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Paleo diet foods list, Paleo diet Guidelines

Before there were packaged goods, processed foods, GMOs and an ongoing debate between organic or not, there was dirt, seeds, water and roaming animals. It may be hard to consider now, but the dawn of man produced hunters and gatherers and humans had to get their own food – not by heading to the supermarket.

There were no sprays to kill insects, no chemicals or genes added or modified. No extra-large tomatoes or vibrant yellow bananas. Food was simple. It was either found, picked or hunted. And although there weren’t doctors or research scientists to confirm the benefits of such eating, it seems that when it comes to dietary habits, eating like our ancestors has some merit.

Diets come and diets go, but one in particular seems to have staying power and for good reasons as well. It’s based on eating similar to that of prehistoric man and it’s being touted as one of the best way to eat. It’s called the Paleo diet.

What is the Paleo diet?
The Paleo diet was created by Loren Cordain, a now-famous author, speaker and professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University, who specializes in disease and diet. The Paleo diet itself reflects food items and methods of eating similar to our Stone Age ancestors – that’s right, this diet is framed around eating like cavemen. Through scientific research and peer-reviewed studies, Cordain has uncovered many health benefits to eating the Stone Age way.

There are seven premise on which the Paleo diet guidelines are based:

High protein
Low carbohydrates and low glycemic index
High fiber
Moderate to high fat intake – monosaturated and polysaturated fats with omega-3s and 6s

High potassium, low sodium
Net dietary alkaline balances dietary acid – some foods produce acid (meat) and others are alkaline (fruits and vegetables). Eating a balance of both alkaline and acid foods can have positive health effects.

High intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant phytochemicals.

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Understanding Calories and Their Relationship with Weight Loss

Calories are a measurement of energy. When you eat food, your body acquires energy from the calories embodied in that food. The food is then digested and turned into nutrients that your body requires, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Your body simply requires a set amount of calories each day for your body to operate (see below for more on this). A few examples are growing hair, repairing muscles, and giving you energy throughout the day. Any spare calories that your body intakes, it stores as fat. Here is an analogy to simplify it.

Imagine calories as money, and your body as your bank account. Each day, you require a set amount of money for you to get by, such as paying your bills, buying food, or gas for your car. You have a set amount of money to use each day (depending on your salary). So if you spend more than you can afford, you increase your debt (think of debt as fat).

How many calories do I need to eat in a day?

The amount of calories that are required for each day will be different between people. Your gender, your weight, how old you are, and how active you are will tell the number of calories your body requires. For example, a 200 pound male will typically require more than a 120 pound woman. Likewise, an athlete will likely need more calories than the same person but who is not physically active. That being said, This being said, here are some broad figures that you can use as a guideline to help you understand calories. The average male needs 2,500 calories a day, and the average woman needs 2,000.

Understanding weight loss

The relationship between weight loss and calories can be simplified and summed up by the following.

Intake more calories than you burn and you gain weight. Burn more calories than you intake and you lose weight.

Going back to the money analogy, here is how it looks.

Spend more money than you earn and you gain debt. Earn more money than you spend and you lose debt.

In order for you to drop 1 pound, you will need a deficit of 3500 calories. Quite often, people will target to get to this deficit by reducing their daily caloric intake by 500 calories. Of course, there are numerous other factors to look at other than just counting calories. Different foods will contain various types of nutrients, and all calories are not the same. It can get quite complicated and confusing, so keep in mind that this article has simplified much of this field to ensure that you really understand the essential principles of calories and how they affect gaining and losing weight.

If you look around, there are countless ways to be healthy and keep active. Repeatedly, individuals get caught up in the frustration of long term weight loss plans and miss the best way to instantly drop pounds and look amazing. Surprisingly, the number 1 way is via the use of body shaping underwear. These shaping corsets give you a tight body, provide lumbar support, and many can actually help you slim down by loosening fat cells around your belly area. Furthermore, there is no dieting needed, running, or hard labour of any sort.

Thirty years ago, these stomach shapers were very uncomfortable and you often needed assistance to put them on. The materials used did not grant much plasticity, and would not form the body perfectly. Currently, not only is the quality of the material much higher, but they are designed in such a way that they are easy to wear, aerated and durable. There are numerous diverse choices of body slimmers for both men and women. For instance, postpartum bands are one of the most popular products these days.

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Lose Weight Easily and Stop Feeling Fat

Lose weight easily. Anyone who feels fat and flabby yearns for an easy weight loss solution. And actually the very acknowledgment that you are fat may indeed be the key which unlocks the door to weight loss.

People don’t like to be called fat. There is a definite stigma attached to being called fat. Somehow we have learned as a society that we should remove the label “fat” from our day to day vocabulary. We have been trained to know that it is OK to be called “obese” but not to be called “fat”. But does this ultimately help us to lose weight, or does it in fact provide a mental barrier to weight loss?

What I mean is that the word obese or obesity conjures up the concept of a medical condition, one which you cannot control but rather you are subjected to; it follows that the word obesity implies that it’s not your fault, and that you can do nothing about your excess weight. The obesity label can in fact make you feel even more out of control of your eating habits than you were before, thereby making you feel that you just cannot lose weight, that you haven’t got the power to lose weight. You feel helpless.

Fat, on the other hand, is just fat. The “fat” word implies that it is your fault, your eating habits which are to blame. Thus this is why I mentioned before that to acknowledge that you are fat may just be the thing which motivates you to start losing weight. You no longer feel that you are subjected to a disease which you can do nothing about; rather you are admitting to yourself that you have the power to control your eating habits and your weight. By acknowledging that you are fat as opposed to obese you empower yourself to take control and set about losing weight.

The fat versus obesity distinction is similar to that between having a cold and suffering from the flu. How often do you hear someone say that they have the flu when in fact all they have is the common cold? Why do so many of us prefer to feel helpless and powerless instead of feeling in control? Why do we prefer to suffer from something dramatic instead of something common and mundane?

I suspect that there are a few reasons. Perhaps we don’t want to take responsibility for how we are; we don’t like to feel that we are at fault or have caused our own issues, be they being over-weight or having caught a cold. Perhaps we choose to seek the easiest solution than to have to work at something; it’s easier to go to the doctor and take a pill (be it diet pill or anti-biotic) than it is to exert our own effort in getting better or losing weight. Or maybe we just follow the crowd and use these terms of obesity or flu because that’s what we are used to hearing, and we do not really think about their hidden implications.

Whatever the underlying reasons are, fat is fat. I have to second what our UK minister of public health was quoted as saying in a recent edition of the Sunday Times. Anne Milton said that calling people fat instead of obese was more likely to motivate them to lose weight.

Yes, some people do suffer from a medical condition which results in obesity and prevents them from losing weight. But I am sure that this does not apply to all of the nearly 25% of adults and 14% of children in the UK who are labeled “obese”.

If you want to lose weight then it does help to acknowledge to yourself that you are fat. When you feel fat and flabby and acknowledge that this weighty issue is due to your own eating habits and lifestyle choices as opposed to a metabolic issue or disease you then realize that you can do something about it. You can take control and adjust your eating so as to lose weight, be it in terms of eating different types of food, choosing smaller portions or exercising so as to burn calories more quickly. The first step to losing weight easily lies in getting your mind around the matter.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in weight loss hypnosis mp3s which help you program your mind for success.

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