Tag Archives: caveman diet

Paleo Vs. Whole30: The Big Differences Between the Biggest Clean-Eating Diets

paleo-vs-whole30

Ironically, you’d have to have been living in a cave to not be somewhat familiar with the paleo diet. It was massively popular in 2024, and it doesn’t appear to be losing any steam as we start 2024. The diet that encourages eating like our ancestors has become a major player in the health and fitness industry, sparking interest in many other similar diets.

One such program is Whole30. In fact, the two are often presented together, with Whole30 acting as a way to “try” going paleo. However, there are some small, yet significant differences between the two that can derail your diet if you’re not careful.

There’s no denying these diets are similar. To help you pick the right one for you, we’re breaking down what each diet is, as well as their similarities and differences. (more…)

Where Your Paleo Diet Actually Came From in National Geographic’s Evolution of Diet

evolution of diet

Paleo is certainly a buzzword in the diet and health communities, but do people really know what it means when they say they “want to eat like their ancestors?” National Geographic’s Evolution of Diet investigates what an original Paleolithic diet might have been, and how the modern diet developed.

To start, they first looked at the few groups of true hunter-gatherers remaining — those whose diets haven’t changed much in thousands of years.

“Hunter-gatherers are not living fossils,” Alyssa Crittenden, a nutritional anthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told National Geographic. “That being said, we have a small handful of foraging populations that remain on the planet. We are running out of time. If we want to glean any information on what a nomadic, foraging lifestyle looks like, we need to capture their diet now.”

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Ho Ho Paleo: 9 Caveman-Friendly Recipes for Your Christmas Feast

Are you having a caveman holiday? Meaning, are you on the paleo diet and plan to stick to it through Christmas? Don’t fear. You can do it without missing out on all the favorite flavors of the season.

The task of eating on the paleo diet may seem daunting when it comes to traditional holiday fare. This is especially true given some of the big no-nos on the diet are grains, flour, dairy, and refined sugar. But really, it can be done and by the looks of the recipes, it doesn’t look like you’ll be missing much.

santa crab

The staples of a paleo diet are meats, eggs, fish, vegetables, fruits, and nuts and seeds. So if you were to look at a traditional holiday meal, the main course is often meat. Whether it be a turkey, a roast, or a ham, this part isn’t too tricky. Many recipes call for the meat to be cooked with savory herbs and spices and a few tweaks like honey and cider vinegar. Nothing too difficult.

When it comes to sides, again, vegetables are approved here. If you’re wanting creamy potatoes or marshmallows in the sweet potatoes, you might run into some challenges, but nothing that will sacrifice flavor. Many use almond milk or coconut to cream up the potato dishes, and good green vegetables never need much to taste great in the first place. (more…)

7 Smart Tricks to Make the Paleo/Caveman Lifestyle Work for You

By Kara McCartney

“I wish Paleo wasn’t nicknamed The Caveman Diet.” I once said this to my bosses, Bill Staley and Hayley Mason, authors of Make it Paleo, Gather, and The 30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking. Hayley replied, “I wish it wasn’t called Paleo.”

paleo books

Believe it or not, Paleo isn’t a lifestyle where you hunt your own food and cook it over a campfire. Instead, it’s focused on eating real food, such as meat, fish, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Processed foods, including grain and sugar, and foods that are difficult to digest, such as cultured dairy and legumes, are eliminated. Beyond losing weight, Paleo helps regulate blood sugar (did you know a piece of bread raises your blood sugar more than a tablespoon of white sugar?) and burns fat, rather than sugar, as an energy source.

If you’re considering a Paleo diet, here are a few guidelines to help you get started: (more…)

Richard Nikoley Lost 65 Pounds by Eating Like a Caveman

When Richard Nikoley decided to lose weight several years ago, he started by walking up to three miles a day and doing aerobic exercises, but instead of seeing a loss on the scale, he managed to gain 30 pounds. He had the fitness aspect of weight loss figured out but junk food and high fat choices were hampering his weight loss goals. Today, Rich has lost 65 pounds, all because he started eating, “real food.”

Before adopting his current eating style, which he describes as, “Similar to the Caveman or Paleo diet,” Richard noticed his refrigerator and pantry contained high fat and convenience foods. He admits to eating his fair share of pizza and giving in to the midnight munchies. Now, his diet is primarily made up of “meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, fruits and small portions of nuts.” Another upside to feeding his body delicious muscle-building food is being able to add weight lifting to his exercise regimen. (more…)

A Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet

The Paleo Diet has become one of the most popular diets in the U.S. in recent years. According to Experian Marketing Services it was the most searched for diet on the Internet the first week of 2024. As a result it now sits on the top 10 list of most popular diets.

So who is going Paleo these days? According to researchers, roughly 58 percent of the recent surge in Internet searches have come from females. Among those, 33 percent listed an annual household income of $30,000-60,000. It’s apparent that middle class women are the primary demographic growing curious about this popular diet for their health and weight loss goals.

What is the Paleo Diet?

The Paleo Diet, also known as the Caveman Diet, permits only foods that were consumed during the Paleolithic era, roughly 10,000 years ago. Since agriculture had not yet been invented, the diet prohibits many foods that are consumed in today’s society on a regular basis, such as grains, sugar and dairy. The general idea, however, is to only consume foods from nature – not foods that have been man made. (more…)

Why Crossfit and the Paleo Diet Combine for Explosive Weight Loss Results

Everyone knows that if you want to lose weight, you’re going to have to incorporate a good diet and exercise together. That’s pretty much a given. But did you know if you incorporate two very distinct lifestyles together you could see mouth-dropping results? They’re called the Paleo Diet and Crossfit.

Yes, the two on their own are great ways to work toward your health and fitness goals, but when combined it seems the match was made for each other.

One reason Crossfit athletes are fans of the Paleo diet is because of the way the foods make them feel and how it prepares their bodies for the intense workouts. If you eat a bowl of ice cream or a cheeseburger just hours before your WOD (workout of the day), there’s a good chance you’ll be best friends with a trash bin and won’t be able to finish the workout. People have noticed that when they stick to their Paleo diet, not only will they be able to finish the workout but they’re also able to get through it much easier and push themselves harder.

Andrew Manser, a Crossfit gym owner in Hollywood, says he’s been doing Crossfit and variations of Paleo for the past five years and highly recommends the combination. (more…)

6 Best Diets for a Man’s New Year Weight Loss Plans

Looking to slim down in the New Year, fellas? Look no further as we have the best weight loss plans just for you to shed those pounds and keep them off for good. As rated by traffic trends here on DietsInReview in 2024, the following plans have been consumer approved and specifically designed for those looking to slim down and make healthy living a lifestyle that sticks. Use our Diet Finder to identify the plan that’s best for you, or see if you find a fit from these below.

Weight Watchers Online for Men – Celebrating a 50 year anniversary in 2024, Weight Watchers has had a specific plan in place for the guys for quite some time. You’ll use the Weight Watchers 360 program via Weight Watchers Online for Men, which offers convenience and even anonymity. Weight Watchers promotes real food that you enjoy by managing your PointsPlus. You’ll get all the guidance you need via a secure online dashboard that you can manage any time from anywhere.

Pros include: Affordable, personalized, promotes fitness, and no harsh restrictions. Cons include: No in-person support.

NutriSystem for Men – NutriSystem is one of the most recognizable names in weight loss and has earned its place among the top diets. Founded in 1972, this popular diet program has helped millions of people lose weight on its convenient portion-controlled meals, making it ideal for those who don’t like to cook. There’s virtually zero guess work on this diet, making it an an easy approach to healthy weight loss. In addition to monthly delivered meals, NutriSystem customers also have online access to health information, community support, weekly newsletters and tracking tools.

The men’s program was introduced after NutriSystem realized men desired to lose weight and feel great just as much as women do. So, it developed the first men’s commercial weight loss program that’s designed to provide the right amount and variety of food to control hunger to keep men satisfied.

NutriSystem for Men includes hearty foods like pizza, ice cream, and burgers in the correct portions so men can lose weight without feeling deprived. Celebrities such as Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw and Larry the Cable Guy have already used the NutriSystem for Men program to slim down and maintain a healthy weight, proving it’s a great option for men of all ages and activity levels.

Pros include: Convenient, proven effective, little work on your part. Cons include: May be cost prohibitive; not great for those who don’t enjoy packaged foods. (more…)

Westerners are Just as Active as Hunter Gatherers, Study Shows

There’s very little health news that surprises me these days. Typically, the breaking headlines all funnel back to the basics: We need to eat right and get exercise in order to be healthy. The latest study I just read actually surprised me, and it may do the same for you.

A recent article from TIME writer Laura Blue reported on new research concerning the energy expenditure of westerners vs. hunter-gatherer societies. The study was just published in the PLoS One Journal. It seemed fair to assume we westerners are fat because we eat too much and then sit all day in our cars, at our desks, and on our couches. Meanwhile, those in hunter-gatherer societies walk everywhere, hunt for food, dig in their gardens, and use primitive tools to do a day’s work. The research showed that actually, both societies have an equal energy output, if you can believe it.

Like I said, very little surprises me in health news, but this one was a total surprise. I see the typical American every day. We walk mere feet to our cars, drive to our location with hopes of getting the closest parking spot, walk mere feet to our desks, and not move again until we drive to lunch, which many times is a drive-thru pick-up. There is very little exercise in the typical daily routine. (more…)

Paleoista Glamorizes the Caveman Diet for Trendy, Modern Women

Like many diets, the Paleo or “caveman” way of eating requires a big change in eating habits, a lot of dedication, and more effort than the typical American’s diet takes. The paleo diet also calls for a major shift in how one thinks about traditional nutrition. The book Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean, and Feel Fabulous with the Diet You Were Born To Eat claims all of this and more.

The paleo diet, which first gained popularity in the 70s, has a lot of good things going for it. Dieters are instructed to cut out refined sugars and processed foods and eat more fruits and vegetables. Then comes the interesting part – all grains and dairy products are strictly forbidden. No beans, soy, tofu, quinoa, or goat cheese, what many people commonly think of as healthy foods. It’s similar to eating a vegan diet in the sense of eating lots of raw, natural foods, but paleos add lean meat, and lots of it.

Paleoista is different from the profusion of other paleo diet books in that it focuses on women. A diet whose nickname is “caveman” hardly sounds appealing to many individuals but the author, Nell Stephenson, wants her female readers especially to know that this diet can be followed by stylish, modern women (and men) who successfully balance their careers and families and still have energy left over at the end of the day. (more…)

The Paleo Diet Enters the Medical Field with Paleo Physicians Network

It’s been called the Caveman diet, the Paleolithic diet, the Darwinian diet, and a whole slough of others pre-historic names. But however you may refer to it, the paleo diet is gaining momentum and not just in the diet and health realm, but in the medical realm as well.

For those unfamiliar with the paleo diet, it mimics the habits of our ancestors 10,000 years before us who were primarily hunter-gathers. Historians propose they lived off the land, consuming mostly animal meat and any fruits and vegetables they may be able to forage.

For followers of the paleo diet, that means eating a lot of meat and produce and absolutely no sugar, dairy, grains and beans. This sometimes extreme way of eating – and living –  obviously isn’t for everyone. But proponents of the diet remain that it works, it makes sense, and it’s worth sharing.

One such proponent is Loren Cordain, a professor at Colorado State University, who holds a doctorate in exercise science. Cordain is also the author of the book paleo eaters swoon over: The Paleo Diet.

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