The Beginner's Guide to the Pegan Diet

When you're looking to lose weight or just generally get healthier, you'll find a lot of diet plans you can follow. One of the latest combines two of the most popular diets in recent times - Paleo and veganism.

The Pegan diet is quickly becoming a popular diet option. So, what exactly is it and how does it work?

The Pegan diet was developed by Dr. Mark Hymen. While it is only just starting to gain traction, the diet was actually created back in 2014.

The diet is dubbed a clean, healthy eating plan and is said to deliver a lot of awesome health benefits. It was developed based on the theory that whole, nutrient-rich foods can balance out the blood sugar and reduce inflammation. It's more of a long-term diet which aims to become part of your everyday lifestyle.

Like many diets, it can be quite restrictive. However, it does provide a mixture of plant-based and meat foods. So, it's actually much less restrictive than either the paleo or vegan diets alone.

The good news about this diet is that it doesn't provide strict rules over what you should eat for each meal. Instead, it provides you with more of an outline that you can follow.

There are basic principles listed that you'll need to stick to if you want the diet to be successful. Some food groups are restricted, and others should be consumed in moderation.

The main rule is to try and make your diet 75% plant based and 25% animal based. It also focuses on gluten-free foods, although not for the reasons you'd expect. The main reason gluten is restricted from the diet with this plan, is because grains weren't considered a part of the caveman diet.While the Pegan diet is said to deliver a lot of great benefits, there are some challenges to maintaining this diet plan: If you're using it to lose weight, you may find that it can be quite tough to follow all the restrictions in place. Compared to many other weight loss diets, it will take a lot more effort. As sugar is eliminated, you may also find it really hard to stick to. Obviously, a sugar-free diet is considered healthier. However, the trouble is if you cut out anything from your diet, your body is going to want it. So, resisting the cravings can be extremely difficult, particularly if your previous diet was high in sugar. Other potential challenges include knowing what you can eat when you're out with friends, as well as coming up with meal ideas at home. The entire dairy group is eliminated so these restrictions can be difficult to navigate when looking for suitable recipes.Even when you can decide what you're going to eat, you'll end up spending a lot more time in the kitchen. This isn't a bad thing, but it can be difficult for those who struggle with time management. It also means that this diet is going to be a little more expensive to follow which might not be ideal for those on a budget.The above is just a brief overview of the Pegan diet. Now that you know what it is and how it works, it's time to research more into the basic principles of the diet discussed in my book. Once you have a good understanding of those, you can decide whether or not this diet is right for you.