Changing What’s Normal

It occurred to me last night when I was finishing up a lovely meal of bone broth, which I’d made using grass fed bones, garlic, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and some pastured chicken breast with some raw chard thrown in last minute that times sure have changed.

For me, that is.

Former vegan here, don’t forget.

Aside from that, though, other things have come full circle.

I recall as a little kid being completely repulsed by the mere site of fat on meat.  My dad would have to cut any last morsel of it from pork chops, lamb or and type of protein that my mom had made for dinner.

Then, of course, as a teen in the early 90’s, my disgust with the idea of eating fat was further perpetuated with the low fat and fat free eating craze so popular back then.

I’m clearly giving the short version, but the point is that now, eating (actually, sometimes devouring) the decadence of Paleo fats like, for example, a nice piece of fatty grass fed ribeye, or some marrow from a bone, such as I enjoyed last night, are such a fundamental part of True Paleo living, I cannot even begin to imagine how my body would feel if I ever were to return to any of the styles of eating I used to follow.

From vegan, to the zone, to blood type to ‘healthy American Athlete’s’ diet, I’ve tried so many and none, repeat, none, have ever fit like the proverbial glove the way Paleo does.

With all the approached I tried above, I was always:

• Experiencing GI distress, from mild as a child to horrible and debilitating in my twenties
• Either hungry and all the time but kind of getting close to the lean bodyweight I wanted OR eating a bit more and not as lean as I wanted

It wasn’t until 2005 when I began following an approach which suggested that perhaps if I were to eat things that were naturally available, nearly ‘as is’ like plants and wild meats, and if I were to not eat things that were processed, packaged and poison (did I just write that?), that maybe I’d feel a bit better.

For me, it didn’t take tombs of knowledge and numerous studied to win me over.  

Rather, I tuned into my own body and let that dictate how to proceed.

This is precisely what I hope all you readers will do.  

Try different things as you progress to Paleo and land on your feet, secure that you’re following what fits you best and without a hint of doubt or wonder that there could’ve been a better approach.

No regrets… only optimal health!