“So…how’d you do it?”
It’s a question that inevitably comes up when I run into someone that I haven’t seen in a while.
They want to know how I’ve managed to lose so much weight and keep it off, like I have some sort of dietary cheat code (I’ll give you a hint, it’s not: up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start).
When I answer with the word Paleo, they are intrigued. When I tell them it was easy, they are incredulous.
I am hesitant to highlight the weight loss benefits that I’ve experienced due to Paleo because the conversation can quickly enter the territory of fad diet. Paleo is, in fact, so much more. It has improved my life in numerous ways. I eat better. I sleep better. I spend more time outside.
But losing weight through Paleo is something that I can’t ignore. I am a different person physically than I was four years ago. I am 50 pounds lighter, and a whole lot healthier.
Having struggled with my weight for most of my life, it amazes me how easy it was to shed the pounds. The changes were small, but the results were enormous.
Some days it doesn’t seem like I’ve changed that much at all. But looking back at where I started from, the transformation has been pretty remarkable.
I’m not here to say that Paleo is the be-all and end-all solution for weight loss. At the very least, however, following the principals of the Paleo diet can be an incredible springboard to a journey of improved health and personal transformation.
It certainly was for me. Here are the keys to how I lost weight with the Paleo diet.
I started eating the right foods.
In all honesty, I did not think I was eating that poorly in my pre-caveman days. I wasn’t binging on fast food or guzzling gallons of soda in one sitting.
I was just trying my best to eat healthy in the way it had been ingrained in me up to that point—by consuming a high carb, low fat diet.
Simply shifting my diet from a base of grains, beans, and dairy to vegetables, meat, and healthy fats changed everything.
It was also a revelation to discovering that it was not just what I was putting in my body but where it came from that mattered.
I cut out processed foods. I started buying local, organic produce and quality, grass-fed meats.
The thing that I love most about Paleo–its focus on sustainable foods in their purest forms–is the same thing I think I can attribute to my weight loss more than anything else.
I changed my mindset.
By far the most challenging part of the “Paleo switch” was changing the way I thought about dieting and food in general.
After years of counting calories and avoiding fat, I can tell you that it wasn’t easy to just suddenly stop and do a 180°. It felt weird buying whole-fat everything, eating eggs yolks by the dozen, and cooking in lard.
But as the pounds started to rapidly drop off, I gained momentum. I gained confidence.
After couple months, I felt so good that I could no longer view myself as being on diet. A diet seems to imply that there is some sort of end date when you can return to your “normal” eating habits. The incredible results that I was experiencing made something thing clear to me– Paleo wasn’t a diet, it was new way of living.
I made movement an integral part of my lifestyle.
A day in the my pre-Paleo life looked something like this: Wake up. Drive to work. Sit in front of a computer for 8-10 hours. Drive home. Sit in front of the TV for another couple hours. Go to bed. Wake up. Repeat…
Just adding a small action—like taking a 30 minute walk in the morning—made an enormous difference.
I also began to look for other ways to add more movement to my daily life. It may sound trite, but I took “taking the stairs” to heart. If there was a way to walk or bike my way to a destination, I did it.
When I moved to Atlanta after accepting a new job, I made a conscious decision to live close enough to my office so I could walk to work. It’s a luxury that’s not available to everyone, but there are other opportunities for movement in nearly every person’s day-to-day existence. You can design a life around them.
I found forms of exercise that I enjoy.
Exercise used to be a four letter word for me. I found it uncomfortable, boring, and lacking in results.
Paleo suddenly gave me permission to exercise however I wanted.
I rekindled my love for hiking. I dusted off my bike and started riding again. I tried hot yoga, rock climbing, and stand up paddle boarding. I began to look for volunteer opportunities where I could do some good while also breaking a sweat.
By focusing on activities that I enjoyed doing that also got my heart rate up, exercise just became, well…fun.
I stop depriving myself.
When I would go on diets in the past, my focus was always on trying to be “good.”
Usually this meant eating Lean Cuisines and little else during the week, trying my hardest to avoid the tasty treats I so desperately wanted, only to have things unravel on the weekend. Afterwards, I’d get down on myself, feel guilty, and the cycle would start all over again.
When I began to eating wholesome, nutrient-dense food, something strange happened–I no longer cared about the other stuff.
It may sound completely irrational, but “healthy” food can be delicious and satisfying. After consuming it on a regular basis, it becomes something you actually desire to eat.
I stopped missing bread. I stop missing pasta. No joke, I started craving salads.
I also began to let go of the self-shaming that came along with “cheating” on a diet.
This wasn’t easy, especially in the early days. Instead of feeling guilty about eating a pizza or a chocolate eclair, I started to feel bad about eating non-Paleo foods. It sounds ridiculous, but I started feeling shame after eating some rice or quinoa.
Over time, consistency eventually set me free.
These days, I feel okay if I choose to have a beer or some ice cream (ideally together in the same glass, can you say Guinness float?) because I know it helps keep me balanced and makes life enjoyable. I’m know that I’m not going to eat ice cream everyday because I don’t want to eat ice cream everyday.
It feels good not to have cheat days anymore. There is nothing to cheat on. I’m not on a diet.
So to answer the question of how I lost weight with Paleo, it just came down to small, consistent actions that yielded big results. To date, I am still amazed how simple shifts in food, mindset, and activity have made such a significant change in my life. Sometimes we seemingly almost want to believe that the road to weight loss has to be a difficult one. With the Paleo diet, it really doesn’t have to be.