Why Paleo?

Throughout the past couple years, dieting "fads" have been in circulation. There's the whole idea that going gluten-free is good, there's the age old being vegetarian or vegan, and more recently, many people have jumped onto the paleo diet trend. This diet aims to mimics the eating habits of those in the paleolithic era; only the freshest (grassfed) meats, fish/seafood, fruits, and vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils are apart of this way of eating. Foods that are omitted include cereal grains, dairy products, refined sugars and oils, processed foods, potatoes, and certain legumes. Seems pretty drastic, huh?
I remember when I first heard about the paleo lifestyle. I was a sophomore in college, and the student athletic trainer I was assigned to shadow, Nic, had introduced it to me. I really looked up to how healthy and fit he was so I figured it was a pretty legit thing. Then, he told me the rules. HAH! Is this guy serious?! Of course he was. Then he gave me six pounds of qunioa he had at his apartment in attempts to limit temptation. The idea of being paleo was simply that to me, an idea. That was of course before I decided to create a healthier lifestyle for myself.

When my mom introduced the Whole30 Paleo Challenge to my sister and I this past January it was indeed a change. When I read the restrictions I knew this would be close to impossible for me. Not because I didn't have the willpower, but because I knew my body well, and I knew it would have a difficult time adapting to the change. The most important part, I believe, in making a dietary change is going about it slowly, yet effectively. You do not want to subject your body to any type of shock or depravation.

The hardest part of the paleo challenge was taking out grains. Unfortunately, the full paleo diet does not include quinoa. Lord, have mercy...what am I going to do?! Not only do I luuuurve my grains, I also know that this is where I get many of my carbohydrates from. Carbs are perhaps the most understood micronutrient in the bunch. We all learned it when Dolly Parton mimicked it on Steel Magnolias, "carbs are the enemy!" FALSE! Carbs are your greatest source of energy. It is essential you learn to love them and appreciate them, however do not abuse them! I could go into a whole nutrition lesson about carbs, but I will instead post a lovely Pinterest chart on the difference between simple "bad" and complex "good" carbs.

And then I saw no beans....okay, okay. Jokes over now, right? Not only do I love beans, my January/February edition of Health Magazine confirmed that beans are indeed good for your heart! They help to lower cholesterol (as do whole grains and legumes, ps). Therefore, I decided to go about this challenge differently. I decided to go about it eating more clean, than paleo. Thus I became "pseduo-paleo" as I like to describe it. I decided to adapt grassfed- produced meats, fresh fish and seafood, and unrefined sugars and healthy oils into my diet, as well as knocking out processed foods. What I did however keep that is not paleo are healthy grains like quinoa and whole-grain bread (very seldom, especially if it includes bananas and nut butter), and beans.

I am not paleo, and until I've decided to make a full change I won't even pretend to be. I do however strive to make healthy and fresh choices with everything I eat; that doesn't include Girl Scout cookies. You're welcome.