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Paleo diet foods list, Paleo diet Guidelines

Before there were packaged goods, processed foods, GMOs and an ongoing debate between organic or not, there was dirt, seeds, water and roaming animals. It may be hard to consider now, but the dawn of man produced hunters and gatherers and humans had to get their own food – not by heading to the supermarket.

There were no sprays to kill insects, no chemicals or genes added or modified. No extra-large tomatoes or vibrant yellow bananas. Food was simple. It was either found, picked or hunted. And although there weren’t doctors or research scientists to confirm the benefits of such eating, it seems that when it comes to dietary habits, eating like our ancestors has some merit.

Diets come and diets go, but one in particular seems to have staying power and for good reasons as well. It’s based on eating similar to that of prehistoric man and it’s being touted as one of the best way to eat. It’s called the Paleo diet.

What is the Paleo diet?
The Paleo diet was created by Loren Cordain, a now-famous author, speaker and professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University, who specializes in disease and diet. The Paleo diet itself reflects food items and methods of eating similar to our Stone Age ancestors – that’s right, this diet is framed around eating like cavemen. Through scientific research and peer-reviewed studies, Cordain has uncovered many health benefits to eating the Stone Age way.

There are seven premise on which the Paleo diet guidelines are based:

High protein
Low carbohydrates and low glycemic index
High fiber
Moderate to high fat intake – monosaturated and polysaturated fats with omega-3s and 6s

High potassium, low sodium
Net dietary alkaline balances dietary acid – some foods produce acid (meat) and others are alkaline (fruits and vegetables). Eating a balance of both alkaline and acid foods can have positive health effects.

High intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant phytochemicals.

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Diets: The Number One Weight Loss Mistake

A common perception among people is that a healthy lifestyle is something which is difficult to follow and it requires a lot of patience and self control. For most people dieting involves counting calories and having a check on each bite you take irrelevant of personal likes and dislikes. It is a closed short term process for rapid weight loss which is utterly unrealistic and cannot be enjoyed on a long term basis. This is half the reason why people quit dieting so easily. Lack of flexibility, dissatisfaction, feeling of deprivation and strict rules make it difficult for people to actually put it to practice. Very few diets talk about success in the bigger picture. You will find few diet which focus on health rather than diet, offering shopping tips for effective weightless, emphasizing natural weight loss to starvation, dining strategies, different alternatives to add flavor to food in a health conscious manner, etc. Some diets are unrealistic to the extent of being unsafe and a risk to health. They don’t talk about how to handle or deal with our cravings and hunger in an effective manner. Instead they promote shunning away from these natural feelings. Ultimately people lose their confidence and quit the whole regime. Each time you deprive yourselves in the name of diet, weight loss becomes strenuous and more difficult. This leads to frustration and discouragement. You end up giving in to temptation, unable to handle the pressure, and eat more. You get caught in a vicious circle which does nothing to help you. In fact you might just end up harming yourself or even develop an eating disorder. Deliberate deprivation only leads to unhealthy lifestyle and you end up defeating the cause for your diet.Diets cause people to listen to body signals and eat according to their system’s requirement. You ignore signs of appetite and hunger and the need to be satisfied. Hence your body becomes deprived resulting in feelings of low self esteem. And when you quit, you suffer from guilt and defeat and thus once again you go back to dieting. You body is not a switch to easily adapt to this on and off dieting patterns. The body becomes weak without proper nutrition and energy and a balanced exercising regime. Surveys show that only 5% of the people who diet are successful. This proves that dieting is neither a sure shot nor the right and the effective way to reduce weight or lead a healthy life. Diet slows down your metabolism, so when you stop your diet, your body is inefficient in metabolizing normal food quantities and hence you put in more weight. This is the reason why 95% of diets fail. It is impossible to live on the diet mode for life depriving oneself of delicious food and starving. So instead of suffering from frustrations, hunger, deprivation and guilt, try to inculcate healthy food habits which will work out on a long term basis. This will prove to be a realistic and an achievable target.

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Pitfalls in Weight Loss

Losing weight can be one of the hardest things to do in life. No matter how hard you try or how well you try to stick to the plan, sometimes it is not possible to lose weight. Usually there are several pitfalls that cause you to gain weight and thus by avoiding these pitfalls, you can lose the weight that you desire. One definite pitfall is sleep deprivation or sleeping less than you are supposed to. A healthy person should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day and if you are getting less sleep, then you may be pushing yourself to weight gain. Throughout various studies, it has been shown that if you sleep less than the required amount, your body will lower its metabolism rate to counteract the effects of the sleep deprivation. Thus, you should sleep the required amount every day for losing weight and for general health purposes.Another pitfall that you will need to avoid is dehydration. It is important for you to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Just like the sleep studies, it has been shown that by drinking water your metabolism rate will be increased. (Also as a side effect you will dilute the toxins and flush them out from your body by drinking lots of water) Another thing that you can do to increase your metabolism is by eating small amounts frequently. As contrary as it may sound, eating more will actually help you lose weight. The reason for that arises from the fact that your body will increase its metabolic rate and burn calories in order to digest the foods that you eat. So by eating frequently, you will be able to keep your metabolic rate up and your body will be burning calories while being busy for digesting your food.Of course, eating frequently does not mean eating lots of nighttime snacks in front of the TV on the couch. On the contrary that is a major pitfall that you want to avoid. If you want to lose weight, than you will have to stay away from all kinds of night snacks. Also just as importantly, another thing that you want to avoid is definitely drinking alcohol. Consuming alcohol is one of the worst damages that you can do to your body in your quest for weight loss. First of all, alcohol contains lots of calories and it is practically a liquid meal. Since most alcoholic drinks are fermented from sugar, you will end up gaining more calories than even eating a full meal when you consume alcoholic beverages. Also as another negative attribute, your liver will be too busy trying to digest alcohol and thus your liver won’t be able to metabolize fats properly and these fats will be deposited in your body as dead weight.As you can see, there are several pitfalls that you need to avoid in order to be able to lose weight. However, the greatest mistake that you can make is not having a realistic goal about your weight loss. If you are dreaming of miraculous cure to lose ten or thirty pounds in a week then you will not succeed. You should be realistic and you should always focus yourself on your weight loss goals.

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