Adopting the Paleo Diet – The Basics

I am so honoured that my dear friend Sober Julie asked me to contribute on her blog!

Let me introduce myself and tell you why I am here !  My name is Lisa Post. I am 34 years old, a mother of two great kids (aged 14 and 8) and a wife of 15 years to a wonderful man. My daytime life is that I am a retail store manager for an optical company and a freelance photographer in my spare time.

I have been a long time migraine-sufferer, and recently I have been really struggling through life with my headaches. I went on a search for a natural remedy that would help to alleviate my day to day issues without having to rely on Advil Extra Strength Liqui-gels.

I began to research and the answer kept directing me to the Paleo Diet. After lots of reading, researching and planning, I have changed and adapted to The Paleo Diet.

I have started my own blog Posty Goes Paleo where I am documenting my journey and sharing recipes, results, struggles and looking to inspire others who are looking to cure migraines and lose some weight in the process.

So, What is PALEO?

So, what is Paleo?? I get asked this a lot and the best way that I have been able to explain it to people is that it is a transformation of your lifestyle back to a hunter/gatherer mentality.

It is also known as the ‘Caveman Diet’….which my husband thinks is hilarious. It is thinking back to Palaeolithic Times where all that was available for food was lean meats, veggies, fruits & nuts.

Nothing was processed, nothing had refined sugars, nothing contained gluten and their only real source of carbohydrates was what was found in fruits and veggies.

The Rules of Paleo

The “rules” are simple.

What you can eat                                                                       What you can’t eat

Now what about dairy?!? Well, according to The Paleo Diet book by Loren Cordain PhD, dairy is out. In the online research that I did, the jury was still out on dairy. So, my approach has been this: I still have cream in my coffee, I still occasionally have cheese with my meals, but I have greatly reduced my dairy consumption and have cut out all yogurts, milk etc.

How Am I Doing on the Paleo Diet?

The scariest thing that happened to me making this switch is that for the first 2-3 days, I was in FULL ON DETOX! Who knew that sugar and gluten and processed foods filled you so full of chemical crap that you go through a withdrawal period?!? Scary stuff – I had wicked headaches, the shakes, light-headedness, dizziness, felt all around gross. But then day 4 came around, and I felt like an entirely new person! And I have felt amazing ever since.

So, how is it going? I just finished my first 3 weeks. I have been headache free since day 4, and I have lost 17lbs!! I am never hungry, because there is no limits to how much you eat as long as you are eating Paleo. No calorie counting, no one telling you to eat 3 full meals and 2 snacks. The premise is simple: Eat when you are hungry, eat Paleo friendly food, Eat ’til you are full. The end!

I am going to share a staple recipe with you today.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

First of all, get yourself a great salad dressing container..this way you can make a good sized batch and store it in the fridge for easy use. This vinaigrette is delicious, simple and has no extra preservatives and junk like the store bought dressings!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 parts olive oil
• 1 part balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 crushed fresh garlic cloves
• a few leaves of fresh basil and oregano – chopped
• a dash of cayenne pepper if you like some bite to it
• freshly ground pepper to taste

*When measuring in parts, a good example is 2 tbsp olive oil to 1 tbsp vinegar

** Add more fresh herbs or some fresh squeezed lemon for a bit of a change!

PREPARATION

Combine all ingredients well and drizzle over you salad. It’s that simple.

I am having fun experimenting with new spices, new cooking techniques and finding new substitutions and I am looking forward to popping over to www.soberjulie.com every now and then with a new recipe to share!

Head over to my blog and take a peek and like my page on facebook!

I am looking for all the support and encouragement I can get and I know SoberJulie fans are the best around!!