The Plan

The dietary lifestyle I intend to persue is based on the paleolithic diet but greatly simplified and designed to function within a modest budget. I will cut out three things: sugar, wheat products and dairy. This gets pretty close to the paleolithic ideal but it is off by a degree or two. But the paleolithic diet is notoriously hard to follow and very expensive. I'll not get into details here since a quick google search will turn up a wealth of info on the diet, both pro and con. But I can tell you that I went paleo hardcore for about six months and I have to say, I felt wonderful. I was broke all the time and I lived in the grocery store but I think it's the healthiest I've ever been.

So I'm not sure it's fully a sustainable dietary lifestyle. It works but the restrictions are intense and there is no wiggle room. But its hard to argue with the positive benefits and so I'm determined to find a sustainable alternative.

After some research I determined that the wheat, sugar and dairy appear to be the main culprets that lead to weight gain and insulin issues. A quick parusal of a diebetics recommended foods list will confirm this. So what if we cut just these three things and see what happens.? I mean, seriously, if you just cut out bread, the average person will lose weight. And we've explored the evils of sugar. And, I'm sorry, but milk is for baby cows.

This seems like a no brainer.

But is it sustainable? Part of the problem with the paleo diet is that it cuts out all grains, legumes and salt. Basically, as you walk through your grocery store, if you can pick it up and eat it raw or you could have killed it in the wild, it's ok to eat. But try it sometime. It's amazing how quickly your options get ruduced to apples and beef jerky.

So we'll have to see if simplifying the equation works with a nod to the concept of strategic impurity. The challenges are numerous but a good part of this experiment is designed to air out the problems and work through them. One day at a time.

So let's move on into Day One and see what happens...