Here’s an introduction on how to adopt and enjoy a long-term paleo lifestyle, which although I have only been doing for a little over two years, I have zero intention of going back.

Included you will find my advice on transitioning, but since it’s so easy to find that information with a simple google search, I’m going to focus more deeply on the long-term aspects of being paleo. First, let’s look at the main principles of the paleo diet.

• Eat real food. Stay away from processed foods as often as possible.
• Avoid toxins – those found in processed foods and even in some whole foods that our digestive system cannot thrive on.
• Use evolutionary principles.
• Find what suits you the best.

Transition to paleo foods

One of the easiest ways to get started with a paleo diet is to turn your favorite non-paleo foods into paleo ones by making simple substitutions and achieving small goals with your diet over time. Try going a few days without wheat products, then extend it to a week, two weeks, three weeks, etc. The more you push forward, the higher chance you won’t want to go back.

When you’re a few weeks in on your no wheat diet, start to go a few days without dairy, then soy, then sugar. My best single piece of advice is to not try to change everything in one day. You will be very unlikely to stick with such radical changes that way. Focus on small victories each and every day and before you know it, you will be completely acclimated to the paleo style of living and eating.

Finding paleo replacements

If you are new to the paleo diet, you could start by learning about the paleo replacements for your favorite foods. Just put the word paleo in front of the name of the food you are used to eating.  You’ll discover tons of options and paleo versions of those foods that are healthy and delicious!

Find paleo recipes

It’s easy to find paleo recipes for any foods you might possibly want to make. Just use the power of google and I can almost guarantee someone has already shared a quality recipe for it. You can even find tons of books dedicated to recipes that replace offensive ingredients with paleo alternatives so you can still enjoy your lasagna, chocolate-banana smoothie, and ice cream!

Most of my cooking relies on paleo cookbooks and my imagination, but some of my favorite recipes are found from paleo food blogs online. You can also check out my own recipes!

Grains: Bread, Pasta, Cereal, Corn, Wheat, Gluten

Probably the hardest transition of all, but a good item you should probably drop altogether no matter what diet your on, are grains. UCLA evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond has to say this about grains.. “the worst mistake in the history of the human race.”

Related post: Why Grains Are Unhealthy

Grains overwhelmingly contribute to high fat storage, chronic inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, heart disease, and numerous other ailments. The nutritional value is much less than what we get from plants and animals and they contain anti-nutrients that compromise the lining of our gut and promote inflammation throughout the body.

Start very gradually with this transition and begin by replacing offensive flours with plant-based varieties like almond flour, coconut flour, cassava flour, arrowroot flour, and tapioca flour. You can try different brands and types until you find what you like. With the increasing number of gluten-allergies popping-up (Huh, maybe our bodies are telling us something about grains), it is fairly easy to find grain-free versions of nearly everything at your local grocery or whole foods store.

Silent killer grains

Unfortunately, gluten shows up unexpectedly in many processed foods that contain additives, flavorings, stabilizers, or thickening agents, so you have to be extremely vigilant when shopping around; I’ll talk more about making it a habit to read labels later on. Here I’ll provide a short list of unsuspecting products that probably contain gluten:

• malt
• soy sauce
• dextrin and maltodextrin
• beer
• chocolate milk, flavored coffee, and other instant hot drinks
• salad dressings, seasonings, and flavorings
• oats
• brown rice syrup
• ketchup

Dairy

It’s super easy to transition away from dairy products. Instead of consuming the breast milk of animals that is indeed meant for baby animals, switch to almond milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or other plant-based varieties. Try different brands and types until you find something you like. You’ll find that some types taste pretty bland and others are very good (I love almond milk but I cannot stand the taste of coconut water).

Conventional wisdom has told us that dairy products offer a huge range of nutritional benefits – which is true if your dairy is coming from grass-fed, free-range, and pastured farms. The problem is, most American’s dairy products are not. We buy the factory farm dairy that causes large spikes in insulin, is less nutritious because the cows are fed on corn/grains, and contains harmful growth hormones and antibiotics that helped keep the cows alive in cramped, unsanitary, and unnatural conditions.

Butter

Being a dairy product, you should avoid margarine and factory farm butter at all costs. However, there are great alternatives! Simply search for grass-fed ghee(clarified butter) or other grass-fed, pasture raised varieties.

Learn the basics

Eating paleo can be really easy if you want it to be. As you just start out, it’s okay to enjoy some complex meals on occasion, but it’s wise to get used to the basic principles and stick with simple, easy to prepare meals that you enjoy first. As you learn more, then you can start to complicate and diversify your meals as you choose. If you simply dive in and learn as you go, you’ll quickly gain experience and see a whole new and colorful variety to the foods you eat.

Increase your food intelligence

After having so much power over your healthy and diet by going paleo, you can definitely expect to greatly increase your food intelligence. When you learn the truth about what you used to eat, you’ll probably feel sorry for the masses of people still being manipulated into destroying their health.

When looking to buy pre-packaged foods, you want to make it a habit to carefully examine the nutrition labels. It has become routine for me to look at the label immediately when I see something that catches my eye, and now that I think about it, this is something uncommon in the grocery store. Bright packaging and mostly unrealistic health statements grab shopper’s attention, and they just grab-and-go with each item that catches their eye.

Also, beware healthy sounding words on food packages like whole, fresh, and all-natural. These are mostly meaningless. Organic is a word that actually has legal meaning and as a general rule of thumb you should always shop for organic foods.

The easiest way for me to discern whether I should eat a packaged food or not is to look at the number of ingredients on the label; the fewer the better. And make sure they are real foods (a big list of chemicals means leave it on the shelf and walk away).

You are not a social outcast

When attempting any kind of new people, the newbie often tends to become socially timid when it comes to getting their needs met. Many of them get easily embarrassed, feel like they need to apologize for the inconvenience, or just give up on trying to get the food they want. Get rid of this mindset – being paleo is awesome and you have made an intelligent choice. You are not a social outcast, don’t fall into this kind of thinking.

By going paleo, you have made serious progress in improving your overall hearth, well-being, and longevity. Embrace how light, energized, and amazing you feel and keep learning, growing, and improving.

Dealing with friends and family

By going paleo, you will undoubtedly be subjected to a great deal of awkward behavior from those who are clueless about the “foods” they are eating. It’s important to learn to deal with this because it’s going to stick with you for a long time; I’m on my second year of being paleo and even some of my closest friends still think I am suffering, think I can’t eat anything, and wonder why I’m eating how I’m eating.

I always get asked the dreadfully ignorant questions, “So what do you even eat?” The conventional food industry has done an outstanding job of keeping everyone away from the truth.  During your first few years being paleo, you are going to have the inkling to try and educate others by giving a serious answer. Soon you will come to see that most people don’t understand and don’t care to understand or take control of their health; so you’ll find the question just completely stupid and not deserving of a real answer most of the time.

Don’t feel obligated to be other people’s nutritional advisers, don’t feel obligated to get into debates with those who don’t believe in your efforts even when you know the truth is on your side, and don’t feel obligated to explain your lifestyle choices to anyone else. Realize that you have made the right decision and are reaping the benefits of living an extraordinary, healthy life.

Wrap-Up

Remember, you can sustain no level of success without first maintaining optimum levels of health and energy, which begins with putting healthy, energizing foods into your body. Commit to placing more value on the healthy consequences of the food you eat rather than then instant gratification it may offer.

Whether or not you decide to go paleo is your decision, but I urge you to start taking control of your health and doing your own research as to what you are putting into your body. It will be one of the most impactful things you ever do in your life.