I don’t like keeping track of how much I’ve eaten, I don’t like obsessing over how many grams of a particular nutrient I’ve eaten, and I don’t like worrying that I ate too much/little and the end of the day.  Not only do I hate counting calories, but I know that calories are really only half of the battle, as they’re not all created equal – 400 calories of Doritos do NOT affect your body in the same way as 400 calories of high-quality vegetables and chicken.

Fortunately, if you can expand your horizons and remove certain types of food from your diet, you can stop worrying about counting calories FOREVER. A few years ago, I stumbled across a particular type of eating that doesn’t require counting a single calorie AND allows you to eat as much as you want within reason. And it will help you lose weight, build muscle, and get in the best shape of your life.

I’m talking about the Paleo Diet. Don’t get scared off, keep reading and find out how it can work for you…

Tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Macca’s, and Heathy Choice meals, our ancient ancestors survived and thrived as hunter-gatherers.  Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t changed that much since then.

So what the hell happened? Agriculture!  A few thousand years ago humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we changed from hunter-gathers into farmers.  We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed into what we are today.

The problem is, our bodies never adjusted properly to eat all of the grains that we were now farming. So, instead of loading up on lean meats, vegetables and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains – bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.

Our government continues to recommend 6-11 servings of grains a day, and the people of our country continue to get fatter and fatter by the day.

The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, before the agricultural revolution, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start living healthier immediately.

The Paleo Diet is based around foods you can hunt or find – meats, fish, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, root vegetables, occasional berries or fruits, and seeds.

What’s the problem with grains? Most grains contain gluten and lectins.

Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that a large portion of our population is gluten-intolerant (hence all the new “gluten-free!” items popping up everywhere).  Over time, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from consuming gluten: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, digestive problems and auto-immune disorders.  Most people who are gluten-intolerant go undiagnosed.

Lectins are natural toxins that exist within grains that exist to defend against consumption! Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being eaten by us. Because of that, these lectins are not a fan of our gastro-intestinal tract, and won’t let it repair itself from normal wear and tear, which can lead to all kinds of crap that doesn’t belong into parts of our body where they can do some damage

Another one that most Paleo Dieters don’t eat is Dairy. Dairy’s a tough one- a huge portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.  Why is that? Because no animal in the entire kingdom drinks milk beyond infancy.  Hunter gathers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling – milk was consumed as a baby, and that was it.  As with grains, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption. However dairy should only be consumed occasionally.

Another big part of the paleo diet is NO sugar.  Unless you’re getting your sugar from a fruit, forget it.  Sugar causes an energy spike and crash in your system, turns to fat unless it’s used immediately, and wreaks all kind of havoc on our system.

Okay, so if we cut out the grains, almost all processed foods, some dairy, you’re left with only things that occur naturally:

• Meat – GRASS-FED if possible
• Fowl – chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.
• Fish – wild fish, not farmed fish, as mercury and other toxins can be an issue
• Eggs – look for Omega-3 enriched eggs
• Vegetables – as long as they’re not deep fried, eat as much as you want
• Oils – olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil – think natural
• Fruits – have natural sugar, and can be higher in calories, so limit if you’re trying to lose weight
• Nuts – high in calories, so they’re good for a snack, but don’t eat bags and bags of them
• Seeds – same as nuts, can be high in calories
• Tubers – sweet potatoes, yams.  Higher in calories and carbs, so these are good for right after a workout to replenish your glycogen levels.

If you think this way of eating is too difficult for you, don’t stress there is the 80/20 rule. You will get 99% of the benefits of the Paleo Diet if you adhere to it 80% of the time. This will leave room for the occasional treat or piece of bread without feeling guilty that you haven’t been eating paleo. When in doubt remember if you can pick it, grow it or kill it you can eat it.