Is The Paleo Diet More Expensive?

Initially the cost of the paleo diet may seem expensive compared to the Standard American Diet. Many people are used to eating breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and a late night snack. That’s 5-6 times a day which is largely driven by a high carbohydrate diet. Each time your body works through the carb load you’ve just eaten it will leave you feeling hungry in a short amount of time. I used to be one of these people. The guys at work used to ask if I could sleep all night without having to eat. When it comes to the cost of eating paleo, you’ll find that it’s no more expensive than what you’re currently doing. As your body becomes fat adapted you’ll eat less often but the food is more nourishing so it fills you up. In time you’ll find that the paleo diet is affordable. Nevertheless here are my money saving tips to help get you started.

When you’re used to buying $0.99 spaghetti and topping it with an inexpensive jar of sauce you’ll likely feel that the paleo diet is expensive. There’s a common misconception that paleo isn’t affordable. In fact, cost is one of the reasons many people might not choose to try the paleo diet.

How Much Does Eating Paleo Cost?

I took a friend grocery shopping and she was surprised that she spent less on paleo food than what she usually bought. See, when you’re not paying someone else to prepare and package your food there’s less to pay for. Considering that 97% of what’s sold in supermarkets isn’t food you’ll see how simple it is to make paleo affordable. While the ingredients may cost more you end up buying less of them. The longer you follow the paleo diet you’ll find that you’ll go from eating 5-6 times a day to only eating once or twice. I’m not talking about white knuckle starving in between. When your body remembers how to access stored body fat for fuel you’ll discover that you no longer get hangry and you’ll rarely feel hungry. Your caloric intake will likely stay the same because you’re eating nutrient dense foods filled with healthy fats.

Most people reach fat adaptation (where your body remembers how to use body fat for fuel) in 3-4 weeks. Now, if your paleo diet largely consists of paleo “treats” like cakes, cookies, and breads you likely won’t reach fat adaptation. Sticking to the basics like vegetables, meat, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, and occasional fruit will put you on the path to fat adaptation.

What Are The Signs Of Fat Adaptation?

You no longer feel “Hangry”, instead hunger is a gentle reminder that maybe you should eat. 

When you wake up in the morning you’ll notice that you’ll be able to go longer without eating because you’re simply not hungry. 

You’ll have consistent energy levels throughout the day.

You won’t feel the need to reach for snacks.

Do You Have To Buy Expensive Meat On Paleo?

The paleo diet encourages the consumption of consume organic foods and pasture raised meats. The reasoning is that they are more healthy for you, the planet, and your pocket book in the long term. That’s why memes exist about paying the Farmer or the Pharmacy. What may seem like the cheaper option may catch up to you later with doctor’s visits and prescriptions. The trick is to do the best you can and save where you can. I’m definitely not made of money and we do have a monthly food budget that we stick to.

Since the government subsidizes grains they make grain fed animals “cheaper” in the store. Conversely, pasture raised animals aren’t really found in many traditional supermarkets. If they are you’ll definitely notice a significant price difference, especially if it’s organic. Our food system is broken. Farmers who want to sell organic meat or produce have to pay the government to prove that it’s organic and then pay again to use the organic label.

How can you make paleo affordable? You do the best you can. It’s better to eat conventional meat than it is to continue the American Diet full of processed foods, grains, sweeteners, and vegetable oils. Like I said before, with time you’ll become fat adapted and you’ll eat less frequently. You’ll eat the same, or maybe more calories (depending on what your plates look like), but the volume of food will be less. Personally I typically eat twice a day, lunch and dinner. In those 2 meals I average 1800-2500 calories, depending on the day. When food is nutrient dense is will fill you up for a longer period of time. Protein, fat, and the fiber in vegetables are the elements that keep you feeling full. When they aren’t diluted with sugars and quick burning grains they work more effectively because you’re not getting the sugar spike from the sweeteners or grains.

Best Places To Find Affordable Quality Meat

At the age of 41 I decided to become a bow-hunter and this is one of the reasons why. Mad and frustrated with our sham of a food system I decided to learn how to hunt my own. Wild game is the best source of meat, depending on its environment of course, and if you can shoot one it’s like printing money.

Maybe hunting isn’t your thing so how can you make paleo affordable? Look for a local farmer that raises their animals on a pasture. Buying directly from the local guy will save you money compared to what his products would be sold for in a supermarket. Plus, you can ask questions about how he raises his animals. They may not be certified as organic (saving both of you money) but he also hasn’t fed or given them anything that you’d object to. If you can’t find a local farmer online, visit the closest farmers market.

For those who live in a food desert you can take your shopping online. I’ve been buying from Butcher Box for almost a year and I’m happy with their meat. They sell beef, pork, and chicken. It’s the real deal. The beef has a hint of an elk flavor to it which tells me that it truly is pasture raised. Ya know, you see grass fed in the supermarket and it doesn’t taste like pasture raised. Like most things, industry finds a way to skirt around the issue and the FDA has some pretty lax rules. As it turns out grass fed can mean that the animal was fed the tops from corn plants. While it’s technically a plant it’s also likely GMO unless you’re buying organic.

One of my biggest peeves is people paying more for marketing because they believe it’s better quality when it’s actually not.

My friend Thomas DeLauer explains the differences and the health implications of eating grass fed, grass finished, and grain fed meats in this video:

Another money saving tip is to split an animal with friends. One of my coaching friends owns cows but he keeps them on someone else’s land. If that’s an option for you it’s a way to make paleo more affordable. When figuring out how much eating paleo will cost, compare the short versus long term expense. I know that buying a whole cow or even 1/2 a cow from a farmer can seem costly, but how much would you spend if you bought that cow piece by piece over the next 6-12 months? Get your friends and family together and/or maybe start a local community group where people can buy an animal together. One hundred years ago our food came from local farmers. That’s what people ate and they were much healthier than we are today.

Money Saving Meat Tips

If you can’t hunt or afford pasture raised animals take Thomas’ advice in the video above. Buy the leanest cuts that you can because they contain fewer fats you should avoid and then supplement your meat with quality fats you can control like tallow or grass fed butter. Do your best to adapt the paleo diet to suit your lifestyle and budget. Buying conventionally raised meats and eggs is better than sacrificing the eggs and getting a box of doughnuts instead. Your food choices are what really matters. That is the crux of the paleo diet.

The Best Produce Isn’t Organic

If you are in a supermarket most stores only offer conventional or organic produce. The good stores will offer you something locally grown. The best produce you can buy: locally grown, no spray. Most of our produce is picked before it is ripe, transported across the globe, and then exposed to ethylene gas to make it “ripen” for the supermarket. If you’ve read The Plant Paradox by Dr. Gundry, he talks about this system because it contributes lectins to your produce. (Gluten is a popular lectin you’ve heard of.) If you’ve ever eaten a berry before it’s ripe it’s bitter. That’s the plant’s message to us that it isn’t ready for us to eat it. When a berry ripens the color changes, the phytonutrients are in full force, and it’s sweet. When we pick produce before it’s ripe it doesn’t get a chance to fully develop. The gas changes the color on the outside but it’s what is inside that counts.

Then during shipping the nutrient content of our produce diminishes with time. Look for produce stands on the side of the road, visit the farmers market, and make friends with a farmer. Learn which plants are in season and eat as seasonally as you can. If you buy your produce locally you don’t have to pay the global transportation cost and the nutrient content is higher. Many local farmers do not seek out the organic certification yet they use organic practices anyway, this will also save you money.

A recent example: here in Idaho organic apples are $2.50+ per pound. I took our son to a local orchard and we picked apples for $0.89/lb. You can pick as many as you want. We filled a bushel basket with 24 lbs of apples that I’m going to slice and freeze for the upcoming holiday pie making season. The farmer sprayed his trees with clay to keep them from getting sunburned and to deter bugs. Some of the apples did have bugs but those apples are fed to the turkeys on the farm and the rest are composted. You can make paleo affordable, support your local community, reduce pollution, eat healthier, and enjoy a sunny afternoon picking apples.

The ultimate money saving tip is to simply plant a garden. Even if you don’t have yard space you can grow greens and herbs in low light conditions. Plants that bear fruit like tomatoes and cucumbers need more sunlight so if you have the space and the light (even if you have to buy lights) you can grow many vegetables in pots.

Buying In Bulk To Make Paleo Affordable

Buying in bulk is always a great option if you have a place to store extras. The general rule about paleo food paleo is that your refrigerator should be full and your pantry should be empty. If you think about it…paleo is largely produce and animal products. A large freezer to store your meat and frozen vegetables is great to store your bulk items in. No money for a freezer? Slowly save up for one and/or look for one on Craigslist, the local paper, or online. We bought our freezer on Craigslist and saved a significant amount of money. A freezer is a one-time investment and will last you for years and it allows you to save money by buying in bulk. In time it will essentially pay for itself.

It is often assumed that since you are buying in bulk, you’ll spend more. You’ll spend more for the larger quantity but the price per pound will go down. Also, the food will last for a longer period of time. You may find that you can get by only grocery shopping twice a month like I do.

The difficulty arises from having enough money to spend on 2 weeks worth of grocery shopping at one go since it is a sizable chunk of change. Yet, this is mostly an illusion. At the end of the month you will be spending roughly the same amount if you do your shopping every 3 days or twice a month. In fact, you’ll be spending less shopping just twice a month because you’re less tempted by impulse buys. Save up till you can afford to spend on grocery shopping at one go for 2 weeks or work on gradually getting there. Maybe you can initially stretch from shopping every 3 days to shopping every 7 days and then gradually bump it up.

The paleo diet is not more expensive. It simply takes some adjusting to but that is only in the initial phase. Once you become fat adapted and skip the costs associated with processing packaged items you will find that the diet is the same if not cheaper. Make the diet suit you and not the other way around. Adhere to the important fundamentals such as proper food choices. The frills can wait till you have cash to do so. Do not give up on this diet. It has changed the lives of so many people that I know.

Originally posted on October 4, 2018 @ 10:48

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