Ever wonder what goes into all those healthy lifestyles out there? I’ve compiled a quick list with supplemental resources to help you learn about new lifestyles you may be interested in trying out!
Fun Fact! Slowly but surely I’m going to be giving all these lifestyles a go for a month and giving you guys my feelings about them: how easy it was to implement and stick to, ease of use for eating at restaurants, and overall how they made me feel. Stay tuned for those!
Don’t see a lifestyle you’re interested in? Suggest it here!
Paleo
Commonly referred to as “the caveman diet”, because the general thought behind Paleo is aiming to eat as the cavemen did. This lifestyle focuses on meat, eggs, and vegetables, with a bit of fruit tossed in. Here’s a high level guide on what and what not to eat:
To Eat:
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Not Eat:
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My Favorite Paleo Blogs:
AIP
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is a stricter version of the Paleo Diet. AIP is generally followed by those with Autoimmune Diseases or those who strive for gut healing as it focuses on nutrient dense foods and reducing inflammatory food intake. Here’s a high level guide for AIP foods:
To Eat:
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Not Eat:
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My Favorite AIP Blogs:
- He Won’t Know It’s Paleo (also Paleo obiviously)
- Grazed and Enthused
- Fresh Tart
Low FODMAP
The Low FODMAP Diet is mainly used in the control of IBS symptoms. FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharide and polyols. That’s a mouthful to say the least. Basically it is a diet that limits FODMAP containing foods. It has two stages, the first being an elimination style phase where you remove FODMAP foods all together and then a second stage where you slowly reintroduce those foods and see at what level you can tolerate them. The food lists for Low FODMAP aren’t as straight forward as some other lifestyles, so check this out for a in-depth listing!
My Favorite Low FODMAP Blogs:
Whole30
I consider Whole30 sort of like a kick in the pants to healthy eating. It’s a 30 day program where the main goal is to get you to make good/healthy food choices. It’s a good way to get back into the swing of eating right and feeling good. Many who have started the Whole30 journey have felt so good doing it have made it a long term change that goes way past the initial 30 days. Here’s a basic food list for Whole30:
To Eat:
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Not Eat:
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My Favorite Whole30 Blogs:
Clean Eating
Clean Eating is like the vague counterpart to these lifestyles. There aren’t any hard and fast rules to clean eating and many have different definitions for this type of lifestyle. This is the lifestyle I like to stick to and for the sake of argument here is my definition of clean eating: majority real whole foods with the occasional minimally processed (5 real food ingredients or less) treat tossed in. My diet includes things like legumes, minimally processed dairy, and whole grains including wheat. There are lots of variations to clean eating and none of them are “wrong” it’s all about what makes you feel good.
My Favorite Clean Eating Blogs:
- Hey look! You’re on one!
- The Gracious Pantry
Vegan
The Vegan lifestyle has taken the world by storm in the past few years it seems. This diet revolves around no animal products/by-products. So not only does that mean no meat of any kind but also no products that come from animals. Things like butter, honey, eggs, cheese, silk, leather, fur (I know those last few aren’t food but you see the pattern) are all things vegans do not eat/use.
My Favorite Vegan Blogs:
Vegetarian
Vegetarians are similar to Vegans in that they do not eat any animal meat, where they differ are in animal by-products. Things like: cheese, butter, honey are all available to vegetarians if they so wish. Some variations of vegetarians also consume eggs.
My Favorite Vegetarian Blogs:
Gluten Free
Gluten Free lifestyle-ers adhere to…you guess it, gluten free foods! I think “gluten free” is sort of a mystery to lots of people. Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. When embarking on a gluten free diet it’s important to become familiar with where gluten can hide, especially if you’re still consuming processed foods. Become familiar with the ingredients that contain wheat and be aware of foods that are usually made with flour when eating out so you can ask about gluten free options.
My Favorite Gluten Free Blogs:
Top 8 Free
This lifestyle is one usually utilized by those with food allergies. It removes the top 8 most common food allergens from your diet. The top 8 food allergens to avoid are: dairy, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.