Have you ever had the disheartening experience of losing weight only to gain it all back (plus more) when you return to your regular eating habits? Experts report that 65 percent of dieters who lose weight regain it within three years. Why such terrible odds against long term weight maintenance success? A large part of it is that many people go to extreme measures when they decide to shed some unwanted pounds, including:

  • Cutting their caloric intake by far too much (essentially starving themselves)
  • Relying on questionable supplements sold with overinflated promises of skinny-making-magic (when the truth is more like money-making-magic for the peddlers)
  • The “Detox” or “Cleanse” du jour (dehydration is a common side effect of these programs which are basically just eliminating water and stool weight, instead of leading to true fat loss)

These kinds of short-term tricks might help you lose weight temporarily, but most often will not be maintained long-term. Plus, crash dieting can be dangerous to your overall heart and hormonal health. So what’s the solution? Simply put, you need an eating plan that is balanced and nutritious, and one that can be maintained over a long period of time. You need to eat like a caveman.

Paleo Diet Explained

The Paleo, short for Paleolithic, Diet refers to returning to the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate. Not because cavemen all had six-pack abs and fantastic bikini bodies, but because if you think like a caveman: “hey, I’m hungry! I better hunt and kill something running around outside, or else yank a plant out of the ground and eat it”, then what you end up with is an eating plan that removes processed and refined food choices like sweets, bread, pasta, factory-farmed meat, and other post-agricultural era foods which weren’t available during the Paleolithic time period.

By definition, someone eating a Paleo Diet is also eating a gluten free diet and is avoiding the unnatural junk foods most associated with diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, which are common in contemporary civilization.

What does the Paleo meal plan look like?

The Paleo Diet focuses on eating foods geared towards providing the body with the necessary vitamins and nutrients for optimal health and weight loss. These include:

  • Pastured and grass fed meats
  • Wild caught seafood
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Nuts and seeds

Excluded from the diet are:

  • Dairy
  • Grains
  • Processed foods and sugars
  • Alcohol

In comparison to the Standard American Diet (SAD), here is how Paleo stacks up:

  • Decreased carbohydrate consumption
  • Increased essential dietary fiber
  • Increased protein intake
  • Foods rich in monounsaturated fats and Omega-3
  • Balance between acid and alkaline-producing foods
  • Reduced sodium, greater potassium intake
  • Greater consumption of foods rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant phytochemicals

Eating Paleo: Benefits to the Body

All this sounds good, but here are some of the more tangible advantages of eating Paleo:

  1. Studies show that the Paleolithic Diet can result in sustained weight loss. In comparison to a low fat, high carbohydrate diet, Paleo came out as best after following up at 6, 12, and 18 months.
  2. Because this diet contains more fiber than others and eliminates grains, gluten and other inflammatory foods, individuals who follow this plan report less bloating and gas. Paleo helps improve the digestive system.
  3. The fructose in the standard American diet promotes hypertension. Since the Paleo Diet removes grain and excess sugars, participants see a decrease in hypertension, improved cholesterol, and healthier triglyceride levels.
  4. Paleo is packed with healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. These fats are a good source of DHA, which boosts brain development.
  5. Fitness and health professionals long ago learned that greater muscle development equals better metabolism. The increased protein intake included in the Paleo eating plan helps with muscle development and limits the growth of fat cells all while burning more calories.

Other advantages of eating the Paleo way include:

  • Greater energy
  • Improved mood
  • Decrease in allergies
  • Improved skin
  • Higher immune functioning
  • Better nutrient absorption
  • Reduction in chronic pain symptoms due to anti-inflammatory benefits
  • Better quality sleep

If you have been yo-yo dieting and experiencing weight loss followed by weight gain, the Paleo Diet might be a good option to help you achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss. Combined with benefits such as reducing health problems, eating like a caveman just might be the method that helps you see lasting results and overall improved health.