At Gentleman Zone, we know that losing excess fat or just maintaining your normal weight, good shape, and self-esteem is just crucial to men’s health.
A healthy physique and weight reduces the risk of serious diseases, helps with low spirits, depression, or sexual dysfunction, and benefits mobility, strength, and overall men’s body and mind wellbeing. And a proper diet like the popular Paleo lifestyle, is a key element to a healthier and vigorous human body, so you look and feel your best.
For gents, in particular, it’s important to focus on an effective and sustainable diet plan that is also tailored to your individual requirements, nourishes your body, and is easy to follow (especially in the long term).
But with so many modern diets out there, it’s challenging to have such a delicate relationship with food and meet your specific needs, which usually depend on age, workout goals, health concerns, and so on.
Among the many growing-in-popularity low-carb menus, Paleo principles take us into the Paleolithic age and aim to recreate, or at least mimic, eating habits of ancestral diets.
Also termed the hinter-gatherer, caveman, or the “Stone Age” diet, the Paleo meal plan is a high-protein, high-fiber diet, based on foods that come straight from the ground or naturally occur in the wild.
The list of Paleo diet foods includes primarily lots of leafy greens, like fruits and vegetables, whole foods like nuts and seeds, seafood, and grass-fed meats. Adopting a Paleo dietary approach low on carbohydrates means no dairy products, legumes, starchy vegetables, fatty meats, or processed foods.
The purpose of the hunter-gatherer diet is for you to eat as naturally as possible, so it engages you to eat as raw as you can, but it doesn’t forbid cooking completely.
Already interested in this age-old diet? You are in the right place. This guide centers on the Paleo diet for men and our tips on following it properly to achieve success.
Keep reading to learn the basics of this prehistorically-minded nutrition plan, examples of a simple Paleo diet plan for men, and other essential details.
The Benefits of Paleo Diet for Men
Thanks to the pros of healthier eating habits that include clean and whole foods and ingredients, Paleo men can change taste and food preferences, making you forget about junk food!
Following a Paleo meal plan offers you a number of health benefits:
- Cut down on starchy foods like refined sugars, grains, and dairy.
- Soothe intestinal discomfort and inflammation, especially digestion.
- Keep your full and energetic thanks to proteins from meat and nuts.
- Provide healthy carbs from plenty of fruits and vegetables, alongside a monster dose of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
- Help beat cravings.
- Handle insulin-resistance.
- Improve your glycemic index (GI)
- Better libido.
- Better metabolism and regulation of nutrient biotransformation.
- Balance blood sugar control (dark chocolate and artificial sweeteners are okay).
- Helps you lose weight
- Helps muscle growth.
- Regulate blood pressure.
- Lower triglycerides.
- Avoid additives, preservatives, or chemicals.
Paleo diet benefits for men don’t end here!
Disadvantages of Paleo Diet for Men
The Paleolithic diet has its cons:
- Expensive.
- Low in grains or dairy (good for health and stamina).
- Difficult for vegetarians since (excludes beans).
- Doesn’t provide carbs, athletes need.
What are the Effects of Paleo Diet – Men vs Women?
Generally, any healthy eating plan works well for both men and women.
Still, an important consideration is that different diets, foods, and components appeal more to one gender than the other, based on differences in energy and nutrient needs depending on body size and muscle mass.
Because of that, it’s normal that men’s bodies respond better to some diets than women’s. This is the case with the Paleo diet.
- Men lose significantly more body fat and weight, have improved resting heart health, lower bad cholesterol, better metabolic readings.
- Women, on the other hand, experience decreases in good cholesterol, lean body mass, and bone-mineral content – all negative long-term effects.
Both men and women were found to have a decrease in inflammatory biomarkers, which improves blood flow and reduces the risk of heart disease.
Paleo Diet Ratio Weight Loss in Men
The Paleo eating plan is more of a healthy and longevity dietary approach, rather than a weight loss diet. Yet, it can still work great for all gentlemen looking to get rid of some extra pounds.
So, what to expect when you go Paleo?
You will probably lose 5 to 10 pounds during the first week and while this is encouraging, you must know what it’s mainly water weight, and it’s mandatory to keep going to maintain your weight, lose even more, and accomplish your weight goal.
Paleo Diet Menu List for Men
The Paleo diet emphasizes foods Paleolithic flesh-eaters had available 10 000 years ago. It focuses on low-carb, high-protein, whole foods and, it might be surprising, eliminates grains, legumes, dairy, white potatoes, and refined oils.
Here are examples of a Paleo diet daily menu for men:
Breakfast
- A portion of salmon, 2-3 boiled eggs, and fruit.
- Nut flour banana bread or pancakes, Paleo granola, cloud eggs, breakfast tomatoes, Paleo smoothies, etc.
Lunch
- Chicken breast or lamb shank with a side of roasted sweet potatoes and a spinach salad.
- Grilled chicken with a salad, or poached salmon, prawn, broccoli bacon salad, sweet potato soup, butternut squash soup, and more.
Dinner
- A beef steak with mushrooms and a salad.
- Chicken fajitas, chicken or fish with asparagus, lime salmon, Paleo burgers, shrimp salad, gazpacho soup, and so on.
Snacks
- Whole boiled eggs
- Egg whites and fruits
- Guacamole
- Nut-based cheese
- Nuts
- Energy bars
Why is the Paleo Diet Perfect for 40 & 50-Year-Old Men?
Elderly gentlemen and the Paleo diet, you ask?
Consumption of nutrient-dense whole foods by the Paleo dietary regime instead of empty calories and processed foods prevents serious complications, often related to old age.
For instance, a common chronic disease in older men is osteoporosis – a gradual reduction in bone density which puts men at risk of dangerous fractures. What helps prevent or treat osteoporosis is calcium, but it doesn’t get absorbed and used by the organism unless there are enough cofactors to aid these bio reactions.
These important co-factors are Vitamin D and Magnesium, which are micronutrients we get from a proper eating plan. The Paleo diet fits perfectly for this goal since it provides all the necessary micronutrients and is low in toxins.
Other nutrient deficiencies are common in the late 40s and early 50-year-old gents. Men over 50 also deal with Vitamin B12 deficiency (which contributes to dementia and other neurological conditions) and Iron deficiency (which leads to fatigue and suffering brain size, brain function and fog).
High-quality animal protein products, nuts, and fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants – the core of the Paleo diet – are excellent sources of both those nutrients.
The Paleo meal plan is a good regime for seniors with obesity, considering it includes exclusively fish and fresh vegetables and fruits.
Dangers of the Paleo Diet for Older Gentlemen?
One of the biggest concerns for older gents on the Paleo diet is losing weight too fast, which at a certain age can be dangerous. That’s why weight and eating habits modification should be discussed with a health care professional.
Bodybuilding Men & Paleo Diet
When it comes to bodybuilding and dieting, the Paleo regime is neither a cutting nor a mass-building eating plan. It fits in the middle, so it’s not the optimum choice for those that aim to maximize muscle mass or reduce fat.
You can still build muscle mass while on the Paleo diet, but this requires a higher calorie surplus, meaning you need more nuts and seeds to boost your healthy fat.
Paleolithic Diet, Wrap-up
To sum up, the low-carbohydrate diet from the prehistoric Paleolithic era is a suitable eating plan to lose weight, maintain good shape, and detox. There’s no doubt it has a range of benefits for both physical and mental health in men.
However, don’t forget to combine the caveman diet with regular exercise for better results.
