PALEO LEAP CHEAT SHEET

EASING INTO IT

Did you try to go Paleo but got overwhelmed with how much information you had to absorb?

Do you do better with small changes?

Here’s a plan for making the switch that takes you through in manageable steps. The plan assumes that you’re already eating a typical omnivorous American diet , and slowly walks you through the transition over four weeks.

Each week, you’ll be focusing on changing just one thing and

getting used to that.

HERE’S A PREVIEW:

BEFORE

WEEK 1: DITCH THE SUGAR

WEEK 2: REPLACE GRAINS WITH VEGETABLES

WEEK 3: REPLACE LEGUMES WITH ANIMAL FOODS

WEEK 4: (TEMPORARILY) ELIMINATE DAIRY

STARCHY VEGETABLES

STARCHY VEGETABLES

STARCHY VEGETABLES

BEANS WITH CHEESE

MEAT

MEAT

CHEESE

WATER

VEGETABLES

VEGETABLES

VEGETABLES

Week 1: Eliminate Sugar and Sweeteners

This week, you’ll just be working on sugar and sweeteners. You can keep everything else in your diet the same.

WHY you’re doing this:Sugar provides a lot of excess calories with no vitamins and minerals.

Sugar is inflammatory and contributes to metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity.

Here is more on sugar if you’re interested.

WHAT to do:Don’t buy anything with added sugar or artificial sweeteners when you go shopping this week.. This includes sweetened soft drinks (diet or regular), candy, dessert foods, and almost all packaged items on the shelves at the grocery store. Don’t assume anything; check every single ingredients list!

Go through your cabinets and pull out everything with added sugar or sweeteners. If you don’t really love that food, throw it away or donate it to a food bank. If you do really love it, keep it and eat what you have until it’s gone, but don’t buy any more.

Sugar comes in many forms, and many of them are very sneaky. Here’s a list from Whole9 Life of all the different ways food companies try to sneak sugar past the radar.

DO NOT replace sugar-sweetened baked goods with Paleo baking that you sweeten with honey, date syrup, or maple syrup. Those things are crutches; you need to learn to walk on your own. This won’t help you in the long run, so don’t get into the habit now.

Eat lots of high-quality animal protein, healthy fats like olive oil, and complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes to help keep cravings at bay.

Technically, fresh fruit has sugar in it, too. But don’t freak out over it. You can eat as much fresh fruit as you want, but limit or avoid dried fruit, fruit juice, and other concentrated or processed fruit products, even if they have “no sugar added.”

TIPS and what to expect:

Week 2: Swap Grains for Vegetables

Week 3 Swap Legumes (Soy, Beans and Lentils) for Animal Foods

Week 4: Eliminate Dairy

WHY you’re doing this:Grains are gut irritants, and contribute to leaky gut and other digestive problems.

Refined grains (e.g. white flour) are almost empty of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) but calorie-dense and extremely easy to overeat.

There are no nutrients in grains that you can’t get from more nourishing vegetables and animal foods.

WHAT to do:Don’t buy grains or anything made with them when you go shopping this week.

Go through your cabinets and pull out everything with grains. If you don’t really love that food, throw it away or donate it to a food bank. If you do really love it, keep it and eat what you have until it’s gone, but don’t buy any more.

DO buy generous amounts of potatoes (both white and sweet), winter squash, and other starchy vegetables. These will make the transition easier and provide you with carbohydrates even if you aren’t eating grains. Paleo is not a low-carb diet; the point is to find healthy sources of carbs, not to eliminate them entirely.

DO buy lots of non-starchy vegetables of all kinds and colors (except for corn; corn is a grain). Non-starchy vegetables should take up the majority of space on your plate.

DON’T go out and hunt down a bunch of nut-flour baking recipes. Just like eating dried fruit to get your sugar fix, these are crutches and they won’t help you in the long run.

WHY you’re doing this:Protein is important for health and weight loss, but beans and lentils aren’t actually good sources of protein.

Soy is an endocrine disruptor and can mess with your hormones.

Legumes contain gut irritants, just like grains.

Oils and fats made from legumes are inflammatory and unhealthy.

WHAT to do:Don’t buy anything made with or containing legumes. This includes oils made from legumes, like soybean oil or “vegetable oil.”

Go through your cabinets and pull out everything with legumes. If you don’t really love that food, throw it away or donate it to a food bank. If you do really love it, keep it and eat what you have until it’s gone, but don’t buy any more.

Replace “vegetable oil,” “soybean oil,” and other oils with healthy Paleo fats. DON’T be afraid of fat; it won’t make you fat, and it doesn’t cause cancer or heart disease. The key is to get healthy, nourishing fats.

Eliminating grains is probably the biggest single change that makes Paleo different. Change is hard, and however you feel about it, your feelings are OK. That doesn’t mean you have to act on them.

If you miss a particular recipe, try searching for “deconstructed ___________” or “________ salad” to get a Paleo take. For example: taco salad, gyro salad (The Clothes Make the Girl), or BLT salad (Paleo Newbie).

How to make substitutes for…burger buns, tortillas, pasta/spaghetti/noodle-like foods in general.

What if I don’t like vegetables?

Stuck for quick-and-easy lunches without sandwiches? Make extra at dinner and bring the leftovers.

Here’s a guide to how much fat you should be eating on Paleo. It really is important to eat enough fat; many people don’t.

Remember that 1 palm-sized serving of meat/3 eggs is a minimum. Anyone over about 5’5” will probably need more, and so will anyone who’s particularly active.

It’s OK to eat nut butters that aren’t peanut (e.g. almond or cashew), but keep it to 1-2 tablespoons per day at the most.

Eat grass-fed, pasture-raised meat if you can afford it. It’s more nutritious, and it’s an investment in the planet your kids will have to live on.

TIPS and what to expect:

TIPS and what to expect:

This week, you’ll be making the biggest Paleo change of all: getting grains out of your diet, and replacing them with vegetables.

This week, you’ll be trading legumes for better sources of protein and fat.

Dairy is a Paleo gray area – for some people, it’s completely fine, but it’s good to try eliminating it just in case.

GRAINS TO ELIMINATE• Wheat and flour (including whole-wheat flour).

• Oats, oat bran, oat flour, etc.

• Corn, corn oil, corn syrup, cornstarch, corn flour, etc.

• Rice (including brown rice), rice bran, rice flour, rice syrup, etc.

• Barley

• Millet

• Spelt

• Rye

LEGUMES TO ELIMINATE• Soy

• Lentils

• Peanuts (they’re not actually nuts! Other nuts are fine though.)

• Dried beans (e.g. kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, lima beans, etc.)

• Oils and fats made from legumes (e.g. soybean oil and peanut oil)

DAIRY FOODS TO ELIMINATE• Milk, including raw milk.

• Cheese

• Yogurt, including Greek yogurt.

• Other dairy foods, e.g. whipping cream.

VEGETABLES TO EAT INSTEAD• All fresh and frozen vegetables.

• Starchy vegetables, e.g. white and sweet potatoes. Paleo is not a low- carb diet unless you want it to be.

DON’T EAT…• Canned vegetables (they’re disgusting; you deserve better)

• Corn (corn is a grain, not a vegetable)

REPLACE THEM WITH• Animal protein: meat, fish, and eggs. Eat at least a palm-sized amount of meat (or 3 eggs) at every meal.

• More vegetables: for legumes used as a side dish, replace them with vegetables just like you did for grains.

• Paleo-friendly cooking fats: olive oil, coconut oil, butter, animal fat, and other healthy fats.

If eliminating grains is really hard for you, it’s

find to spend two weeks on this and then move on

to legumes. Go at your own pace and don’t force yourself to rush when you

aren’t ready.

WHY you’re doing this:About 80% of people in the world are lactose-intolerant, meaning that dairy causes them digestive problems. Many don’t know it until they try an elimination diet.

Dairy may be particularly bad for people with acne.

WHAT to do:Don’t buy any dairy products. This includes milk, cream, yogurt (even Greek yogurt), kefir, cheese, whey protein powder, and butter.

Go through your cabinets and fridge and pull out everything with dairy. If you don’t really love that food, throw it away or donate it to a food bank. If you do really love it, keep it and eat what you have until it’s gone, but don’t buy any more.

Here are some Paleo dairy substitutes.

Here are some ways to make Paleo cheese.

After eliminating, you may find that you’re fine with all dairy, or with only some dairy products. For example, many people can eat ghee and butter without a problem even if they have lactose issues. Some people can eat fermented dairy (like yogurt) even if they can’t eat other dairy. Try it out on yourself and see!

TIPS and what to expect:

... And You’re Done!Not the world’s fastest transition, but now you have it! At this point, here’s what your plate should look like.

Not the world’s fastest transition, but now you have it! At this point, here’s what your plate should look like.

Copyright © 2015 by Paleo Leap, LLC.

All material in this cheat sheet is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action

or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents oæf this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health

professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

Generous serving of animal protein (meat and/or eggs).

Some kind of healthy fat in there (cooking fat, skin on your chicken, fatty meat like bacon, etc.)

Optionally, some starchy vegetables (e.g. potatoes or sweet potatoes).

Big pile of non-starchy vegetables.

By the end of the four weeks, you will end up eating Paleo as described

in the 101. But don’t worry about absorbing all that information right now; you’ll get it all step by step as

you go through each week.