What is paleo/primal all about?
The whole premise behind being primal is to basically eat like a caveman/cavewoman. What does that entail? It means eating lean meats, seafood, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats - basically cutting out all of that processed crap and eating real food.
So wait, what's the deal? Are you paleo?
Um, no. I ate a fantastic slice of truffle oil mushroom pizza from Vezzo yesterday. BUT I do think that eating real unprocessed food makes a big difference. When I cook at home, I pretty much only cook paleo recipes. Sorry to all my bread lovers out there. You won't find any carb-o-licious dishes here. I am still trying to figure out a way to eat clean when I go out. We'll see if I can get there.
I'm kind of interested in all of this paleo/primal stuff. Where do I find out more?
Want to Grok it up? I am by no means the authority on this stuff, but there is some great literature on the interwebs. Check it out:
Chris Kesser, Medicine for the 21st Century
Mark's Daily Apple, Primal Living in the Modern World
Robb Wolf, Revolutionary Solutions to Modern Life
Whole9, Let Us Change Your Life
Chris Kesser, Medicine for the 21st Century
Mark's Daily Apple, Primal Living in the Modern World
Robb Wolf, Revolutionary Solutions to Modern Life
Whole9, Let Us Change Your Life
How did you get interested in all of this stuff?
For those of you who are curious, here is my story:
I grew up not really caring what I put into my body. I would literally eat 15 Oreos in one sitting (Nabisco's secret ingredient is most definitely crack). As I got older, I started to notice that my body just didn't feel right. I just felt blah. At that point, I became a vegetarian. I think if you can figure out how to have a balanced vegetarian diet, it's a great lifestyle. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I was pretty much eating 80% grains and 20% chocolate (really, not really). I did that for about two years and felt even more blah. Yes, blah is a scientific term. You can search for it on WebMD.
I started to think about what else I could do. I knew about the paleo/primal lifestyle, but I resisted it for the longest time. I just couldn't give up my grains. I mean, come on, brownies and cookies and candies...oh my! But the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized that I valued having optimal health more than those two minutes of sweetness. I decided to give up grains, sugar, all that bad stuff, etc. for a few weeks. I was surprised at how truly wonderful I felt after those few weeks (no more blah!), and I decided that I would continue to be aware of what I put into my body. I still have the occasional chocolate chip cookie here and there, but I am much better than I used to be. More importantly, I feel much better than I used to feel.
I grew up not really caring what I put into my body. I would literally eat 15 Oreos in one sitting (Nabisco's secret ingredient is most definitely crack). As I got older, I started to notice that my body just didn't feel right. I just felt blah. At that point, I became a vegetarian. I think if you can figure out how to have a balanced vegetarian diet, it's a great lifestyle. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I was pretty much eating 80% grains and 20% chocolate (really, not really). I did that for about two years and felt even more blah. Yes, blah is a scientific term. You can search for it on WebMD.
I started to think about what else I could do. I knew about the paleo/primal lifestyle, but I resisted it for the longest time. I just couldn't give up my grains. I mean, come on, brownies and cookies and candies...oh my! But the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized that I valued having optimal health more than those two minutes of sweetness. I decided to give up grains, sugar, all that bad stuff, etc. for a few weeks. I was surprised at how truly wonderful I felt after those few weeks (no more blah!), and I decided that I would continue to be aware of what I put into my body. I still have the occasional chocolate chip cookie here and there, but I am much better than I used to be. More importantly, I feel much better than I used to feel.