In The Beginning

When I first started researching this diet, there were tons of books for sale, most notably "The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain.  But there was so much free info out there too, and truthfully, do you need a book to tell you "don't eat anything bad, dumbass."  So save your money and just look up all that helpful info on the Internet.  But almost every plan was just "go cold turkey," which I didn't think would keep me interested.  Plus I had all this food in my house, was I supposed to just throw it away?  But then I found a plan that eases you into the diet, and it also helps train you for the long haul.  Here's the link:

http://www.cavemanpower.com/food/diet_and_eating.html

Again, I have no affiliation with this or any other site (except AdventuresInAnime.com).

The thing I liked about this plan was they eased you into it in stages.  Stage 1 was eating nuts and berries all day (or small amounts of fruit and veggies), which they accurately call "grazing."  Then at night "feast" on anything you want.  ANYTHING!!!  And as MUCH AS I WANTED!!!  What fat bastard wouldn't love a diet like that?!  They were almost encouraging you to eat pizza, pasta, dessert, until you burst!  In the end, this was ingenious.

What I did was buy all organic nuts, berries, fruits, and some snacky veggies like celery and carrot, and then at night I cooked all the food I had in my apartment that wasn't organic.  I was still full tilt on the low carb craze, so I tried to use up all my chemical laced low carb products.  Once the food in my pad was gone, I started feasting on some of my favorite dishes from my favorite local eateries.  Rueben sandwiches, burgers, pasta, Pasta, PASTA!!!!  And dessert, lots of it.  Ice cream, cake, cookies, etc.  The only rule they had was, once you feel full, stop, and don't eat again until you start grazing again the next morning.  I found myself eating dinner a lot earlier, and I was never hungry until the morning.  Stage One was a breeze.  But I was getting disgusted by gorging myself, and I started craving healthy food (as they predicted I would on the website).  They were training my body to react to good food.  By the end of Stage 1, I was eating much smaller portions, and still feeling completely full and satisfied.

But it seemed a very natural way of eating.  Let's think of our friend the lion for a second.  He eats nothing until he's hungry.  Then he gets his wife to kill an antelope (friggin' chauvinist), and he gorges himself until he can't move.  He rolls on his back because his belly is so full.  He sleeps for a day or two. And he never goes on a diet.  This is the way a lot of nature eats.

Stage one lasts for 2-4 weeks, and I did 3.  Believe it or not, after all that food, I actually lost some weight.  Eating ice cream and losing weight, who knew?!  Stage two was harder.  Eat NOTHING all day, and then feast on all organic, Caveman friendly food.  The reason it was so hard was... SALT!!!  Everything tasted bland without that magic little blood pressure raising sprinkle of heaven.  The website explained that two of the most addicting substances on earth are sugar and salt.  I can believe it.  Stage Two was designed to break your addiction to food like salt, sugar, and wheat (or anything that's high in carbs which eventually turn to sugar once in your system).  But it was tough.  Not so much sugar (organic fruit was so sweet I didn't miss it at all), but salt was, and I admit, continues to be one of the things I miss the most (especially pickles!).  But after a few days, my taste buds began to come alive again (apparently salt kills them, which is why the more you have, the more you want, to replace more and more taste you're losing), and food started tasting fresh, organic, clean, and DELICIOUS!!!!  My body was detoxing, and I was losing weight at an incredible pace!  People thought I was dying, when in fact, I was never eating better.  My first week I made ribeye steak (from grass fed beef), as well as organic chicken cacciatore, and I even attempted to cook Osso Bucco (failed, but not miserably)!

Stage Two was supposed to last 2-8 weeks, and I did it for 21 days.  Finally, Stage 3 was eat to satisfy any craving you have, trying to graze all day, and feast every night on pure food.  They also say, if your craving is for pizza, HAVE PIZZA!  They encourage cheating to keep your sanity, but it's up to the individual to get back on the horse the next day.  I cheat at least once a week.  My feeling is after all the crap I've put into my body over the years, one more dish of non-organic shrimp lo mein is not going to kill me.  Plus, whatever small weight amount I might gain while cheating, I'll lose it in the upcoming days, going right back on the diet.  I have full cheat meals, and mini-cheat meals (Adding organic pasta to organic caveman meatballs is what I would call a mini-cheat), and I'm guilt free about it.  In fact, I cheat much more on this diet than any other diet I've ever been on, because the weight drops right off again!  Then again, too much cheating makes me feel sick and I start craving organics again.  And here's some proof, the only time I break out with acne now, is after a cheat meal!!  If you think of it in terms of we eat 21 meals a week, if 20 of them are caveman meals, you're WAY ahead of the curve.  It's impossible to be strictly organic in today's world anyway, so have that slice of pizza once you're at Stage 3, and enjoy the shit out of it!!!!!

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