Well I’d be crazy if I told you the transition from “traditional” american food to Paleo was easy but it was probably easier for me than others I’d say. Mainly because I’m not a big bread eater to begin with. Anytime before I ate a sandwich or a biscuit I’d eat minimal amounts. Bread wasn’t something I really craved or missed all that much.
As I think I mentioned before, I was fairly fit and healthy for your average 30 something. I ran 12-15 miles per week (no marathon I know) but I made a conscious effort every day to be physically active. Some days I would lift weights, other days I would run 3-5 miles. I was getting my heart rate up 4-5 times a week for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. I was doing good.
I never really ate fried foods and I never ate white bread. I consumed lots of grilled meat and beans. Some other veggies and “healthy” shakes. My weight hovered right around the 180-184 mark depending on what time of the week it was. Mondays I was always heavier than I would be on Friday simply because I sort of indulged on the weekends. Nothing too bad but it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to gain 3-5 pounds over a weekend at the lake with my parents.
So I switched to a more primal way of eating. Nobody is perfect and we don’t live in a caveman society so take the rest of my posts for what they’re worth. I did the best i could being a young professional working a 9-5 job.
Something happened to me that I never would have imagined. The weight began to just drop off of me. I literally lost 20 pounds in less than two months. I didn’t think I had 20 pounds to lose but boy did it ever drop off when I went paleo.
People thought I was ill or had some sort of health problem. All I could figure was that I had so much inflammation in my body due to all of the grains and legumes I was consuming that my system was finally able to let go of all that trauma I’d caused by eating everything I THOUGHT was good for me.
As my journey with this kind of diet continues I tend to get overwhelmed by all of the gurus out there claiming this that and the other is bad for you. I Think things in moderation are ok and that variety is crucial. You start eating mass quantities of almonds you’re going to start seeing the negative effects it can have on your system.
The more I read the more I am intrigued. I know there really is no perfect diet as we are all different genetically and tolerate things others can’t and vice versa. This again is a journey to optimum health and I try and listen to the signals my body sends me and tweak things from there.