Foods to Avoid on a Paleo Diet
Whether you're thinking about dieting, making better choices when it comes to the foods you eat, or want to embrace the Paleo lifestyle, you need to learn what foods to avoid to live healthier and feel better. Join us on the journey as we talk more about rethinking how you eat.
What Foods Should You Avoid on a Paleo Diet?
Admittedly, this is a big list of products, but there are plenty of great paleo friends foods and snacks that can help you stay satisfied and help satisfy your cravings.
Processed Foods You Should Be Avoiding
You want the foods you eat to be as close to their natural state as possible. When you read the label on a product and don't know what it is, many people automatically assume it's good for you since it's been allowed to be an ingredient. You can't let this fool you.
- All Pasta (including whole-wheat and gluten-free)
- Bread & Grains including wheat, oats, and barley
- Beans and legumes, lentils, peas, and peanuts including peanut butter.
- Refined sugars including white & brown sugars, agave, corn, syrup, artificial sweeteners
- Sweetened beverages including soda & drink mixes and additives
- Products marketed as low-fat or diet
- Refined vegetable oils, trans fats & hydrogenated oils
- Refined sugars & salt
- Dairy Products
- Beer & Wine
- Soy & Corn
- Salty foods
- Potatoes
- Quinoa
- Rice
Many of these ingredients, additives, and GMOs have rarely been studied for their long-term effects on the body. By eliminating these unnecessary 'extras' your body will begin recovering from the side effects of processed foods. People researching paleo diets are often put off by the food and beverage restrictions but soon realize that there are companies that do care about what they put into their products that you put into your body.
If you’ve come this far, you’re interested in making better health and food changes. Paleo Diets can help:
- Increase control of dietary blood sugar levels, Diabetes, PCOS & Hypoglycemia;
- Balance your hormone levels which leads to better regulation of your overall health;
- Increased & more stable daily energy levels;
- Improvements in Cardiovascular health including lowered Cholesterol and Blood Pressure levels;
- Weight & fat loss while never feeling like you’re starving;
- Alleviate & mitigate symptoms of gastrointestinal problems from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), fructose malabsorption, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), celiac disease, and food intolerances;
- Better regulation of the conditions associated with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Pick up nearly any product at the store. Flip it over and take a look at the ingredients. If you don’t know what the ingredients are, there’s a really good chance that it doesn’t need to be in your body.
That’s what the Paleo diet is all about.
PLANNING FOR A PALEO DIET
As you plan for a Paleo diet, while major food choices and changes are an important aspect, avoiding processed foods, additives, and artificial ingredients is an integral part of the Paleo diet.
The first thing you need to do is learn which foods need to be banned from your life starting now. These aren’t just foods that will hinder your weight loss, these are foods that you may be addicted to.
Paleo diets eliminate or limit the number of processed foods made with refined sugars, grains, and oils while avoiding artificial flavors, colors, and everything else that was never meant to be added to foods.
Fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, good sources of healthy carbohydrates, are consumed ad libitum instead of refined sugars, refined grains, and processed foods. As a result, The Paleo is a low glycemic load diet that promotes normalization of blood glucose, and insulin, and helps prevent metabolic syndrome.
Eliminating Processed Foods From Your Diet
Paleo diets aren't just about living healthy and weight loss, it's about actively changing the way you live and caring about things you choose not to put into your body as much as the things you choose to put into your body.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to decide to get rid of all processed foods.
Being happy with your food choices will help you stick with your routine while living the Paleo Lifestyle.
Sticking to Fresh Foods
While not all fresh foods are Paleo-friendly, that doesn't mean that they won't benefit you.
Often, when starting a Paleo diet and switching to healthier food choices, many beginners have found long-term success in their diet by incorporating fresh, non-Paleo-friendly foods into their diet.
Purchasing fresh foods typically means making more than one trip to the store every week because they expire much faster than processed foods. To save time, money, and hassle, many people choose to purchase frozen fruits and vegetables whenever possible.
Changing Your Eating Habits
If you're ready to make a major change to your lifestyle you have to understand what's best for you. Those who jump feet first into a Paleo diet face many of the same barriers to living healthier than those who ease into it do.
Keeping the right mindset and why you're making the food and lifestyle choices consistently in the front of your mind will help you make your eating and dieting habits transition better to your new routines.
Preparing Yourself For a Paleo Diet
When anyone wants to change something in their life, they need to embrace the change they want to make and actively move to make it their reality.
Whether it's to lose weight or to stop the intake of potentially harmful processed artificial and unnatural foods, people turn to Paleo diets for their simpler food choices, a healthier lifestyle and to feel better.
If you're planning on starting a Paleo diet, you first need to mentally prepare yourself for a complete change in the food & dieting lifestyle you may be used to.
Potential Disadvantages of a Paleo Diet
Starting a Paleo diet requires a complete rethinking of your normal routines and like most people, you may have a fridge and cupboards full of food that’s certainly not Paleo-friendly.
Additionally, changing your diet and purchasing fresh foods and snacks to adhere to your diet doesn’t automatically mean you can eat as much as you want.
While there are overall health benefits to starting and maintaining a Paleo lifestyle, it’s important to remember moderation, especially in your meat, snack, and other food choices.
Before Starting A Paleo Diet
During a Paleo diet, you need to pay attention to your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar changes and any additional physical changes that occur.
What Foods to Avoid Eating on a Paleo Diet
Before we even begin to talk about the specific foods that you should avoid in a Paleo diet, we need to take another look at one of the major things you should be eliminating from your Paleo diet; well any diet.
Processed Foods
Processed foods are everywhere and in nearly everything we eat. While the term processed foods may be a catchall term, if food is changed, it becomes processed. However, there's a difference between heating ingredients for a meal and purchasing food from a store that has artificial flavors, colors, or worse, GMOs in it.
From Hot Pockets to frozen burritos and T.V. dinners, you won't read it on any label, but in reality, the companies that make all of our foods specifically add ingredients that make us want to eat not only their food but more overall.
Food Addictions
It's not a conspiracy but a known unspoken truth that any of us can be guilty of binging, but combine that with purposeful ingredients designed to do just that, we keep eating them, no matter what this does to your health. These foods and their ingredients inside keep us eating. Not only food, but a lot of people are also addicted to coffee, soda, and "soft" drinks.
In many instances, people can get headaches if they haven't had their 'caffeine fix' and ultimately go away when you satisfy your body's craving for caffeine. Processed foods & drinks behave the same way by triggering an internal, subconscious response when you go without that item, you can experience severe cravings and physical effects.
In a way, processed foods can be on the same addiction level as drugs simply because many are specifically created to keep you coming back for more.
Paleo Snacks & Meal Replacements
From great-tasting Paleo Protein Sticks, Jerky, and Chicken Bites to Paleo Bars including Skinny Bars & MEGA BARS.
We’re committed to providing the highest quality Paleo snacks & meal replacements that give you the essential nutrients you need.
Find the right Paleo snacks that fit your lifestyle, and your taste buds and keep you wanting to come back for more!
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