Just Eat Real Food (or, how I got here)

With the recent posting of a "before and after" picture of myself, I have a large number of friends and family members asking about my lifestyle change and expressing interest in the Paleo way of eating.  I get that "diets" and eating habits can be taboo to talk about, feel very personal, and raise defenses.  However, I strongly believe that what we choose to nourish ourselves with is of the utmost importance, and I'm excited to talk about it with anyone who would like to share in the conversation.  That said, if you aren't interested in the conversation, that's okay, too.  You can rest assured that the posts I'll be sharing over the next however many days and weeks aren't for you.  My intention is to write about my journey so far, where I started, what I've learned, recipes, books, resources, blogs, etc!  I'd love for anyone to chime in with questions, ideas, concerns, stories, recipes, or musings.  Food isn't simply fuel to keep us running, it's also a tool for community building, a medium for pleasure, and a cornerstone of  culture.  With that in mind, I'd like to share a little bit about how I got started on this journey into ancestral eating.

A dear, dear friend of mine is a nurse and also recently graduated from Columbia with a Masters in Health Policy (concentration on Food Policy).  Over the past couple of years she has instilled in me the mantra, "just eat real food" (see Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" for more on this).  This didn't make much sense to me for the first year or so.  Eventually when shopping I would look at a lable and realzie I had no idea what I was buying.  Ever done this? It's shocking. Slowly, I tried to eliminate products with chemicals or words I couldn't pronounce (there were so many of them).  This didn't last long, however, and eventually my old habits crept back in.  It's not that I would eat whole cakes every night or have Cheetos for dinner (okay, actually, I’ve done that before), but I had no real regard to what or how much I ate.  I ate when I was hungry, bored, sad, watching a movie, driving, celebrating, going out... so, all the time.  My relationship with food was clearly not very healthy.  The easier something was to make, the better.  I grew up in South Florida, where a culture of convenience and consumerism prevails.  "The cheaper the better!"  It wasn’t until moving to Vermont that I saw a way of living that said, “Hey, slow down. Enjoy it for what it is.”  I learned about gardening and eating things that don't have packages.  I learned to milk a cow and gained a true appreciation for dairy.  I got eggs from the chicken coup every morning for a month and knew the work associated with my breakfast.  I helped with sugaring and learned why maple syrup is so expensive and such a treasure.  Suddenly food wasn’t just a product to me anymore, it was the essential items that came from the earth and kept me alive.  Whoa.  Big change.

Even after this switch, it took another year to really sit down with myself and question what food was to me, and what my relationship was to it.  I started searching the internet for blogs and research about “real food,” I started asking friends and farmers their thoughts, and I started forming some opinions.  I began thinking that some of what ailed me (bad skin, too much weight, trouble sleeping, allergies, low immune system, digestive troubles) might have to do with what I eat.  This thinking led me to a few websites that discussed a Paleolithic way of eating.  I started devouring information, clicking link after link, and everything I was reading made an incredible amount of sense.  I scoured websites and found a few top recommended books and places to start.  I read "The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain which ended up being too science-y and dense for me.  Then I started "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf.  This was a great book, but was quickly brushed aside when I received Diane Sanfilippo's "Practical Paleo."  A colorful, beautiful, inclusive, easy-to-read piece of art, Diane's book literally changed my life.  It is accessible, includes research and background in a way that is both informative but also non-threatening.  Diane is matter-of-fact and blunt but also caring and intelligent.  The book includes a plethora of recipes and 30-day meal plans for any type of needs you can imaging (basic paleo, weight loss, auto-immune diseases, MS, etc etc).  I cleaned out my cupboards and never looked back.

Nearly five months later, I can hardly believe the changes.  I used to have such a low immune system that if anyone around me had a cold, I would catch it and have it way worse.  I would be sick for days with  fever and every imaginable symptom.  Since changing my diet, I have literally not been sick for one day.  I got through flu and cold season where nearly everyone in my workplace caught something, and I scarcely cleared my throat.  I used to have chronic headaches, sometimes daily for weeks on end. Not a single one in five months (except the one night I drank alcohol in excess... my body made sure to tell me I made a mistake!). My digestion has improved nearly 100%.  I have lost 27 pounds and just about 3 pant sizes.  I don't really measure by weight anymore, because as I start working out with Crossfit (6 weeks in!) I am gaining muscle and losing fat. The result means the scale doesn't budge but my body changes drastically.  I look different, I feel different, my head is clearer, I sleep better, I laugh more, I work harder, and I feel proud.  I love food, I talk about food all the time.  I love shopping at farmer's markets and my local coop, I love getting my meat from a local organic farm, I love cooking and experimenting and eating and sharing with others.  Food is such a huge part of my life, but it is in a hugely positive way.  There is no shame or guilt associated with eating, only happiness and curiosity and satisfaction.  Do I have it perfect? No. Do I indulge sometimes? Absolutely! I still have an infinite amount to learn; but what I do know is that I am happy and healthy.  I hope to have some blood work done soon to show a bit more in that regard.  But I know that, from the inside out, I am so much healthier than I was before this Paleo journey began.

This post doesn't have a lot of information or facts, but it does have a lot of me.  I'm not really proud of the way I ate for the first 27 years of my life.  But I know for a fact that the rest of my life will be filled with beautiful, colorful, grass-fed-when-possible, local-when-available, organic-when-affordable, food... not products.  Below is a link to Diane's book, her facebook page, and website.  Check 'em out - it's a great place to start.  My next post will include more about what I view Paleo to be and how it works for me, and some other great beginning resources.  I don't know exactly where this blog is going, but I know I am passionate about its topic.  I have found peace in my life, largely through this change in eating, and I am thrilled to share it with anyone who'll listen.

Happy eating,
Dani

Diane's website and book: http://balancedbites.com/practicalpaleo

Her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Balanced-Bites/118286848256522?fref=ts

A good place to start, if you'd like: http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/