Starting the Paleo Movement

Paleo doesn't begin and end with food. 


When entering into the Paleo Movement, as I like to call it, you need to be prepared - prepared for a lifestyle change. When I talk about living and eating Paleo, I'm talking about living as humans presumably did in the paleolithic era (Old Stone Age), and attempting to recreate such a lifestyle in the present day. People of the Paleolithic Era ate meat in the form of wild game and fish that they hunted and killed. They ate insects. They ate vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables and root vegetables like carrots. They ate fruit when it was in season, and they ate nuts and berries that they gathered. The Paleo Diet is a modern adaptation of this way of eating.


I have intermittently attempted this lifestyle change, although this is not something that can be maintained on a casual basis. Trust me I have learnt this the hard way. I enjoy living a healthy and active lifestyle, but love the to indulge in the not-so-healthy food groups. After an extremely indulgent Christmas, New Years and January.... I have finally decided it's time for a change. 

So what does Paleo eating involve. The Paleo Diet is a theory of how to eat and why. It is a list of foods to avoid and foods to eat in accordance with this theory. There are guidelines for how much to eat and how food should be prepared. Since there was very little processing and cooking in the Paleolithic Era, proponents of the diet suggest you eat things in their unprocessed forms as much as possible. Cooking is not out of the question, though, because fire was used for cooking during the Paleolithic Era. The Paleo Diet is really a simple one in its foundation: eat what the caveman ate and avoid what the caveman did not have. Here is an easy to follow list of foods to eat and foods to avoid:

The next step involves understanding how we can combine Paleo exercise with our eating plan to get the full benefits out of this lifestyle. Paleo exercise is based on the same principle as the Paleo diet: do what you’re designed to do. In this sense, Paleo exercise can be as radical a departure from standard American practice as the Paleo diet: “exercise” means incorporating movement into your whole life, not just starting your day with an hour at the gym. Essentially, exercise should complement your healthy diet in strengthening and supporting a body capable of meeting real-world physical challenges. Involving natural movement, strengthening, conditioning, powerlifting, rest and recovery is key in Paleo living. 

For me, one of the hardest things about sticking to a Paleo plan is not having food readily available that doesn’t need to be prepared. When embarking on this lifestyle change you need to be prepared to be organised. I know from my own experience that when I'm unorganised I fall off the wagon, as I like to call it, and struggle to get back to the Paleo lifestyle. However, I found when I was organised, eating healthily didn't take much time, but prior planning was essential. Being organised and having the ingredients you need at hand, meals planned and contingency plans in place for tricky situations (such as social events) is essential for success in this journey.

I started Friday the 1st of February when I commenced my 28 day challenge of strict Paleo eating and Paleo exercise. When entering into this Paleo lifestyle I must combine both Paleo eating with Paleo exercise to ensure I reap the maximum benefits.

I'm on day 11 and I feel great! The first week was the hardest - I was continually tired, lethargic and moody.  Now that I'm in the routine and I'm feeling really good about being able to actually stick this out.