How to Make Following Paleo Easier

When a person first start eating paleo it is very difficult. They face temptations at every turn and feel like every food they love is off limits.  At first the new paleo dieter is able to say no to the non-paleo foods they love because of their original motivation (weight loss, lower cholesterol, etc..) is greater than their craving for the junk food. This becomes harder over time as the person get closer to their goal because they get complacent since they are so close to their goal and they have been giving up all the foods they love for so long. This is the main problem with people new to paleo, they give up the foods they love for too long. To be honest when I started following paleo everything I enjoyed was off limits because the only foods that I liked we’re junk food.

How to succeed in eating paleo

Embrace paleo and find at least 15 recipes that you like and can make easily. If you don’t have 15 recipes then you will not have the variety of food to stay happy while eating paleo. Until you have 15 paleo recipes commit to learning one new paleo recipe every week. If you don’t know enough tasty healthy recipes you will always feel like you are giving up you favorite foods because you haven’t found healthy foods that you love more or as much as the unhealthy foods. It is much easier to substitute the healthy foods you love for the junk foods you love than to give up the junk foods you love for health food you hate.

To make my point I will compare my previous top 20 favorite foods with my new top 20 favorite foods:

Pre-Paleo list of top 20 favorite foods
Steak and mashed white potatoes with margarine
Cheese steak
Burritos
Fajitas
Soda
Ice cream
Donuts
Sushi
Lasagna
Crab cakes
Chicken Pizza
Quesadilla
Popcorn chicken
Candy corn
Marshmallows
Hibachi
Bacon egg and cheese on a bagel
Chocolate chip cookies
Chicken parm sandwich
Subway chicken teriyaki sandwich

New top 20 favorite foods
Burritos
Ice cream
Soda
Popcorn chicken
Hibachi
Paleo Apple Cinnamon Chicken
Paleo Salmon
Paleo Chili
Steak and sweet potato
Guacamole and Paleo Tortilla Chips
Paleo Sweet Potato Fries
Paleo Bell Pepper Chicken Fajita
Primal Omelet with Grass Fed Cheese
Macadamia nuts
Pineapple
Sushi
Dark chocolate
Paleo Crab Cakes
Strawberries
Steak and Sweet potatoes with ghee

You see that my first list is comprised of absolutely no paleo friendly food and a ton of junk food where as now all but 5 foods are paleo or primal. Yes I I still love some junk foods but I am not giving up all of the foods I love because I have found healthy foods I love as much or more than junk food. The more you expand you paleo cooking skills, the easier it will be. Now I only need to give up the 5 non-Paleo foods on my list of top 20 to follow paleo without cheating.