The Modified Paleo Diet

Understanding:

Two and a half million years ago every human on earth ate a very specific diet, one which was

designed by nature and vastly different to the modern diet of today. This diet is known as the

Paleo diet – a way of eating that fits our genetic make up and has been built into our genes. It is

the diet to which all of us are ideally suited - a lifetime nutritional plan that will rapidly

normalize your weight and improve your health.

Humans survived and thrived off the Paleo diet, enjoying great health until just 10,000 years

ago when the agricultural revolution began. 10,000 years is just a drop in the bucket compared

to the 2.5 million years that humans have lived on the earth. Until the agricultural revolution

every one on the planet ate lean meats, fish and seasonal fruits & vegetables. For most of us it’s

been fewer than 300 generations since our ancestors abandoned their old lifestyle and diet and

turned to agriculture. DNA evidence shows that genetically, humans have hardly changed at all,

in fact the human genome is 99.99% the same as it was 40,000 years ago. Our genetic make up

is virtually identical to that of our Paleolithic ancestors, meaning we are Stone Agers living in

the Space Age!

Since this advent of agriculture our bodies and health have become a mess – we eat too much,

we eat the wrong foods and we are fat because of it. Over 60 percent of all American men over

the age of 25 are overweight. In the UK between 6-7 in 10 men are overweight and around 1 in

4 are Obese, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart

disease often accompany these overweight individuals. Essentially the diet of today is killing us.

For optimal weight and health you need to give your body the foods it is originally designed to

eat. If your car is designed to run on petrol and you put diesel into the fuel tank the results are

disastrous for the engine. The staples of today’s diet (cereals, dairy products, refined sugars,

fatty meats and salted, processed foods) are like diesel fuel to our body’s metabolic machinery.

Our Paleolithic ancestors were lean, fit and healthy and lived a life free from heart disease and

other ailments that currently plague Western countries. Despite assumptions that Stone Age

people had it rough and their lives were poor, brutish and short, anthropological record simply

does not support this. The medical evidence shows that their body fat, aerobic fitness, blood

cholesterol, blood pressure, and insulin metabolism were always superior to those of the

average modern man. In fact, in most cases these values were equivalent to those of modern,

healthy, highly trained athletes.

“By going backwards in time with your diet, you will actually

be moving forward and become leaner, fitter and Healthier”.

Applying:

The Ground Rules of the Modified Paleo Diet - What & How Much to Eat:

1. All the lean meats, fish and seafood you like

2. All the non starchy vegetables you can eat

3. Plenty of fruits

4. No Cereals

5. No legumes

6. No dairy products

7. No processed foods

All of these foods can be hunted for and gathered at your local super market (refer to my

Hunting and Gathering at the Supermarket article for more information). Many experts agree

it is near impossible to get fat by eating lean proteins, fish, vegetables and fruits. You are

therefore encouraged to eat plenty of lean proteins, vegetables and healthy fats at every meal.

Your plate should represent roughly 40% Healthy Carbohydrate (think vegetables and fruits)

30% Lean Protein (such as turkey, chicken, beef, fish) and 30% healthy fats (found in fish and

oils).

Sample Palaeolithic eating plan

To start the day

Tall glass of mineral water

Breakfast

Poached Eggs or Omelette with Spinach/salad or vegetables

OR

Your choice of fish with salad or fruits

Snack

Fruit with a handful of walnuts

OR

Raw vegetable sticks with Hummus

Lunch

Salad with tuna/chicken/ham/beef etc and olives, sundried tomatoes or avocado

Snack

Sliced pineapple wrapped in ham

OR

Fruit with a handful of nuts

Dinner

Your choice of any fish or meat with unlimited vegetables or salad

When to eat: It takes around 3-4 hours for your body to digest protein, as protein is

relatively high in the Paleo diet you are encouraged to eat a meal containing it every 3-4 hours.

There are great benefits to increasing your Protein intake. Firstly it has twice the thermic effect

of either carbohydrates or fats, meaning it revs up your metabolism and causes you to burn

more calories digesting it than if an equal serving of fat or carbohydrate were eaten. Secondly,

Protein has the highest satiating value – meaning it fills you up more.

Eating 4-5 meals per day is recommended – this is to keep your energy levels constant and

hunger at bay. You should aim to eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, a snack 3-4 hours

later, and lunch 3-4hours after that and then either another snack (optional) or your diner 3-4

hours on. A typical day should look something like this:

Breakfast: 07:00

Snack 1: 10:00

Lunch: 13:00

Snack 2: 16:00 (optional)

Diner: 19:00

Putting it into practice: Eating lots of healthful lean meats, seafood, fruits and vegetables

at every meal requires planning. You need to bite the bullet, accept this and simply get into the

swing of it – and once you do you will soon find it becomes second nature. A key to becoming a

successful Paleo eater is to schedule a day and time to prepare some of your food at home (on

the week end or the night before works well) and bring it with you to work as either a snack or

as a meal – this takes no more than ten minutes to do, something even the most time poor

business man can do! Your only excuse is a lack of commitment to achieving your goal. What is

simpler than to throw a few slices of last nights roast beef or some left over skinless chicken

breasts into a brown bag/tin foil or Tupperware container? Add to this some fruit or left over

veggies from last night’s meal and you have yourself a great Paleo fat meal, ideal for getting

lean and healthy. One thing I have learned with myself and working with clients is that planning

is everything, when meal choices are left to chance things go wrong – there are too many poor

food choices available to us out there and you simply cannot afford to leave your meal choices

to chance. If, for what ever reason, you decide that you really don’t want to prioritize spending

10 minutes preparing food over sleeping or watching TV, you must still plan every meal in

advance and follow my Fat Loss Foods on the go advice. If you fail to employ neither of these

solutions you will fail at reaching your body fat% goal, understand that the foods you eat form

75% of your results.

Eating out

Eating out in restaurants Paleo style is also very easy when you follow a few simple guidelines:

• Pick dishes that contain good portions of lean protein such as chicken breast, fish of the

day, salmon and steak.

• Swop any traditional heavy starches such as potatoes, pasta and rice for a green salad or

seasonal vegetables.

• Add a little olive oil to your meal for some healthy fats.

For breakfast out try poached eggs and extra tomatoes and mushrooms, hold the toast and

bacon. Alternatively try veggie omelets. (Refer to Paleo Meals Article for more information

on specific meal choices).

“Everybody has the same amount of time in their day as the next person – it’s

how you choose to spend this time which differs”

What to avoid

Avoid eating the following:

• The obvious high fat and high sugar foods which you know to be unhealthy and

fattening such as sweets, chocolates, crisps and ice cream.

• Cereals and toast for breakfast.

• Sandwiches and wraps for lunch.

• Pasta and Rice for dinner.

• Milk based drinks such as milk shakes and lattes.

Open Meals - It’s what you do 90% of the time that counts!: There is no sense in

following the perfect diet for 4 days straight and then quitting! To get your body fat % down

you need to consistently eat the right foods, long term compliance with the Paleo diet is

needed. For this reason I advise you take some open meals each week where you can eat some

of your favorite foods. Note that Open Meals are not an opportunity to eat absolutely anything

you like – eating 2 pints of Ben and Jerry’s chunky monkey ice cream and sinking a few pints of

lager will set you back days. There is a great potential for abuse here so understand that Open

Meals are a great opportunity to “indulge a bit”. If you are going out with friends or invited to a

party is a great time to use them. The idea is to ease the feeling of deprivation – treat yourself

with open meals wisely – a couple of scoops of ice cream wont hurt, especially if you have been

on the diet all week – a couple of tubs will. 2 pieces of toast one day in the week wont hurt

either but 6 rounds will. Most people will eat between 28 and 35 meals (including snacks) each

week based on 4-5 meals (including snacks) per day. This means you can enjoy 2 Open Meals

per week – any more will seriously start to hinder your results. I strongly advise that you plan

when you will have your open meals by placing them into your diary.

Open Meal Suggestions:

• Breakfasts – a bowel of cereal or 2 pieces of toast.

• Snacks – Yoghurt or a small bar of chocolate.

• Lunch – a sandwich/wrap. Some potatoes with your protein.

• Dinner – a pasta or rice dish.

• 2 Glasses of wine.

What to Expect: I guarantee that when you eat the Paleo way you will instantly feel

better, your energy levels will increase, you will no longer have to endure those feelings of mid

morning or late afternoon lethargy and you will wake up in the morning charged and ready for

the new day. As the weeks go by you will notice your level of body fat reducing rapidly and you

will be well on the way to your fat loss goal!

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