The 15 rules of the Paleo diet

Here is a diet I couldn't or wouldn't do. I'm cool with fruits and nuts, but all that meat especially red forget about it!

The Paleo diet should be high in fat, moderate to high in animal protein and low to moderate in carbohydrate. Calorie counting is not encouraged, neither is portion control.


Eat unlimited amounts of saturated fats like coconut oil and butter. Duck fat, tallow, lard and just about any animal fat are also great, but only if they come from healthy and well-treated animals (see rule 6). Olive oil and avocado oil are also good fats to use in salads and to drizzle over food, but not for cooking.

Eat generous amounts of animal protein. This includes red meat, poultry, pork, eggs, organs (liver, kidney, bone marrow …), wild caught fish and shellfish. Don’t be scared to eat the fatty cuts if they come from a well-treated animal and all meals with proteins should contain fat as well. Learn to cook with bones in the form of stocks and broths.

Eat generous amounts of fresh or frozen vegetables either cooked or raw and served with generous amounts of fat.

Eat low to moderate amounts of fruits and nuts. Try to eat mostly fruits low in sugar and high in antioxidants like berries as well as nuts high in omega-3 or low in omega-6 like macadamia nuts and almonds. Consider cutting off fruits and nuts altogether if you have an autoimmune disease, digestive problem or are trying to lose weight faster.

Preferably choose pasture-raised and grass-fed meat coming from a local, environmentally conscious farm. If not possible, choose lean cuts of meat and supplement your fat with coconut oil, butter or clarified butter. Also preferably choose organic, local and/or seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Cut out all cereal grains and legumes from your diet. This includes, but is not limited to, wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, soy, peanuts, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans and black eyed peas.

Cut out all vegetable, hydrogenated and partly-hydrogenated oils including, but not limited to, margarines, soybean oil, corn oil, crisco, peanut oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. Olive oil and avocado oil are fine, but don’t cook with them, use them in salad dressings and to drizzle over prepared food.

Eliminate sugar, soft drinks, all packaged products and juices (including fruit juices). As a rule of thumb, if it’s in a box, don’t eat it. At the grocery store, visit only the meat, fish and produce sections.

Eliminate dairy products other then butter and maybe heavy cream. You don’t need dairy, but if you can’t live without, read this article and consider raw, full-fat and/or fermented dairy.

Eat when you’re hungry and don’t stress if you skip a meal or even two. You don’t have to eat three square meals a day, do what feels most natural.

Eliminate to most sources of external stress in your life as possible and sleep the most you can. Try to wakeup without an alarm and to go to bed when it’s dark.

Don’t over-exercise and keep your training sessions short and intense and do them only a few times per week. Take some extra time off if you feel tired. Consider short and intense sessions of sprinting instead of very long cardio sessions.

Consider supplementing with probiotics, vitamin D and a high quality fish oil. You probably don’t need multivitamins or other supplements.

Play in the sun, have fun, laugh, smile, relax, discover, travel, learn and enjoy life like a daring adventure!