, and we are open to hearing. A body free of toxins and feeling great will take that junk food and make you regret it. You will become bloated, have intestinal discomfort and most likely have an unpleasant trip to the bathroom.

This happens because your body knows that
the food you just ate is not good for you and tries to get rid of it. It used to do that for you, but as you continued to force that food in it eventually gave up. Your new normal was feeling slightly crappy all the time. You trained your body to love junk, and can train it to love healthy food once again.

Basically before you can feel great you are most likely going to feel really, really not great
. The best thing about all this is that the side effects are only temporary, and soon you will feel much better than you have ever felt before.

If you are s
till with me then it shows you know the Paleo diet can change your life. Now that you know what to expect in the transition to the Paleo diet, let’s explore what a caveman actually ate.

I asked myself this exact question
, because the thought of eating the bark off my backyard tree and digging up mysterious roots made me a bit nervous. I also couldn’t remember the last time I had to chase down an animal to eat it; maybe in 91’ but I was a lot younger back then.

I understood the whole premise of eating only what you could get off of the land but needed more
clarification, as I am sure you do to. I mean really, was I stuck eating the berries on the trees I tell my kids not to eat, or was I going to have to start my own greenhouse in the backyard?

As I researched
the Paleo diet I started to realize that the choices of whole natural foods are almost limitless. There really is no need to keep buying boxed processed items just to have variety. I have tried to create an extensive list of Paleo diet safe foods and beverages you can include in your daily meals.

As always
, whenever possible ensure you choose organic and support your local farmers market. You should also take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables for increased variety. Always keep in mind the minimalist mindset you want to have in order to avoid overconsumption. Just because you can buy an abundance of foods does not mean you need to.

What to include:

Harvesting “wild” eggs is
almost impossible in this day and age, so a far better option would be to patronize local farms that sell fresh eggs. This is one way of ensuring that at the very least, you get fresher batches of eggs as compared to those you buy at the supermarket. Fresher eggs contain higher levels of nutrients which is always beneficial to the Paleo diet. Smaller farms also sell more organic products (even without advertising these openly,) as compared to egg production plants.

Realistically speaking though, most of us only have access to supermarket eggs. In which case, you can safely incorporate
the eggs that are labeled with:

● Enriched with Omega-3,
free range or cage free, free roaming

● Organic,
pastured or pasture-raised

To supplement yo
ur Paleo diet, you can also use eggs from:

●
Black-headed Sea gulls, Ducks, Geese, Guinea fowls, Pheasants and Quails

● Pickled eggs can be added if you choose to buy low sodium sugar free ones. Better yet
, you can find some Paleo friendly recipes on the internet and make your own.

●
Ostrich eggs, if you can find them. Consuming one ostrich egg is equivalent to eating about 24 chicken eggs, so you may want to plan a family breakfast around them.

When it comes to eggs
, the recommended amount you should eat per week is very controversial. I have read everything from one egg per week to two whole eggs a day. You will need to decide how many eggs are right for you, and if you are concerned get your cholesterol checked regularly. Your waistline will also tell you if you are eating too many.

What to include:

When it comes to fish, any wild or fresh caught fish can be safely incorporated in your Paleo diet. You ca
n often find these being sold at your local grocery store or if you are lucky enough to live by a body of water, your local fisherman. There are also wet market vendors in fish stalls where the turnover for seafood is quick.

Wild fis
h tend not to have nearly as many heavy metal toxins as farmed fish, which makes them the better choice. Farmed fish have more disease, toxins and antibiotics due to their cramped living conditions inside their pens. Their diet is based predominantly on artificial feeds which is also a contributing factor.

This is why many of these farmed fishes go directly to food processing plants. Their flesh
first has to be treated extensively in order to be suitable for human consumption.

But as always, many of us only have access to supermarket fish products, which almost always come from farmed fishes. If this is indeed the case, always make sure that you cook the fish first before you consume
it.

Avoid eating these
fish raw, like sushi. If you want, you can buy sushi meat from your local fishmongers or fish vendors instead. Rinse the fish meat when you get home, then place the fish uncovered in the deep freeze for a few minutes (a process called flash freezing.) This helps destroy bacteria and other possible pathogens. Thaw the meat out for a few minutes before using this for sushi dishes.

Some of the best (and safest!) fish you can use for sushi are:

● Big-eye tuna is leaner and milder tasting than its larger cousin: the Bluefin tuna. If you do not have access to wild and fresh caught big eye tuna, always opt for fish that is labeled as ocean farmed.

●
Bluefin tuna can yield choice cuts like: akami (pure red meat similar to the firm texture of filet mignon), chu-toro (tuna belly, which is often marbled with fat), and o-toro (which comes from the fattiest part of the tuna belly, and has a melt-in-your-mouth texture). Some bluefin tuna are raised in fish farms, but these are often always sold frozen. To avoid these fish, always buy your Bluefin tuna meat fresh.

●
Yellowfin tuna is similar to big-eye tuna, except that this fish tends to grow in more tropical climates. However, unlike big-eye tuna, the yellowfin has a deep pink flesh and not the usual crimson red. As sushi, yellowfin tuna is leaner and milder tasting. Its flesh is firmer than bluefin or big-eye tuna, and as a bonus is always caught in the wild.

●
Hamachi or buri refers to young yellowtail fish or the Japanese amberjack. The flesh from this fish is high in fat, which is why it is highly prized for its buttery but sharp taste. This fish is often raised in fish farms, but a fair few are still caught in the wild. The good news is that this fish is naturally resistant to heavy metal toxins, so there is little nutritional difference between farmed hamachi and the ones caught in the wild.

●
Tai or red snapper. Many of the red snappers we find in supermarkets are ocean farmed, which makes them less prone to acquiring harmful toxins. In certain areas, this fish is still being caught in the wild. As sushi, it has a very mild taste with a delicate texture.

●
Salmon is a very fatty fish which has organically high levels of Omega 3 oils in its flesh. As sushi, it has a savory flavor with a buttery aftertaste. Wild caught salmon is always best. Its flesh has a more striking pink-orange hue, as compared to the extremely pale pink flesh of farmed salmon. If possible, avoid consuming the latter if you can. 

According to multiple studies, farmed salmon contains high levels of toxins which promote the development of cancer cells in humans. Therefore, these
fish should never be consumed raw. In order to make farmed salmon meat suitable for human consumption, it is usually processed extensively. Farmed salmon meat is made into canned salmon products, frozen salmon meals, and ready-to-cook salmon fingers.

To make sure that you don't buy farmed salmon, buy only from your trusted fishmonger and always spec
ify that you want one that has been caught from the wild. Buy slabs of salmon meat or steaks, and never the cubed or minced meat. Also, wild salmon flesh needs to be flash frozen before being prepared for sushi.

There are other fishes you can u
se for sushi or raw fish dishes, but it is highly recommended that you prepare these very carefully to prevent food poisoning or bacterial contamination. When it doubt you should stick with the safer options as stated above.

Possible sushi meat substitutes you can inc
lude in your daily meals are:

●
Flounder, Gizzard Shad (Kohada), Halibut, Mackerel, Porgies, and Sea bass

There are many varieties of fish you can co
ok for your Paleo diet, and you can basically use the rule if it has fins and swims you can eat it. Here is an extensive list:

What not to include:

All processed food items should be eliminated or consumed sparingly. These include fish-based products like:

●
Bottled or pickled fish products, as these are contain high levels of salt and sugar. Unfortunately, even if you pickle them yourself, you would still need to use a lot of salt prior and during pickling to keep the fish from spoiling. I have read that there is some pickled herring that people consider Paleo friendly, but you will need to read the labels and make the choice yourself.

●
Canned fish meat contains farmed fish meat which could prove to be detrimental to one's health in the long run. In the case of canned products with flavored sauces, these are made from fish by-products that are only one step from becoming pet food. You certainly don't want to consume these, Paleo diet or not.

●
Frozen fish meals, ready-to-cook and/or microwavable fish items are made from fish by-products from different food processing plants which are processed extensively, then mixed with refined flours. These are freeze-dried to make the resulting “meat” stand up to further processing (like shaping the meat into logs or squares,) before being subjected to long bouts of chemical preservation. In the process, the meat has lost all its natural flavors, nutrients, colors and natural texture. These are artificially reconstituted later on using multiple chemical processes and boatloads of food additives.

Examples of these include:

● Breaded fish fingers, Fish burgers, Fish fingers, Fish hot dogs, Fish nuggets

●
Simulated crab sticks or surimi are made from reconstituted fish as well.

●
Marinated fish fillets or ready-to-cook fish products are often soaked for long periods in brine and/or soy sauce. Some are sprayed with artificial food colors to make these look palatable.