Paleo: Your Questions, My Answers

As you may know my paleo journey began back in January of this year when I decided to make 2013 the year I reclaim my health.  It wasn’t easy to open up about my personal health issues, especially because this is, after all, a diy design blog.  Sharing my thoughts after the first 90 days sparked quite a few questions as it seems many of you could relate to some of my issues and were interested in learning more.  
So I wanted to put this post together to answer all of your questions.  But first I need to let you know what I’m pretty sure you already know  – I’m not a medical professional.  I’m not a nutritionist.  I’m not an authority on anything in the field of health. 
What I know is what I’ve personally experienced  – Food is the best medicine.   
Q:  Is it all or nothing?  Do I really have to give up all grains, all dairy, all legumes and refined sugar?  
A:  Yes and no.   Yes, at least in the beginning when you first start  – ditch it all.  This way when you add something back in you’ll be able to tell how it makes you feel.  When you’re just starting out I would stay strictly paleo for at least 45 to 60 days to give you a good kick start and to give your body time to adjust and heal.  After that you can experiment by adding foods back in, and you’ll be better able to assess how they make you feel.  I know for myself that dairy gives me headaches, so I steer clear for the most part.  I also know that soy really messes with my thyroid function, so I just leave legumes out all together.  Many in the paleo world recommend, after being strict paleo for a couple of months, going to an 80/20 type of plan – some do paleo plus grass fed dairy or gluten free grains.  I think the main thing you really need to stay away from 100% of the time is gluten.  Which isn’t as hard as you might think.  There are so many gluten free options available now.  
* As a general rule of thumb I subscribe to the philosophy that if I can’t pronounce an ingredient I don’t put it in my body.  So packaged food pretty much doesn’t happen around here. 
Q:  How did you get your husband on board? 
A:  I really didn’t have to “get him on board”.  I told him that I was going to make this lifestyle change, and he was very enthusiastic about doing it as a family.  He had suffered from digestion issues for years, so I think he was willing try the paleo diet in hopes that it would help.  He was taking a prescription for acid reflux, and even with his prescribed medicine would have to use some over the counter remedies to relieve the pain.  It wasn’t at all uncommon for him to have a bottle of pepto bismol in his car.  After his first 3 months of paleo, he no longer needs to take anything.  He doesn’t have any stomach issues at all!   He also used to have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and having a good night of rest, but all that has changed as well  – he sleeps like a baby. 
*Once again the proof is in the results.
Q:  Do you count calories?  What about portion size? 
A:  I never count calories.  I do think about portion size when it comes to servings of meat, but I never ever think about portion size when it comes to vegetables.  I eat vegetables  – lots of them  – and in large quantities.  Fruit and nuts I eat in smaller quantities as well.
Q:  How do you handle traveling and eating out?
A:  It’s really not as hard as you might think.  Lots of restaurants now offer a gluten free menu, so I always ask for that first.  There is typically some type of grilled entree on every menu  – fish, chicken, steak.  I always ask about sauces as they can often be sneaky sources of gluten.  I also stay away from most salad dressings and will just ask for oil and vinegar.  Whenever I travel I do a little restaurant research.  I love restaurants that have baked sweet potatoes on the menu!  I have also been known to carry my own snacks  – either in my purse or in my car.  A small pack of nuts or paleo beef jerky is helpful in a pinch.  

Q:  Do you just eat tons of meat?  I’m not sure I could handle eating nothing but meat all the time? 
I think that is sort of a myth that all you eat is meat on the paleo diet.   Yes, you do eat meat and a healthy portion of it, but I honestly don’t feel like I’m eating any more meat than I used to eat.  Although, I am more aware of the quality of meat I’m eating.  I buy only organic, grass fed- free range meat.  The paleo life is all about variety in your diet so that your body can get all the nutrients it needs.  We eat lots of fish, chicken and pork  – in addition to beef – it’s not just giant steaks and mountains of bacon at every meal.
Q: What about cholesterol?  This diet includes lot of meat, eggs, avocados, and grass fed butter – all things that are known as “bad for your cholesterol”?  
A:  I’m not a doctor but here are some answers on the subject from those that are much smarter than I. 
Mark’s Daily Apple –Common Cholesterol Myths, Primal Body – Primal Mind – The Cholesterol Myth, The Paleo Diet  – Is High Cholesterol Caused By A High Protein Diet?
* My hub’s cholesterol dropped 20 points since starting this diet.  
Q:  Has your grocery bill gone up since you’re buying all organic food? 
A:  If I looked at just our grocery bill alone, then yes it has gone up.  But if I look at our total food expenditure, it has gone down.  We eat at home much more than we did in the past, and we never eat fast food as it’s near impossible to find paleo approved food in a fast food restaurant.  
Q:  Is it okay to cheat once in a while? 
A:  Absolutely!  I personally think the key to long term success is allowing yourself to indulge from time to time  – but I wouldn’t recommend cheating on gluten.  I occasionally have gluten free pizza minus the cheese and just yesterday I had a small scoop of dairy free frozen yogurt.  Allowing myself to have these little treats from time to time makes it easier to stay true to this lifestyle long term.  If you feel deprived you won’t last that’s one of the main reasons why I don’t like to call this a diet.  Nothing about the paleo lifestyle feels like being on a diet at all.  

Q:  What is the best way to transition children to the Paleo lifestyle? 
A:  I think for kids it’s easier to start by just going gluten free.  My kids (6 and 9) were gluten free for a few months first before we cut out dairy, legumes and sugar.  I would say my kids are now 80% paleo as I allow them to have very small amounts of dairy, some gluten free grains, and a little sugar from time to time.  Both of my kids had digestion issues and my daughter complained about stomach aches all the time, cutting out gluten and dairy has made a world of difference!  

Q:  What do you pack your children for lunch at school? 
A:  I’m not going to lie, packing a paleo lunch for a kid is tricky.  My kids aren’t huge fruit eaters and while one of my kids will eat raw veggies the other won’t.  It’s a work in progress, but I would definitely recommend getting your kids to help you pack their lunch the night before.  They’ll be more willing to eat a lunch that they helped you pack than one that you packed for them.  At least that has been my experience.  I typically bake paleo muffins or cookies twice a week so that they have a little treat in their lunches.  Here are a few go-to’s that have worked for my kids: 
 – carrot sticks
 – cauliflower
 – sliced apples with cinnamon and drizzled honey *they love this!
 – clementines
 – dried blueberries
 – dried apple chips
 – nuts – cashews, almonds *sometimes I mix in dark chocolate chips
 – rolled up deli meat 
 – thermos of leftover soup  *great in the winter months
 – paleo muffin/cookie
 – sweet potato chips 
 – plantain chips
 – I occasionally buy gluten free bread and make them an almond or hazelnut butter sandwich – which they both love. 
Q:  How do you handle holidays and special occasions?  
A:  Our family and friends have been really supportive of our dietary changes.  I hosted Easter dinner and prepared a full paleo menu which everyone seemed to enjoy.  It’s really all about planning and communication.  If we’re going to someone else’s home for a holiday I just call to find out what is on the menu so I can plan to bring whatever we’ll need.  
I hope this helped!  If you have any other questions feel free to leave them in the comments section.  
Check out the paleo tab for more info and recipes! 
*I could spend all day looking at some some ecards.  ðŸ˜‰ 


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  • This is fantastic. We seem to do a lot of this naturally, but it's the eating out that can be hard for us. You are right though, with us trending towards Paleo we eat out far less which is healthier and saves money.

  • Thanks so much for this Carmel. I've been waiting on this post. I tried paleo in April and literally lasted 2 days. I just kept feeling like I was neglecting myself from so many things. I felt so bad I was hungrier than hell!! I really think its becuase while I did a ton of research I really didnt mentally prepare myself for the changes. I think ill reasses and try again being much more prepared. Thanks so much for you your openness. It's really been great getting to know you through OFH and this just adds another layer:)

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