With a new year quickly approaching, a lot of people are thinking about their new year’s resolutions. For many, this includes eating healthier and maybe losing some weight. To do this, they start to research different types of diets that might work for them that they can incorporate into their life. 




If this sounds like you, one diet you may come across during your search is the Paleo Diet. This is a relatively new diet program, so you may not know too much about it. To help you out, here is what you need to know about the Paleo Diet and how to get started. 

What is the Paleo Diet?
The Paleo Diet operates off the idea that humans eat too much manufactured food. Instead, according to the Paleo Diet, we should eat things that the cavemen used to eat – things like chicken, fish and vegetables. With the Paleo Diet, you’re really getting back to the basics. You won’t be eating anything with processed sugar, no grains, and even no dairy. If it wasn’t available a few thousand years ago, you likely can’t eat it on this diet program. 

Benefits of the Paleo Diet
So why would someone go on such a diet? For starters, the Paleo Diet can help you to lose weight. One of the primary causes behind weight gain is eating too many foods high in sugar, carbohydrates, or fiber. The Paleo Diet is certainly not a high fiber diet. By cutting these processed foods out of your diet, you eliminate one of the major causes of weight gain.  You might also want to consider the Paleo Diet if you’re looking to build muscle, as it is high in protein. 

Drawbacks of the Paleo Diet
Of course, the Paleo Diet isn’t for everyone. For starters, it can be expensive to stick to this diet. People often consume foods that are high in carbs or sugars because they are cheaper. If you’re eliminating cheaper foods from your diet, you’ll spend more money as a result. 

On top of that, the Paleo Diet is very restrictive. Once you start on the program, you’ll quickly realize how many different foods you can no longer eat. And while you may eventually adjust, it will likely be a hard transition. 

How to Get Started
If you’re still interested in doing the Paleo Diet, here’s what you need to do to get started. First, you’ll want to plan out some menus. Take some time to sit down and think about what you’re going to eat each day of the week. What will you have for breakfast? What will you bring to work for lunch? What can you snack on? Planning in advance will help you to get the right foods in your house, and take away the possibility of cheating on your diet. 

Once you know what you’re going to eat, it’s time to get the food. Head on over to your local grocery store and start filling up the shopping cart. Or, if you don’t want to go out, often you can order foods for the Paleo Diet online. For instance, it’s pretty easy to buy beef jerky online, and this is a great food for the Paleo Diet. 
Now it’s just a matter of sticking to your diet. In the beginning it will be hard to stick to it, and you’ll be tempted to cheat pretty often. There are two things you can do to help your diet stick. First, get rid of all foods that don’t fit in the diet. If they’re not in your house, you can’t be tempted.

Second, go easy on yourself. It’s almost inevitable that at some point you’ll break your diet. The key is to forgive yourself and get right back on it. Many diets fail because people cheat on them, then figure the whole thing is pointless and just go back to the way they were. If you really want the diet to stick, keep going back to it no matter how many times you cheat. 

Choose the Diet That’s Right for You
The Paleo Diet isn’t for everyone. The best thing you can do is explore all of your options and maybe try out a few different diet plans. Losing weight and eating right is an admirable goal, but you need the right plan in order to make it work. Consider the Paleo Diet, but if it doesn’t work, feel free to try something else. If you keep at it you should be able to find a health plan that works for you, and start your new year’s resolutions off on the right foot.