Paleo Negatives

Yesterday on the hCG Forum, one of the members was asking about the Paleo negatives, and, yes, there are a few. 

This is my response to the question:

Although I believe the positives outweigh the negatives, yep, there are plenty.


You MUST read all labels. Sugar, MSG, corn-in it's millions of forms, wheat, gluten, oh good golly, so much crap in the American processed food supply.

Convience foods are a thing of the past. You can't just run into a Quicky Mart and grab a Slim Jim.

No more Chinese food (did you know in China, they just call it food?).

No more Mexican food.

No more breads: Doughnuts, muffins, pastries, rolls, pancakes, waffles, oh my, the list goes on and on. There are Paleo-ized versions of everything, but substituting 1:1 doesn't really work in the Paleo culture.

Paleo Militants: I know of a couple of us. Me and Sweetie (a friend on the forum). Since we lost so much weight, and have maintained and lost with Paleo, we are Paleo believers, but we aren't the worst. Think of the vegan people you know who will down you about everything, Paleo has the same type of folk.

Restaurants (fast or sit down): Ordering can be a nightmare. Two places I know of are pretty simple, the best being In and Out Burger, just order your burger protein style (no bun) or a flying Dutchman (just a burger patty and cheese if you do dairy). Carl's Jr has added a Lo-Carb Burger to it's main menu, it is served with cheese, so request without (and add bacon, mmmmm bacon) and they will serve it with a lettuce bun. I tried Wendy's and Jack in the Box, both served my burger in a bowl, weird.

Sit downs are OK, but if you are with friends and/or family, offer to order last, thank the server for their patience, and order exactly what you want (and your meat cooked dry). I did a Denny's on my first P3 and ordered a burger, no bun, served on lettuce as a bun, with no cheese, add avocado (see why you thank the server), no fries, add veggie of the day. And an unsweetened ice tea (make sure you say unsweetened, or you will get sweet tea). Only to find out that that cheapo Denny's stopped using heads of lettuce and now buy shredded lettuce in a bag. So I had a burger salad.

On our anniversary, we went to a Pour Folks (fine dining), and I was P2, so I just ordered a dry steak and a tomato diced, they charged me full price, but I got what I wanted, and they were really cool about it. Most places serve steak, so if you are at a loss, steak is your best bet.

Cooking: Hope you like to cook and be creative in the kitchen. I spend a good portion on money on Paleo cookbooks and go online quite a bit to find Paleo creations. The other night was bacon wrapped Tilapia (yummy....mmmmmm bacon).

Veggie shopping: Organic is great, but expensive. You usually have to go out a couple times a week for fresh veggies. I have found Organic broccoli at Grocery Outlet, along with a few other Paleo OK veggies in the frozen food section.

The Looks. Can't help with this one much. Most people knew me at 325 lbs, so they see the difference and can say nothing (including my doctor!) against what I am doing, but there are still folks who will make you not eating bread a big issue and tell you that meat, fat and eggs will give you a heart attack (they are ignorant and should be pitied).

I am sure there are a few more, like the cost of your grocery bill (depending on how many you feed at home), but can you put a price on your health?

Oh, and the grass fed thing. The Paleo die hards will go on and on about grass fed this, and organic/natural that. Buy the best quality that you can afford. I feed a family of 7, guess how much grass fed meat we buy? Ding ding ding, yep, none. I do try to get pastured eggs, uncured meats (hot dogs and bacon), and organic fruits and veggies that we eat the outsides of (I don't buy organic bananas, because we don't eat the peel!). I shop at 4 stores 2 to 3 times a month, in two towns, just to keep up, so my grocery bill is pretty outrageous!

Keep researching, and see what you think.

Good luck!

This list is by no means comprehensive.  Everyone has a different take on what Paleo is.  For me, Paleo is a life saver.  Losing all that weight was (and is) great, but I can't take hCG forever.  Without Paleo I would have been at the mercy of conventional wisdom (CW) and their "whole grains". 

Everyone is different.  Some can suck down breads with no visible problem.  Although I never felt sick with bread, my body just couldn't process all that sugar, especially in the amounts I was eating. 

Change is always hard, especially when it goes against the "norm".  We have an overweight nation because of that very reason.  The "Powers that Be" are increasing the problem in greed, and society perpetuates the problem in ignorance.

There is true fear.  Look into the eyes of people when you tell them you eat a half a dozen eggs daily, the shock, the horror!  And, heaven forbid, you mention eating something other then chicken or fish!  Beef?  Oprah said beef is bad (although the industrial beef industry is evil)!  Only a fool would go against Oprah!  Yeah, right.

We all have to be responsible for ourselves and our choices.  If I didn't take responsibility, I would have stayed at 325, and just would have grown larger.  I made a choice.  A choice to lose the weight in an unconventional manner (since the conventional manner didn't work) and to maintain my losses in an unconventional manner.  Both were a choice.  Both were researched for months before I chose.  Had hCG not worked for me, then I would have felt foolish, and would have tried to find something else, gaining more weight in my desperation.  What I did know, is that I couldn't continue doing what I was doing to myself.  I was the Queen of Processed Foods, thinking that I was making healthy, low fat, high carb (always whole grain) choices, because that is the road to good health, right?

I am a rebel.  If you have chosen a Paleo path, you are a rebel too.  We don't have to be militant, but we do have to stand up for what is right for us.  If a vegan friend/relative has an issue, that's on them.  We have some die hard vegans in our family (my husbands side...), his cousins.  4 of them, all vegan, all consumed with destroying mankind and saving all the animals.  No, really.  One won't wear wool because "sheep get cold".  None eat honey because "it steals all the bees work".  I am all for treating animals in a humane manner, and I am doing my part in reducing the excess methane cows produce (I eat those evil cows, that'll show 'em).  People first, good stewardship of the Earth and animals second.

I think that their reasoning is skewed, and they think I am going to drop dead of a high cholesterol heart attack.  We'll see.  I wish them the best, they have made their choices, and I respect that.  I have made mine.

I am a rebel.  Are you?