Barb Berggoetz: Diet's doable despite no grains or dairy

The idea of trying a low-carb, high-protein diet didn’t hold much appeal for me. But I figured I could handle about anything for a short period.

Anything for a story, right?

Then when I learned the Paleo diet my editor asked me to try didn’t allow any grains or dairy products, I had second thoughts.

Could I live without my favorite “healthy” snack, hummus and whole-wheat pita? My daily crackers at lunch? My Cheerios and whole-wheat toast for breakfast? I wasn’t sure.

I couldn’t even indulge in my occasional handful of dark chocolate chips or 60-calorie dark chocolate pudding cup. Dark chocolate is good for your heart, isn’t it?

I figured my diet was pretty good and balanced, but not perfect. Perhaps I could learn something from this diet with some obvious benefits — no processed foods or refined sugars. I learned it’s hard to cut all processed foods and refined sugars out of your diet. I learned I can eat more vegetables and cut back on not-so-healthy carbohydrates and sugar even more than I have.

Until now, I have defended a fairly high carbohydrate intake because I run or bike every day and do strength training. But I probably don’t get enough protein. I do enjoy pasta. And I have a bit of sweet tooth.

But I maintain a healthy weight. My key essential health barometers — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar — are all good. So, I must be doing something right.

For nine days, I ate almost exclusively lean meats, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits and nuts. This wasn’t enough time to really test the diet, but I got a sense of what it’s like.

I had one “cheat” meal that was previously planned at a Mexican restaurant. Rice, beans and chicken tortillas were mostly off the diet. Other than that, I had two or three snacks (hummus, pudding) off the diet.

Breakfast was the hardest meal because I was used to mostly cereal, toast and fruit. I switched to two scrambled eggs and fruit, with a snack of nuts.

For lunch, I eliminated my daily low-fat yogurt and crackers, replacing them with a chicken breast and a bigger serving of raw vegetables and nuts or a Paleo-approved fruit/nut bar. That’s in addition to two fruits.

Thankfully, dinner didn’t change much since I often had salmon, turkey or chicken, salad and another vegetable and/or fruit. I missed having noodles, rice or pasta, although I had sweet potatoes — allowed if you’re not trying to lose weight.

I got hungrier than usual between meals. During the day, I relied on nuts and dried or fresh fruit for snacks.

One of this diet’s goals is to eliminate insulin spikes due to carbohydrates quickly breaking down into sugar in your body.

Without as many carbohydrates and more foods naturally low in sugar, insulin is more slowly released into the body, allowing the body to recognize true hunger.

Some people get hungry and fatigued on this diet at first, while their bodies adjust to using fat for energy. I didn’t notice unusual fatigue, but I probably had enough starchy vegetables and “cheats” to make up for it. It appears I lost 1 or 2 pounds.

Although the benefits of eliminating processed foods and refined sugars are clear, I would say just cutting back on them might be more practical for most of us.

Cutting out grains and dairy is a more serious step, with potential losses of nutrients like calcium and vitamin D. But I think smart dieters could make up for those losses with other foods or supplements.

The Paleo diet isn’t one I could sustain. However, I’m definitely going to kick up my vegetables and my protein. But I’m not giving up my hummus and pita — or my dark chocolate.