The Paleo diet is an eating plan that imitates how prehistoric human beings may have eaten. It includes eating whole foods that people could supposedly gather or hunt. Supporters of the paleo diet reject modern diets that are full of processed foods. They believe that returning to how primitive hunter-gatherers ate may cause fewer health issues. The Paleo diet plan for weight loss is not safe for all. Doctors are not aware of its effects on pregnant women, children, and older adults. People with chronic conditions, like inflammatory bowel disease, should consult with their doctor before trying this diet food plan for weight loss.
What is a Paleo Diet?
The focus of the paleo diet is on eating foods that might be available in the Paleolithic era. This diet is also known as the stone age diet, hunter-gatherer diet, or caveman diet. Before modern agriculture go developed 10,000 years, people typically ate foods that they could gather or hunt, like lean meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
The development of modern farming changed the way people used to eat. Legumes, dairy products, and grains became an important part of everyone’s diets. Proponents of the Paleo diet believe that the human body has not evolved to process legumes, dairy, and grains and that eating these food items could raise the risk of specific health issues, like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Foods that a person can eat while following a Paleo diet plan for weight loss are:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Lean meat
- Seeds
- Eggs
- Fish
- Nuts
- Spices
- Herbs
- The oil that comes from nuts or fruits, like coconut oil, almond oil, and olive oil
- People following a paleo diet tend to select grass-fed, organic meats as these are the least processed.
Foods to avoid while following a Paleo diet plan.
- Grains, including oats, honey, wheat.
- Legumes, like lentils, beans, peanuts, and peas
- Refined sugar
- Dairy
- Artificial sweeteners
- Trans fats
- Salt
- Low-fat and diet products
People who are following this diet food plan for weight loss must drink lots of water. Some people who are following this diet can also drink green tea or black coffee, but they should avoid soft drinks and juices, but make sure you do not add sugar to them. Regular exercise plays an important part in the paleo lifestyle.
Bid goodbye to crackers, cereal, pasta, rice, and beer. All the grains are forbidden in the Paleo diet. Why? Because grains are a product of modern agriculture. Earlier, cavemen did not use to eat bread. Also, grains are high in carbohydrates, which can increase blood sugar levels. Paleo critics point out that not all grains are made equal. Whole grains do not spike your blood sugar as much as the refined grains. Even so, paleo dieters steer clear of grains as they consist of various compounds and proteins like lectins, gluten, and phytates, which they claim causes inflammation in the body and blocks other essential nutrients from getting absorbed. Critics of Paleo say that these compounds are not an issue unless you have a sensitivity or allergy.
Legumes
These are members of a huge family of plants that have a pod or seed. This category includes everything like peas, beans, tofu, lentils, and many other soy foods, and peanuts. This includes soy sauce and peanut butter. Legumes are not allowed while you follow a paleo diet due to their high content of phytic acid and lectins. Just like grains, this is a controversial point in the scientific community. Research supports eating legumes as an important part of a healthy diet as they are low in fat and high in protein, iron, and fiber.
Processed Foods
These foods are strictly a no-no while following a paleo diet plan for weight loss. Some of the things that must be avoided while following this diet include salt, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and refined vegetable oils. Our ancestors never ate these foods. Also, there is little argument in the scientific community that refined sugars and excess salt contribute to high blood pressure, obesity, and heart diseases. However, there is some disagreement over artificial sweeteners and vegetable oils.
Benefits of Paleo Diet Plan for Weight Loss
Not unlike another diet plan, the Paleo diet has its own set of advantages. You can derive the below-mentioned benefits from the Paleo diet plan:
Weight Loss- One of the important features of a paleo diet is the intake of unprocessed food. A paleo diet, thus, tends to be low in carbohydrates as it excludes foods like grains that need to be processed. High-carb, processed foods tend to affect one’s blood sugar level adversely. By removing these foods from one’s diet, the Paleo diet can help in reducing blood sugar levels and lessen body fat. Therefore, this diet also helps you to reduce weight. According to a study in 2016, healthy women who followed a Paleo diet plan attained greater weight loss compared to those who followed a typical low-fat diet.
Increased insulin sensitivity- As most paleo foods have low carbohydrate, there is less demand on the pancreas to generate insulin. Several studies show that the Paleo diet reduces insulin, and thus, increases its effectiveness. This reduces insulin resistance, which is the main force of type 2 diabetes, letting some people decrease the amount of medicine that they require.
High energy level- This is one of the significant benefits of the Paleo diet plan for weight loss. As part of this diet, you tend to eat foods that have low glycemic index levels. This will help you to avoid the fall in energy levels that occurs shortly after consuming high GI and sugary food items.
Reduced Inflammation- High level of inflammation in the body increase the risk of various health issues, including Type 2 diabetes. Eating low-carb, low GI food items can help in preventing excess inflammation. This is mainly true in the case of Omega-3 fatty acids.
Simple Paleo snacks to enjoy.
While following a healthy diet plan for weight loss, there is no need to eat more than 3 meals a day, but if you feel hungry, here are some healthy Paleo snacks that are simple and portable to carry anywhere you go:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Baby carrots
- Handful of nuts
- Any fruit
- Apple slices with almond butter
- Bowl of berries with coconut cream
Conclusion
The Paleo diet food plan for weight loss is created after the diets hunter-gatherers are probably to have followed. While there is no specific way to follow the Paleo diet, the basic idea is to avoid processed foods and focus on healthy, wholesome foods.
Paleo-friendly foods include fish, meat, nuts, seeds, and vegetables, along with healthy oils and fats. Avoid processed foods, sugar, and grain. You can also support your diet on Paleo foods, adding a few modern healthy food items like for example, gluten-free grains and grass-fed butter.
To start the Paleo diet, you can search online for the foods and menu. Stock your pantry and kitchen with different Paleo-friendly, healthy food items.
Have you followed Paleo diet plan ever? Was the result satisfactory? Please let us know your thoughts in our comment section.