I've been thinking a lot about doing this....

Background: I think that most of us can agree that it would be nearly impossible for someone in the western world to maintain a "strictly" Paleolithic Diet in these Neolithic times. I mean, when we really begin to analyze this idea of "going Paleo," it becomes obvious that this is unrealistic on so many levels. I won't go into them here, and a debate about this isn't what this thread is intending.

Objective: Define (as a group who's interested in this) what is a "good" approximation of "strictly" Paleo in our time, how to go about it, and to go 1 week (7 days) on this idealistic approximation.

Methods
Define: We would need to define what the "modern" Paleo WOE means to us. This would require a list of what is effectively "in-bounds" and "out-of-bounds." These are the things that we do that we feel are the essential Paleo elements. Controversial ideas or practices should be avoided, lest this experiment never take off.

Grab a week: Once a definition is settled, pick a time and do it.

Compare and contrast our progress: Discuss what we're doing on a daily basis, and offer support to each other as much as possible.

Have fun: This is an experiment for fun and to experience a purer form of what we've been espousing as Paleo eating. For the issue of safety, this should in no way interfere with the use of any supplements, drugs or special physician instructions. Again, I hope this would be a fun exercise and not an exercise in holier-than-thou-ism. We are our own best critic.

Anyone interested? I'll be happy to set us up and maintain website that outlines our organizational progress (lists, do's, don'ts, etc.).

Afterthought. Try to keep in mind that we are the practicers of this way of eating, and in fact we as a group may be one of the best sources of information for people all over the world. (I don't know why, but it just seemed important to say that.)

This kind of thing has been on my mind lately too. We were out for the weekend at my in-laws' and I even brought Neanderthin with me to re-read and get myself psyched up all over again. I would definitely be interested if you really wanted to get this off the ground.

This is also reminding me of my website. I swear I didn't forget about it! I couldn't figure out how to do what I wanted to do, but I had an epiphany the other night and I think I might be able to get it up soon.

I'd be up for doing this - heck, I'll even go dairy free.

M

Ah, this is great news (somebody read this thread!).

Kallyn, great that you're rereading Neanderthin. I like to reread stuff myself because it helps me stay enthused. Glad you're up for this. (I love web conundrums; I'm lucky, because I have to deal with them every day - let me know if I can help.)

Moonrise, if this event occurs, I'll be giving up coffee, which has been an addiction I've clung dearly to.

Lets give this thread a couple days to give it some exposure and then we'll begin our definitions.

Well, I'm getting innundated with guests over the next two weeks, this won't be possible for me until they're all gone. *sigh* Not looking forward to having 2 sets of guests.

I wouldn't mind getting in on this...it's something that I have tried to make myself do in the past, so maybe now I'll have more motivation to truly stick it out...I have spent weeks 100% before without even realising it.

For me, as a hard-core carnivore, paleo strictness has defined by itself

If I ate veggies however, then the basic formula for purist approach = Natural food from the animal kingdom + Natural food from the vegetable kingdom + Clean Water + Physical Training

- With a few legal extensions:
*Meat/Veggies average ratio = 65%35%
*Fruit/berries as nature’s candy limited to 1-2 servings a day;
*Use sea salt;
* Drink only herbal teas;
*8 hrs sleep;
*Adequate sun exposure.

-And very few illegal:
* No dairy;
*Restrict manufactured washing and cleaning products or, if possible, eliminate.

- - - - -
Also I believe, you should extend the experiment period at least to two weeks, one week isn’t enough to notice changes. Usually it gets worse in the 1st week until it gets better in the 2nd.

This is a really cool idea ProteusOne. Maybe I'll get my kids on board and do it for a week after school is out this summer. What foods would be allowed? Whole chickens? Whole fish? Only produce that is in season and grows naturally in your area? I've got apple trees and rhubarb growing wild and raspberries and grapes. (Only the rhubarb is edible at the moment.) Eggs of course too. I love this idea!

It's great to see all the enthusiasm! Keep the ideas flowing. I'll collect and sort them and then we'll come up with a plan!

I started getting excited about this this morning. I have always wanted to do a "pure" week but never have time to put thought into it. I just wanted to see how I felt when giving up nightshades (peppers), artificial sweeteners and dear, dear peanut butter.

I will miss my beloved Thai food though. But heck, it's only a week!

I just bought a bottle of concentrated Tamarind pulp that only contains Tamarind pulp, no preservatives. I was thinking that'd make a nice drink with some water added and stevia. It's an ingredient they use in Thai cooking a fair amount. It has a clean, sharp taste to it. A bit critus like.

I probably won't quite the coffee entirely because that'd make me feel flu-ish and sick and this is about feeling well, I should think. So I wouldn't want coffee withdrawls fouling my experience. However, I can cut way down.

I'm up for it. Although...alcohol. Hmmmm. Just the one week I think!

Ok, so what do we want to define as on- and off-limits for the duration of this experiment? Here are some things I propose, feel free to disagree or add your own:

on-limits:
all vegetables
all fruits
all tree nuts
all unprocessed meat/seafood
all eggs
olive oil
coconut oil
all animal fat
stevia
all herbs/spices

off-limits, or not sure:
the dreaded peanut butter
chocolate? not sure on this one
artificial sweeteners (I know I still use these and so do some other people, so I just thought I'd mention it)
heavily processed meats? again not sure as they are still meat - needs discussion
green beans? they act like a veg but they're not
vegetable oils other than olive and coconut? the vegetation itself might be paleo, but I doubt paleoman could extract the oil from it
BUTTER (teardrop)
sprouted grains (I still use sprouted bread sometimes so I thought I'd mention this one too just in case anyone else was still eating it)

I'd limit the vegetables to ones not in the category of nightshades such as peppers, potatoes, eggplant.

How about coconut meat and milk?

I think being pure means the artificial sweeteners have to go. Probably green beans.

I would not accept sweeteners of any kind (maybe honey), or oils of any kind. Oils are a product of processing cultivated crops: definitely not Paleo if we are being as purist as reasonable.
I'd say:
Unprocessed meat, seafood and fish.
Leaf vegetables
Some root veg: turnip, parsnip and swede. Radishes, onion and garlic. (kohlrabi and the exotics too).
Carrot?
Fresh Berries
Nuts
Seeds
Eggs
Animal fats.
And the usual fruit teas.
And the cooking methods would be grilling, roasting or boiling - no frying/