Table of Contents
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What you're Not to Read 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book Is Organized 3
Part I The Power of Paleo 4
Part II Embracing the Paleo Lifestyle 4
Part III Paleo Recipes for Success 4
Part IV Making Paleo Practical in a Modern World 4
Part V The Part of Tens 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part I The Power of Paleo 7
Chapter 1 What Is Paleo? 9
The Foundations of the Paleo Lifestyle 10
Enjoying foods that make up the Paleo diet 11
Taking a cute from our ancestors 12
Living the way we were designed 13
Understanding that Paleo is a lifestyle, not a diet 14
The Prescription for Modern Ailments 16
Losing weight on the Paleo diet 16
Clearing up gut and skin issues 17
Getting a good night's sleep 18
Stabilizing blood sugar 19
Reducing chronic inflammation 20
Why Start Paleo Living? 21
Look and feel better within 24 hours 22
Lose weight through good health, not fads and get-slim-quick schemes 22
The Science Behind Paleo 23
Chapter 2 Modern Foods and Your Inner Cave Man 25
Getting Familiar with the "Yes" and "No" Foods of the Paleo Diet 25
100% Paleo-approved: Checking out the Paleo "yes" list 26
Paleo no-nos: Watching out for foods on the "no" list 30
The Truth about Common Foods 33
Slaying the sugar demon 33
Making the case for high-quality fats 34
Fitting fruit into the Paleo plan 35
Realizing that eggs are A-Okay (and cholesterol isn't so bad) 35
Making happy hour truly happy 36
Figuring Out How Much You Can (And Should) Eat 37
Understanding why a calorie isn't just a calorie 38
Trying the eat-until-satisfied approach 39
Measuring your food at a glance 39
Supercharging Your Body with the Power of Paleo Foods 40
Getting the nourishment you need 41
Creating healthy cells 41
Balancing your pH 42
Identifying food allergies and sensitivities 43
Chapter 3 Gearing Up for Paleo 45
Beginning Your Paleo Journey 46
Unplug and reprogram 46
Embrace the 30-Day Reset 47
Decide, commit, and go! 48
Building the Foundation for Success: The 30-Day Reset 49
Developing a habit with 30 days 49
Renewing your system 50
Mastering the plan 51
Understanding your body's transformation 53
Battling the sugar demon 53
The Big Seven: Tracking Your Progress with Health Markers 55
Body composition 56
Strength 56
Blood pressure 57
Blood sugar markers 58
C-reactive protein 58
Cholesterol and triglycerides 59
pH (acid-base balance) 61
Capturing Your Personal Before and After Makeover 62
Part II Embracing the Paleo Lifestyle 63
Chapter 4 Paleo Nutrition 65
The Paleo Big Three: Animal Proteins, Natural Fats, Complex Carbohydrates 65
Paleo proteins and why animals matter 66
Friendly fats and why they're essential 67
Complex carbs and why they're king 70
Rethinking the Pyramid 71
The flawed USDA food pyramid 71
The Paleo pyramid 74
Beyond the Big Three 77
Desserts redefined 78
Shakin' it up with protein shakes 78
Salt: Love it or leave it 79
Paleo-Approved Supplements 80
Omega-3s 80
Probiotics 81
Vitamin D3 82
Melatonin 82
Magnesium 83
Branched-chain amino acids 84
Chapter 5 Modern Challenges, Ancient Solutions 85
The Civilized Life of a Cave Man 86
The working life of a Paleo man 87
The relaxing life of a Paleo man 87
Sleep: An Essential Ingredient for Weight Loss and Health 88
What happens when you're short on zzz's 89
Getting enough sleep and creating a natural rhythm 91
The Sun's Time to shine 93
Sunblock and sunscreen: Making the right choice 93
Getting a healthy boost of sunshine with slow immersion 95
Water: The Ideal Drink 97
Recognizing your body's signs for hunger and thirst 97
Determining whether tap water is okay 99
Choosing clean water for wellness 99
Stress and Belly Fat: Modern Problems for Today's Cave Man 100
Putting your body under stress 101
Understanding the dangers of belly and visceral fat 102
Minimizing stress and belly fat 104
Combating stress and cravings 105
Ridding Your Life of Toxins 106
Shifting your chemical culture 107
Eliminating toxins on your skin 107
Removing toxins from your home 108
Avoiding EMFs, the invisible pollution 109
Chapter 6 Incorporating Paleo Exercises into Your Life 111
Moving the Way You Were Designed to Move 112
Living Paleo resistance: Building strength and fighting age 112
Living Paleo anaerobic: Building speed and power 113
Living Paleo aerobic: Doing what you love to build endurance 114
Determining how much movement you need and how often 115
The Road Map to Lean and Healthy 117
Warming up and stretching yourself 117
Gathering the equipment for strength training 119
Performing Paleo strength exercises 120
Progressing through sprinting and recovery exercises 134
Chilling out with yoga 135
Designing Your Personal Paleo Exercise Program 136
Beginner sample wekk 136
Intermediate sample week 137
Advanced sample week 138
Chapter 7 Stocking a Paleo-Friendly Kitchen 141
Cleaning Out Your Kitchen 142
The Cabinets and Pantry 142
The refrigerator 143
The freezer 144
Restocking Your New, Paleo-Friendly Kitchen 144
Paleo protein 144
Paleo produce 146
Paleo fats 147
Paleo pantry staples and spices 147
Gathering Essential Paleo Cooking Tools 150
Appliances 150
Gadgets and cookware 151
Trying Paleo-Approved Cooking Methods 152
Navigating the Grocery Store 153
Creating your Paleo-approved grocery list 153
Reading and understanding labels 158
Living Paleo on a Budget 161
Choosing whether to buy organic 161
Assessing your meat options: Grass-fed and pastured or factory-farmed 162
Chapter 8 Paleo Jump Start: The 30-Day Reset 163
The Rules for Your First 30 Days 164
Dear Diary: Guidelines for 30 Days of Journaling 165
Week 1 Cleaning Up and Jumping In 166
What's happening? 167
Tasks and assignments 168
Troubleshooting challenges 169
Week 2 Creating New Habits and Being Strong 170
What's happening? 170
Tasks and assignments 171
Troubleshooting challenges 173
Week 3 Feeling Great and Sharing Your Success 173
What's happening? 174
Tasks and assignments 175
Troubleshooting challenges 175
Week 4 Celebrating Success and Preparing for What's Next 176
What's happening? 177
Tasks and assignments 177
Troubleshooting challenges 178
Part III Paleo Recipes for Success 179
Chapter 9 Slow Down, Savor, and Keep It Simple 181
Connecting with and Enjoying Your Food 182
Eating at the table 182
Creating the restaurant experience at home 183
Packing lunches and snacks 184
Redefining your meal options 185
Distinguishing Between Your Emotional Appetite and True Hunger 186
Setting a Time For (Occasional) Treats 187
Choosing treats, not cheats 187
Deciding when a treat is okay 188
Savoring your food 189
A Note About the Recipes in This Book 189
Chapter 10 Everyday Entrees 191
Making Family Favorites Fit in Your Paleo Lifestyle 191
Tossing Together Main Dish Salads for Paleo-Approved Meals 192
Chapter 11 One-Pot Meals 205
Sitting Back with Soups and Stews 205
Exploring Easy Egg Dishes 206
Keeping It Simple with Slow Cooker Meals 206
Chapter 12 Vegetable Side Dishes 217
Satisfying Your Paleo Palate with Cool Side Salads 217
Evolving Past Starches: Paleo-Friendly Hot Side Dishes 218
Chapter 13 Snacks and Treats 231
Making Sure Your Snacks Are Healthy 231
Induling with fruit and desserts 232
Enjoying Paleo-friendly, grain-free goodies 232
Chapter 14 Sauces and Seasonings 245
Making Your Own Dressings and Condiments 245
Adding Flavor with Sugar-Free Spice Blends 246
Part IV Making Paleo Practical in a Modern World 259
Chapter 15 Dealing with Potential Pitfalls 261
Clearing Diet-Related Hurdles 262
The carb flu 262
Cravings 263
Accelerating Through Eight Common Roadblocks to Living Paleo 264
"Im's just too hard" 265
"I'm too busy; I don't have time for this" 265
"I'm not losing any weight" 266
"I feel like I can't eat anything on this diet" 268
"My friends and family think I've gone mad" 268
"I can't afford to eat Paleo" 270
"I can't find healthy meats or vegetables where I live" 271
"I don't know how to cook" 272
Incorporating Paleo into Vegetarian and Vegan Lifestyles 272
Getting enough protein 273
Avoiding frankenfoods 274
Chapter 16 Dining Out and Traveling 275
Choosing the Right Restaurant 275
Keeping your expectations in check: Restaurants aren't perfect 276
Making friends with the server and chef 277
Managing the Restaurant Menu 278
The "yes" list: Paleo-friendly cooking methods 278
The "no" list: Cooking methods and terms to avoid 280
American restaurants, diners, and cafés 280
International cuisine 281
Taking Paleo on the Road 283
Finding or bringing airport-friendly snacks 284
Snacking while driving: The "emergency" car cooler 285
Chapter 17 Enjoying Special Occasions 287
Planning Ahead for Social Events 287
Eating Paleo During Celebrations and Holidays 289
Creating Paleo-friendly celebratory meals 289
Having the occasional drink 292
Fighting temptation 294
Updating old traditions and creating new ones 295
Indulging with Pleasure 297
Chapter 18 Transitioning the Family 299
Taking the "Kids First" Approach 299
