Paleo diet to the rescue
by Sue Kira, Naturopath & Clinical Nutritionist
Client name and identifying information changed
Ralph came to see me because he didn’t know what he should be eating. He had advice from friends at the gym, the internet and his mum. They all had something different to say about how he could lose some weight and gain muscle. He had seen the Paleo diet mentioned online, but he wasn’t sure if it suited him as he was raised to believe that he should eat carbs with every meal.
After checking him naturopathically, I couldn’t find any reason why the Paleo diet would not suit him. I said, “Do what your instincts tell you is best to eat, regardless of what you are trying to achieve or what you have read or what anyone says”.
His response was that he always felt that his body responded best when he ate a protein based meal with some vegetables or salad, but he usually felt quite bloated and uncomfortable when he added any starchy or sweet foods to his meals, or if he had dessert after a main meal. That sounded like the right answer to me and I replied, “Go for it Ralph, eat what feels best for your body”.
With that, Ralph decided to follow a Paleo diet plan for the next three months and see how he felt. At the end of that time he had made no other changes to his lifestyle, but had lost 5kgs, gained muscle mass, looked trim, fit and healthy. He was delighted. All that just from dropping starchy carbs.