I get an email or two every month with someone asking where to start when it comes to eating paleo, so I thought it would be perfect for talking through on a podcast! Starting paleo can feel pretty daunting, but I promise you that it gets easier and easier over time!
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Episode 45 Transcription!
Topics:
1. The Bachelorette [17:11]
2. What the Health [21:21]
3. Juli’s paleo journey [25:05]
4. Cleaning out the pantry [30:17]
5. Trying new recipes [34:45]
6. Don’t try to be paleo perfect [37:32]
7. Getting your family on board [40:26]
8. Paleo challenges [46:34]
9. Keto [50:07]
10. Macros [51:43]
11. Intermittent fasting [54:14]
12. Alcohol [58:13]
Juli Bauer: Hello pumpkin. Welcome to the 45th episode of PaleOMG Uncensored. My name is Juli Bauer Roth, and I am the creator of www.PaleOMG.com. I feel like I should introduce myself every episode, but I always forget. So if you’re starting from here, it’s your lucky day. If you started from any of the other probably 42 episodes out there, then you don’t know who the hell is speaking to you. But today, I’m here for you. www.PaleOMG.com. That’s where I came from. This is where I am now. While I was on book tour, a woman asked me to start a podcast, and I did it. So she better f*cking listen. She was like, oh yeah it will be fun to listen to Juli! And then I started a podcast, and she was like, what the f*ck is she talking about?
But you know what, every week is different. I like to change it up on you guys. Sometimes, I like to talk about weird sexual encounters with my girlfriends, and other times I like to talk about paleo. Don’t let the PaleOMG part of my name throw you off. There’s all kinds of different information here on this podcast. But today it’s just me by my lonesome.
Last week, I was in Austin. Which is why I recorded with three of my closest girlfriends, who are all bloggers, as well. And we talked about nothing of importance, but it was wonderful. Because who doesn’t like just chatting with girlfriends. It’s not really fun listening to people chatting with girlfriends, but it was for us. It was good for us.
So I was in Austin last week. The amazing people behind Siete Foods, which is a grain free tortilla and tortilla chip company. And I’m hoping they expand to 20-hundred other items on their list. Because they have the best tortillas and the best tortilla chips out there. So addictive. And they’re totally grain free. They’re not filled with weird sh*t. Or fillers. Or if you have issues with corn, they don’t use corn. So it’s just really rad.
So anyways. They brought us out to Austin, and got us in an AirBNB. And it was a thank you for always supporting them. They’re just such an awesome family. It’s a family-run business. They f*cking rock. They live in Austin, which I’m jealous of. Except it was 4 million degrees there. And we had all these big plans of doing things, and then it was just too hot to do any of them. So all we did was eat until we were uncomfortable, and then sit and talk about business. Which is wonderful. Because none of us; Lexi, because she’s on the East Coast, she has a few more friends who are in the blogging arena. But the rest of us, we’re kind of on the outside. I don’t have a ton of friends, especially in my specific business. I know some in the fashion. I know some strict in paleo. But I don’t hang out with them regularly. So it’s nice to talk to close girlfriends who are open about their business. So we can talk about how each other are making money, and what has worked, and what company has worked, and what has failed. What ambitions we have in the future with a judge-free zone.
Because I don’t know about you listening, but a lot of people think that being a blogger is not a job. Because so many people call themselves bloggers. And I don’t know; I don’t know what other people make as an income when they say they’re bloggers. But this is my full time job. And it’s something I do 24/7. I’m literally figuring out how to get a hotspot on my phone so I can keep up my blog while I’m in the Caribbean nest week for 9 days. So it’s a full time job, and as soon as you slack, you don’t make as much money. It’s not like a salary coming in and it’s just set in stone. This is completely up in the air.
So anyway, it’s nice talking to someone who understands that, and gets the work that you’re putting into your daily job every day. So it was super fun hanging out with them. But we probably gained 10 pounds each, because we just were eating our faces off. And then you’re retaining so much water. So it was nice to come back. We were all like, we should cut this one day shorter because we probably wouldn’t have retained 50 pounds of water. But it was awesome. It was so much fun going to Austin. And it just felt good to get back. Because I leave out of town next week for the Caribbean. So I have about a week and a half in between trips to recuperate and get a bunch of work done before I leave.
And in between that. So I got home from Austin and then pretty much picked right up into this little filming gig. Not; I don’t know how to explain it. But this company called Well and Good, you might have seen them. They contacted me about doing a city guide to Denver for dog-friendly spots. Because obviously Jackson is a motherf*cking superstar. And he should be on every billboard and every TV screen and every movie screen everywhere. Modern Family French bulldog? No. Jackson? Yes. Except that dog is much more well behaved and rolls over on cue. Jackson’s not quite there yet. But man. Can he sweet talk a lady. Or even a fella.
Pretty sure my takes him around, walks him in parks to pick up dudes. Which is pretty rad. I’m hoping it works. Hot guys out there, in Denver, who are successful and super cool and don’t drink too much, but enough that you can hang and you can hold a good conversation. Please email me. I’d love to set you up with my friend. But any of the other rest; don’t contact me. What am I talking about? No dudes listen to this podcast. But that’s fine. I’m just still putting it out there.
So anyways. I worked with Well and Good for two days straight on a video, Denver Guide for Dog Friendly Spots. So I took them around to my 5 favorite spots around Denver that are dog friendly. And that I love the most. So my favorite Denver spots. And we filmed it all. And it was just so much fun. They filmed Jackson on the ground, and a camera right next to him. Low to the ground. So you could see his little prancing feet. And then he went in the water. He went in different fountains.
And he went to a dog park where he had really bad anxiety because all the dogs. Probably because it smells like piss in the dog park, and he was like. “Hey, this is gross. I’m very low to the ground. Get me out of here.” I don’t know. But he gets really bad anxiety at dog parks. And it’s so weird. We took him to a dog park all the time as a puppy and he f*cking loved it. So I don’t know where that social anxiety came from. Probably from his mother, since I have social anxiety. It just comes off.
And a child tried to pet his face, and he was not into it. Kind of did the nip thing. I was like, hey kid. You know when kids ask you if they can pet your dog, they don’t listen for an answer and then they go face deep? What parent hasn’t taught them to not do that? That’s not a good idea. My dog was not into that. Luckily he didn’t bite, but he was ready. He was uncomfortable with the situation. That’s for sure.
But everything else, he was a gem. He did everything we needed to. He would get up on a bench. He would walk the other way. He never really stopped, until the end of day 2. Because he was exhausted. We were in the sun most of the days. And if you don’t own a smooshed faced dog, you don’t know that your dog has to be out of the sun pretty much all the time. Jackson can only take heat for a short amount of time. And then he can’t breathe, and his heart will explode. So that’s not going to work. So at the end of day two, of filming two days straight and walking everywhere and him just being out in the heat and exhausted, he was not having it anymore. And he was breathing so fast. He was like {panting}. I don’t even know if you can hear that.
But he was breathing crazy fast, and I was freaking out. And I couldn’t find the producer, but we were done filming. I felt like such a b*tch. I just peaced out. I didn’t even say goodbye, thank you. I didn’t get to do any common courtesy nice things. I was literally like, my dog is going to die, I have to get in the car. So I threw water on him, picked him up, put him in the passenger side of the car in the feet, so the air conditioning could be blasting on him. And he turned belly up towards the air conditioning. It was so sad. I had a major freak-out moment. If you own a smooshed faced dog, you totally get it.
But I felt like such a b*tch. I just peaced out on that director. I was like, hey. No time to say bye after getting to know you for two days. I’ve got to make sure my dog doesn’t die. Such a b*tch move. But I cannot wait for this video to come out. Because the two camera guys that were here, they filmed at my house and then they filmed around Denver. And they were f*cking awesome. They were just so cool. Such nice people. And they were so nice to Jackson. And they showed me a still from one of the videos. And Jackson’s sitting on my lap, and I’m blurry, and I’m smiling. And Jackson has his head tilted, and he’s smiling. And I’m going to blow it up into an entire wall photo, at least 20 feet by 20 feet, and I’m going to put it on my wall. I’m so obsessed with him. I just love him so much. I get why people love their kids. But man, dogs just love you so much. Like Jackson right now, he’s not annoying me. He’s just chewing on his bone. And he’s like, hey mom. Thanks for giving me a bone. I love you. F*ck I love him so much.
So anyways. I got back from Austin and had to film that right away. And now it’s just been getting everything ready to go for this upcoming trip. So I’m just trying to get all my blog posts done. And get caught up. So everything is in its place ready to post on time. And I don’t skip a beat.
So the other thing that was happening over at my house. And I think I might have talked about this on the podcast. Is our couches in our backyard. So in our backyard. If you watch my Instagram stories, I kind of show it sometimes. But in our backyard, we have this little brick spot that we laid out that we wanted to put couches and a little hangout area. So we find these f*cking awesome couches online. And they’re called Design Furnishings. So they’re amazing couches, and they’re really not that crazy expensive. So we ordered these couches. We get a confirmation email, pretty much to be like, hey we charged your card. And then nothing on tracking. And I’m just so used to Nordstrom and Revolve and Amazon. And they give you pretty much minute to minute updates about when you’re going to get your package. So sorry for me for having belief in the world. But, I didn’t get any tracking email.
And so I finally log on to this freight company that brings the couches over from California. And it says they’ve tried to contact me about setting an appointment. I’m like, ok that’s a f*cking flat out lie, but whatever. So I call them. And I set an appointment. And I was out of town when the appointment was supposed to be, so my sister-in-law stayed at the house, because my husband was working. So my sister-in-law stayed at the house for 5 hours. No show. No call. Nothing. And then of course it’s Saturday so nobody’s answering, because no one is working there today. I’m working on a Saturday. Are they? No.
Anyways. I call back Monday and I keep getting transferred. I’m on hold for like 40 minutes. And I finally get a hold of this woman. And she’s like, “Yeah, when can I set your appointment.” And I was like, no, no, no. I already set my appointment. And course I’m lying here. I’m like, I sat home for 5 hours on Saturday waiting for this package to appear and it never did. And she’s like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, we don’t have any appointment in the system.” And I was like, so who did I talk to then? And she’s like, “I don’t know, you probably didn’t call this number.” I was like, oh I 100% called this same number. I literally pushed call back, ok. I don’t get snippy on the phone because I understand that it’s not customer services fault whatsoever. It’s not their fault, and what’s the point in being rude? It gets you nowhere. But I’m at my wits end at this point.
I’m like, I need these couches today. She’s like; and her name is Barb. Barb was like, “honey you ordered something from the internet. I don’t know what you expect.” I’m like, what the f*ck, Barb? I’ve ordered stuff from a sketchy site in China and I’ve gotten it quicker than this package in California. What the f*ck. I get it. It’s big four pieces. So she’s like, let me set a new appointment. And I’m pissed off. I’m like, how do I know this appointment is going to happen? How? She was like, “I don’t know what to tell you.” And I’m like, I don’t know what to say either. I’m just going to set this appointment and hope it does.
So the appointment comes along. And I’m filming that day, so I’m like, husband. You need to be home between this time. And I call him. And I’m like, hey the guy just called and said he’s going to be there in 15 minutes are you home. And he’s like, no I’m not home. I’m like, what the f*ck, what you mean you’re not home? I’m starting to get some bad anger here. Because if these couches don’t come, I’m not sitting on hold for 45 more minutes and talking to Barb again. Barb and I had a tiff. We worked it out towards the end. We got each other. She felt me. We felt it out.
But anyways. My husband got home in time. We got the couches. They’re sitting in the backyard. {laughs} and now we’re like, we need two more cushions. Two more little chairs to make it just a little bit bigger. {laughs} Which means we have to order again from that same site.
So here’s the thing. Design Furnishings and Road Runner Freight company both suck ass. But, the furniture is beautiful. Ok. Just putting that out there. You know, you can say a negative, but you sandwich it with a positive. It’s an open-faced sandwich here. So that’s what’s been going on here. I know that’s not interesting at all. But it was quite the life dilemma. When you’re trying to get work done and you’re on hold for 45 minutes. This is why I don’t get my health insurance or my car insurance dealt with. I have health insurance and car insurance. But if I need to go to the doctor, or I need to get my windshield replaced, I just ignore it. I just ignore. I don’t want to be on the phone for 45 minutes. I don’t care. No, I do care. I don’t want to get pregnant. I need to go to the doctor. Don’t worry, figuring it out. Step by step.
So next week, I go to the Caribbean. And I’m so pumped. Vanessa was on my podcast last week, and she is one of the girls that I’m going on this Caribbean trip with. So she had this trip booked last year with a group of people, and a couple broke up and opened up their spots for someone else. So she asked me. My sister-in-law is coming with me. And we island hop from; I honestly have no idea. It’s like St. Martin, and then St. Vincent, and three or four other islands that I’ve never heard of. And we just island hop and we hang out on this yacht. And it sounds like the coolest trip ever. And she loved it. And we get to paddleboard and just, I don’t know. Do island stuff. I’m taking a floatie with me so I can just float. Float everywhere I go. God I can’t wait.
And they cook for you on the boat, too. So they cook all your meals and a snack. And they make your drinks. It’s just rad. Just cannot wait. So it’s going to be a wonderful little vacation. Hopefully I can kind of turn off from social media a bit. But, that’s tough when it’s your job. You know what I’m saying? Oh hi doggie. It’s good to see you.
1. The Bachelorette [17:11]
Ok, let’s get quick recap on the extra boring stuff happening on; oh my god. Jackson literally just put his ass in my face. Don’t worry Jackson, it’s totes cool. So let’s talk about the Bachelorette. Because this show has gotten out of control boring. Like, what the f*ck is happening. What’s happening. The only thing that was exciting about this entire episode of 2 hours was when they went to HG Supply in Dallas. Which is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. They have a magnificent beet margarita. It’s so good. I want to go back specifically for that. It’s so freaking good. They have really good curry, too. And really good everything.
Anyways. That was pretty cool to see them. Congratulations for making it on a very highly watched show, HG Supply. Started by CrossFitters. They have a gym next door. I just love them. I love them so much. I think I met one of the owners one time, and he is a very attractive man. I don’t know if he was the owner. I don’t know who he was. I just remember a very attractive man introducing himself one day, years ago. Some things you remember, you know. Like curry and hot dudes.
So, what happens is all the dudes meet the family, because Rachel’s sister is about to pop. She’s pregnant and she’s wearing the biggest shirts I’ve ever seen. It’s so weird. She’s not like a big pregnant person, and she’s wearing shirts that are quadruple her size. With very puffy sleeves. And I love me a shoulder pad, don’t get me wrong. I will wear shoulder pads at any occasion, and I adore them. I wore them all the time in college when I was out to the bars and wearing skirts that barely covered my ass cheeks. They all had shoulder pads. F*cking into it.
So, anyways. All the guys meet the parents. And it’s just super awkward and not fun. I don’t even really want to do a recap. And everybody who hates my recaps is like, yeah. Go over it. But anyways. She is so in love with Bryan, and it’s so obvious she’s going to pick Bryan. And Bryan is the dude that you were like, “Oh my god, I’m totally in love with this guy.” When you were in college. Because you think he’s the greatest guy ever. And then he turns out to be a complete player. And, Bryan is in love with his mother. Bryan’s mom is in love with him, so it works out. So, they should move somewhere where you can marry your mother, and all is well. That’s how it should be.
But I think the only thing that really happened, she has an overnight with Peter. And they make it look like they did it. Don’t care if they did or not. Go you, Rachel. Do all the dudes you want to do. And then she has this overnight with Peter, and it stops to be continued, and she’s like {laughs}. So Peter is 100% not into her. And she’s like, “I want to get married.” And Peter was like, “I’m not going to ask you to marry me.” And she’s like, “I don’t know what to do.” And he’s like, “Don’t know. Don’t care.” Literally, Peter doesn’t care about anything, and he is like talking to a brick wall. So, it ends up to be continued.
So who’s going to be the next bachelor? And when is; I’m pretty sure the Bachelorette finale is going to be when I’m in the Caribbean, so that’s devastating. And luckily when I get back, the Bachelor in Paradise starts, and I cannot wait. It will be such a sh*t show. And that is what summer is all about. Watching other people be sh*t shows. So that’s that.
2. What the Health [21:21]
Before we talk about how to begin and how to eat paleo, how to really start it off, I want to talk about What the Health real quick. Because I keep getting questions. And I don’t have answers for you. What the Health is a new documentary made and created by very intense vegans. I don’t give a sh*t if you’re a vegetarian, if you’re a vegan, if you only eat fruit. I just heard about breatharians, where they don’t really eat, they just believe in the power of breathing as their food. I don’t care what you f*cking do. You can eat however you want. Ok.
But I hate when people try to spin things and make it seem like all meat is causing cancer and it’s causing all these health issues. That is what these vegans are out to do. And I have not watched the documentary, because I do not care what these crazy, crazy vegans. I’m not saying they’re crazy because they’re vegan; I’m saying they’re crazy vegans. Are trying to say about people who eat meat. And whatever else. I don’t care what they have to say. I don’t care how they spin it. I don’t care how you pull f*cking statistics out of your ass and spin them a certain way and interview certain people. I don’t care about that. I’ve seen plenty of different documentaries like that. It feels very conspiracy theory style. And I’m into a f*cking good conspiracy theory. I love hearing that sh*t. But, I also don’t let it take over my mind like I did when I was a college kid and my brain was a goo ball.
I just remember what our ancestors ate, and I go back to the knowledge that I’ve been given, and what we ate way back when. And how we thrive. And how our body thrives the most. But I am completely respectful to people who do not eat that way and do not want to eat that way. I don’t care. So you can listen to this podcast, and you can be freaked out and be scared to eat anything, and eat meat, and whatever else. But you can also do some of your research. I would highly recommend Robb Wolf. He is one of my favorite people who I’ll talk about in a second in this podcast. But when it comes to paleo and amazing scientific information out there, he watched the documentary and then he did a breakdown on his blog talking about different points and really analyzing it.
So I would talk to a person who that’s their specialty. Meaning, talk to them by reading their blog. If you just go to Robb Wolf, and you type in What the Health, that blog post will come up, and he talks about it there. I don’t have a stance on it. I will not be watching it. I don’t care to watch it. But I thought I would just talk over it real quick of just what I thought in general. Because I just don’t care. I’ve listened to these kinds of people so many times in my life. And I’ve seen documentaries like this many times. Do your research about the people who are putting together certain information, as well. And their viewpoints. How that can alter the outcome of a movie. So that’s that. That’s what I think about that. Robb Wolf. What the Health. He has a breakdown of it that’s super helpful.
3. Juli’s paleo journey [25:05]
Ok. Ok. Let’s talk about paleo. Because that’s where this whole blog, now podcast, even started from. I’ve got to hydrate ok. Hydrating. So, I’m going to do a quick recap about myself. I’ve talked about this on the blog before, so I’m sorry if I’m repeating myself in any way. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m not trying to annoy you. I’m just giving you a little background real quick.
So I ate super unhealthy my whole life. It was Little Debbie snack cakes. Chips with fake cheese on top. Funyuns. Sandwiches from 7-11. McDonald’s. Taco Bell. Subway. I ate sh*t all the time. Never ate healthy. I didn’t know what healthy meant. When I thought of healthy, I thought of; I don’t know. What’s that brand called? The Super K challenge? I don’t know what it’s called. I thought healthy was low calorie, low fat. That’s what I saw. I saw these little gimmicks on TV, and how to lose 10 pounds in 10 days. And I tried all that sh*t. And I starved myself. I binged. I tried to be bulimic; bullsh*t, bullsh*t, bullsh*t. Whatever. Normal, I think a lot of teenage behavior out there. I think many of us, most of us, have gone through some sort of sh*t like that. Counting calories. Restricting calories, working out excessively. I did it all.
So I was in college. I met a guy at the time who was my college boyfriend. He was shredded. I wanted to look like him. I found out about CrossFit. He was doing CrossFit at the time. I tried my first 10 burpees. I said I’m never f*cking doing this again. And then I was like, ok. I’m going to f*cking do this, on my own. I slowly started getting more in shape. And I started to see my body change. But I knew I needed to get my diet in check. So with him, I would. Eww Jackson, don’t choke. He’s choking on some bone marrow, bro.
So with him, he was shredded, and I would see his meals. And his meals would be like weighed out. He would have chicken, he would have broccoli, and he’d have olives. And he would count his olives, and he would weigh out his chicken and his broccoli. And I was like, what is this? So he told me about the diet he was following at that time. And that was the Zone Diet. So if you don’t know the Zone Diet, it’s kind of like Weight Watchers. Sorry, I’ve got to give Jackson some water. Sorry for the sounds. It’s kind of like Weight Watchers where they have points; Zone has blocks. So you are pretty much; or maybe like macros. I’ve never followed macros. So it’s kind of like figuring out how much food do you need, and it’s portion control more than anything. So you’re figuring out how much fat you need, how much carbs, and how much protein, and you’re eating that. With the Zone Diet, you’re still able to eat like bread and really whatever you want still.
So I started Zone. And I saw a huge improvement with my weight. I lost a good amount of weight. And then I was cutting out grains more and more. Because I started reading about the paleo diet. I had Loren Cordain, who wrote the Paleo Diet book, I had him as a professor in college. And, my dad was very, very ill in high school. He gained a bunch of weight because he was put on steroids. And he started the paleo diet to regain his health and lose weight. So I had heard about the paleo diet many times. And I started reading more into it. And more about what grains do to our body, and why we don’t need them. And a little bit about dairy. So I was like, maybe I should try this paleo thing.
So for me, changing my diet was very, very hard. For me now, it’s like, “oh no, it’s easy.” Back then, that was very hard. Telling me I couldn’t have a sandwich, or cookies, or pasta, or any of the bullsh*t that we think we need in our diet. I was like, there’s no f*cking way I can do that. There’s no way. And so paleo was very step by step for me.
I remember having lunch every day. I’d make a tuna sandwich. And before I would have two pieces of bread. And then I went to one piece of bread. So I had an open-faced sandwich. And I removed cereal from my diet. So I went to oats. And then I was like, ok I can’t have oats. What can I have? I still want sweet in the morning. So I made myself a smoothie. So it was a very step by step process. It was not easy for me. Changing my diet was not easy. It was scary to me. Changing my diet was very scary.
4. Cleaning out the pantry [30:17]
There you go doggie. So, very slowly. It probably took me 9 months to a year to really change over to full paleo. And how I did that was I got rid of sh*t in my house. So when people ask how to change over to paleo, I tell them first of all you need to clean out your pantry. You need to clean out your fridge, your freezer, and you need to get the sh*t out. Donate it, throw it away, whatever you need to do. You need to get it out of your house.
So packaged food. I mean, go look at the ingredients of a Cheese-It. Or some sort of cracker. There’s a huge list of ingredients. Many of which you maybe can’t pronounce, or you absolutely don’t know what those ingredients are. Why are you eating them? Think about that. Why are you eating something you don’t understand what it is, you know? If we went to somewhere else, and you read something on a menu, and you don’t know what it is, you’re probably a little bit hesitant about eating it. But they can explain its whatever, whatever. But you might not be able to get an explanation of what’s in a Cheese-It cracker. I don’t know about Cheese-Its. I’m not trying to put them on blast. I’m just saying, in general, when you look at a package.
So get the sh*t out. Get ingredients out that you don’t want in the house, and you know you shouldn’t be eating. And that’s going to be packaged foods. That’s going to be a lot of condiments that you probably have. A lot have high fructose corn syrup in them. They have corn starch. They have a sh*t ton of sugars in them. Weird sugars. They have weird other preservatives. Get that stuff out of the house. Nowadays it is so much easier to be paleo or to be gluten free. So much easier. When I started 7 years ago, there was maybe one condiment out there. And it was a sh*tty ketchup. Now there’s like four or five brands that make a ketchup, and barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing, and mayo. Back then, you had to make those all on your own. And that’s why I started a blog in the first place.
So cleaning out the sh*t is what’s important. Because nowadays, you can fill that with new products, and you can find new spices. A lot of spice blends that you’ll find in grocery stores have corn starch in them, and they have weird other preservatives. You want to get away from that. So it’s a learning curve. And it’s overwhelming. I get it. But you don’t have to take it as that. You can say, ok. This month I’m going to clean out my pantry. Get rid of this sh*t. And I’m just going to start with some of the basics. And you can get maybe a couple of spices. And the next month you can get a couple of more spices. You don’t have to get everything all at once, and say paleo is so f*cking expensive.
When I first started paleo, I was out of college. I was making $17,000 a year. I was paying rent. I was paying my bills. And I was still eating paleo. I didn’t have grass-fed, grass finished meat. I didn’t have organic veggies. I didn’t have all these condiments and all these other. Well they didn’t really have that back then. But I didn’t have all this fancy stuff. I made paleo work on a very strict budget. And I have a podcast on paleo on a budget and how to make it work. And I still was able to eat paleo.
So you don’t have to see it as this crazy expensive adventure. Not even a fun adventure. It seems so overwhelming. But if you’re like, ok. I’m just going to clean out the pantry. I’m going to get meat, fruits and veggies, and I’m going to get some nuts and seeds, and I’m going to get some new cooking oils. I’ll get a couple of spices. Garlic powder. Salt. Pepper. Boom. Done. Then the next month, you’re like. Ok. I’m going to add a little bit more spices, because maybe I felt bored this month. So I’m going to get Primal Palate. Those are a great spice blend. I’m going to get Primal Palate spice blends. They come in a three pack. Or you can buy individual ones. And you can get new spices, and try some new spices, and add a little more flavor to your routine. And then you can start cooking more recipes.
5. Trying new recipes [34:45]
So, trying recipes online. So after you’ve cleaned out your pantry, you get rid of the sh*t. That’s when you’ve got to start cooking for yourself. Sure, there are paleo meal delivery services, and there are whatever those ones where they send you your meal that you cook in the measured out ingredients. You can do that too. A lot of those places have paleo. But I think if you want to stick with something long term, making food for yourself is very important. So the more you cook for yourself, the more you understand where food is coming from, and why it tastes a certain way. And why you didn’t like it another way. And the better you get at getting to know your food, and what makes your body feel the best.
So then when you go out to restaurants, and you eat sh*t that you don’t normally eat, you’re like, you know what? This doesn’t feel good. And I don’t want to do this as much. So that’s the best way. You grocery shop. You clean out sh*t. And you have stuff readily available. If you have food ready available, you will feel like paleo is much, much easier.
And here’s the thing. You’re going to have to grocery shop more. Because you eat food. And if you don’t eat it, it goes bad. Because it’s not filled with preservatives. Like formaldehyde. I don’t know what’s in it, that weird sh*t that preserves food. Do you want that in your body? No. So food goes back if you don’t use it. Or you just have to eat it quicker. So you have to go to the grocery store a little bit more. And I know that sucks, but that’s life. That’s just how it goes. I’m sorry, but that’s how it goes.
So cleaning out your pantry, and getting rid of the sh*t, and adding in simple food is what’s going to get you to that next step of paleo. I know it feels so overwhelming, but it’s really not when you’re just cleaning out and getting fresh food. For fresh food, they say this all the time, but staying on the outside of the grocery store. So that’s going to take you around the meat section, the fruits and vegetables. Everything fresh is going to be on the outside. And then sure, you might need to go to the middle for some vinegars and some olive oil. Stuff like that. But you won’t need to go in the middle that much once you get this down. You’ll find that.
So if you need any grocery store staples, I have this information in all three of my cookbooks that are available on Amazon. I talk about grocery store staples. And how to just start up with paleo a little bit more. I get more into detail to that. But I wanted to have a podcast that everybody could come to if you didn’t have the book. So just know, you’ll have to go to the grocery store more often. That sucks. But it’s totally fine.
6. Don’t try to be paleo perfect [37:32]
The other thing with starting paleo is don’t try to be perfect. It really doesn’t matter if you’re perfect. Because who wants to live a perfect life for the rest of your life? You’re going to be so boring, and nobody is going to want to hang out with you or be friends with you. So don’t be perfect. Don’t try to be perfect. Because that means you won’t have a social life. Or you won’t have a holiday. Or you won’t have friends. Perfection is not the goal here, because there are so many things that make life imperfect. And that’s totally ok.
So what I mean by that is, when you start paleo, there’s no need for you to think, “OK, I can’t go to this birthday party because I can’t eat that.” You know what? Eat before, and bring a drink. When I know that I’m going to a party where there’s sh*t food, I eat a full meal before, and then I bring La Croix with me, or soda water with lime. So I can have sparkling water, and I can feel like I’m part of the group without snacking incessantly. So you don’t have to be the person who comes up and they’re like, “hey do you want some cheese dip?” And you’re like, “Oh no. I’m doing the paleo diet, and did you know why? This is so much better for you.” You know. You know when people are like know it all’s? Nobody likes a now it all. And PS, you don’t know it all. Because information is always changing. But you are just trying to find what works for you. So no need to push it on other people.
So plan ahead. There are social gatherings. There are holidays. Make your own food. Bring your own food. Say you’re going to a holiday party and you have to bring your own food to that party. Make stuff you can eat. You can do it. You can make your own stuff. I do it all the time, and I’ve gotten around it just fine. Haven’t had any issues. So make your own stuff. But remember that these social gatherings and these vacations and these holidays; you don’t get those back. They never come back. Still enjoy those little moments.
Some people don’t get to enjoy certain things. Say they have celiac, and there’s just no way they get to eat a certain thing. That’s totally ok. But if you’re a person who can maybe get away with that, and you know that your mom makes the best pumpkin pie and she would be upset if you didn’t have a piece, and you would be upset if you didn’t have a piece; have some f*cking pumpkin pie. Ok? Don’t be that person. Be imperfect. Ok? Ok. But for real. Don’t be the know it all. That’s just not going to work.
7. Getting your family on board [40:26]
So next is getting your family on board. Here’s what I recommend for family. Number one; don’t tell them it’s paleo. Ok? Don’t put that word out there. Don’t put out the word diet. Don’t put the word healthy out there. No paleo, no gluten free. Nothing. Serve them a meal, and see if they’ll eat it. Ok? I can promise you, my meals, the recipes I’ve made out there. I’ve made over a thousand recipes. Over a thousand, for sure, that are out there in the world. And I have seen many kids, many husband, many wives, eat my recipes who are not paleo or gluten free. So don’t tell them, and get it in their head, that something is not going to taste good right off the bat by putting the stigma of healthy in there. Because then they won’t want to eat it, and then they’ll eat it, and they’ll think it’s not as good as something else. So don’t f*cking out that word out there. Just make a casserole, make a curry, make a burger, make whatever, and give them a healthier option. And just put it on the table. That’s how I think you should start that.
If you have a spouse who won’t get on board with you, that sucks. If a person is refusing to be healthy, when you’re saying that you’ll spend the rest of your life with them and they won’t take care of themselves, that person needs to get their f*cking sh*t together. Because that is not fair to the other person. If you’re ruining your health when another person is dependent on you in some sort of way, that’s very, very selfish. So maybe you guys should talk about some counseling. I speak from experience. Not with my own husband, luckily. But in relationship experience. If a person doesn’t want to bend and make their life healthier for themselves, and you, that’s very selfish. But this happens. Maybe get a new husband or wife. I’m not saying anything, because that would be rude.
But do the same thing. Don’t tell them you’re going on a diet. Don’t’ tell them you need their support, if they’re a person who will refuse that. Just give them food. Give them food. If they refuse to eat something, tell them to make their own food. I know I’ve done that with my husband before. Like, oh you don’t want to eat this? I don’t care. This is what I’m making tonight. And what does he do? He eats it. Because he doesn’t want to make his own food. So give them delicious food. Find new recipes. Cook recipes that they like regularly. And the more they get interested in that food that you’re making, the more they might be interested in the health route you’re passing along. And they might want to join on that route with you. Take a little one speed bike with you. I don’t know if that analogy worked.
But just stop telling people they need to eat a certain way. It’s just overwhelming. My husband started eating paleo because he wanted to. He asked me; he followed my blog before we even started talking or dating. And we were hanging out. I can even picture him, we were driving along one day. And he was like, can you tell me about this paleo diet thing? And that’s where I talked about the paleo diet. And he asked questions about grains. And he was like, well what if I don’t feel sick? And I talked about what they do to our body. And just gave him details when he was ready. And that’s I think the biggest thing. Don’t force stuff on other people; let them come to you. But give them the delicious opportunities in the meantime. If you cook something delicious, the people will come. You know what I’m saying? It’s true. It’s what my blog started as; recipes.
So. That’s kind of how the best way to start. Know that there will be hiccups or whatever you call it along the way. Bumps in the road in how your diet is. And it will kind of go up and down, and you’ll have to find what works for you. But it’s step by step. It’s not like you have to be cold-cut, I’m paleo today. Done. It doesn’t work like that. For most people. Especially if you’re addicted to sugar, or if you’re addicted to alcohol. You’re addicted to carbs, which is sugar. It’s very hard to cut the cord for that. So don’t feel like you need to. Understand that healthy living is a step by step choice, and you can get there. You just have to put one foot in front of the other.
I’ve been eating paleo and gluten free for 7 years now. And it’s always changing. My hormones change. My body changes. I’m getting older. Everything is going to change, and I’ll have to change with that. And I know my diet is nowhere where it was when I started paleo 6 years ago. 7 years ago. When I first started, sorry the dog is snoring on me. That’s not me yawning. No, it is.
When I first started paleo, I was weighing all my food. I was eating chicken, broccoli, and almonds every single day. For almost every single meal. And I don’t do that anymore. And I don’t weigh out my food. And I don’t measure anything. I just eat and listen to my body. And I didn’t understand how to do that before. So that’s something you learn over time. What foods work for you, what doesn’t. And then you change as you go. So understand that it’s a process, for sure.
8. Paleo challenges [46:34]
So I want to talk about a few things that you’ll kind of pass along the way as you hear about dieting and getting healthier and changing, whatever. So these are things that are very popular that I’ve done pretty much all of. First is Whole30. Whole30 is everybody’s go-to. So when I first started paleo, I did a Whole30, and it was a very destructive behavior for me. So with Whole30, you go pretty much very strict paleo for 30 days. And I think this is amazing for people who need to really reset their body. Figure out what foods they were addicted to. What foods they don’t actually need in their diet. How a certain food or food group affects them.
So when they add those certain foods back in, they’re like, “Oh. That doesn’t feel good.” And you got your body so used to feeling like sh*t all the time that you don’t know you feel like sh*t. So when these people cut out the sh*t, and add in healthy foods, then when they’re adding them back in, they’re like, “Oh. This is not how I want to feel.” Because they actually felt good for 30 days. And cleaning out the sh*t makes you feel good. It helps you sleep better. You feel more energized during the day. You just are in a better f*cking mood. So when you add those foods back in, you lose that. And you knew what it felt like for 30 days. So that’s why I think Whole30 is so great.
Why I think it’s so sh*tty at the same time; and I see this all day every day on my Instagram. When people will say; I’ll post a picture of a cookie, or chocolate, and they’ll say, “I can’t wait for day 31 of my Whole30.” So all people are doing is dreaming about the food they want after the 30 days. It’s often like competitions. When you see those figure competitions, and you see some super skinny ripped b*tch eating a donut after her competition. It’s like, you just restricted yourself so much that all you’re doing is thinking about the food you’re going to have after these 30 days. And I think that’s a very bad behavior.
And I say this, having this behavior. When I was like, “Oh my god, I can’t wait until day 31.” And then you just f*cking eat as much sh*t as you can, and just destroy all the hard work that you put into 30 days of taking care of your body in a positive way. In a healthy way. And then you destroy it, because you’re like, I made it past the 30 days; f*ck this. What’s the point of that? So you just know, but you don’t care? I’m saying this out of a person who has been through this. And I know what behaviors I cannot take. I cannot take challenges like that. I can’t take restriction. I can’t take telling myself I can’t have something because then I want it so much more.
So, Whole30 doesn’t work for me and how my brain is wired. But it has been amazing for other people, and many people see it as a positive experience. I just saw it as a negative one the whole time with the outcome of eating sh*t at the end. So, that’s something to keep in mind for the Whole30. But I think it is very helpful for figuring out what foods work for you and what don’t.
9. Keto [50:07]
One of the big ones right now is keto. So, keto is very carb restrictive. And high fat. So, I don’t know much about keto. I know that I was pretty much eating keto when I first started paleo. And I lost 30 pounds, and then I gained 30 pounds. It was this great fix, and I was like, “Oh my god. I’m going to eat all fat all the time.” And then I gained a lot of weight. And I don’t know much about keto. There’s a lot of information out there that you can actually read about it.
But I do think it is a bit of a fad. And I think it can be great for some people. But I know when I was eating keto for a long time, and low carb, very low carb. For my exercise schedule, and I workout 5 days a week. I don’t think I do anything crazy. I think I push myself hard in the gym, but I’m not an Olympic athlete who is training multiple times a day. As soon as I lowered my fat, and I increased my carbohydrate intake, I lost weight. So all this sh*t of telling us that we need to do a very low carb diet, and I believed that for a long time. When I added carbs into my diet, I lost weight. So I think that’s important to remember. You may think that keto is the way to go, and your body might not agree with you. So just keep that in mind. I don’t know much about keto. So I don’t have much to say about it. I just know from my own restriction on carbohydrates, I gained with from that and lost it once I added it back in. So keep that in mind.
10. Macros [51:43]
Another one. We’ve got two more of the very popular things. Macros. I feel like macros have calmed down a bit. I haven’t seen them on my explore page on my Instagram as much. IIFYM; if it fits your macros hashtag. Hard hashtag there. When you’re like, “If it fits my macros” and it has f*cking a piece of cake with chocolate syrup and marshmallow fluff on top. They’re like, “I’ve got to get the rest of my carbs in for the day.” Whatever. I f*cking hate that part of macros.
So if you want to hear stuff about macros, I think it is highly important to listen to my girlfriends Joy and Clare at Girls Gone WOD. They have multiple episodes about it. And I just listened to one this morning. I think it’s called Macro Conclusion. Or the End of Macros, something along those lines. Their latest episode. And they talk about both of their experience with macros, and with losing weight. Joy actually lost a ton of weight. She lost her period. And she talks about it; she actually gets emotional about it. Because macros really took over her life, and she was very unhappy. And I think she was a person who was never obsessed with food in the first place. So she never had those really obsessive behaviors, like I did as a kid.
So that’s why I don’t go down the macros route. Because I don’t want to be obsessed with food. I want to eat my food. I want to enjoy my food. I want to stop when I’m satisfied, not when I’m full. I don’t like feeling overly full, as I figured that out over the years. So I just want to eat until I’m satisfied and I had a good healthy meal. I don’t want to weigh and measure things. I don’t want to worry about if I got enough carbs in for the day. I don’t want to do that. That’s great for some people. But it was very interesting listening to Joy and her point of view and her having a hard time with it. And they’re done with macros. They’re not doing macros. I don’t think either of them are doing them anymore. They also did Whole30, so you can listen to them on that.
But I do not believe that if you have carbohydrates left you should be eating the f*cking chocolate cake with syrup and marshmallow fluff on top. Know what food is going into your body. Know the ingredients. Not just if it fits your grams per day. Eating healthy, just going back to basics. That’s what I believe in.
11. Intermittent fasting [54:14]
And then intermittent fasting. That’s another one that you’ll hear when you get into this space of paleo. And I did lots of intermittent fasting. And I was like, when I look back at it now, I’m like, why was I starving myself? What is the point of that? I get there are all these health benefits. And it goes back to times back in the day, we didn’t always have food so we had to fast. But honestly. You’re fasting at night.
I had Cassy on one podcast from Fed and Fit, and she was like, you’re fasting at night when you’re sleeping. There you go. So, you fast for about 8 hours, maybe more than that. Probably more than that. Because maybe you had dinner, and you didn’t eat until you had breakfast the next morning. So you’re fasting for 8 to 12 hours. Whatever. Eww, Jackson just farted! I wonder if you can hear that on my podcast. That was gross. Doggie. This is what you get when you get a Frenchie.
So I feel like intermittent fasting is just another way to create negative behaviors around food. So you’re like, “I’m not going to eat until this time. I’m not going to eat until this time. I’m going to starve myself here.” I was doing a 24 hour fast at one point. Like, what the f*ck am I doing? I’m just creating more negative behaviors around food, and hating myself more. And hating food more. Stop. If you hate the food you’re putting into your body, and you feel like you need to starve yourself because of it; put good food into your body! Stop doing that.
I don’t believe in any of those for my own lifestyle and behavior and brain functioning. I believe in eating round meals. I eat three meals a day. I sometimes snack in between. I eat dairy sometimes. I stay away from grains. I eat gluten free grains sometimes. And you know, I don’t have any rules around my life. I just don’t. If I want a piece of cake at a wedding, I will have it. That’s the one thing that I always go back to. Because that’s pretty much the one place that I will eat gluten. I don’t really care about it any other time. And this is coming from a person who ate at Olive Garden weekly, and had a Cinnabon every other day. So I’m into f*cking gluten. But I was able to remove that from my life, and know that my life is so much better off without it.
So, for me, I like to stay away. I don’t do keto, I don’t do macros, I don’t do intermittent fasting. I don’t do Whole30. I just eat food. Healthy food. I eat grass-fed. I eat grass finished. I eat hormone free, no antibiotics, cage free. I don’t even always do organic with my vegetables. Pretty much, because I shop at Whole Foods most of the time. So most of the food there is organic. And that’s about it. I don’t worry about all these things. I definitely couldn’t worry about it at the beginning when I started paleo. I was just trying to eat on-sale meat. I was eating a lot of beef stew. Because that’s a cheap cut of meat, and it was on sale all the time.
So do what works for you and your lifestyle, and know that paleo and gluten free and healthier lifestyle is a long adventure. It doesn’t have to be cut and dry. It doesn’t have to be today. You’re perfect today and everything is solved. It’s a long-term investment in your own health. Information will come out there. Times will change. Protocols will change with our meat standards, and our vegetables, and whatever else. And you just roll with the punches. Roll with the new knowledge out there. Except for What the Health. No offense to them since I haven’t watched it, but.
12. Alcohol [58:13]
So that’s how I started with paleo. That’s how I recommend other people starting with paleo. And just understand, removing alcohol. I’ve said this in many podcasts. My amazing girlfriend, Vanessa, who I went on book tour with, and I’ve had her on this podcast, twice now. I was with her in Austin. She is a girl who loves to drink. Loves a cocktail. And I was with her in Austin, and she said how she hadn’t drank in 7 months. And this was like, what the f*ck. This is a girlfriend I’ve known for so long who drinks every time we would be out to dinner, she would have a cocktail. And she hasn’t drunk a drop of alcohol in 7 months.
She wrote a blog post about it. If you go to Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind, it’s in her maple fig cake recipe. She talks about removing alcohol. And what it’s done for her own health. And why she did it. And why she’s sticking with it. And it’s amazing. I’m so proud of her for that, because alcohol is very hard for many people to remove from their diet. So, remember food is so important. And alcohol is very important too. If you want to see a lifestyle change. If you want to see a body change. If you want to see a sleep activity change. Mood change. Removing alcohol is huge. And we don’t always think about alcohol on the food side. But I think it’s really important. And it’s one of the main things I recommend to people. And they stop listening as soon as I recommend that. People don’t like to hear that. But I’m going to keep f*cking putting it out there.
So those are the things I recommend. Definitely check out Girls Gone WOD podcast. They talk about macros, and they talk about Whole30. Check out Vanessa, Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind. Her maple fig cake recipe, she talks about cutting out alcohol and the things that have helped her. But those people, I think listening to other people’s experiences with what has worked for them and what hasn’t is always very eye opening. And it kind of helps you guide yourself along the way. But that’s what has worked for me, and that’s what I recommend for other people. And that’s how to get started with paleo. But understand that it’s an ongoing route. It’s never ending. It is I-70, or whatever highway that’s by you that goes forever. You just keep on going. I don’t know any better analogies, ok. But health is ongoing. You figure it out along the way. And you morph along the way.
I’m about to turn 30 this next year, and I know my hormones are going to change in my 30s. And I’m going to roll with the punches, and I’m going to figure it out along the way. So know that things change. Bodies change. And we can just keep learning and keep figuring it out. So I hope that helps.
If you have any sort of questions, come to my blog. Leave me a question on my blog. I don’t always respond to Instagram questions. Especially, “How do I get started on paleo?” That’s a very, very intricate question to answer on Instagram. So feel free to leave a comment on my blog. I answer those faster than email. Because I never answer email. I have an email assistant who answers for me. Or if I get to an email, it’s a miracle. So if you hear a response from me, it’s a literal miracle.
Come to www.PaleOMG.com. Leave a comment or question on this blog post. Or any other blog post. I’ll get back to you on there. I am going to have one more podcast coming to you next week before I leave, or when I’m on vacation. And I may have to skip a week, unless I decide to record in the Caribbean. But I’m trying to keep it at least amount of work as possible. And I don’t really feel like this is work, but it’s good to just tune out and not get on the internet. But I am going to get on the internet at some point. I’ve got to share the fun stuff, and I’ve got to keep this job going. But if I skip a week, I apologize. And I’ll get back to it as soon as I get back from the Caribbean. Or do you say it Caribbean? How do you say it? I don’t know. F*ck, I don’t know. What if I say it wrong? Who knows.
Wait, you want to hear something that is cool. Yeah, I think I can tell this because she announced it on her podcast. She doesn’t have a podcast. On her blog. My friend Vanessa is getting married, and she’s getting married in the Caribbean in St. Martin, and I get to be her witness on the first night in St. Martin. How f*cking cool is that?! So rad. I need more people in my life to get married.
Again, if you’re a hot, successful, truly nice person out there, I have a beautiful friend for you. Man, I just got a Google alert that there’s someone trying to break into my email. I’ve got to go, man. F*cking rude people. Ok, love you long time. Just head to www.PaleOMG.com for new recipes, new posts, new stuff. And have a wonderful weekend. I will talk to you soon, baby boo. See you next time. Bye-bye.
This podcast was really helpful, thank you!
glad i could help, virginia!