A day in the life of a paleo diet.....

When I say to people that I don't eat sugar, grains or processed foods they often say 'what on earth do you eat then'?. I thought it would be good to post pictures of what I have eaten today, all really tasty meals that are very nutritious and will enable me to maintain a healthy weight and give my body what it needs to be strong and healthy.

So, breakfast......

Scrambled Eggs, smoked salmon and watercress

I added a teaspoon of butter to the scrambled eggs both for taste and to keep me from getting hungry until lunchtime. Good fats such as butter, coconut oil, olive oil, macadamia nut oil and avocado oil can be added to all meals instead of high carbohydrate foods such as potatoes, bread and pasta. Your body will learn to burn the fat in your food and on your body rather than using carbohydrate for fuel. Fats take longer to burn and so will keep you full for longer and don't cause spikes in blood sugar levels which tend to make you hungry and can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia such as headaches and shaking.

Lunch............

Goats cheese and roasted vegetable salad

.I used a mixture of salad leaves, some cherry tomatoes and celery and then added roasted onions and peppers left over from a meal of fajitas last night (a good meal for all the family, I just substitute large salad leaves for the wheat tortillas to make it paleo friendly). Whenever I have a salad I always add a good serving of my home made salad dressing which I make up with 1 part olive oil, 1 part avocado oil,1 part macadamia nut oil and 1 part apple cider vinegar (raw if possible but the normal stuff you get in the supermarket will do). If you find the avocado and macadamia nut oil too expensive just use all olive oil, the best you can afford. 


Dinner..........

Mackerel fillet, braised red cabbage, courgettes and broccoli

Oily fish makes a great choice for a filling meal and is packed full of nutrients. I braised the red cabbage with spices and steamed the green veg, then added a tablespoon full of coconut oil.

Snacks during the day were a handful of mixed nuts and a miniature bar of green and blacks 85% cocoa solids chocolate. I drank two cups of builders tea with a tiny splash of milk and two cups of green tea. Also had hot water with lemon when I got up and a couple of mugs of nettle tea and about 6 medium glasses of water.

I really enjoyed all my meals, felt satisfied but not stuffed and all these foods will support my efforts to lose the couple of pounds I put on over Xmas and get me back on track with clean eating. It's not completely perfect with the builders tea and chocolate but it's the little things like that that make it sustainable long term. Without those small but healthy(ish) treats the deprivation often gets the better of us and we then start to binge eat the things we miss. Consuming small amounts of these foods or drinks regularly is better than being super strict for a few weeks and then caving in and giving up completely.