Choosing Paleo deserves an ovation!

The Paleovation Workbook

Look Inside

There's certainly no lack of information about Paleo. In fact, the problem is there is SO much Paleo information, that trying to apply it to real life scenarios is overwhelming...and sometimes prevents any change at all. Transitioning to Paleo can be intimidating, primarily because its staple foods differ from the familiar modern diet.

The Paleovation Workbook supports the reader every step of the Paleo way – from initial transition to long-term maintenance.

Chances are, whatever food or diet topics you would like to know more about, it’s in there!

The book is written to provide information as efficiently as possible: "What's the bottom line?" For those interested in learning more about a particular topic, extensive further reading resources are offered throughout, including websites, books, video clips and movies. All these resources can be easily accessed from the book references and links page where they are organized by chapter in the order they appear in the book.

Topics cover an extensive range. Practical diet and lifestyle application tips are included as well as details about foods and their effect on hormones and other body functions.

"A well thought--out, easy--to--read, kind--to--the--eyes (with charts, checklists, etc) plan to transition one's eating to the Paleo diet"

“Just do what it says each day.”

Practical Topics

Paleo-Stocked Kitchen. Learn what Paleo foods to stock in your freezer, fridge and pantry. Specific brands are offered as examples along with many options for where buy them.
Paleo Meal Ideas. Breakfast, lunch, snacks and menu ideas. Options for everyone from the gourmet chef to the quick grab-n-go crowd.
Food Cravings. Read about why cravings occur and how to manage them. Awareness of food cravings (and the foods that cause them) minimizes succumbing to them. Learn multiple strategies to ease moments of temptation.
Entertaining and Social Strategies. The veggie tray is not your only option! There are so many appetizing and scrumptious Paleo ideas for social situations and feeding a crowd. Numerous ideas are provided to navigate food and beverage choices while socializing.
Paleo Smoothies. Do these really exist? What if smoothies are part of your preferred routine? Learn how to modify a smoothie and make it more Paleo-friendly.
Deciphering Product Labels. Learn key terms like hydrogenated, free-range, pastured, grass-fed vs grass-finished vs grain-finished, nitrates, organic, natural, etc. It’s really not that difficult once it's clearly spelled out.
Identify Paleo Substitutes. Learn how to swap ingredients to ‘Paleo-tize’ some of your favorite foods! Learn what ingredients need to be replaced plus recommendations for anti-inflammatory alternatives. Comfort food recipe sources are offered to assist.
Budgeting Tips. Quality animal protein sources typically come with a heftier price tag. Learn about sourcing options and budget tips to incorporate high-quality products at reasonable and affordable prices.
Long-Term Strategies. The number one long-term dietary challenge is merging more foods into your repertoire while preserving new healthy habits. Learn how to establish ground rules (like the 80/20 Paleo/non-Paleo principle), identify personal trigger foods, navigate vacations, manage cravings and get back on track when necessary. Strategies are provided for tweaking and modifying your diet to maintain anti-inflammatory health benefits while integrating 'real life' food scenarios.
Food Tolerance Strategies. Phasing off of a strict diet can often make or break long-term success. Learn how to reintroduce foods in a graduated manner to test tolerance. Foods are fully categorized with examples; additionally, charts are provided to accurately document your progress.
Common Paleo Pitfalls. Some pieces of the Paleo Template may be over or underrepresented in personal application...and can be misinterpreted as diet failure. Perhaps it’s not that Paleo didn’t work, but that it needs to be adjusted. These aspects are discussed with suggestions to find your personalized Paleo balance.
Paleo Crutches? Our goal is to make this dietary change accessible to a wide population of readers. For some, the Strict Paleo Protocol is a little too stressful. Learn a few Paleo hacks and crutches to assist during the transition, the pros and cons of using them, and how to gradually phase them out.
Cooking Assignments. These are inspired by many Paleo recipes that include ingredients, like bone broth for example, that say “make your own, its easy.” Those ingredients may be easy after the first attempt but to a newbie, this can create an exclusionary barrier to some great recipes. The workbook teaches how to make a few core Paleo foods that often get incorporated into other recipes. In addition to quality bone broth, learn how to make homemade Paleo mayo, granola, jerky, roasted veggies and several more. It’s true…they really ARE easy after the first walk-through.
Selective Nutritional Supplements. Ideally, a diverse diet would supply all nutritional needs, but modern food tends to lack quality and/or quantity of certain nutrients. Learn to identify nutrient-dense foods including specific nutrients that ease withdrawal and discomfort during the transition. Explore options for nutritional supplements to fill in the gaps including suggestions for which ones to add, why to add them, for how long and where to find quality products.

Informational Topics

Sugar and Fructose. Even though everyone knows sugar is a problem, sugary and starchy foods remain a prominent part of most diets. Interestingly, what your body interprets as sugar isn't limited to sweets or desserts. Learn which foods are glucose-based, where sugars lurk in a typical diet, how to identify them on food labels and why fruit sugar is different than other sugars.
Insulin. This commonly discussed hormone has the potential for dire consequences – and not just for diabetics or those with blood glucose issues. Learn details of how this hormone affects metabolism, hunger and fat storage.
How to Become a Fat-Burner. Yes! This seems to be a universal goal. Thought it's not complicated in theory, it can be difficult to implement. Learn diet tips and strategies to shift your metabolism in this direction.
Fat Facts. The good, bad and ugly! Read about healthy fats such as coconut oil, grass-fed butter, olive oil, avocados and even pasture-raised bacon! Understand the problems with vegetable oils, canola oil, butter substitutes and trans fats. Learn which fats are the most stable, how to find quality oils, plus the best fats for cooking (to avoid creating trans fat in your own kitchen)!
Dairy. There are multiple components of dairy which make this topic complicated. All are deciphered: milk (pasteurized, homogenized, raw), cheese (and why it causes cravings), fermented options (yogurt, kefir), whey protein powders, plus why it's worthwhile to abstain from dairy for a month. Paleo-friendly alternatives are provided along with information about the least-problematic dairy products and strategies to test long-term tolerance.
Quality Animal Proteins. Learn what animal proteins are higher in quality and why: grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish and seafood, pastured pork, pasture-raised eggs and poultry. Find out how to source quality animal products, what questions to ask when inquiring about quality, how to accommodate every budget by incorporating select lower quality cuts and why some animal product labels are deceptive.
Movement Options. Did you know that movement is anti-inflammatory? Exercise, even simple forms, goes hand-in-hand with the Paleo Diet. Learn why movement contributes to overall health plus strategies to implement basic, natural movement into nearly any routine.
How Stress Affects Metabolism. Stress plays a huge role in how your body manages digestion. In fact, this is such a major aspect that two chapters are devoted to explaining what stress hormones do…and most readers will be shocked! Sugar cravings, salt cravings, late night munchies, high blood pressure and insomnia are all related. Multiple strategies are provided to help minimize the inflammatory effects of stress.
Sleep. Learn how lack of sleep triggers food cravings which trigger lack of sleep. For many individuals, simply eating an anti-inflammatory Paleo Diet reinstates better sleep. But that's not all, the workbook shares sleep strategies and resources to cultivate your best sleep.
Bone Health. It’s so much more than just taking calcium. Learn how to create and maintain strong, healthy bones through diet, movement and lifestyle factors.
Cholesterol & Heart Disease. There is more than meets the eye than just 'good' or 'bad' cholesterol. Cholesterol plays critical functional roles throughout the body. Learn details of which forms of cholesterol are linked to heart disease (you might be surprised), which dietary fats are linked to plaque formation plus alternative blood tests to monitor heart disease risk.
Autoimmune Disease Support. Autoimmune disorders are included in a special subset of the Paleo Diet. Learn about the AIP (Auto-Immune Protocol), appropriate recipes, the supportive AIP community, and the top anti-inflammatory and restorative foods to promote healing.
Gut Health, Probiotics, Prebiotics, Fiber and Ferments. Learn how digestion is facilitated by friendly probiotic bacteria, plus some their unexpected health roles like seratonin production for brain health! Identify foods to include in your diet to stimulate good flora function and maintain proper microbiome balance.

Group Manual Included

Greater success is often accomplished within a supportive group setting. Do you have an interest in coordinating or participating in a group Paleo Diet? The Paleovation Workbook is perfect to complete collectively with the help of it's comprehensive Group Manual included in the book's Resource Section. This manual details how to structure weekly meetings, highlight relevant discussion topics, keep the group motivated, provide support between meetings and coordinate optional enrichment activities.

Virtually any group can be accommodated: fitness clubs, health and wellness centers, sports teams, employee wellness programs, church groups, social clubs, therapy groups, community centers or even just a few friends. Five weekly meetings are necessary to span the entire program (an optional 6th meeting is also provided). The layout for each meeting consists of two parts and is fully detailed so "even a caveman could do it":

Group Leader Preparation – to be completed prior to the meeting
Meeting Agenda – a group discussion and activity guide for pertinent book topics

Glance through a sample meeting agenda to see how topics are woven together with book chapters, supplemental material, support techniques, group participation and customizable activities to create the best fit for your group's specific needs.