A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a Paleo diet nutrition seminar at Reebok Crossfit 5th Ave.
The seminar was hosted by Katie from Paleo Pioneer and a registered dietician. The seminar lasted a little over an hour, but was incredibly informative and taught me about how the American diet has changed, how gluten was molecularly engineered in the 1960s and is slowly effecting all of us, and how the paleo lifestyle is a diet from a time before the diseases that are killing Americans were ever a problem.
The seminar started with some info about how the American diet has changed since the times of our grandparents. After the Great Depression, processed foods became abundant because people did not want to ever fall back to a time when there were widespread food shortages. With their long shelf lives, low prices and ease of cooking, processed foods became the norms in the 70s and 80s. Incidentally, this was also the same time that gluten, the protein found in wheat, was molecularly engineered and obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and cancer rates began to skyrocket.
So what is paleo? Paleo is the diet that our ancestors followed before the luxuries of modern farming, mass produced “health foods and pop tarts. The paleo diet turns the modern food pyramid on its head and completely eliminates grains, dairy and highly processed foods. Instead we are to get our nutrition from meat, fruits, veggies, healthy fats and nuts.
Although the diet may seem extreme at first, with some prep, planning and substitutions, you will never miss the processed foods that you were once so dependent upon. We went through some ideas on how to sub different foods, meals and snacks with paleo friendly items. We also discussed the cost of going paleo. Some people claim that paying extra for quality cuts of grass-fed beef with make your budget go out the window, if you offset the costs of not purchasing prepackaged, processed foods, the dent in your budget is not that noticeable. Especially if you take into account the fact that you won’t be eating out as much!
After the seminar, we were treated to some paleo goodies, which you would never be allowed on a “diet.” We indulged in paleo brownies, cookies and fudge, and trust me, you could not taste the difference!
Overall, the seminar gave me a great deal to think about regarding my diet, and the diet and lifestyle of my family. Tommy and I have been discussing and weighing the benefits of it, and we have decided to start taking steps to going paleo!
I follow a mostly raw whole food plant based way of eating but I find that the principles are very similar to paleo – putting aside from the major difference of meat 🙂 I’m glad to see a dietitian was there supporting the event. As a dietitian myself, I find that as a group, RDs are not always supportive of what’s outside of the USDA guidelines. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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I\’ve toyed with the idea of going veggie too, but growing up with Polish immigrant parents who made you eat meat at every meal has kind of stuck with me, and I love my proteins. I wish I could remember the dietitian\’s name because she has a facebook page where she posts paleo recipes, but I lost her card! 🙁
I just read It Stars with Food which supports a similar way of eating. I’m interested in certain parts of it but can’t it convinced me to get rid of my lentils and beans yet.
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I\’m in the middle of the book too. It is very eye opening, especially since they back up their claims with science. I love beans too, but I am trying to cut back and see what I feel like after a few weeks.
I could never get my husband to eat this way….but we are eating much healthier since I started running!
My boyfriend is trying. He\’s going more the gluten free route than full on paleo, but three days in, he says he feels better already compared to what he was eating before.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I look forward to hearing more about it!
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I\’ve got a lot of ideas for paleo friendly recipes swirling in my head, so stay tuned. 🙂
I am definitely interested in trying this for next year!
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Try it! It seems a little daunting at first, but with food prep, you won\’t even miss the things that you eliminate from your diet.
Great post! Wish I been able to attend that nutrition seminar. What a fun experience. I’m glad you learned a lot. Good luck with the steps towards a more Paleo diet!
Thanks! It was a great experience!
I’m not paleo but this is definitely interesting. My problem is that I am allergic to nuts so that rules out a BUNCH of paleo-esque foods. I might instead concentrate on limiting my grains/dairy a bit more but I love beer and cheese too much to take the full plunge. Thanks for sharing!
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There was actually a girl who had a nut allergy at the seminar so they addressed the topic. They suggested to put different seeds in place of nuts and to try hemp products instead. Nuts are supposed to be the smallest part of your diet on paleo, so they can easily be replaced with something else. Good luck!
I’ll admit that I’ve always been interested in Paleo but I love other foods too much to give it up. Fortunately, my body handles it fine so I don’t have to restrict myself from eating anything. Looks like a fun event though!
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That\’s what always turned me off from trying Paleo, but after the seminar and reading It Starts With Food, I really want to give it a try.
Thanks for sharing this. I have heard so much about paleo mentioned on blogs, but I’ve been somewhat of a doubter. It seems difficult, but it also seems healthy. I guess if there are ways to make things that are bread-like then I could make it work. I would miss that occasional bread. And wait a second. I just saw a comment that says no beer and cheese. That seems so incredibly challenging.
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Yea you\’re supposed to eliminate grains and dairy, so no beer and cheese. This was addressed at the seminar though, and basically they said that paleo is a lifestyle and not a super strict diet with a goal to loose x pounds in thirty days, so you pick and choose what works for you. While they don\’t advise to eat grains and cheese for every meal, its okay to have a \”cheat\” days.
It’s amazing how paleo pastries can taste actually even BETTER than their flour based equivalents! I love the paleo lifestyle – it feels just sooo much better! And it’s nice to be rid of so many inflammatory foods. Makes your abs look better. 😉
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Seriously. The cookies and brownies were amazing! I am really happy I\’ve decided to embrace this lifestyle.
I’m bummed that I missed this seminar as I’ve been very curious to learn more about paleo and how to incorporate some aspects into my lifestyle. I’m allergic to nuts and nuts are such a bit part of the paleo diet. Thanks so much for sharing!
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There was actually a girl who was allergic to nuts at the seminar and they addressed not being able to eat nuts on Paleo. The advice they gave was to replace nuts with different types of seeds and that nuts aren\’t really a huge part of the diet and you can totally do without them. Good luck!
It really is shocking how far our diets have come from ‘real’ food. If you want an interesting read about that topic (and the way in which modern foods screw with our hormones), try reading ‘It Starts With Food’. A total life-changer!
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I\’m actually in the middle of it now! It\’s amazing how \”good\” foods really aren\’t good for us!
I have been tossing around this idea for a while.
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