Tag: Paleo Diet

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Weight Loss Exercise

How to Handle Snack Attacks on the Paleo Diet

Snacks are part of life and on any healthy diet you are told to eat something every few hours. This is very true if you are following the Paleo Diet. The problem is finding out what to snack on. You need to have snacks that are quick and easy to prepare and that fit in with the principles of the Paleo diet.

One easy snack to prepare in advance is sliced vegetables. This can include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumbers, radishes and cherry tomatoes. Plus you can serve it with a low calorie dip or dressing. This type of snack is perfect for when you are at home on the weekend. Or it can be prepared ahead of time and packed for work or school.

Eggs are another suitable snack choice for anyone on the Paleo Diet. You can prepare them as hard boiled eggs, slices of frittata or as egg muffins.

Fruit is a quick and simple snack to prepare. Choose berries, slices of oranges, apples and grapefruit. These are easy to pack if you need to take your snack with you as well.

Small amounts of nuts and seeds can be packed into small containers and popped into your bag. They are easy to eat no matter where you are plus full of nutrients that help you get through a busy morning. As nuts are higher in calories it may be best to eat them as a mid morning snack. By eating nuts early in the day your body has lots of time to burn off the calories.

Leftover pieces of meat or seafood are wonderful snack choices. Just dice them up into chunks the night before and place them into a small container. By eating leftover meat you are adding protein to your diet which will provide you with energy during the day.

Chicken or turkey breast diced or sliced makes a good snack choice. So does canned tuna, peeled shrimp and slices of leftover meatloaf or meatballs.

When having vegetables or meat as a snack it is nice to eat them with a dipping sauce. Some good sauces to use that won’t affect your Paleo Diet are salsa, nut butters, pesto sauces and guacamole.

Once you get into the habit of making snacks that fall in line with the Paleo Diet principles you won’t be lost for what to eat. Instead you will have tons of choices which are healthy and taste wonderful.

Remember eating snacks is a good healthy choice and you should try not to go more than 4 hours without having some sort of snack. Now you won’t have to worry about what snack to make.

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Weight Loss Exercise

The Truth about Protein

If you have been researching low carb diets and the Paleo diet in particular you will have noticed that they all have one thing in common. They recommend that you increase your intake of protein. This may come across as strange especially if you are trying to lose weight. Doesn’t protein contain high amounts of fat and cholesterol and should be limited?

Well that is not exactly true. The truth about protein is that your body needs protein for energy and to build muscle. Yes most people could benefit from increasing their protein intake. But knowing which proteins to eat is important.

The Functions of Protein

Your body needs protein to build and maintain muscles, organs, connective tissues, skin, bones, teeth and blood. Protein provides your body with energy, eating more protein when sick will help your recover quickly. If you didn’t eat protein your body would feel weak and exercising would be almost impossible.

Almost all of your bodily functions require the use of enzymes such as digestion. Protein helps to form enzymes in your body. Antibodies are the protein which is found in your blood and helps fight bacteria and toxins. Hormones contain protein and are responsible for sending messages throughout your body.

If you consume too much protein your body will store the excess as fat. Good sources of protein are lean sources such as turkey, chicken and fish.

Truth about Protein

Because so many people choose meat as their protein source animals are now raised with manufacturers having one thing in mind. Making a profit from what they sell. This is why today’s animals are fed chemicals to help them grow and to keep them disease free. Unfortunately this makes eating meat not as healthy as it once was.

To combat this you can choose to purchase meat and poultry which has been raised as organic, free range or as natural choices. Many people on the Paleo diet prefer to shop for grass fed protein sources. This is in keeping with eating the way your ancestors did many years ago.

Your Best Sources of Protein

The Paleo diet suggests that you consume high amounts of protein each day, around the 35% mark. When choosing protein look for very lean sources such as rabbit, lean chicken and turkey, lean beef cuts and lamb.

The Truth about Protein

Truth about Protein

Fish is an excellent source of protein and low in fat. Salmon and mackerel have higher amounts of Omega 3 which is good for you and should be included in your diet.

You will want to consume protein at every meal so having eggs for breakfast is a good start to your day. Eggs can be combined with peppers and mushrooms and turned into scrambled eggs or even an omelette.

Protein choices for lunch can include a tuna, chicken or turkey salad. For dinner you could have grilled salmon or roasted lamb along with plenty of high fibre vegetables, broccoli and Swiss chard are good examples.

Once you get used to eating a little more protein at every meal your body will start to feel the benefits. You will notice that you probably have more energy and that your muscles feel less sore after exercising.

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Weight Loss Exercise

What to Avoid on the Paleo Diet

Now that you know what foods you can eat we should discuss those that aren’t recommended and why.

Cutting out dairy products may seem strange but it is one of the principles of the Paleo diet. This includes foods like ice cream, butter, milk, yoghurt and cheese. Now some people on the Paleo Diet do eat diary but on a very limited basis.

The reasoning behind not eating these sources of dairy is that they were not available 500 generations ago. The majority of these products are processed and therefore not a ‘natural’ food. Again some dieters will drink raw milk occasionally.

Another more technical explanation is to do with the way your body treats the calcium in these foods. This is to do with alkaline and acid levels in your body. All food is processed through your kidneys and excessive amounts of calcium are excreted by your body.

There is no need to worry about becoming calcium deficient on the Paleo diet, you won’t. Plus many of the leafy green vegetables contain high amounts of calcium!

A little sea salt added to your foods will not affect your dieting attempts. On the other hand salt found in processed foods can. Too much salt makes your body retain water and when this happens you will feel bloated and puffy. Unfortunately food manufacturers put high amounts of salt in foods as a preservative. This is not natural and can have adverse results on your health.

Potatoes are other starchy vegetables should also be avoided on the Paleo diet. The thinking behind this is that they are supposed to be cooked and not a true raw food. There is lots of debate over this.

Another level of thinking behind starchy vegetables is the effect they have on your blood sugar levels. Potatoes are known to cause high spikes in your blood sugar level and this is why they should be avoided. High spikes are what causes you to have sudden and acute hunger pangs along with feelings of weakness.

No processed foods should be consumed at all on the Paleo diet. This includes grains, crackers, cookies, breads and canned foods. They all contain huge amounts of bad fats and sugars. These products can be linked to being a cause of heart attacks, stroke and diabetes.

Processed foods like ketchup, sauces, sugars, oils, margarines, hot dogs, bacon, soft drinks, muffins and fruit juices are to be avoided at all costs. They are chock full of chemicals, fats and other ingredients that you cannot pronounce.

All types of legumes and grains should be avoided as well. The reasoning behind eliminating these foods is that they must be cooked to become edible.

When you take a look at the foods you can eat and compare it to those on this page you will see that the difference is in the state of the food. Allowable foods on the Paleo Diet are in a natural form while the others are all artificial and have been manipulated in some way by humans. When you honestly think about it which would you prefer to eat?

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