What Is Caveman Eating?

Caveman Eating is a nutritional philosophy based on eating natural foods that were enjoyed by our caveman and cavewoman ancestors. You eat vegetables, fruits, lean meat, seafood and healthy monounsaturated fats, like olive oil, nuts and avocados.

These foods are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants and are the healthiest foods to eat. They're also the best foods to help people lose weight and stay slim for life.

What Are the Benefits of Following the Caveman Diet?

When you follow the Caveman Diet, you can:

• Lose excess weight
• Enjoy having the body you've always wanted
• Look ten to twenty years younger
• Have more energy
• Build lean muscle
• Boost your immune system
• Improve athletic performance, stamina and agility
• Stay healthy on less sleep
• Reduce your risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease
• Heal your back, fibromyalgia and repetitive stress injuries
• Control inflammation and autoimmune disease
• Regulate blood sugar
• Reduce headaches and migraines
• Improve your skin
• Reduce acne
• Reduce symptoms of allergies and asthma
• Reduce PMS and menopause symptoms
• Reduce jet lag
• Improve your love life
• Learn a healthy, easy, sustainable eating lifestyle

How Can I Start Following the Caveman Diet Today?

To begin following the Caveman Diet, just:

Eat: Caveman Foods

• Meat, poultry and seafood
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Eggs and egg whites
• Nuts and avocados
• Oils from nuts and fruits, like olive oil
  

Don't Eat: Non-Caveman Foods

• Grains
• Sugar and other sweeteners
• Dairy products
• Beans and soy products
• Processed meats
• Vegetable oils
  

To get the full scoop on following the Caveman Diet, including recipes, tips, a seven-day meal plan and information on how to vary the diet to include foods you like, read the book The Caveman Diet.

To receive one-on-one personalized Nutritional Coaching from Tracy to help you get started on the diet right away and follow it as a lifestyle, email tracy@cavemaneating.com.

Which Diets Are Similar to the Caveman Diet?

The Caveman Diet is actually a combination of three exceptionally healthy diets: the Paleo Diet, the Zone Diet and calorie restriction. When you follow the Caveman Diet, you're following all three of these diets at once, so you're getting all of the benefits of these three healthy eating plans. Below is a description of each of these plans:

• The Paleo Diet -- Eat the same types of foods that were eaten our caveman ancestors and by most-hunter gatherer tribes: meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts and some unsaturated vegetable oils.
  
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• The Zone Diet -- Eat a low-calorie diet that consists of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat ("40-30-30"). Eat mostly vegetables, lean protein, low-Glycemic Index fruits and monounsaturated fats like olive oil, nuts and avocados.
  
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• Calorie Restriction -- Eat a diet containing 20% to 40% fewer calories than what is currently recommended. An average woman following calorie restriction would typically eat 1,100 to 1,500 calories per day. An average man would typically eat 1,400 to 1,800 calories per day. People following intense workout regimes may eat slightly more calories.
  
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• The Caveman Diet -- Combines all three of these healthy eating plans -- the Paleo Diet, the Zone Diet and calorie restriction -- into a eating lifestyle that's designed to be the healthiest and most sensible diet in the world.
  

Is the Caveman Diet Like the Atkins Diet?

No. The Caveman Diet is different from the Atkins Diet in several ways.

On the Caveman Diet, you eat a wide variety of carbohydrates, including all of your favorite fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, watermelon, pineapple, peaches, cherries and mangos.

You can also eat just about any kind of vegetable, including starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, potatoes and acorn squash. These natural carbohydrates fuel you with energy and give you plenty of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Vegetables and fruits also help keep your body alkaline, which protects you against cancer and osteoporosis.

The Caveman Diet is a healthy eating plan that's based on balance and moderation. It doesn't induce ketosis the way that the Atkins Diet does, because the Caveman Diet includes enough carbohydrates so that your body doesn't have to resort entering ketosis.

The Caveman Diet includes protein with every meal. However, the amounts of protein that you eat are very moderate. You eat a piece of protein about the size of your palm (about three to five ounces) with each meal. This is just enough protein to keep you satisfied and help you build muscles and a strong immune system, without giving you too much protein. Eating small amounts of protein at a time helps your body process the protein more efficiently.

The Caveman Diet is lower in fat than the Atkins Diet and recommends that most of your fats come from foods that are high in the monounsaturated type of fats, such as olive oil, nuts and avocados. These healthy fats are good for your heart and don't raise cholesterol.

Do I Have to Give Up Eating the Foods I Enjoy?

The Caveman Diet makes you feel so good that you'll actually want to give up the less-healthy foods that you previously ate because you'll feel much better when you don't eat them.

When you first begin following the Caveman Diet, you may choose to eat a few Non-Caveman Foods, like cheese or small amounts of whole wheat bread. However, if you're like most people, you'll quickly want to give up these foods as you notice how much easier and more effective the diet works without them.

People who are "Cavers," who have adopted Caveman Eating as a lifestyle, say that they enjoy how they look and feel on the diet so much that they have no desire to go back. When you begin following the diet, you'll soon learn for yourself why people are so enthusiastic about it that they can't imagine eating any other way.

If you're like most people, once you follow the Caveman Diet for two to three months, you'll be hooked for life. It's not that you can never eat the foods that you enjoyed again -- you just won't want to. It won't be worth it, because the results you'll experience on the diet will be so gratifying.

If you would like support in getting started on the Caveman Diet, Tracy's Three-Month Personalized Nutritional Coaching will get you on track fast and help you develop healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. To learn more about this program, email tracy@cavemaneating.com.