Thinking about Paleo -- anyone do it?

[Cleave]

We're thinking about doing Paleo -- for a variety of reasons. Anyone do it? Any tips/tricks/advice/favorite recipes for a newbie?

TIA-

[GrayMatterWife]

You've decided on a diet of dinosaur meat?

[samssugarmomma]

My husband and I have done paleo for about a year. Have you read Robb Wolff's book yet?

[samssugarmomma]

GWM - It's a diet choice - no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no beans. It's meat, vegetables, a little fruit and a little nuts.

[GrayMatterWife]

GWM - It's a diet choice - no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no beans. It's meat, vegetables, a little fruit and a little nuts.

Ah. I don't diet, but that plan sounds like a good way to reduce the feeling of being "bloated". I cut way, way back on breads for that reason, and it really helped a great deal--less constipation and generally feeling better. And tons of veggies has to be a good thing. For anyone!

Glad to hear this does not invoke a Jurassic Park scenario.

[bokelley]

We recommend the book "it starts with food" at our office. People really seem to like it.

[BonBon]

We recommend the book "it starts with food" at our office. People really seem to like it.

LOVE that book.

[Cleave]

Nope. But I am now on the wait list for it at the library. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Cleave]

Ah. I don't diet, but that plan sounds like a good way to reduce the feeling of being "bloated". I cut way, way back on breads for that reason, and it really helped a great deal--less constipation and generally feeling better. And tons of veggies has to be a good thing. For anyone!

Glad to hear this does not invoke a Jurassic Park scenario.

Yes, the tons of veggies thing sounds great. I don't know if I can give up wheat totally, but thought I might give it a try...

[samssugarmomma]

It's so much easier to give up wheat once you see how you feel without it. Seriously.

And yes, ditching wheat does help with a reduced feeling of bloating. The week that I gave it up, I lost 12 lbs. That's how swollen I was from wheat and added sugars. Crazy!

[Cleave]

Nope. But I am now on the wait list for it at the library. Thanks for the suggestion.

This was meant to refer to the Wolff book. Still getting the hang of this forum...

[Cleave]

It's so much easier to give up wheat once you see how you feel without it. Seriously.

And yes, ditching wheat does help with a reduced feeling of bloating. The week that I gave it up, I lost 12 lbs. That's how swollen I was from wheat and added sugars. Crazy!

12 lbs??? Did most of it stay off?
I love wheat (hello, bread) and love sugar -- I eat a bit of chocolate nearly every day. But I am pre-arthirtic and am interested in reducing any possible sources of inflammation. I love veg, will miss beans, and am not excited about eating more meat (Paleo does like meat and I generally don't eat much), so I am not sold on this diet but figure it's worth a try. And if I feel much better -- hurrah! I imagine I'll keep it up. And if I lose 12 freaking lbs (or 4 or 6 or whatever), so much the better.

[samssugarmomma]

Yes - 12! My trainer said it was inflammation - and I'd agree since I didn't see that big of a loss in my clothes. And yes, it has stayed off. When I cave and have a coke (my weakness), its amazing how swollen and different I feel. I still have a long way to go to be healthy (about 68 lbs). We switched to paleo last February and I haven't been as strict as I should be (still the occasional coke and I eat more fruit and nuts than I probably should to lose weight) but I feel so much better.

Keep reading - wheat and sugar are huge sources of inflammation.

For chocolate - is there are Trader Joes near you? We get some mints from there that are technically paleo that have chocolate liquor in them. There are only three ingredients - honey, mint, and chocolate liquor. There is also a brand of ice cream called So Delicious that makes diary free and soy free ice cream (they use Coconut Milk). Their chocolate ice cream is great - but I like the german chocolate better. You can also get diary free/soy free chocolate chips. The brand is called Enjoy Life. I can get the So Delicious and Enjoy Life stuff at Kroger and at Walmart. Hopefully you can find them near you so you can satisfy those cravings!

There are also a ton of great websites out there. I like Elana's Pantry for baking and PaleOMG for main dishes. I'll have to check my Pinterest board to see where else I get recipes from.

Also, if there is a long wait for the Robb's book, let me know and I can loan you mine.

Have you started sleeping in a pitch black room yet? I was skeptical, but man, I sleep so good now.


Urgh, my kids won't go to bed…..

[diggitydot]

We do kind of a modified paleo, meaning we've really just minimized the amount of crap we consume. With a vegetarian in the house, I'm not eliminating beans. And there's no fucking way coffee or chocolate is going away.

I found that I feel best limiting my wheat and dairy. I don't have any sensitivities or allergies to either, I just feel better when I limit how much I consume.

[Cleave]

We do kind of a modified paleo, meaning we've really just minimized the amount of crap we consume. With a vegetarian in the house, I'm not eliminating beans. And there's no fucking way coffee or chocolate is going away.

I found that I feel best limiting my wheat and dairy. I don't have any sensitivities or allergies to either, I just feel better when I limit how much I consume.

I'm interested in that -- feeling good. I have a feeling that your version of paleo is where I will end up. I might try strict paleo to jump start, then relax it a bit. Low sugar, low simple carb and more veg always seems like a good idea. And no chocolate ever seems like a bad idea. Really, more than anything, I need to kick the diet coke habit.