Our Reason Why

Sometimes Seeing is Believing 

First off, let me start by saying we can't take all the credit for being able to spread the good word that is Paleo. Our good friends, Justin and Cassie got us into doing Paleo several months ago. Before I tell you the part that got us wanting to do it -- I'll show you what got us motivated. I asked Justin to send his before Paleo and during Paleo pictures to show you (I don't think there will ever be an "after" picture.. Paleo just keeps going and going :)). If this doesn't give you that push, I don't know what will. 

These are some pictures of me before and after just two months of Paleo (through the holidays, so not perfect but pretty strict throughout). Before going Paleo, I ate the typical diet of a lot of whole grains, low fat, and pretty good amount of protein. I was sitting around 205 lbs and would fluctuate down to around 195 when I was good with this “diet.”  

In November 2010, I decided to give the 30-day Paleo challenge a shot. I upped my protein intake, my fat intake, and I completely removed grains, legumes and dairy. I rounded this out with a good chunk of vegetables. A few days in, I felt great. I was no longer popping the painkillers I had been because of my back pain, and I didn't get that sick to my stomach pain after every meal to which I had grown accustomed. The best part was that I was never hungry. I ate to satiety every meal and even between meals.                         

Tomorrow will be 14 months of Paleo, and I still feel great. I've maintained my results, and have no desire to go back. Paleo started out as a way to lose some weight and feel better. I did, and I do. However, now it is much more than that. Like Lori says this is a lifestyle, and I see no reason to go back.                 

Thanks go out to Nelson Sprague who gave me that final push to get started, Cassie Pavlovic my wonderful girlfriend who jumped ship with me and came up with some amazing recipes on the way, and Robb Wolf whose blog and podcasts are an amazing wealth of information.  

Before

After

Sorry ladies, he's taken!

Why Paleo?

Back to the original question why Paleo? We do hear "Why are you doing the Paleo Diet, you guys don't need to lose weight" more often than not. Well. Thank you for the compliment -- but it's not a diet. 

Besides the obvious motivation, we want to be healthy. Putting chemicals in our bodies with names we can't even pronounce isn't exactly our idea of a smart decision. Of course we all pretty much grew up eating Lucky Charms for breakfast and mac 'n cheese for dinner and we aren't dead yet. So what's different now? Well, now we are aware. Before, that is what we were told was "good" for us. Eat your fiber and drink milk... those aren't bad things, they just aren't an original source. You can get fiber from lots of other natural ingredients (like berries, apples, avocados, cauliflower, green beans, the skins of fruit (I can keep going))... rather than from cereal. You can get calcium through other ingredients (like spinach, kale, celery, broccoli, oranges and even cinnamon!) rather than drinking milk. 

Paleo is a way of cleansing your body. Out with the bad and in with the good. There is no better feeling than being in control of what you put in your body. We feel good and want our friends and family to feel the same. If you think this isn't for you, we won't be mad at you. The things we eat are things you already buy -- meats, fruits and veggies. Why not eat more of each? 

All the best --