Paleo For The Cube Dweller

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have no doubt heard about the Paleo Diet by now: everybody is espousing the benefits of eating like our hunter/gatherer ancestors, and their results are drawing attention. In a time when the national obesity rate is skyrocketing, when diabetes is on the rise, and heart disease is the leading cause of death, any new nutrition plan that not only reverses these trends but helps us get lean and filled with energy is worth paying attention to. Yet how are you as a modern cube dwelling office worker supposed to adopt the lifestyle of an ancestor that spent all day hunting?

Paleo Do’s and Don’ts

First, a quick overview of the Paleo Diet’s Do’s and Don’ts.

Don’t eat grains, anything processed, artificial, sugary, or that your grandparents wouldn’t have eaten as a child.
Do eat meat, enjoy healthy fats, eat plenty of vegetables, nuts, fruits, and seafood.
In essence, don’t consume anything that was developed during or after the agricultural revolution; the thinking is that homo sapiens ate a certain diet for almost 120,000 years, and evolved and adapted to that diet. Our modern diet has only been around for the past 10,000, and the last 100 years have seen incredible changes. We haven’t yet adapted to this new food.
We do better when sticking to what our bodies digest best.

Four Tips To Adopting The Paleo Diet

What does this mean for you? It means doing your homework. You can’t adapt to the Paleo Diet without preparation and forethought. If you try to make up your meals as they come, you will grow frustrated and quickly revert to old habits. Remember, such basic meals as sandwiches, pasta, rice and beans, cereal, and so on are now out.

Tip 1: Plan Ahead

First, you need to plan for each meal, and strive to bring as much variety as possible. So each Sunday, plan out your week, and figure out what you will eat and when.

Tip 2: Snack Right

Second, buy plenty of healthy, Paleo-friendly snacks. Trail mix is your friend, as are boiled eggs, cured meat, salads and fruit. If you ensure that you have plenty of those at hand at your desk, you won’t find yourself hitting the vending machine.

Tip 3: Breakfast Remixed

Third, put some thought into breakfast. Traditional breakfast foods are mostly out. Instead, get creative and plan to make such delicious meals as almond butter pancakes made with mashed bananas and eggs. Or try fruit and vegetable smoothies, or granola cereal (no grains!), or even a light salad with fruit. Breakfast is often the hardest meal to adapt, but remember that sausages, bacon, and eggs are very Paleo, and a valid option.

Tip 4: Paleo Pack Lunch

Finally, pack your lunch. If you try to order from restaurants you will find it hard to resist non-Paleo options. Get yourself a Paleo cookbook, and each night prepare the next day’s lunch. Remember, you need to plan for your week as a general would for a campaign; the more you prepare, the more likely you are to succeed. So each Sunday, plan what each lunch will be, and then cook it the night before.

Paleo Benefits – Live Well

The benefits for all this work and foresight are enormous. People who follow the Paleo Diet report huge improvements in energy levels, weight loss, immune system strength, mental clarity, and general health. If you decide to take your health seriously, then give Paleo a month and see how you feel. Remember: the trick lies in preparing for each week, from your desk drawer snacks to your quick breakfast on the run to your delicious lunch. Therein lies the secret behind a cube dwelling Paleo man’s success!

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