The principles of paleo
Paleo diet, is based
on the presumed dietary habits of caveman. In other words, hunter or gatherer
lifestyle who is opportunistic and will eat everything when they find
something, while living in harsh and very physically demanding conditions.
The diet completely
eliminates dairy and grains, however retains meat. Further, there’s no starchy
foods, no alcohol, no sugars (except those found naturally in fruit), and no
convenience foods of any sort. For a Pagen or Valeo diet I would be required to
eliminate animal and their by-products from the diet.
Being a vegetarian
(eating eggs and dairy) for over 18 years, and going Vegan and grain-free is a
big challenge. The biggest fear is where am I going to get my proteins. I was
able to manage protein intake by regular inclusion of Whey Protein, Plant
Protein shakes along with eggs. So I am a lot apprehensive
There
were so few resources on paleo for vegetarians. Flustered, I began to wonder if
I had met my match in this challenge. I was also doing MMA style cardio
workouts 45 minutes. 6 days a week
Here
is how I managed it.
Morning
1
Gallon Water
½
Glass of Warm water with Honey & lime
½
Glass of Water with Apple cider Vinegar
Mid
Morning:
Vegetable
smoothie with Raw Protein powder and herbs
I
cup of sprouted mung bean
4
Dates
6
Soaked Almonds
6
Soaked Walnut Halves
6
Soaked Cashews
6
Soaked Pistachios
Lunch:
Green
Salad, with carrots, cherry tomato with Goji Berries and Raspberry with
dressing
Boiled
Potatoes, Broccoli, Carrots
Post
Lunch Snack:
Black
Tea
4
Dates
1
scoop of shredded coconut
Dinner:
Any
cooked vegetable
Odd
Sweet Potatoes chips or Vegetable chips
2
Fruits bowls: Blueberries, Strawberries, Grapes, and Citrus Fruits
Avacado
And
sometimes one Rice Dosa / Pancake/Clatite
The start …
The
first week of the diet was a major adjustment period. In all my time as a
vegetarian, I’ve never felt restricted. But adding paleo meant learning to live
without grains, dairy, and convenience foods. Suddenly, food felt incredibly
constricting.
With
the drop in carbohydrate intake, the body learns to burn fat instead of sugar.
It’s actually a great thing, since it allows for a body to use fat for
fuel instead of relying on glycogen reserves, which are easily depleted.
For
the first week of the diet, I had to deal with fatigue, incoherent thoughts,
and was going easy during my workouts. This fatigue wasn’t as bad as compared
to the withdrawal symptoms I had when I gave up rice from the evening meal.
This was something I could bear and deal with it. It’s just that I felt hungry
and stomach growled every few hours. And
then, on the fourth day, I woke up and felt good, never to look back.
The weeks after….
With
passage of time and almost non-existent fatigue, I realized something
surprising:
This
isn’t so hard after all.
Yes,
there is an adjustment to learn how to get enough protein without my regular
sources. I was certain that I would miss the home made rice based foods or
Roti’s or my favorite beans, but as it turns out, I could be just as satisfied
without them. The dates, coconut, smoothies, and fruit salads, gave me cleaner
energy than the grain-based foods.
Overall,
though, my consumption was healthier than it was previously. Aside from the
sporadic indiscretions, it was a completely clean diet. I thought I did a
pretty good job of eating healthy before, but taking away convenience foods
forced me to eat more fruit in the morning, or to snack on vegetables instead
of a Luna bar.
The surprising results (19 pounds!?)
I
had started this diet for more of a spiritual reason. Being on a Satvik diet
helps us being more connected to self, be more aware of self and also be
sensitive to our senses, which all help us in the spiritual growth.
I
did lose weight, though. Nineteen pounds, to be exact. In 8 weeks My body fat
percentage also dropped from 29.5 to 24.9 percent. Neither did I get the
six-pack abs.
Vegetarian
paleo is still a lot of work. There’s so much planning involved, and my spouse
helps me out on this so I have little to worry.
Wait (40 pounds in 35 weeks!?)
I
continued my diet as a full-fledged lifestyle. Been occasionally been breaking
when I was on vacation. I broke the diet for 2-3 weeks while on vacation. At
that point I was eating eggs, grains and sweet or desert here and there.
However during the vacation the body took that time to recoup and come out of
the shock of workouts and low caloric food. When I restarted my schedule of
workouts and diet things continued to improve from where I left. I don’t think
there were really any weight loss plateaus that I had. However I would be low
winded for activities which require lot of energy like lifting weights, playing
etc.
Even
after coming down to near 160 lbs from 205 lbs I still have some fab, the
stubborn muffin top and chest fat persists. May be getting down to 150 lbs
would cut that fat out, but at that point I am afraid I am going to be terribly
skinny. I am now comfortable into getting Size 30 pants and had to redo the
entire wardrobe and tailor fit a lot of my shirts.
So
the next time someone tells me vegetarians can’t follow a paleo diet, I’ll be
quick to share my eight-week experiment and how I maintained the weight.
