The paleo diet may be “back to basics,” but it can still be difficult to be sure you’re on the right track in the beginning. Simple mistakes, such as eating too much meat or the wrong fats, can derail your efforts and negate the positive effects of paleo, but fortunately, they’re easy to fix.
To be sure you’re getting the most from your commitment to paleo eating, we’ve compiled a list of the most common paleo diet mistakes and how you can fix them.
Eating the Wrong Vegetables
One of the main advantages of eating paleo is the high consumption of vegetables, which are packed with fiber and nutrients you need to live a healthy life. Unfortunately, it can be really easy to choose the wrong vegetables and ruin your otherwise perfect meal plan.
Vegetables like green beans, string beans, snow peas and edamame are not really vegetables, but legumes. The paleo diet eliminates legumes because of potentially negative health effects, so it’s best to redirect your focus to paleo-friendly vegetable options.
Taking Restriction to Extremes
The paleo diet eliminates a lot of disease-promoting foods and focuses on whole, unprocessed food sources, but it can be easy to go overboard. If you’re restricting all carbs, including paleo fruits and vegetables, you’re not getting the nutrition you need, and you may begin to see some negative effects.
Even if you’re trying to lose weight, don’t focus on cutting out carbs completely. Instead, try to get a variety of paleo-friendly animal- and plant-based foods into your diet to reap all the benefits of complete, natural nutrition.
Eating Too Much Fat
The paleo diet is naturally high in fat, which helps you maintain healthy hormone balance and reduces hunger and cravings. It can be easy to overdo it, however, and eat too much fat to keep yourself balanced.
Try to stick to moderate intake of healthy fats, and avoid overeating fat to feel full faster, which can negatively impact your energy levels and weight loss.
Eating Too Much Meat
Animal-based foods are a major source of nutrition in the paleo lifestyle, but one common mistake is eating too much meat and not including enough plant-based food sources. While meat provides many nutrients the body needs, it lacks the phytochemicals that are found in plants, along with their many health benefits.
Ideally, you want a balance of animal- and plant-based foods in your diet to ensure you’re getting the full spectrum of nutrients and maintaining the proper balance that your body needs.
Not Enough Variety
With a diet that eliminates certain food groups, like paleo, it can easily lead to a nutrient deficiency. When you cut out dairy, for example, you could be missing your major source of calcium, which needs to be replaced by paleo-friendly sources.
To ensure you’re getting all the nutrients you need, try to mix up your meal plan and include new paleo-friendly food sources as often as possible.
Visit Paleo Angel
The paleo diet has numerous health benefits, but only if you do it properly. Now that you’re aware of the common mistakes when eating paleo, you’re prepared to adjust your diet for better health and wellness.
If you’d like to learn more about the paleo diet, or you want to try our delicious Paleo Power Ball snacks, visit Paleo Angel. We offer plenty of resources on living the paleo lifestyle, so visit our website today to learn more about paleo eating and shop our collection of portable paleo snacks!