Chicken Avocado Spinach Salad. Simple, Paleo, Yum!

...and Why They Don't Hold Up.

Oh, c'mon, you didn't really expect anything else, did you? Here are the Top 6 Reasons we hear all the time for why someone doesn't want to eat a Paleo diet and the answers to them:

1. It's too complicated. (Too many rules, too hard, takes too much time)
Are you kidding me!?!! Meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Nothing could be simpler. Yes, Paleo requires that you put in some effort to feed yourself. But there are lots of books, recipes and web sites to help you figure it out.  

2. It's too expensive.
The people who say this most often are the same ones who don't flinch at spending $10 or more on a fast food meal. Take one week's cash spent for lunch at McSub King and you can buy a lot of groceries. If you eat lunch and dinner out that $$$ amount goes up in a hurry.

And, get your priorities straight. Do you need a $2500 TV when a $500 one will do? How 'bout a $50K car when a $19,500 one will get you back and forth just fine. It's about your health and wellness, performance and longevity. On your death bed you won't say "Gosh, I wish I'd bought a bigger house."  Or consider the cost of not being healthy.

3. It's boring.
Paleo can be as simple or as exotic as you want to make it. Everything from some beef jerky, an apple and a handful of nuts to multi-course meals can be Paleo

4. It leaves out whole food groups. (It's a fad, it's not safe, it's incomplete, etc.)
If you call a couple million years an unsafe fad, then have at it. Paleo is the modern tag-name for the way people have eaten for as far back as we have evidence. Agriculture is so new - a scant 10,000 years - that it's really the fad and, by all accounts, far less healthy. And  the way the US does it is even more radical yet. Grains, beans, pasturized cow dairy are not natural human foods and cause a host of problems.

5. My family won't eat this way. (We're Italian/Japanese/Jewish/not Cave people/picky eaters)
Sure they will. If you're in charge of food prep just put it on the table, don't make a big deal about it and see what happens. It's not Martian food, for heaven's sake. Just make sure their's plenty of it and they'll love it. By the way, picky eaters just have too many choices...

If you're only in charge of shopping and everybody's on their own to feed themselves, stop buying non-Paleo stuff. Your kids and spouse will complain but trust me, they're a lot more likely to eat what there is than they are to go get something else.

If you're the only one eating Paleo, set the example. The changes will be obvious and the others will catch on.

6. I want to go out to eat.
So, go, already! Any decent restaurant (read: food not served in a bag) will sub out the potatoes, bread, etc. for the steamed veggies or fruit plate. Go to places with good food to start with and ask nicely. (Side note: Yes, your unhappy friends and co-workers, maybe even your family might make fun of you. Let 'em. You're changing your life, they can see it, they know you're right, they're a little bit envious of your discipline and courage and, most importantly, your results!)

There are a bunch of other "arguments" against going Paleo but 99% are variations of these. It's not hard, weird, unnatural, dull or too costly to eat the way your body is designed to feed. Do it for 30 days and see the results. If you don't like it, go back. Be honest with yourself and I promise you'll want to stick with it.

Here's a great vid on the basics for all the visual learners out there.