Today I have the pleasure of reviewing a unique and awesome guide to getting started with the paleo diet called Step By Step Paleo, written by Ruth of Paleo Diet Basics.
What I love about this guide (and what makes it unique) is that it was designed to help you make a gradual transition into paleo over the course of 3 months. There are two options for purchasing this guide: you either download the entire thing as one file OR you can opt to have only ONE chapter delivered to your inbox per week. What's the benefit of the second option? I see a few.
Tackle One Major Goal Each Week
For starters, it helps to prevent information overload. Depending on what your current diet looks like, switching to paleo can mean making HUGE changes in the way you think about, procure, and cook food. Trying to change everything all at once can make some people freeze in their tracks and end up doing nothing. I've witnessed this myself.
Another benefit is that it breaks the transition down into a series of small, manageable goals. Each week, you have one major goal -- for example, to change the cooking fats you use. If you are only receiving one chapter per week, you can only focus on that one week's goals and can't try to bite off more than you can chew (ha! punny) with the transition.
A slow transition also helps you conquer your food cravings. Quitting certain foods cold turkey just does NOT work out for some people. When I first read about paleo, I said: "no way, I can't give up wheat!" I had to psych myself up over the course of several months (not exaggerating) to be ready to quit it 100%. Instead of stressing over huge, abrupt changes like that, opt for the one chapter per week version of Step By Step Paleo and you won't even miss certain foods and drinks that you may crave now as you gradually wean yourself off of them.
One final benefit of the one-week-at-a-time option is that it will prevent low-carb flu. Step By Step Paleo addresses grains (the major source of carbs for most people not already following a paleo diet) in stages, first by having you limit consumption of the ones that are most likely to be causing you problems (you guessed it -- gluten-containing grains, which are wheat, barley, and rye), helping you choose better options in limited quantities during the transition, and then finally excluding them.
Or, Go All In
If you prefer to tackle larger projects or have more of an all-or-none personality, don't worry! You can get the complete e-book version that contains all the chapters in one file. Then, you can choose to follow it week-by-week as written, or perhaps take on several weeks at one time to make the transition faster.
If you have been interested in trying the paleo diet but aren't sure exactly how to get started, this guide is perfect for you. I know people and have received emails from readers who say they are convinced to give it a try but are overwhelmed with where to begin. From now on, I will be recommending this guide as a great place to start!
Ruth makes a point of keeping it basic with the references and science, because there is so much of this information out there already. Instead, the focus is on HOW to implement the diet successfully and in a gradual manner. More in-depth books like The Primal Blueprint, The Paleo Solution, etc. are great if you want (or need, like my skeptical self did) to know more about the scientific and nutritional basis of the argument for eating this way. This guide is perfect for you if you have already been convinced to go paleo, but just need help getting started and a guide to help you complete the transition.
Track Your Progress
The two major reasons why people (myself included) try the paleo diet are to lose weight, see improvement in health and wellness, or both. One far too common mistake that people make is to fail to track their progress. Not just with paleo specifically, but with any lifestyle or diet change. To address this, Ruth has provided an excellent, thorough health questionnaire for you to fill out before you begin and once again after you complete the transition 12 weeks later. I also recommend making sure you have some good "before" photos of yourself. I regret never staging such photographs before I lost so much weight.
For $12, you can't beat the value of this guide. That works out to just $1 a week (what can you even buy for $1 anymore anyway?) for a totally guided transition into the paleo diet. You already know I am a huge proponent of this way of eating -- just read my success story. Get started today on your own journey to lose weight and improve your health with the help of Step By Step Paleo.
Disclosures: Ruth was kind enough to send me a copy of the guides for free so that I could review them. I was under no obligation to write a positive review whatsoever and have received no monetary compensation for publishing this review. As you can tell, it turns out that I LOVE this e-book and think it is an incredible resource, so I've signed up to be an affiliate for it. If you decide to purchase the guide after clicking on one of my links, I'll receive a small commission.
