It can be daunting at first to adopt a Paleo type of diet. While it takes time to adjust, there are some ways to make it easier. Here are my top 7 tips:
1. Explore local options
This has been a lot of fun for me here in Mumbai. I am literally in seafood heaven, cooking with octopus, clams, crab, different kinds of fish ranging from sardines to surmai. And if there is one thing abundantly available in India it is vegetables. Wherever you are in the world there will be foods that are produced or grown locally and rather than to stick to your comfort zone, try them. Find recipes online or use the help of local friends to teach you how to prepare these foods. A new world will open and you will soon find new delicious favorites.
2. Rotate your food
The trick in successfully changing your eating pattern is to keep things exciting and not to repeat the same things all the time. We all tend to get comfortable with certain meals that we know and like but variety is the spice of life. Rotating your food options is a way to make meals more exciting. Every vegetable, fruit or protein source has its own unique nutritional profile and by rotating your choices you make sure to get complete nutrition. Be prepared to sometimes end up with creations that you will never want to repeat but that’s part of the fun. Treat cooking as an adventure and keep trying different things.
3. Cook extra for quick freezer meals
You are going to have to spend a considerable amount of time in the kitchen if you want to successfully adopt a wholesome new way of eating. To be honest, I cribbed and complained about that at first and finally resigned to the fact and acknowledged that it is a priority to feed myself and my family nutritious and wholesome meals that help us stay strong and healthy and that I might as well enjoy it.
It does help to plan in advance and cook double quantities whenever possible so that for those days that there is limited time, you can easily pull a healthy, home cooked, frozen meal from the freezer. Check out
this article for more tips on how to reduce your time in the kitchen.
4. Focus on the veggies
It is easy to go protein-heavy when embarking on a Paleo type diet. In fact it is an image often associated with this way of eating: plates piled high with meat. I am sure that there are people who use the Paleo diet as an excuse to do so but from my point of view, it is all about the veggies. Pick a protein source (eggs, meat, chicken, fish, seafood) the portion size approximately the size of the palm of your hand (or two depending on your situation) and fill the rest of your plate with vegetables, cooked or as a salad. It’s that simple. You’ll have all your essential macronutrients and bunches of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to build yourself a strong and healthy body and mind.
5. Try to know the source
I am deliberately using the word “try” here because depending on where you live, it is not always the easiest thing to find out where your food originates from. I am facing that problem a lot here in India. There is no label that says “grass fed” or “free range”. Tracing back the source is a task that will be a full time job and that I am not ready to embark on. There are a few enlightened farmers who take pride on growing organic food and raising grass fed animals etc. but the trend has not taken off enough for it to have gone mainstream.
In developed markets, however, there is increasing awareness with regards to choosing meat, chicken that have been raised humanely, fed a natural diet, allowed to roam and graze freely as well as the importance of organic food. If you have access to this, please make full use of it. It makes a difference to not only your conscience but also the quality and nutritional value of the food on your plate.
6. Keep healthy snacks handy
The thing I struggled with most in the beginning was hunger. We rely a lot on grains to fill up our tummies and provide us with energy and initially, when cutting these high carb options out of your diet, you will feel hungry. Your body has to switch gears and learn how to use fat for fuel. Additionally you just might have the metabolic profile that requires you to eat a higher percentage of carbohydrates to feel your best. In my case, I quickly learned to adjust meals to incorporate some relatively higher carb starchy veggies regularly to meet my energy requirements and metabolic profile.
This is a very personal assessment and it also depends on your health goals. In general, when it comes to food, it is essential to learn to listen to your body and fulfill its unique requirements. The concept of bio-individuality applies as much to a Paleo style of eating as any other kind of diet. More on that in
this blog post on Paleo and bio-individuality.
7. Look beyond your diet
Diet plays a hugely important role in your overall health and wellbeing but it is not the only thing that matters. Your level of physical activity, rest, stress management and supplementation also play an important part.
Additionally, you can eat vegetables and high quality protein till the cows come home but if there is an underlying malfunction in your body that might need to be addressed. That malfunction needs to be resolved and this could require some special care. For example a digestive system, which has been compromised for whatever reason, or an infection, which needs treatment, hormones that are out of balance and that need to be helped along or a detoxification issue.
In my case, it was a lingering H. Pylori stomach infection, which has prevented me from fully thriving no matter what I did with my diet.
As a soon to be FDN practitioner I am trained to do investigative health detective work to help identify underlying causes of health complaints that are often missed by the medical model.
This has made a huge difference in my own life and is allowing me to take my health to a new level. I offer the same to anyone who is ready to take the next step.
There are plenty of resources available for those of you that are interested the Paleo approach. Below you can find some that I have turned to in order to learn more, and be inspired be it through success stories or delicious recipes. I will keep sharing my personal journey as well and look forward to hearing about yours!
Monique
Books:
1. Primal Body, Primal Mind – Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT
2. Deep Nutrition – Catherine Shanahan, MD, Luke Shanahan
3. The Primal Blueprint – Mark Sisson
4. It Starts with Food – Dallas & Melissa Hartwig
5. Well Fed I and Well Fed II – Melissa Joulwan
Websites:
1. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
2. http://chriskresser.com/
3. http://robbwolf.com/
4. http://whole9life.com/
5. http://www.thepaleomom.com/
