Paleo – Solution or Stopgap?

Recently, I was asked about my thoughts on the Paleo diet. Truth be told, I think it’s a great way to lose weight and eat healthy.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for you (or the people you know).

If you look at what the Paleo diet encourages it’s pretty simple: plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and eliminating grains.  Those changes alone will fix many issues in our modern diet, and will help you lose weight.  Sounds like a great plan, right?  Well, the other aspect of what makes a great diet is that it needs to be sustainable – and that’s where it can get tricky.

While the true Paleo approach does work, it’s awfully hard to stick to in its purest form.  Eliminating all grains, legumes, dairy, and alcohol is awfully hard to do (especially those last two!), and still feel as if you’re not depriving yourself.  If you find that you can actually stay away from those four categories, or that you need bold dietary lines, then the Paleo approach may very well be for you.  After all, everything works….but only for a while.

The Paleo diet is simply a tool to help you stick with the the rules we all know: eat more whole, unprocessed foods, and eliminate the manufactured, food-like substances.  Whatever approach can help you adopt that path is the one you should use.

And when in doubt, simply eat like a grown up.