For some of our members, the Paleo Partaaay has been a life changing experience...which it should be. Going Paleo shouldn't be a fad diet, it should be a long term adjustment to improved living. For some who did not fully benefit, below, resident CFR nutritionist Chris Chapman highlights some mistakes that people make when adapting to Paleo.

The Most Common Mistakes on the Paleo Diet.

First off, an apology: I really should have written this at the beginning of the CFR Paleo Challenge. However, it’s never too late for some useful tips to steer you towards good nutrition, so here are some of the mistakes people commonly make when they adopt the Paleo Diet, and how to avoid them so you get the best from what you consume.

So, in no particular order:

·         Meat-mania: due to the name of the diet, one common misconception is that going Paleo is akin to going to an all-you-can-eat meat buffet. While the popular vision is that of the caveman gnawing on a mammoth drumstick, that’s no reason we should go all out to eat as much flesh as possible. We have thousands of years of nutrition research in our armoury, along with tremendous availability of a massive variety of foods, so there’s no need to make meat our main food source. After all, high consumption of red meat has been linked with increased risk of bowel cancer, and overconsumption of processed meats has been linked with gastric ulcers. Incidentally, I see a similar thing happen quite often with fats. Just because you’ve taken to an eating plan which limits carbohydrates, and emphasises protein and good fats, doesn’t mean that you can go meat/avocado/almond(delete as applicable)-crazy. This isn’t Atkins.

·         Carbo-phobia: This follows on from meat-mania. Overconsumption of meat tends to go hand-in-hand with an avoidance of anything that might be described as carbohydrate. While one of the main strengths of the Paleo Diet is that it lends itself to glycaemic control, mainly due to an avoidance of starchy foods (grains, legumes, we’re looking at you), this doesn’t mean you necessarily need to avoid all carbohydrate sources. While carbs will cause insulin levels to rise, it is worth remembering that while the glycaemic effect of a meal is increased by density of carbohydrates, it is also modulated by the meal’s protein and fibre content. Which leads onto the next mistake...

·         Fruit & veg avoidance: This one’s linked to the first two. In an effort to keep the carbs down, as well as to adhere to some often vaguely-defined Paleo principles, people often eschew fruit and veg for fear of spiking their insulin, leading to all sorts of problems they’ve read about but don’t necessarily understand. DO NOT AVOID FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. This is a diet that relies on one overarching principle, that of food quality. The quality of your diet will suffer greatly if you fail to take in all the valuable micronutrients you find in plants. I hope I don’t have to spell out the benefits of all the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre to be found in fruit & veg. While fruit is higher in fructose, which can lead to an insulin spike, it’s nowhere near as high a spike as with something like white bread, and fruit has far more beneficial micronutrients. Having said all this, if you’re looking to lose body fat, it may be worth avoiding fruit for a while, along with some of the more carb-dense vegetables such as sweet potato and beetroot (although they are still great sources of vitamins), but if you’re happy with your body composition, these can be eaten with relative impunity.

·         Treating it as a religion: It’s far more important that that! Seriously, flagellating yourself because you ate something that’s apparently “not Paleo” is not going to do anyone any good. All that cortisol caused by the stress you put yourself under, just for eating something verboten by a Professor of Nutrition in the USA, is just going to undo some of the good work you’ve done in eating well thus far. Mark Twight, founder of Gym Jones, once described the Zone Diet as “an eating disorder.” He may have a point, as one can take weighing and measuring food far too far. Similarly, you can take adherence to any lifestyle choice to unhealthy extremes. So next time you eat some bread, make sure you enjoy it. If it makes you feel like crap, take note of that, and bear it in mind next time you’re tempted to indulge. Talking of which....

·         Cheat days/meals: This is a tricky one.  For some people cheat days are a great motivator – eat perfect most of the time, then go crazy in the knowledge that you’ve earned it. As stated above, it may reinforce the good habits, doubly so if you feel terrible after a binge. It may even lead to a boost in the gym, if the binge tops up your glycogen levels. The flipside is, I suspect, somewhere we’ve all been: one treat leads to a “what the hell, I’ve had one, I might as well eat the whole pack” mentality, which leads to poor dietary habits becoming quickly ingrained. If that sounds like you, I would exercise caution with cheats. Alternatively, just use the 80/20 (or even better, 90/10) rule, end enjoy yourself when you can, knowing that you’re fuelling most of the time is pretty damn optimal