Bryce explains The Paleo Diet

Many of you have heard me talk to you about the Paleo Diet, also known as the caveman diet and hunter-gatherer diet, and most of you have probably questioned why I believe this is the optimal way to feed yourself.  I wanted to take some time to help you understand why the Paleo Diet can be so beneficial for your health.  The following will hopefully answer many of your questions.

What is the Paleo Diet?  It is a very simple and healthy way of eating.  You simply eat the following: meat (beef, fowl, seafood, and eggs), vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, and fruit.  These were the foods that were prevalent in the Paleolithic Era.  Our bodies were designed to eat these foods.  Man evolved on this diet for millions of years, and only in the last 10,000 years has been introduced to our "modern" diet.  In researching Paleolithic and modern hunters and gatherers you will find that cancer, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, Alzheimer's, arthritis, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression are absolute rarities.

If this diet is so beneficial then why is our average lifespan so much longer than that of a caveman?  You also need to factor in some of the amenities that you have access to that Paleolithic man did not.  Cause of death was most often from elements that modern man rarely has to face.  Constant sources of food, shelter, water, protection from wildlife, and modern medicine were not always guarantees.  

What foods are not allowed the Paleo Diet?  Grains (bread, pasta), beans, corn, potatoes, dairy, and sugar.  Yes, so all processed foods are out.  I am aware that this takes a lot of discipline to stay away from these foods.  They're everywhere.  

Here are a few reasons why these foods are detrimental to your health and fitness:

1. All of these foods are very calorie dense carbohydrate sources.
   
2. They are very low in nutrients and vitamins in comparison to their natural counterparts (fruits and vegetables).
   
3. They have a much higher glycemic load (chart included below) than vegetables and most fruit.  Meaning they spike your insulin levels.
   
4. They contain toxins that can be detrimental to your health, and can lead to many autoimmune diseases listed above.
   

What are the effects of excess insulin?  Insulin helps the body to store fat.  When your body's insulin levels are above what is necessary, then weight gain in the form of fat is inevitable.  Foods that have a high glycemic load slow your metabolism, which also lead to increased triglycerides, cholesterol, and sodium retention.  

Doesn't the FDA recommend grains and dairy?  How could they be wrong?  Remember where the FDA gets its money.  They are lobbied by the agricultural and pharmaceutical companies.  They are usually more interested in making money than promoting health.  If everyone was free of disease and health concerns the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't make any money.  If no one ate any grains, farmers would be out of business. 

When talking about dairy, think about how dairy is used in nature.  Dairy is usually only introduced during infancy of animals.  The sole purpose is to help infants gain weight, usually in the form of fat.  If you are attempting to gain weight, then dairy is not gong to be that detrimental.  For the majority of you, consuming large quantities of dairy is going result in weight gain.  I would venture to say that is probably a bad thing for a lot of you.

But...

I'm always on the go.  Planning and preparation can easily take care of this issue.  If you commit to this and are prepared for the day to fuel your body with good calories, this is not an issue.  It can take you as little as 1-10 minutes the night before to have your food ready for the day.  How long does it take you to drive somewhere and get food?  If you can’t get out of social lunches, try to make good choices.  No one will look at you like you're a freak if you order steak and asparagus or a chicken sandwich without the bun, instead of pasta with bread.  Usually the people who do look at you like that are simply doing this because you are making them feel guilty for their order.  Try to make it a non-issue. 

I have a family to feed.  If you are benefiting from this kind of diet, your family will reap the same benefits.  If you are in charge of meal preparation have your family eat the same food as you.  If your spouse is preparing food for you, find good choices in the meals that are served.  Is it a bad thing if your family is eating a healthy diet?  Being introduced to healthy foods will also help your children develop an understanding of good nutrition.  It should be a win/win.

This sounds like too much work.  Anything worth having is worth working hard for.  If you aren't willing to sacrifice anything to get the result, then there is a lack of commitment.  I'm usually home and awake for less than 2-3 hours a day, and have no issues making this work for me.  I know the benefits far outweigh any extra effort it takes me to eat this way.

I like my bread, dairy, and sugar.  I don't want to give those up.  Who doesn’t?  Everyone has cravings, and, most likely, if these foods were around when cavemen existed they would have enjoyed them every bit as much as we do today.  Fact of the matter is that these foods are not going to be beneficial in your pursuit of weight loss and health. 

Think about it this way, most of you are awake 16-20 hours a day.  How much of that time is spent eating?  An hour?  Maybe slightly longer than that if you’re out to eat with family and friends.  Those poor choices, although tasty, take up 5-7% of your day.  Those extra 10-100 pounds that you carry around are with you 100% of the day.  Just ask yourself at meal time, is it worth it?  Start viewing your food as fuel, rather than a fix to a craving to where it essentially becomes a drug. 

Summing it up.  If you are serious about weight loss in a healthy manner, eating a natural diet is going to be beneficial for you.  If you still have concerns that this diet is not going to be good for you, ask your doctor what they think about you eating more meat, vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, and fruit.  Can you see them saying this would be bad for you?  

Depending on how aggressive you want to be with your weight loss, I would also recommend that your consumption of carbohydrates is less than 50 grams/day.  If you research the Glycemic Load Chart, the link listed below, you will see that eating the standard western diet is going to put you way over that limit.  You will also likely have to limit your consumption of fruit and substitute in more vegetables.  Remember, if you want to succeed you have to sacrifice.  Your path to success is usually not an easy one.  If being healthy and fit was easy, then everyone would be walking around with six-pack abs.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.  Work hard and commit to a plan, and you'll get there.

Please email or ask questions if there is anything further that you need or want to know about this.  We are all on the same team and, hopefully, working toward the same goal.

Glycemic Load Chart

http://www.naturalchoicesforyou.com/members/680805/uploaded/Glycemic_IndexLoad_Chart.pdf