Paleo Diet: What Fits, What Does Not and How to Count It

Paleo takes a historical premise and turns it into a shopping list. Foods that arrived with farming, mainly grains, dairy and legumes, are out, along with anything industrially refined. What remains is meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and, in most versions, natural oils.

The premise is debated by archaeologists and nutrition scientists alike, and versions of the diet differ on butter, potatoes and honey. Treat it as a food-list pattern, with room for your own judgement.

Paleo has no macro target, but its exclusions shape one. Without grains and legumes, carbohydrate comes from fruit and starchy vegetables, so it tends to run lower than a standard day while protein rises. Fat varies with how much meat, nut and oil the plate holds.

That makes it close to the low-carb family without a fixed ceiling. A systematic review of randomised trials, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at paleolithic nutrition and found the trials small and short, so figures quoted for it should be read with that in mind.

Because paleo is defined by quality rather than quantity, the calories can go unnoticed. Nut flours, dried fruit, honey and coconut products are allowed and dense, and a paleo baked treat can carry as much energy as the conventional one.

Eating out is where the rules blur: a grilled steak and vegetables fits, but the sauce, the bread basket and the dessert menu each need a decision. Logging the plate as served, then removing what you left, is more honest than logging the dish you intended to order.

Set the calorie target as you would for any plan, then use the food list as a filter on what goes into the log. The comparison pages for sweet potato and white potato show how much the permitted starches differ.