Now that we’re out of winter and into spring, it is about the time of year that “quick and easy” fad diets appear so we can all shed those extra pounds before bikini season. The media promotes different diets and cleanses that claim to change everything and re-invent weight loss. But, it seems that those fads change with the seasons. This begs the question – do we pick low-fat or low-carb? Is gluten bad?
What most people notice with diets and cleanses is the short-term effect. Yes, it is true that if you drink only prune juice for a week you will lose weight, but it is not permanent in the slightest. The moment you pick up a sandwich afterwards, you start gaining the weight back. Clearly, this is not an ideal solution. The combination of regular exercise and a “good” diet (whatever that is) is the only way to ensure long-term success.
While there are many ways to achieve this goal, one popular solution sets itself apart from the others: Paleo.
As an athlete, I have never been one to embrace quick, fad, diets. I’ve found that most “easy” diets are very short-term, and often involve just getting rid of water weight. I wanted a way to drop pounds of fat. I heard about paleo right around the start of last summer and decided to give it a try. The result? I lost 20 pounds over the summer, all while improving my overall fitness.
How it works:
Paleo is referred to as “the Caveman Diet”, and in its simplest form, it basically means that you can eat what a caveman could. This means lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat. It removes grains, dairy (other than eggs), and refined sugars from the picture entirely.
Why it works:
You can eat however much you want in these constraints! No, seriously. Portion control isn’t the idea of Paleo. By eliminating certain foods that “aren’t Paleo” it becomes so difficult to eat badly. For example, 8 Hershey’s Kisses are a teeny tiny snack, right? That’s 200 calories! With Paleo, in order to eat 200 calories, you would need to eat a much greater volume. For reference, here are images of 200 calories of carrots and broccoli. If you ate all that broccoli or all those carrots, you would be much more energized and much fuller than if you ate a mere 8 pieces of chocolate.
Why it is bearable (and fun!):
This is about the time when you’re ready to point out that you’d rather not eat pounds and pounds of carrots every day instead of chocolate. Have no fear – Paleo is much tastier than it seems. Because your processed and ready-made food options are limited, Paleo encourages you to cook, create, and experiment with unconventional ingredients. In the mornings, instead of cereal and milk, you can cook up an egg omelette packed with tons of vegetables. Or, you can enjoy a fruit salad with some nuts thrown in. I promise you that these combos will leave you feeling more full for longer than a Pop Tart will.
For lunch, a Paleo favorite is a lettuce wrap. Stuff some large-leaf lettuce with grilled meat of your choice, tomatoes, avocado, nuts, beans, etc. Experimenting with different combinations is what makes it tasty. You’ll find soon enough that the difference in taste between lettuce and a tortilla isn’t all that big.
The result:
Our bodies are more or less addicted to refined sugars and sodium. The first few days of Paleo are really hard; you find yourself craving candy and chips like no other. Push past this difficult part, and you’ll find yourself wanting to snack on much more natural and “whole” foods. My desire for cookies quickly turned into a hunger for nuts and fruits. After getting rid of the obscene amount of processed foods Americans tend to overeat, I found myself happy with “good” sugar as dessert. A juicy melon seemed more appealing than a big slice of cake.
This leads me to the most important result – energy and fitness. Many fad diets drain you of energy because they constrict you to foods with little nutritional value, or heavily restrict how much you can eat. I would snack all day on healthy Paleo foods, and still have plenty of energy to run for an hour every day. I built muscle, lost fat, and felt energized all the time. It’s tough at first, but so worth it in the long-run.
How you can do it:
Bucknell is actually very well-constructed for a Paleo lifestyle. There are plain fruits and vegetables available in every food location on campus. Of course, it is even better if you have access to a kitchen and refrigerator so you can prepare your own food. Get a buddy to try it with you, and you’ll have more fun when someone else is helping you to find recipes and try new options. Make sure to pair healthy eating choices with lots of water, and plenty of exercise. It’s so simple, even a caveman could do it!