Some people say eating Paleo is not a “diet.” It’s a lifestyle. After two weeks on the Paleo diet, I can understand why: The Paleo diet changed the way I think about food.

The Paleo Diet Takes Time

If you don’t have time or interest to make you own food, the Paleo diet may not be for you. It can be a time-consuming diet to maintain since so many quick snacks and ingredients are not Paleo-approved. You may need to make your own.

But the benefit of making your own food it is that you know exactly what you are eating. It causes you to think more about what you are putting into your system which is something I think we should all do more.

The Paleo Diet Encourages You to Spend More on Quality Food

I quickly found that the Paleo diet is not a cheap diet to maintain. I easily spent at least $45/week on my groceries. That amount is nearly double the SNAP food weekly benefit, so if you’re struggling with disposable income or food security, this diet may not be for you either.

That being said, the extra money spent went towards the support of more organic and local food producers. As someone who has the luxury to spend the extra $, I’m happy to continue to spend do so, and I encourage others to do the same.

Limiting Foods Meant More Concern for Nutrition

When I started this challenge, I decided to make the diet more sustainable by cutting out some additional food options, like red meat. While tracking my nutrient intake, I found that I had to pay extra attention to some iron and calcium.

For the start of the diet, I wasn’t getting enough of these nutrients  but it was easy to adjust by adding more super greens (like kale and spinach) to my diet.

If you’re looking to restrict certain foods in order to make this diet more sustainable, I suggest tracking your nutrition until you get the hang of the diet.

The Paleo Diet: Approved!

Before this challenge, I was reluctant about the Paleo diet. But I found out that with some extra attention to your purchasing and cooking decisions, a sustainable Paleo diet is very possible.

While this diet is not for everyone, the fact that it encourages positive thinking around food is approved by me. 🙂

Have you ever tried the Paleo diet? What was your experience?