30-day paleo meal plan for weight loss

• This paleo diet plan will help you plan and prep paleo meals.
• Following the paleo diet won’t automatically result in weight loss—you’ll need to maintain a calorie deficit.
• Stock up on fresh, whole foods and set aside time each week for meal prep. 

With a diet as restrictive as paleo, meal planning is no easy feat. 

You may be trying new foods and eliminating old favorites. And this change can feel overwhelming when you’re just getting started. 

But a paleo meal plan can help set you up for success.

So we chatted with Rebecca Rodriguez, MSNE, to get more guidance on eating a paleo diet. Read on for her insights and 30-day paleo meal plan for weight loss.

Note: Consult with your health care provider before making dietary changes.

How to use this paleo diet meal plan

This paleo meal plan is easy to follow, but it also leaves room for creativity. 

The plan uses the same menu for weeks one and three, and another menu for both two and four. 

Each week rotates two breakfasts and snacks, and three lunches and dinners. This way, you’ll only have to prepare a total of seven different dishes to enjoy throughout the week. 

Rodriguez suggests following the week one menu to start building up your paleo food knowledge and recipe bank. Then, by week three, you can switch things up if you’re ready. 

For example, if a dish in week one calls for chicken, you could swap that for another lean protein in week three.

As long as you stick to the approved paleo foods list and follow the basic structure of the meal plan, you’ll be all set. 

Use seasonings to customize these meals to your liking. 

But keep in mind that the total calories noted on the meal plan are based on the ingredients listed. Additional ingredients, like fresh herbs or condiments, may add some extra calories.

This paleo meal plan serves as a template to help get you started. With a little creativity and your paleo shopping list in hand, the possibilities are endless. 

30-day paleo diet challenge meal plan

This paleo meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes and snack ideas to make your transition to paleo easy. 

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

* There’s some debate about whether legumes are paleo-friendly. But beans and legumes are whole, nutritious foods that fill you up with healthy fiber. We think eating some now and then is perfectly fine. 

However, if you’re following a strict paleo diet plan, you might want to swap out the beans in the tuna and white bean salad. Instead, you could add chopped celery, grapes, or walnuts.

Will I lose weight on this paleo diet plan?

The focus on nutrient-rich whole foods makes the paleo diet suitable for weight loss, Rodriguez says. But you probably won’t lose weight automatically just by eating paleo foods. 

To lose weight, you need to maintain a calorie deficit. This means burning more calories than you consume. 

Many paleo-friendly foods, like red meat, nuts, and seeds, have a high caloric density. Eating too many of those foods could even cause you to gain weight. 

For example, 8 ounces of steak contains more than 600 calories. By contrast, 8 ounces of ahi tuna has 120 calories. 

It’s the same amount of food, but the tuna has much fewer calories.

Focusing on low-calorie density foods like vegetables is a good way to lose weight on the paleo diet (or any diet, really). 

Most of the meals in the plan below add up to around 1,400 daily calories or fewer. 

For many people, following the plan strictly should create enough of a calorie deficit to start the weight loss process.

Reflection exercise

Imagine you’re preparing a paleo meal of grilled chicken breast and roasted veggies. 

Think about how you would fill your plate to get the most nutrients for the fewest calories. Would your plate have more chicken or more veggies? 

Paleo meal prep and shopping tips

Rodriguez’s number one tip for eating paleo is to think fresh, wholesome, and natural. “If it can be found in nature, it should be on your plate,” she says. 

High-quality and nutrient-dense foods are the main component of the paleo diet. 

When grocery shopping, you’ll mostly stick to the outer edges of the grocery store. (Just skip the dairy section.) 

Fill up your cart with fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, nuts, and seeds. 

For example, your shopping cart could include: 

• Breakfast: eggs and a melon
• Lunch: turkey or chicken breast and leafy greens
• Dinner: salmon and broccoli 

You can also check out our paleo shopping list for beginners for more ideas.

Since this diet excludes processed foods that use preservatives, you’ll need to grocery shop more frequently. Or, Rodriguez also suggests, looking for sales and buying in bulk. 

Remember that frozen veggies are a perfectly acceptable alternative for fresh. Keeping your freezer stocked will reduce trips to the store and the amount of produce you throw out.

Find a time that works for you to prep your meals for the week, Rodriguez says. 

Just bring the ingredients to a point where they’re ready to cook or reheat when you’re hungry. This mostly includes cutting and marinating any meats, as well as washing and cutting produce. 

Find more paleo meal ideas

If after 30 days of paleo meals you decide to stick with the paleo diet, you’ll be ready to branch out and try new recipes. 

How does slow cooker beef stew sound? Or Thai vegetable coconut curry soup?

How about loaded burger bowls? Find these delicious recipe ideas and more in our list of 50 healthy and delicious paleo recipes.