In order to step into the primal/paleo lifestyle (if going cold turkey is not your thing), progressively eliminating one unwanted food after another is perfectly fine. It’s all about taking one small step at a time to not feel overwhelmed by something that could otherwise seem too big of a challenge to tackle. As you know, the primal/paleo lifestyle comprises more than just choosing better quality foods, but after making sure you get adequate sleep, food is probably what matters most.

For example, maybe the first thing to eliminate can be drinking soda and only soda. After a few days or a few weeks of adjusting to that, then not buying fast food at all can be the second thing to implement.

After another few days or weeks, maybe the next step can be stopping the use of the traditional vegetable oils (like the high polyunsaturated ones and partially hydrogenated trans fats) and switching instead to using healthy fats like the ones mentioned in my blog post, What are Ketones? As explained by Dr. Dinicolantonio and Dr. Mercola in Super Fuel, our cell membranes are mostly made out of fats and that is one main reason why choosing the types of fat we consume is so critical. If we choose fats that can easily be oxidized then they are not going to give us healthy cell membranes. And of course, our whole body is made out of cells. Switching the types of fats we buy is actually an easy switch to make as cooking with new fats is not going to drastically alter the taste of what we are eating. It might go fairly unnoticed. Also, the brand Primal Kitchen, which I get regularly, offers an array of healthy condiments that can make things even easier.

One more thing to get rid of, as a start on your primal journey, are refined sugars such as: all the traditional sweets, processed or not, sugary drinks and juices, and bars of all sorts filled with a high amount of sugar. Here again, not everything has to be cut off at once. Always implement the step by step approach. There are a lot of paleo/primal-approved dessert recipes online now that can be made by simply picking better-quality ingredients.

These are the steps that I think are best to tackle first, even if you don’t want to go primal/paleo all the way (by getting rid of the grains, legumes, and certain dairy products). The order of these steps can be rearranged. It’s all about whatever you think is the best next step for you!

Reference

Dinicolantonio, James, and Joseph Mercola. Super Fuel: Ketogenic Keys to Unlock the Secrets of Good Fats, Bad Fats, and Great Health. Carlsbad, California, Hay House Inc, 2018, pp. 117-9.

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