For most people, one of the chief reasons to go on any diet, whether it’s a Paleo diet or not, is weight loss. It’s one thing to be a little heavier than the average for your gender, age, and height, but there’s an actual risk to your health when you are significantly overweight, especially if this is compounded with a sedentary lifestyle.
While other diets often obsess about factors such as your body mass index or fine-tuning your calorie intake for the day to ensure your “burn” more than you eat, a Paleo diet is a bit more forgiving in this regard. Your exact calorie intake is not as important as making sure you have a balanced meal. So what is a balanced meal? What are the proper portions for a good Paleo diet?
Three Meals A Day
One important aspect of a good Paleo diet, and proper portions is making sure you get those portions three times a day. People who tend to skip breakfast or make do with a single cup of coffee will have to rethink their daily schedule. A good Paleo diet should provide 4-6 hours of energy before you need to top up with more food. The other important aspect of this is ONLY three meals a day, snacking should not be occurring between meals. You should feel full for a few hours after your meal, and start feeling hungry again in the lead up to the next meal.
Balanced Amounts
A good Paleo diet meal will consist of protein, vegetables, fruit, and a small amount of healthy fat. For people who are more active, with intense training, a fourth meal may be required. The protein is likely to come from a meat, the vegetables have a pretty wide range of choices, and the same goes for fruit. The healthy fat can come from numerous sources including coconut oil, various nuts, olives and olive oil. All of this should be adjusted to your weight and how you feel after eating. If you’re still hungry, you need to eat more.