Welcome back to the Paleo experiment, where I document 30 days on the Paleo diet. We are halfway finished with our experiment! Here’s what I’ve got on the questions I’d originally posited.
1. Is it affordable?
This week we spent a total of $239.52 on groceries. This included about $25 on Boston Market’s chicken and sides (no we did not eat cornbread or get the brownies, cookies or soda), so really could have been a bit less. Anyway, it’s just under $120 per person. We did the bulk of our shopping at Trader Joe’s, though, which I think saved us quite a bit. Ideally we’d like to spend about $100 a week each, but I think experimenting with the wide variety of foods like we have been will help us figure out what we want to splurge on later and where we can save.
2. Will it make me crazy?
We’ve definitely both felt a bit lethargic lately, but have been told this could simply be due to switching from burning carbs to burning fats. Time will tell.
3. Any cravings?
I’m eating about one dark chocolate bar a week, which is taking care of cravings for now. Sugar cravings are like a monster; the more you feed it the more it will grow. So I think really paying attention to and limiting those feedings is a good idea anyway (Paleo or not).
4. Will it support my workouts and sport?
I’ve gotten all of my workouts in, though feeling a bit tired is kind of slowing me down and putting a damper on things. I think this will turn around soon.
5. Am I going to lose weight?
So far I’ve lost about 3 lbs. It looked as if I’d lost 4 a few days ago, but could just have been a fluctuation. I hadn’t really expected to lose any weight, but can’t say I exactly mind. I’m interested in what happens over the next 2 weeks–will keep you posted.
Hi Yael.
I follow a primarily paleo diet but $239 each per week seems extremely high. When I have my kids my whole budget for myself and four teenagers is about $200 per week! Plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, larabars, and meat. I don’t miss the carbs at all. Of course that doesn’t include Friday night which is always Let-your-hair-down-and -have-pizza-and -ice cream night! But when I don’t have my kids I rarely go over $70 per week!
hi Andy! $240 is for 2 people, so $120 each. But I did want to ask if your $70 per week includes organic produce and grassfed meat? That might be where we spend our money… Also are you counting everything or just grocery store receipts? One week we only spent $140 at the store but $20 here and $25 there added up…
It does include organic: from Trader Joe’s, Sunflower Market, and Sprouts, and the farmer’s market–Whole Foods seems to be too expensive. The $70 for me just includes grocery reciepts. For example I buy one london broil and one turkey breast, cook it on Sunday then slice it up to eat all week-requires little/no cooking. Also eggs. I also use almond butter as a protien source. Eating it on celery not bread!! Then alot of fresh fruit and veggies. It doesn’t include coffee and is just for food as some people roll in paper products, cleaners, etc into their grocery bill. I count those separately. Just food! If I do eat out for lunch or dinner, which I do rarely, then i count it against “entertainment” rather than food because if I eat out its usually for socializing rather than just sustenance. Oh, I eat paleo for content but I also follow the “Warrior Diet” or intermittent fasting protocol for how much and when I eat. I find that results in eating and needing less food overall. If your budget is $100 to $120 that’s actually not bad. Also, when my kids are there they do complain alot about there being “nothing to eat” LoL– but they are not deprived. Like I said Friday is cheat night for pizza!! Oh and i forgot one more thing that skews the budget!! The kids eat lunch at school which is another $50 total per week when I have them. The lunches at SSA are quite healthy although not necessarily paleo.
Ideally we’d like to spend about $100 each/week, though that may not be realistic. But I included all food including a lot of smaller purchases that add up.