Written by Catherine Saxelby
on Monday, 10 February 2014.
Tagged: diet, healthy eating, weight loss
I’ve never been wild about the Paleo Diet, I must admit. It’s never seemed right that we humans haven’t ‘evolved’ from our caveman days, nor our food either. I mean carrots today aren’t the same as the thin, bland, lacklustre carrots of our hunter-gatherer ancestors; meat from domesticated animals raised by mass production methods, even if grass-fed, is not wild bison roaming the plains; fruit is juicier, veggies are less bitter.
Paleo has become a huge trend now and the devotees I’ve met are SO enthusiastic and well, passionate, that it made me stop and think once they stopped raving about what they ate! I had never heard people so committed to a way of eating before.
There is a new chain of Paleo cafes and Crossfit gyms along with a swag of Paleo-based cookbooks now on the scene.
When I was asked to road-test different diets for James Valentine, one of my fave radio hosts on ABC Radio, I accepted the personal challenge to eat Paleo for a week and really experience its strengths and weaknesses first-hand. How easy would it be to stick to (and I do need to lose a few post-holiday kilos - no comments please!)? How could it be an ideal diet for the human race with all that protein and lack of grains and dairy?
This was roughly what I ate in a typical day on the Paleo plan. I found I was eating three big, cooked meals a day, which is contrary to my usual five-small-meal-grazing pattern.
The good news is that I didn't get that deep-ravenous hunger between meals but I did miss those comfy carbs, especially bread and my muesli.
Nutrition aside, carbs are such a super foil to proteins e.g. I missed a thin slice of toast with my morning eggs, I missed that bland homely counterpoint of steamed rice with a beef stir-fry; I missed the filling chewiness of bread; the satisfying power of mash.
Between meals, I did reach for Paleo snacks such as raw nuts, avocado, fruit, hard-boiled eggs but sometimes my stomach sent out messages for carbs. Maybe this is learned (so therefore I can UNlearn it). Maybe it's a real negative of a grain-free diet.
Also I was only doing moderate exercise e.g. walking the dog, pilates. Nothing terribly strenuous.
A rough analysis of my Day 1 intake shows that I was eating:
3. For me I missed my yoghurt so I'd add a small tub or 150 g to my Paleo menu.
* Note: I add nuts and seeds to any muesli I have so I don't think a bowl would add much oats i.e. grains.
There is little doubt about the weight loss and health potential of a Paleo diet, however adoption in its entirety in today's world is probably a little unrealistic.
But there is nothing wrong with increasing your vegetable and salad intake, cutting out junk food and alcohol and increasing activity, all of which are aspects of the Stone Age diet that nutritionists recommend.
Use the Paleo as a starting point. Then add in a few whole grains and fermented dairy.
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