Can I Get Skinny on the Paleo Diet?

As many of you know, the paleo diet is one of two diets that I recommend here at The Skinny School. It helps you to heal your body by getting rid of the processed junk we’re all accustomed to eating. Through that process, your body will change hormonally and this will result in a lot of positive things going down. For one, you will notice that you have better control of your appetite. This step is obviously huge. When I didn’t have control of my appetite, I didn’t have control of my body.

For 10+ years of my life, it seemed like I was always hungry. I went back and forth between having super human discipline in overcoming my body’s cravings, and falling off the wagon by eating everything in sight. Eating paleo can solve this issue if you learn how to do it properly. It will also keep you away from most foods that will make you fat because they aren’t ‘paleo approved’.

What Eating Paleo Did For Me

It honestly did a lot. Like I said before, it really helped me to gain control of my appetite. This not only gave me more confidence, it also changed my body. I am a lot leaner and stay a lot leaner now, even though I don’t eat 100% paleo anymore (in theory I do, but here and there I’ll have a little dairy, etc.). I can honestly say that eating paleo has made staying skinny a million times easier.

On top of that, eating paleo fixed another health issue that I had for a long time. I used to have high cortisol and because of that, I had a really hard time falling asleep at night. I would also get stressed sometimes when there wasn’t a reason. I always thought that not sleeping was just a part of being me. After switching to paleo, I discovered that eating grains is what was causing my heightened cortisol. Now that I don’t eat grains, I can fall asleep easily.

How To Get Skinny On Paleo

After doing paleo for a while, I can offer some advice for those of you who are looking to lose weight on a paleo diet. Here are the most important things:

• Plan ahead so you always have food. If I don’t make food beforehand, it’s really hard to stay on paleo. Since most of your meals will require preparation, eating paleo requires more planning than the diet you’re probably used to.
• Stay away from nuts if you’re trying to get skinnier. Nuts are paleo approved and healthy for your body, but every time my weight loss stalls out on paleo, I’m eating too many nuts. Some people even gain weight on paleo for this reason.
• Stay away from processed paleo foods like paleo pancakes, paleo lasagna, and other paleo treats. I wouldn’t use paleo flours like coconut flours and almond flours. Stick to eggs for breakfast and dinner style meals the rest of the time (meat, veggies, healthy fats). Throw in a serving of fruit a day – early in the day or after a workout.
• Take it easy on the sweet potatoes. I personally love sweet potatoes and could eat them easily four times a day. They are really good for you but are also really starchy. You should eat them every once in a while as a treat. They shouldn’t be the main course at every meal.

Things I Eat To Lose Weight On Paleo

I lose weight easily on paleo if I stick to these rules. When I’m in a good paleo zone, my meals are always meat, veggies, and healthy fats. That means you need to choose a meat (or eggs), choose some veggies, and choose a healthy fat. Here are some of my favorites.

Meats:

• Whole Omega-3 eggs
• Fish
• Ground beef
• Ground turkey
• Chicken – sometimes I cook chicken breasts, I also buy rotisserie chickens from Costco often.
• Beef and pork roasts – I always cook these in the slow cooker. It’s dang easy and awesome.

Veggies:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Celery

Healthy Fats:

• Avocado – I slice avocado onto salads almost every day. Love avocado.
• Clarified butter – You can cook peppers and onions in clarified butter or you can add it to veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. Yum.
• Olive oil – add it to salads, veggies, etc.
• Olives
• Nuts in very small amounts. I stay away from nuts personally because I tend to overeat them.
• Whole eggs – If you eat these, they are your meat and your healthy fat.

You aren’t limited to these foods by any means, these are just my favorites. If you have any questions about how to get skinny on paleo, please feel free to drop a comment. I’d love to help out however I can!

1. The Skinny School Diet
2. Can You Eat Strawberries on a Paleo Diet?
3. Can You Eat Bananas on the Paleo Diet?
4. How to Gain Weight on a Paleo Diet
5. Can You Eat Sweet Potatoes and Yams on a Paleo Diet?

Tags: eating paleo, get skinny, paleo diet, the paleo diet