Personally I am not a fan of using the word diet because I fully believe that fad diets don’t work. What they do is interrupt our body’s way of functioning, whether for good or bad all depends on the diets we choose. That being said, if you don’t mind I will be referring to diets as lifestyles, because essentially that is what they asks us to do, take on a new life style, whether we are Vegan or Paleo or anything in between.
OK! Let me define Paleo as anything other than the “Caveman Diet” because a common reaction to this sort of thinking is, there is no possible way of anyone truly knowing what a Caveman ate, not to mention not all the things they ate 10, 000 years ago exist today, all we do know is how they ate made them survive and thrive (Dolson). And that did not include anything that comes out of a box, manufactured in a factory and shipped to the middle isles of your local store. According to some, at its simplest form, Paleolithic (Paleo) Lifestyle includes anything that can be hunted, fished, or gathered. Anything pre-agriculture (Jabr). So is a Black Bean really that bad for you? the answer is no, it isn’t, however studies show that our bodies are biologically created to thrive pre-cultivation and after agriculture came so did changes that may have slowed us down a little. According to Dr. David Katz, "A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention" (Hamblin).
Who is David Katz? He is director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, he is important because he knows a lot and what he suggests is little to no processed food. Dr. Katz is known for his advocacies for healthy nutrition, weight management, and the prevention of chronic diseases (Hamblin). I could continue to hammer you with information about the Paleo lifestyle, but this is not what I am trying to do here, I am not promoting just the Paleo lifestyle, I am promoting taking control of your life to feel a balance unlike any other. I am promoting total wellness starting with what we eat.
So as you may already know, if we were properly introduced, I went vegan for lent. Yup! Gave it all up for 50 whole days. How did I feel? I had my ups and downs, there were times when all I wanted was a nice piece of meat or frozen yogurt. But I maintained a semi-strict Vegan diet, semi-strict? I will explain later, for the majority of the 50 days. I did it because I felt like my body needed a break and a change, I thought to myself Vegan people are healthy and happy and I want that. Did it work? For the most part I felt good. But I did notice that I was eating a lot more bread and beans; bean burritos, Soy Cheese quesadillas, etc. What was I doing? I wasn’t eating more vegetables and I definitely didn’t have very much energy, if anything I became borderline anemic. Ok the anemic thing is partly my fault because I should be taking regular vitamins and eating more spinach. The point is it didn’t work for me. I was not functioning at my most optimal potential.
Prior to going vegan my husband and I decided to research and try some Paleo style meals, they were good. Instead of having a hamburger for lunch I was having a salad filled with spinach, cucumbers, blueberries, avocados, bacon, bell peppers, tomatoes, almonds slices, and all I needed was a squeeze of lemon. I can honestly say that gave me more energy mid-day than the second double shot espresso I was having regularly. I felt great, short lived because lent was around the corner, but great. Giving up bread and rice was extremely hard because it is such an essential part of my normal Egyptian lifestyle and at times I wanted a sandwich and I ate it. Did I regret having a piece of bread? no, did I feel better when I didn’t? Perhaps, who knows?
Stay with me, there is a point here. Since my goal is to promote total wellness I am going to show you what happens when I transition back to a Paleo lifestyle, because that worked best for me. My first night going from Vegan to Paleo I decided to keep it simple, I had a few pieces of non-nitrate bacon and two eggs. It was heaven!! I did feel a little queasy, but I attributed that to the time, because I normally don’t eat a meal after 8 pm and it was around 10 pm, and that fact that I haven’t had any meat for 50 days. In all honesty, it was the first time I woke up not feeling bloated, although I did get acid reflex during the night, again probably because of the time of day I ate.
We did it! We got through our first post together, I hope you learned something of interest and that you will come back to check in on me and my transition. I would like to end this post with my personal philosophy about food, think of your dinner plate as a canvas and fill it with beautiful, vibrant colors and aromas. If it sounds weird, try it! If it looks weird, smell it first than perhaps try it. Overall keep an open mind and color in your plate.
Work Cited
Dolson, Laura. "Foods Allowed on the Paleolithic (Paleo Diet, Caveman Diet); What You Should Be
Eating On the Paleo Diet." About.com Low Carb Diets. About.com, 01 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Apr.
2014. <http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/paleodietcavemandiet/a/paleodietfood.htm>.
Hamblin, James. "Science Compared Every Diet, and the Winner Is Real Food." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/science-compared-every-diet-and-the-
winner-is-real-food/284595/>.
Jabr, Ferris. "How to Really Eat Like a Hunter-Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet Is Half-Baked [Interactive &
Infographic]." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 3 June 2013. Web. 24 Apr.
2014. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-
gatherer-really-eat/>.
Katz, M.D. David. "The Paleo Diet: Can We Really Eat Like Our Ancestors Did?" The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 July 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/paleo-diet_b_889349.html>.
Hey Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI babysit for a family that is all vegan and gluten free because the youngest has food allergies. There's a pizza place in Campbell that only sells vegan and also has gluten free. That's what we had for dinner the last time I babysat. I didn't love it, but the kids ate it just fine. Honestly, I was shocked. This barely-three-year old was eating a piece of hard gluten free crust with some vegan cheese sprinkled on and topped with olives. I guess what you feed your kids when they are young really influences their taste palette? Anyway, just thought I'd share because I thought of that night babysitting while I read your other post on the Pizza splurge.
Anyway, I think it's great that you're so attentive to your body's needs and that you're making this lifestyle change. Perhaps I'll go Paleo for Lent next year!