This is a difficult question to answer because it’s all relative. What may seem easy to one person may be difficult to answer. That being said, the paleo diet is slightly more difficult to follow than other diets. Don’t let that discourage you though. The paleo diet is also more effective than most other diets.
The paleo diet aims to remove unhealthy and even toxic foods from our diet. It is not about calories, carb consumption or other normal factors that most diets concern themselves with. The paleo diet is about eating food in its natural form without additives, preservatives and other substances that most people can’t even pronounce.
Grains, sugar and certain other foods are not allowed. These foods are not suitable for human beings. Our early ancestors did not consume these foods and since the paleo diet resembles a caveman’s diet, we are not supposed to eat these foods too.
This makes it difficult for many people who have lived all their lives eating foods that contain ingredients not allowed in a paleo diet. The exclusion of grain means that all breads and pastries are now not allowed. Not eating sugar means giving up comfort foods such as cookies, cakes, ice-cream, etc. It’s all just overwhelming.
The question then arises… What can we eat?
Even salt is severely limited. Meats such as sausages, salami, etc. are not allowed. This can seem almost depressing. The paleo diet also encourages people to cook their own food since most of the commercially available foods do not meet paleo standards.
This is another hassle. Grocery shopping and cooking. Furthermore, paleo dieters cook their food in big batches to last a few days. All this definitely takes effort. The diet also recommends eating organic produce and grass-fed meats. This can be expensive and that is another factor that can demoralize a new paleo dieter. However, one need not be so rigid and eat only organic produce or grass-fed meats. Normal meat and veggies will do if your budget is not big.
Despite all these conditions and sacrifices, thousands of people all over the world give glowing testimonials and reviews of the paleo diet. It has made people lose weight, feel ache and pain free, lower diabetes symptoms and effects, have a healthier relationship with food, have less allergies and much more.
The sacrifices you make in the beginning will bring you rewards in the future. Once you conquer your sugar cravings, after 2 or 3 months, you will not have them anymore. A body that is getting all the nutrients it needs does not get cravings. In fact, if you will just try out the paleo diet for 3 weeks or a month, you will automatically see and feel the difference. This is intangible and must be experienced to understand the benefits of a paleo diet.
If you have the determination and are willing to go through the ‘hard yards’ in the beginning, you will become healthy, happy and proud of your achievements later on. Mastering the paleo lifestyle is indeed an achievement. It takes effort and dedication just like all the best things in life. The paleo diet is one of them.
While I reaped some benefits from the Paleo diet several years ago, my concern with it now is the acid-alkaline balance. All the cookbooks I have found emphasize too much meat and other proteins, which throws the acid-alkaline balance towards being too acidic for my bone health. 70% of the foods I eat must be alkaline forming in the body. Can you recommend any cookbooks that meet this standard also? Thank you kindly.