Originally Posted by
Rojo
That's it, simplified. I should explain that the reason it's call "Paleo" or "Primal" (or "Warrior" or "Hunter/Gatherer") is because it follows the diet of our pre-agriculture ancestors.
Agriculture, so goes the reasoning, has been around about 10,000 years. But for 100,000 or more years before that, man ate meat, fish, forage, fruit and nuts. Grains, beans, legumes, dairy are all recent innovations that we've not fully evolved to eat.
Now, when I say we haven't "evolved" to eat these things, that's non entirely true. Our bodies have adapted. The enzimes that break down dairy, for example, developed about 3000 years ago, but are still absent for many people (not me, a Northern European mutt). Many people have adapted to grains, but not all of us and not in the same degree. American Indians and South Pacific Islanders, for example, have only recently had grains introduced into their diet and have grown huge and diabetic because of it.
Anyhow, it's not a walk in the park. I don't miss sweets so much, nor big plates of pasta but I miss the bread that accompanies many meals -- tortillas, sandwiches, cheeseburgers. It's also expensive, especially if you try to eat quality, grass-fed meat, like you should.
But, most people (especially men) loose weight quickly (just weighed myself this morning, 2lbs down in 5 days) without going hungry. I can put up with depriving myself of certain tasty foods, but I don't want to go hungry.