JayLoss

Tasty Paleo Salad

Posted on 14. Jan, 2012 by Jay in Food

I’m not a big salad guy, but this was tasty!

It’s baby spinach with walnuts, sesame seeds, chicken, raspberries, mushrooms and olive oil! It was really, really good! I estimate the calorie amount to be 500 calories due to the walnuts, oil and chicken.

So I’m 100% with the Paleo diet now. I’m not doing it to lose weight (I’ve lost enough weight), I’m doing it because it’s healthy.

Without knowing it, I was pretty close to eating Paleo already, I just had to cut out all the bad carbs and start eating more vegetables. The biggest challenge so far was figuring out what I could eat. I’m so used to eating lots of carbs, cheese and other dairy.

Luckily for me I love a challenge! I found alternatives to eating carbs, I snack on almonds, boiled eggs, walnuts, fruits and vegetables now. I don’t crave simple carbs anymore, I still crave cheese but maybe that will pass.

If I were to say to myself 3 years ago that today I wouldn’t be drinking soda anymore or eating chips, I wouldn’t believe it. Not only that but I stay away from artificial flavors, dairy, food coloring, etc. I pretty much drink nothing but water. I’m a health nut!

It’s been a LONG process.. I didn’t just say one day I’m eating healthy and that was that.. it took years..

The first and best thing I did was cut out all soda. After that and with a restricted calorie diet I started losing weight.

Then I introduce more fruits and vegetables into my diet, slowly eating better.

Then I decided to stay away from caffeine, food coloring and artificial flavorings. Mostly because it made me feel bad mentally and physically.

Over a period of years I’m eating healthier until I reach Paleo without really trying.

What is the Paleo Diet? 

Here are a few basics..

Q: So what shouldn’t I eat?

A: Stop eating these foods:

• everything made from grains like wheat, corn, rice, barley and oats: this includes all baked goods (bread, crackers, muffins, cookies, etc.), pasta, and breaded/fried items
• sugar in all forms except whole fruit
• vegetable and seed oils like corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower/safflower oil, etc.
• legumes (beans, peanuts)

Q: What should I eat?

A: DO eat these foods:

• lots of animal foods: meat, eggs, fish/seafood
• lots of vegetables
• nuts/seeds. The following nuts should be consumed in moderation due to their relatively high omega-6 fat content: walnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts etc. Coconut is much lower in omega-6 fats and is rich in saturated fats and can/should be consumed more frequently than the above nuts. Remember that peanuts are legumes, not nuts, and are even more concentrated in omega-6 fats and antinutrient lectins.
• fruits (in moderation if trying to lose weight; lower-sugar varieties like berries are a good choice over high-sugar fruits like grapes, bananas, or oranges.)
• for cooking fats, use animal fats like lard, bacon fat, beef tallow, butter, olive oil, palm oil, or coconut oil.

Optional, depending on your tolerances:

• dairy (fermented dairy such as yogurt and kefir and raw dairy are preferred over pasteurized dairy products such as cow’s milk)
• starchy root vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes (Note: Again, concentrated carbohydrate sources can inhibit weight loss. If you are working out and need to supplement calories or carbs, eat these starchy foods according to your needs.) Remove and discard peels of tubers to avoid concentrated antinutrient sources

More about the Paleo Diet

What do you think about the Paleo diet? Is it something you’re interested in or something you’re already doing? 

Jay,

Current Weight: 181lbs.
Calories Per Day: 2500

Blog Starting Weight: 268 lbs.
My Heaviest Weight: 336 lbs.
Blog Starting Date: Nov 2009

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Tags: paleo, paleo diet, salad