Caveman Update

Many of you have been asking how Paleo living has been going, so I wanted to give you a quick update. First, I want to thank my clients who have sent me their favorite Paleo recipes…you guys know who you are! These recipes have become staples on my cooking list and are so delicious. I have passed them onto family members and other clients who have also wanted to try this diet, so thank you.

I also wanted to clarify. I was only strict Paleo for two weeks starting back November 2014. My initial intent was to try different diets and self-experiment to see how I felt on them. My main goals for trying this type of diet was to see if I could get rid of that last bit of baby fat that has been lingering around and also see how my GI system and overall energy would feel. Although I generally like to eat healthy and self-experiment for self-education, I also LOVE to eat and cook. I didn’t want to feel obligated to be on a strict elimination of foods that I like. After the 2 week mark, my intent was to stop and go back to my normal routine eating habits. However, I felt pretty good on this diet, so I decided to modify the diet to my own life. I slowly started incorporating back some dairy, mainly in the form of organic Greek yogurt, kefir, some gourmet cheeses when I wanted to have it with wine, and organic grass fed whole milk for my coffee/tea. I also added back grains mainly in the form of quinoa and rice. I also added legumes as they are a staple for many Indian foods that my kids love. So now basically the only things that I have limited is mostly grains in the form of wheat, oats, barley, etc, most processed foods, and I limited my sugar intake by 75% of what my normal consumption used to be. This has become a nice balance and I don’t feel that I am sacrificing things that I love to eat. The best thing that has come out of going strict Paleo for that 2 weeks was how it significantly reduced my cravings for processed foods and sugar.

I always thought of myself as a pretty healthy eater…although I really loved my sweets and felt like I had to have something after dinner. Or often, like so many others, substituting a Kind, Cliff or Lara bar instead of eating breakfast or as a substitute for a proper lunch. Going strict Paleo in the beginning really helped me realize what processed foods I was still eating even though I put them in the “healthy” category. It helped me get all the junk out of the house and forced me to eat full meals, adding back healthier fats and really eliminating my sugar. Although there are tons of different diets out there, the few things that most diets recommend, whether it’s Paleo or a plant-based diet, is the elimination of sugar, processed foods and limiting or eliminating dairy intake.

These 2 weeks helped me cut down my cravings for sugar and processed foods. You really don’t realize what you are eating until you are forced to cut it out. My energy levels are significantly better, my GI system is much better and more consistent and I lost quite a bit of weight considering I already have a small frame.

I actually feel I have lost too much and now I want to work my way back to gaining weight back but in a much healthier manner. So, I am going to be increasing my intake of healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, fish etc. and start working out more consistently for muscle gain. I will also be re-taking my blood work so that I can see how the past few months have affected my lipid profile.

I’ll continue to keep you updated and hope this sheds some insight to all of you.

Hina