Switching to a Paleo diet can be challenging. Surviving a paleo challenge is tough. Do you have a paleo plan? Here is a list of 50 traps you can fall into and solutions to keep you out of them. Follow our guidelines and you will pick up paleo like the modern day caveman/cavewoman you really are! Go to http://www.bodyasrx.com to join a paleo challenge to really put you on track with your diet.

1. Paleo Pitfalls
50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
- Presented by www.BodyAsRx.com : The premier paleo challenge website

2. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
1. Not Having A Plan (aka – Jumping Without A
Parachute) - Have you heard of the 6 P's? Proper
Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. It's easy
to get fired up about transitioning to an ancestral diet.
The benefits to your health, energy, body
composition, and well being are immense. It's the
diet nature designed for the human body. However, if
you don't create a plan to succeed you will find eating
Paleo quite a bit more difficult than you imagine. If
you have a lifetime of neolithic eating (a modern day
diet) behind you, you're probably more physically and
psychologically addicted to these foods than you
realize. Change is going to be a challenge so doing
your research, having a high level strategy, and
actionable tactics are your best bets for success.
2. Not Building A Support Network – Let's face it,
people are social animals. We tend to push
ourselves harder in the company of others. It's easy
to surrender if you're only accountable to yourself.
Going paleo with a group or partner will help. If you
really want to bump up the intensity and make your
Paleo switch fun and much more likely to turn into a
lifestyle, consider joining a Paleo Challenge.
BodyAsRx hosts paleo challenges online and allows
you to see charts and graphs of your performance
and tracks you against your challenge average.
3. Evangelizing Too Much – It's super common for
people to become Paleo zealots as they learn
about the diet and experience the results
themselves. Beware if you find yourself
bombarding friends, family, and even complete
strangers with your Paleo superiority. The
downside of this is you may actually alienate and
anger people who will then ostracize you. You may
think you're just educating them, but most people
think they know all there is to know about food and
diet. After all, they've eaten three squares a day for
their whole lives so they must be experts. Right?
Anyway, don't be the crazy evangelist. You'll get
ostracized, become sad and lonely, and then binge
on ice cream and cookies to console yourself.
4. Evangelizing Too Little – I know, I said you
shouldn't evangelize too much. But you have to
have support. It's a fine balance. Publicly
acknowledging your Paleo transition will help keep
you honest since no one wants to fail publicly.
Additionally, letting people know will help them
make accommodations for you. If she's in the loop,
Mom might make you a Paleo option for Sunday
dinner instead of shoveling pound cake down your
throat. Another great thing to do is network with
peers who eat paleo or are switching too. Paleo
Challenges are great for this.
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3. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
5. Not Doing Your Homework – If you want to make a
lifestyle change, you need to understand what you're
doing and why. Are you trying paleo because it's the
“in” thing? Or are you trying to effect a change in
your health, energy levels, and body composition?
Do you know why Paleo works other than it's the diet
that the human body evolved eating for millions of
years? Do you know what's wrong with a modern diet
and why it's killing people one bite at a time?
6. Fail To Analyze Progress – Once you've transitioned
to paleo and the siren song of ice cream sundae has
lost it's allure you probably don't need to analyze your
progress all the time. But how about if you are just
starting out on paleo? You need to analyze your
progress. There are a number of ways to do this.
Pictures. Looking in the mirror. Body fat testing.
Performance testing. Cholesterol testing. Etc.
7. Failure to Adjust - So you've got a strategy. Great.
Are you assessing how well your transition is going
after the first few days? Week? Weeks? Are there
things that are working for you? Not working? Is
something particulaly difficult? Lots of people on
paleo struggle with breakfast at first. If that's you
have.
8. Using the Wrong Measurements For Success - This
one can be tricky. Everyone loves to focus on numbers
but don't discount the value of subjective
measurements. Most people focus on the scale. Ditch
it for at least the first month of eating Paleo. Establish
healthy eating habits and don't worry about your weight.
Persistence and consistency will see you adapt to your
optimal body composition but paleo is no silver bullet
that will give you six-pack abs in 30 days. Nothing
works like that. Except maybe liposuction. Measure
success by how you feel, how you look in the mirror,
and how your clothes fit.
9. Being Too Extreme – Don't be brittle, like glass. Glass
shatters at the first sharp blow. Swtiching from your
neolithic eating habits to an ancestral diet is a journey.
You will definitely hit some bumps in the road.
Recognize this, embrace it, and keep moving forward.
You need to flow around obstacles, like water flows
around rocks in a river. As Bruce Lee said, “be water,
my friend.”
10. Eating Buckets Of Fruit – Yes, fruit is perfectly paleo.
No, it's not the best choice if you're over consuming it.
Your cave dwelling ancestors didn't chow down on fruit
salad, fruit smoothies, and dehydrated fruit year around
and at every meal. Neither should you. Fruit is loaded
with fructose, a naturally occurring sugar. You want to
minimize fructose consumption. Cutting out excess
sugars will make your transition to paleo easier,
regulate your hormonal response to foods, and help
adjust your body composition.
Presented by BodyAsRx – The premier Paleo Challenge website. Page 3 of 8

4. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
11. Expecting To Look Life A Fitness Model in 30 Days –
This just isn't going to happen. Accept it. Your body
composition will shift, especially if your exercising, but don't
expect a perfect beach body in 30 days. You'll get it, but it'll
take time and persistence. Besides, the cosmetic benefits of
a paleo diet pale in comparison to the health benefits. Be
patient and be disciplined.
12. Eating Paleo Junk Food – Certain foods are technically
paleo and super convenient, especially if you're not at home.
Nuts, dried fruit, and some pre-packaged bars are all better
options than chips or cookies, but don't make a habit of
ignoring good, quality, whole foods in favor of convenience.
Paleo snack foods should be the exception and not the rule
in your diet.
13. Keeping “Food” In The Pantry – I don't care how many
hundreds of dollars worth of “food” is sitting on your pantry
cupboards. Toss out the oreos, pasta, flour, candy, baking
stuff, boxed mixes, grains, etc. These things aren't food and
they'll just tempt you in a moment of weakness and derail
you. If it makes you feel virtuous, donate those “foods” to a
homeless shelter. Then go buy some real food to restock.
14. Going Nuts With Nuts - Nuts are Paleo but they are
calorically dense. If you're trying to lose weight and you eat
pound of almonds a day then guess what? You not only
won't lose weight, you may put some on! Also, most nuts
don't have a favorable ratio of Omega 3/6/9 fatty acids.
Remember, Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and omega-6s
are pro-inflammatory. Your best nut options are walnuts and
pecans.
They have the highest ratio of omega-3s. So if it's a choice
between a handful of walnuts or a slice of chocolate cake,
eat walnuts. Another note this topic is almond flour and nut
butters. Use them in moderation as they can disguise how
much nut you're actually consuming.
15. Freaking Out Over Fat – Fat doesn't make you fat. In fact,
you need fats in your diet. Fat leaves you feeling satiated
both helps and slows down nutrient absorption. Not only
that, but it elicits a neutral hormonal response (no insulin or
glucagon release). So don't be scared of fats, embrace
them as a delicious part of you paleo diet.
16. Unrestricted Eating – If all you're eating is broccoli, kale,
and chicken then the quantity of food you eat is irrelevant.
But if you are adding in lots of nuts or fruit, see #10 and #14
above, then calories do matter. Manage your portion control
and choose quality paleo foods for your best results.
17. Fixation - There are lots of to tweaks available to your diet
that all fall within the paleo spectrum. Don't get tunnel vision
on eating one specific thing. If it is not working for you,
experiment and find what does. Focus on selecting quality
food sources. Play around with the macronutrient balance
(protein/carbohydrate/fat) of your meals.
18. Dwelling On Slip Ups – Things happen. Maybe you broke
down and ate a slice of cake at your Mom's birthday party.
Don't use this as an excuse to eat a bunch of junk, or derail
yourself, or sink into depression. Things happen. You will
cheat on your paleo diet occasionally. Just try to minimize
those times and move on. Strive to be as good as possible
but cut yourself a break. Eating Mom's birthday cake isn't
the end of the world.
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5. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
19. Living Like A Caveman – There are legitimate scientific
reasons to eat a paleo diet. We evolved with this diet, but
that doesn't mean you have view every facet of life through a
paleolithic lens. No, cavemen didn't have computers, cable
TV, air conditioning, modern medicine, beer, or McMansions.
That doesn't mean those things are bad (yes, yes, I know,
beer isn't paleo. I just slipped that in to see if you were
paying attention). Combine the best of both worlds and reap
the benefits of a biologically optimal diet with modern
luxuries.
20. Sleeping Poorly - Sleep is a huge part of a healthy lifestyle.
If you aren't sleeping well, it doesn't matter how well you eat
or exercise, you won't ever achieve optimal health. Sleep is
crucial for mental well being and physical recovery. Catch
your Zzz's.
21. Justifying – “But red wine has resveratrol and it's made
from grapes so a glass (or two) is ok.” “Sure, I'll have a
square of that dark chocolate since it's loaded with
antioxidants.” “I'll just have a soy milk latte sweetened with
Stevia” If you have to justify what you're eating to make it fit
the paleo mold then you probably shouldn’t have it, or at
least decrease how often you do.
22. Shunning The Sun – Most people are woefully deficient in
Vitamin D and just eating a paleo diet is not going to fix that.
Vitamin D helps with nutrient absorption, immune system
regulation, and has even been linked with maintaining a
healthy body weight. You want Vitamin D. Now here's the
good news. Vitamin D is free! All you've got to do is get
some exposure to direct sunlight and your body will
manufacture the stuff for you!
23. Refusing to Cook – Yeah, yeah, I know we are all busy and
we live in the age of convenience. Pre-packaged or pre-
made food sure is convenient but not cooking severely limits
you food choices and you relinquish control over the quality.
Cooking doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. It can
actually be fast and fun. If you need help with cooking paleo
meals, there are plenty of cookbooks available.
24. Becoming a Hermit – You don't have to abstain from social
occasions or dining out at restaurants just because you're
eating a paleolithic diet. Just be cognizant of the foods
available to you and eat accordingly. Most restaurants will
accommodate paleo substitutions such as steamed
vegetables instead of starches. If you're a social eater and
find that it’s too difficult to eat differently from everyone else,
try planning social events that don't focus on food or
volunteer to cook for everyone.
25. Obsessing About Cheat Meals – Paleo shouldn't be
boring. If you find yourself spending a whole week planning
out a binge meal of your favorite pre-paleo foods then you
need to take a step back and evaluate your approach to
paleo. Invest in a good paleo cookbook.
26. Ignoring Fitness – If picking up a fork is your only exercise,
you need to change. Part of the paleo lifestyle is physical
fitness. Contrary to our modern existence, where we sit
drive then sit and stare at computers all day, our bodies are
designed for physical use. Get out, move around, and pick
up heavy things. While eating right is the best thing you can
do for your health and well being, exercise will take you to a
whole other level of wellness. If you're totally deconditioned
just get up and walk. Walk a little farther and a little faster
every day. If you're a gym rat, get into CrossFit or other
fitness program.
Presented by BodyAsRx – The premier Paleo Challenge website. Page 5 of 8

6. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
27. Failing to Measure – You can't know where you are if you
don't know where you've been. When you live in your own skin
it's hard to assess change day to day. After a month or two or
six of paleo you may not notice any differences anymore. But
those changes are there. You just need to track them to see all
the improvements. There are plenty of metrics you can track:
weight, body fat, cholesterol, bone density, VO2 max, physical
fitness (5k run, 1 rep max deadlift, etc.), and more.
28. Following The Herd. The herd is digging their graves with
their teeth. Once you commit to paleo you need to start
filtering out all the bogus conventional wisdom about “healthy”
foods.
29. Not Persevering – Any behavior change is hard. Changing
your diet is exceptionally challenging since you're likely
addicted to certain foods like they're crack. Don't give up.
You've got to stick with it, persevere, and be patient.
30. Clinging – You've committed to paleo but are you still drinking
diet sodas? Justifying your wine or lattes? Trying to make
paleo muffins? Stop the madness! This struggle to cling to
your old favorites is making your life much more difficult. Put
your big boy/girl pants on and go cold turkey. One easy way to
let go is to have a support group do it with you. Join a paleo
challenge.
31. Having The Wrong Goals – Many people will probably be
attracted to paleo for weight loss. Yes, if you're overweight you
will lose weight. However, this is a lifestyle, not a short term
deal. In addition to getting your “beach body” ready you should
also try to focus on broad, general, and inclusive goals such as
feeling better, moving better, more energy, better quality of life,
etc.
32. Lack of Self Awareness – At some point you may find
yourself all alone, in the dark, with a box of donuts staring at
you. Do you have a plan for that? We all do stuff to sabotage
ourselves. Know what your weaknesses are and have a plan
to deal with them.
33. Macronutrient Balance – Are you eating T-bone steaks with
eggs and a side of sausage? Or maybe just fruit smoothies
and green salads. You're going to have a problem. You
definitely want to balance your carbs (from vegetables and
some fruit!) with your proteins. Fats are hormonally neutral
but calorically dense. Mix all three macronutrients every time
tyou eat for best results.
34. Dehydration - Hydration is very important. If your body were
a car, water would be the oil in your engine. Water helps
maintain normal body functions, helps muscles and joints
work well, cleanses toxins from the body, and just plain slakes
your thirst. Try to get at least half your body weight in ounces
a day.
35. Are you taking any medications that could cause weight
gain? - There's not much you can do if you need a
prescription medication. The key is need. Know what
medications you are taking and why. Ditch those that are
unnecessary.
36. Not Looking for Hidden non-Paleo Ingredients? - Always,
always, always check the labels when you buy packaged
foods. You'll be surprised at how much sugar, salt, and
preservatives are added to things. Optimally you're shopping
on the periphery of the grocery story which is stocked with
fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. But if you make the
occasional foray into the inner aisles, make sure you read the
labels on everything headed into your shopping cart.
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7. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
37. Treats – You don't need dessert every night. Try to curb your
sweet tooth. Your treats may be made with paleo ingredients
but do you really need those every day?
38. Stress – If you're constantly stressed out chances are that
making a behavioral change is going to be very hard for you.
Especially one involving food. When you're stressed your
body releases cortisol, a hormone that with prolonged
exposure, which leads to a host of nasty side effects such as
heart disease, depression, obesity, etc. Word to the wise...
chill out.
39. Not Eating Enough – Eating paleo does not mean you are
supposed to be hungry all the time. You need to eat more
than lettuce leaves and chicken breasts. I promise that you
will be miserable if that's how you're eating. You not only need
to eat your fill, you may need to add extra fats, especially if
you're physically active.
40. Assuming It's Paleo - This applies mostly to packaged foods
and food ordered at restaurants. Look at the labels. It's
common to find sugar, salt, nitrates, and other toxic stuff hiding
in supposedly healthy packaged foods. Ask waiters how your
food is prepared. Never assume something is paleo.
41. Listening to Bad Advice – Does your Mom assure you that
[bread, rice, oatmeal, pasta] are healthy? There are plenty of
people who think they're experts. Do your research, know why
you're eating what your eating, and don't be swayed by
armchair quarterbacks.
42. Not Understanding The Glycemic Index and Glycemic
Load - Food is a drug in the sense that you have a
physiological response to what you eat. The Glycemic Index
(GI) is a measurement of how fast blood sugar rises after
eating a certain food. The GI scale ranges from 0 to 100.
Lower is better. Glycemic Load (GL) is based on the GI but
takes portion into account to give you a more accurate data
point on how food will affect you. GL is calculated as follows:
GI/100 * Net Carbs per serving (total carbohydrate – dietary
fiber). To see why this calculation is important, look at
Watermelon. It has a GI of 72 (high), however, it's GL is only 3
(very low!) due to the high volume of water per serving. It can
also show how foods with comparable GI have a totally
different impact on the body. For example carrots have a GI of
47 and Corn Torillas, 52. However, their respective Gls are:
carrots, 3.5 (low) and corn tortillas, 25 (high).
43. Not Eating Enough Veggies – One bagel is equivalent to 8
cups of broccoli. You are most certainly not eating enough
vegetables if you have a few lettuce leaves, a carrot, and the
occasional brussel sprout.
44. Trying to Make Everything “Paleo” – Many people new to
paleo try to create “acceptable” versions of their former favorite
foods. Paleo muffins, breads, cookies, etc. The “paleo”
versions are usually nowhere near as good as your memory of
Grandma's baked goods. I know, you miss bagels, muffins,
and cookies and are desperate to find substitutes. Suck it up
buttercup! Keep you eye on the big picture and save your
treats for the rare cheats.
45. Carbophobia – Carbs are not devil spawn. There, I said it.
Carbs are a required macronutrient. Fruit and veggies are
carbs. The bad carbohydrates are those you get from grains
and sugars. So eat plenty of carbs, just choose the good ones.
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8. Paleo Pitfalls: 50 Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to the Paleo Diet
46. Epic Binging – It's fine to have the occasional cheat meal.
Lots of people will have a weekly cheat. However, there's a
big difference between gluten free pizza and beer and a full
night of binging on oreos, hot dogs, ice cream, and french
fries. Try to keep your cheats within reason and don't go
crazy.
47. Drinking – Is wine paleo? Sure, grapes are paleo and wine is
simply fermented grape juice. However, it's also loaded with
sugar. The occasional glass is fine. Don't drink the bottle.
Another good option is the NorCal Margarita (tequila, lime
juice, and a spalsh of seltzer water) made popular by Robb
Wolf.
48. Not Supplementing With Fish Oil – Our ancestors had a
much higher ratio of Omega3 fatty acids in their diet. Even
when eating paleo, you may not be getting enough Omega3s
simply because our meat (unless you buy grass fed and
finished meats or hunt wild game) is farmed in a neolithic
fashion and consequently the fatty acid profile of the meat is
altered to have an unfavorable Omega3-6-9 ratio. One easy
way to remedy your death of dietary Omega3 intake is to take
a quality fish oil supplement. My personal recommendation is
to take 3 grams of fish oil per day. I prefer liquid as opposed
to capsules.
49. Only Eating Lean Protein – You need fats. Loren Cordain
wrote about consuming lean proteins in his seminal text,
The Paleo Diet. He has since modified that statement to
apply to neolithic meat sources. If you're eating grass fed
and finished or wild game, feel free to indulge in the fatty
cuts.
50. Ignoring Hidden Toxins - This is a modern day problem.
Plastics contain all kinds of toxins that can leach into food
and poison you. Avoid plastic containers and cooking
utensils. Abandon your teflon pans. Don't ever microware
plastic wrap. Time to invest in some nice stainless steel
cookware and glass or pyrex containers
Presented by BodyAsRx – The premier Paleo Challenge website. Page 8 of 8
About the Author
Steve Vanderbok is a former elite athlete with a passion for
health and fitness. He is an entrepreneur, Crossfit affiliate,
and owner of BodyAsRx which provides turn key paleo
challenge services for boxes, boutique gyms, and
celebrities, and others. For more go to
http://www.bodyasrx.com