4 Reasons You Should Be Excited to Be Paleo
Paleo!
I wanted to write an article about the Paleo diet that is geared toward just getting started and the basic things that you should know. And the first thing that occurred to me is that when you’re just starting out, you should be very excited.
So…I actually am writing an article about Paleo for Beginners, but before I write that article, I wrote this one. I feel like there’s more than just good health at the base of the Paleo movement, and I think people need to know about it.
Exciting Aspects of the Paleo Diet
Although there is no magic involved, there are some pretty great aspects of the Paleo diet about which you should be excited. Here are just a few things about which I’m still excited, despite being Paleo for a very long time now:
- The Community.
You’re looking for a diet to help you lose weight and feel better. But what you get is an entire community of people who are generally very supportive, helpful, and smart. And having a team or sidekick supporting you is very important (go read Steve Kamb’s article for more on this).If you’re not already familiar, there are some well-known folks in the Paleo community such as Mark Sisson, Robb Wolf, and Chris Kresser, all of whom write pretty constantly and answer a ton of questions.
In addition, there are also a ton of people who are not well known but whom are always willing to help out. Go check out the forum at Paleo Hacks. All great places to get good help and just to meet and interact with other people who are on the same journey.
- Deliciousness.
Being healthy is great, but personally, I can’t get excited about anything that has to do with food unless it’s delicious. I’ve always loved food, and I don’t really want to give up that love of food.
Being healthy is great, but personally, I can’t get excited about anything that has to do with food unless it’s delicious. – Click to Tweet
Fortunately, being Paleo not only allows us to keep this love for food – it’s also pretty commonplace and encouraged. Sites like CivilizedCavemanCooking.com and AncestralChef.com have an endless supply of delicious recipes.
Much of the Paleo template is centered around eating real, whole foods. For most of us, there are some real, whole foods (like kale and broccoli) that we may eat but which are hard for us to love. On the other hand, though, there are a ton of other whole foods (steaks and sweet potatoes, for instance) that are amazing.
It’s true that being Paleo requires that we generally do without some foods that most Americans find delicious (e.g., donuts and milkshakes), but it’s not at the expense of all delicious foods. I love pretty much every meal I eat now.
- The Energy.
If you haven’t been Paleo before, then this is something that’s hard to understand. In fact, I think it’s hard for most people to understand until they’ve gone Paleo and then tried to go back to eating their normal junk food.But if you ask pretty much anybody who’s been Paleo for a while, they’ll tell you that this is possibly the best benefit of being Paleo. I have a TON more energy than I ever did when I ate junk food all the time. And if I try to eat crap tomorrow, I’ll feel lethargic and tired.
Before I went Paleo, I was always tired. Particularly after meals and in the afternoon, I would feel like I needed a nap or like I just couldn’t function very well.
Now, I pretty much never get that. (Obviously, there are occasions when I get too little sleep, and since the Paleo diet is NOT a magic cure, you’re still going to feel tired when you don’t get enough sleep).
- Your body.
Let me first say that I’m personally not yet where I want to be. I want to be leaner and stronger.Even so, this is something that I get excited about. I was fat (although not obese) for most of my life. I lost weight at various times, but I always had trouble keeping it off, and it was ALWAYS a big struggle.
That’s no longer the case. I find it very easy to maintain my weight now. Losing the last few pounds of fat, while potentially easier on a Paleo diet, is never easy. But I LOVE that I don’t have to worry on a constant basis about getting fat again.
Being Paleo is not the ONLY way to lose weight and look great, but it’s the best and healthiest one. – Click to Tweet
And it’s the way that I’ve seen the largest percentage of people be very successful with. And let’s face it – we all want to look good naked, whatever that means.
What I Didn’t List
If you look hard (or really not all that hard), then you’ll notice that there are a number of possible omissions from this list. For instance, what about health?? Shouldn’t we get excited about all the potential benefits of eating whole, real foods?
My answer to that is an emphatic YES. Get excited if you can.
However, most people just can’t get all that excited about their health unless they have an immediate health issue that is getting resolved. When it comes to long-term health, we all hope that we’ll beat the norm, but it’s not one of the things that motivates us on a daily basis.
And I think that’s fine. Just roll with it. The fact of the matter is that the other 4 things I put on this list ARE things that many people get excited about (especially the 4th one).
In the end, it doesn’t really matter WHAT you get excited about, so long as you DO get excited and change your life by eating and living better. Things like health will almost always follow.
YOU
There are certainly other things that excite some of you. What else gets you most excited about starting a Paleo diet or else being Paleo? Let me know in the comments below.
Photos courtesy of Lin Pernille Photography via photopin cc, MrTopf via photopin cc, wtl photography via photopin cc, rAmmoRRison via photopin cc, and xxrobot via photopin cc.