Paleo Alternatives?

[angelinab]

Hi everyone. New to the site and new to working out. So far the exercise is great and I feel awesome. The diet, however, is more difficult. I have made huge changes and try to eat real, whole foods. I buy nothing with more than 5 ingredients on the label, and they must come from nature. I buy everything GMO-free and mostly organic. I rarely eat meat or poultry mainly because getting humanely raised, grass fed, organic chicken or beef is just outside my budget and is more of a luxury than a staple. 

 

In addition, I work as a pastry chef. I wouldn't have a career without dairy, sugar and grains and my job involves tasting breads, mousses, cakes, cream fillings and pastries EVERY day.... and frankly, after spending my life working closely with milk, butter, cream, sugar and wheat flour- I find it hard to see them as the enemy 

 

Paleo does not seem like the right choice for me. My browse through this site has turned up mostly pro-Paleo experiences, but has anyone had success with anything else? Are there any other healthy options??

[mandy75]

there are lots of foods people feel are healthy for them. You just have to do your research, and decide the 'why's' of what you feel is best for you and what is not. I know paleo is best for me, because after taking sugar and grains out of my diet, and then eating them, how horrible I feel. How much more pain my body is in, the increase of mood swings, and increase in rashes I get from my own hormones and other things. 

 

What if you do your research, find that you start to agree that grains and sugar are harmful to the body? Could it change how you see your job? 

 

Just some things to think about. There are plenty people who will agree that fruits, veggies, lean meats, low fat, and whole grains are what is healthy, and some people disagree with that. 

[RobertKaucher]

So here is my thought on Paleo and why it works:

 

Paleo is not magic. It works because it is a good way to keep calories low but still keep the actual volume of food high. There are a lot of theories around Paleo that are unproven from a scientific perspective. Not everyone who wants to lose some weight is gluten sensitive or lactose intolerant, or suffers from a real, scientifically verifiable ailment related to "Neolithic" foods. But there is one thing we all agree on: a large volume of spinach has fewer calories than the same volume of bread. No one ever got fat from eating apples, and no one ever died from cutting Wonder Bread out of their diet.

 

So you don't have to buy the idea, or to some religion, that grains and dairy are bad and cut them out to agree with the practical implications of a Paleo diet: more food, but fewer calories = more weight loss without feeling hungry. I personally follow a pretty strict Paleo style diet though the week. I do eat complex carbs (either oat meal, yams, or similar) post-workout. But the rest of my meals are full of veggies and contain lean meats as well as  berries or some nuts. But on Saturday nights for dinner I eat what I want whatever it is. I've lost 137 lbs and kept it off for 4 years now. I'm nearly 40 and have been described as having "abs from hell." But I've learned what works and I know what yummy, calorie dense foods are. They are treats, not enemies!

[MariahSnow]

A lot of people really love Paleo and I can see why (see above posts). One of the biggest reasons people say they go paleo is because of how they feel when they eat grains again. I recently started eating meat again after being vegetarian for 3 years, and it was not pleasant. I didn't change anything else in my diet except adding in a few bites of meat. I felt lethargic. The thought of food made me nauseous. It was a solid 24-36 hours of unpleasantness in my own body. So from my experiences and hearing what everyone says about paleo and grains, my conclusion is this: cutting out any food group and then reintroducing it is a shock to the body. There are plenty of people who eat healthy and still eat things like butter, sugar, diary, grains, etc. I think your plan of eating whole foods and/or foods with less than 5 ingredients is right on the money.

[angelinab]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I am going to stick with my 'whole foods' diet for now. I've never had a problem with energy or lack thereof, I haven't noticed any negative effects after eating grains. I'm sticking to whole, sprouted grains, dairy (cheese, yogurt) from non-rGHB, grass-fed cows along with fresh veggies and fruits... and if I don't get the kinds of results I'm after, at that point I'll reassess.

[Beanalicious1]

I  find that's the wisest course of action.  If something works, not too much of a point in changing it!  I'm excited to begin paleo because I've simply not heard many stories of it failing (usually quite the contrary)  but I do tend to focus on success stories, not failure stories, soooooooo...  I guess I'll see in a couple months  I hope you stay updated too!

[RobertKaucher]

That's the attitude to take! Don't be religious about it and realize that what gets you from A to B is not necessarily what will get you from B to C!