Thinking about trying a little caveman dieting.

Also known as Paleo. It certainly isn't the most convenient diet I could test out, but from what I've read on the internet (and we all know everything on the internet is truth), it's a pretty healthy way of eating/living. Dieting/diet has such a negative connotation, when I say diet, I mean eating plan, or a list of the things I put in my belly -- not dieting in the calorie restricting lose weight kind of way. I'll be honest, I'd love to lose some weight while I'm at it, but for me the goal is to be healthier.

For those of you know are new to this diet. Basically it's eating like a caveman would. No processed food, and no highly farmed types of food. Lots of meat, vegetables, nuts, berries and some other fruits. Nothing that comes out of a package. No dairy, no grains, no soy. This is why I say it's not a very convenient diet.   You can't just stop at McDonalds on the way to work and grab an "Egg McMuffin". While the egg and bacon are allowed, the muffin and butter not so much.

Why would I do this to myself you ask?

I've read a lot and talked to a lot of people about gluten, and how it's not that great for you. For some people, it's fine, it doesn't affect them at all, for others, like my sister in law, it does very bad things to your digestive system, and entire body! I've read and heard all sorts of things about gluten affecting your bodies ability to heal itself and whatnot. It got me thinking, maybe that's the reason my scratches and things take so long to heal? Maybe the gluten I'm eating is affecting my body's immune system?  I know, I know, I'm the first one to say that completely eliminating one thing is not usually a good idea, but this is going to be more of an experiment than anything. I'm not doing it as a quick and easy weight loss miracle diet, I'm trying it to see if I do indeed have a sensitivity to it. So, eliminating grains takes care of the gluten.

The other big thing I've been reading and hearing a lot about is dairy. The argument can be made that no other mammal drinks milk as adult. Also, the whole dairy industry is a little frightening. Did you know the PPPM measurement is "Pus Parts per Million"?.  EWWW. That's how much infection is allowed in the milk. I know here in Canada the dairy industry is much more restricted than in the States. We don't allow the cows to be fed a lot of the fake shit and hormones that they allow in the US. But, let's be honest, does the fact that if you stop drinking milk for a while, you generally become quite intolerant not make you scratch your head and go "Hey, maybe we shouldn't be drinking this?" I think dairy will be harder for me then gluten. I love chocolate milk, I love cheese cake, I LOVE CHEESE! But, for an experiment, I think it'll be worthwhile.    There are coconut and almond milk/iced cream replacements that may or may not meet the rest of the guidelines for the whole paleo thing... I'll have to look into that.  

No soy is easy, I've never been a huge fan of the stuff. I don't like tofu, and while I used to drink soy milk, I've since replaced it with almond and coconut milk. I've read a bunch of stuff about soy and how it mimics estrogen, and how it's been connected to breast cancer and that alone is reason enough for me to avoid it. Even if it's the slightest barely connected link, I'm going to avoid that shit like it's the plague: I don't really need to increase my chances of that anymore than they already are.

Anything with sugar is out, although this mostly falls under the processed food category anyway. I'm going to miss iced cream so much. I think I can probably find a way to make some fake ice cream with plain almond milk, coconut oil, and some fruit or something. One thing that might be tricky is almost all salad dressing has sugar as an ingredient. It's weird, and seems completely unnecessary, but it's there! I suppose I can make my own, or just be careful which ones I buy. My favourites all have dairy in the form of feta in them anyway. 

What about Pork? While pork is not on the list of things that aren't allowed with this diet, I think I will cut it out completely as well. One big reason is, I'm undecided if it should or shouldn't be eaten as a Christian: in the Old Testament it was a big no-no, but in the New Testament there are couple of verses that seem to indicate it's OK. The other reason being pork is just not a very clean meat. There is a reason you have to cook it a lot more than beef, and that is a bit concerning. I do love bacon, but I think I can live without it. 

What about things from the water? Paleo allows for most things from the water, but like pork, I already don't eat a lot of it, and won't eat things like lobster, shrimp or other nasty sea insects. I do occasionally enjoy a nice battered and fried perch or cod, but the batter and frying will have to go. I'll probably eat some salmon and maybe tuna once in a while. 

Other things I love that aren't allowed:

• Crystal Light and other things that make water taste good
• Cookies
• Protein shakes
• Dessert
• Cheese--  Oh wait, I already mentioned that.  Cheese might be the worst part of this. Seriously.
• Gatorade
• Alcohol

So, when am I going to dive in and do this? I'm thinking after this weekend. That will give me a chance to clean up my kitchen, get some proper groceries, and have some time left to enjoy the deliciousness that is everything that is bad for me. Also, Saturday is a big team dinner thing at an all-you-can-eat sushi place, and I don't eat raw fish, so that leaves me with tempura vegetables, which certainly aren't paleo.


Did I miss any of the big no-nos when it comes to this diet? Have you tried it? Got any tips? Please let me know here, on my Facebook fan page, or my fitness pal profile!