How to Take the First Step in Dietary Change

This is going to be a down and dirty quick post that I’ve been wanting to write for a while. It was inspired by a series of conversations I’ve had most recently while traveling with people who want to make changes in their food intake and food sourcing, but simply don’t know where to start today. I’ll read The Paleo Solution, but what do I do before I get to that part of the book?

Well, this is it, and its fast, so try to keep up.

Determine: know that you are making change, no question about it, and its happening now. Get your mindset right, and commit to lifestyle change. That means permanent change, but don’t worry, it will also be an evolving and progressive adventure. Science adds new finds all the time, so there may be adjustments you’ll make down the road, as well as things you add and take away, but forget about that for now. It’s boogy time!

Assess: pull everything out of your pantry, refrigerator and freezer and assess the ingredients. If you find anything loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup, corn syrup solids, more than 4g of sugar per serving, or high amounts of soy (typically in the form of an oil or as a protein replacement), throw it in the garbage. But, before you do that, collect everything in a pile on a table and take a pic. It will have future use.

Toss the SSPPRB (read superb): Starches, Sugary products, Pasta, Potatoes (even sweet for now), Rice and Breads have to go! This is change, people, and it takes a little commitment. Trust me, there are other things to eat! I’ll get to that next.

Eat What?: Everything else, but don’t go crazy. There is a host of meats and veggies out there with awesome ways to cook them. Buy red meats, pork and chicken, fish and other seafood. Whatever you can eat out of those protein sources you should. Add to that leafy green vegetables, and fruits, but keep it to berries if possible. Nuts and seeds are handy too, but don’t abuse them.

Stay away from corn forever. That’s an entirely different blog, but just trust me on this for now. Also, don’t get caught on the apple and banana kick just so you can have your sugar fix. These fruits are addictive as well, and can become replacement foods which can still keep you in fat storage. For now, you may also have to make a hard decision about coffee. Tea is awesome, but if you’re putting stuff in them, both coffee and tea just become a delivery system for insulin response and excess fat intake, and storage.

Drink lots of water, but you don’t have to overdo it and force feed yourself water. The recommended amount of water that we commonly hear about includes intake from other sources in food (especially vegetation) so don’t think you have to consume gallons of water a day. Take in water when you can and think about it. If you’re beginning to exercise, you may want to be taking in enough water at night so that have to go to the bathroom first thing when you wake up. Sleep time is where the magic happens!

Read: I’m going to recommend that you read The Paleo Solution. In the meantime, the above info is a decent, quick lifestyle adjustment. Yes, there are other books out there that you could read, but this is my favorite, and changed my life. I’ll plug other folks another day. For now, get intimate with Robb as you read through his funny and educational approach to your new lifestyle change, you’ll have something as a go-by.

Best of luck to you, and to those I’ve spoken to recently about this, this one is for you.

–Have no fear, Part 2 of Situation Awareness and You is coming. This just had to get out. Enjoy.