Paleo, which is also known as the 'caveman' diet has been around much longer than you realize! The basic idea is to focus on eating healthy, whole foods, and avoid processed foods. This diet mainly consists of fruits, veggies, seeds, eggs, lean meats, seafood, and nuts.
It’s the newest addition to our Flat Tummy App Meal Plan options, so we wanted to dive right in to what it is, why EVERYONE is doing it, and some of the benefits! So here’s a few quick tips and tricks to get you started…
1. Know the benefits
Paleo is designed to help promote better gut health, provide your body with more vitamins and minerals, help you gain muscle and burn fat, reduce inflammation, increase your energy, decrease bloating and allergies, lose weight, and promote a healthy brain and better digestion. With new diets popping up every year, it’s important to understand the overwhelming benefits of each, to decide which one works best for you and your goals!
2. Portion control
Because the Paleo diet is a low carb & low fat meal plan, the food portions that are ‘allowed’ can sometimes exceed your daily recommended food intake. This could cause you to overeat, or overindulge. Something to be mindful of when starting, as the diet does not specify specific portions. One example would be if you eat 1 LB of carrots, vs 1 LB of nuts- as this could become a calorie issue. The best recommendation we have for beginners or when you’re first starting out- try Flat Tummy App’s Paleo Meal Plan! It’s custom to fit your height, weight, age, and ultimate fitness goals, so over-indulging is no longer an issue!
3. Ditch the carbs, processed foods, and unwanted preservatives
The most bittersweet step of all, CLEAN eating- without additives, preservatives, or chemicals. One huge reason people generally experience weight loss on this diet is because of the lack of sugar, and decreased daily carb intake. As mentioned above, there can be a lot of benefits to this, but it’s not an easy task. Things like popcorn, chips, French Fries, pizza, are all foods of the past. You WILL however be able to make substitutions and get creative, such as our Meatza Pizza under our Food Tab in Flat Tummy App.
4. Eat the rainbow
We mean your fruits and veggies, babe- not Skittles! Believe it or not, fruits and especially veggies are a huge part of this meal plan, and the color of your veggies provide a different nutrient-rich benefit! With that said, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re not just focusing on one type. Non Starchy veggies such as cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, and carrots should be your go-to. Fruit such as berries, apples, pears, bananas, and oranges are also recommended.
5. Look it up!
Dairy products and grains are a no-no for this meal plan, so you should make a conscious effort to make sure you’re getting enough calcium AND fibre in your diet to make up for it! But there’s definitely no need to stress over that, if you stick to berries, Brussels sprouts, avocados, and coconut- you should have more than enough fibre in your diet. To add more calcium, try sesame seeds and spinach! Bonus tip: the paleo diet highly suggests that the best protein sources come from cold-water fish, so add some wild-caught salmon to your grocery list for a boost in Omega 3 fatty acids.
6. Plan ahead
Some diets are easier to ‘wing’ than others, for best results with this one, we recommend planning ahead. If you’re worried about not getting enough carbs, calcium, or fibre, instead of guessing and just buying whole / raw foods at the grocery store, plan your list in advance. Looking up the paleo meal plan from Flat Tummy App will help give you a piece of mind for what vitamins and nutrients you should be getting while helping to make sure you get results in 30 days.*
There you have it babe, everything you need to know to get started with our NEWEST meal plan! If you have any questions or need some inspiration for this week’s grocery list, be sure to hit up our food tab for some delicious recipes that are custom built by Nationally Acclaimed Sports & Performance Nutritionist, and perfect for YOU!
