The Paleo Thang

So I was asked to talk about the Paleo diet that I'm following. Like I said, it was given to me through a friend who said it helped her with her post-partum health issues so I thought I'd give it a go. I started a little less than two weeks ago and am getting by ok. The diet includes eating only lean meat, fruit, veggies, nuts and seeds. I should mention that it was suggested I change my diet per the advice of that alternative doc I had a consult with two weeks ago. He worked in correcting many people's issues from insomnia to cancer, to candida, to fibromyalgia, to pretty much everything, all through adjusting people's diets. He would do this through testing your bodies sensitivities using something called EAV Testing. Taken from his blog he states:


EAV Testing indirectly measures the "Energetic System" of the body. It does not measure the physiology, the biochemistry, or the pathology components of the human body. However, the “Energetic System” is related to these components, from the standpoint of quantum physics, and can help identify imbalances and guide therapy to restore balance.

It's all very strange stuff and costs about $360 to have done (he doesn't take insurance) so I figured try some of this stuff on my own before dropping a load to find out something that I could discern on my own through trial and error. Providentially, that was right before I was introduced to the Paloe diet and saw it as God's hand guiding me toward an answer to some of these previously mentioned symptoms.

Alright so how am I doing with it? Well, this friend, K, sent me a copy of a Paleo diet cookbook that supplied me with easy recipes for foods that were safe as well as providing a checklist of "yes and no" foods to eat. Now with this "yes and no list" I have some issues. See, there are a lot of opinions out there as to what is and is not acceptable on this diet. Some people say no to all dairy, while other say it's fine. Some people say no to all starches, including sweet potatoes, while other praise them and encourage you to consume as many as you want of them. It frustrating because I'm not used to dieting, let alone following one where there are conflicting opinions about what one should eat, so as a result I am left to decide what to do for myself. And I, being the potentially extreme person that I am (of the choleric/melancholic temperament), tend to lean on the conservative side and cut out everything that's questionable. So I attempted to go with the absolute minimum for about three days, and found that I was doing great; my mood was better, I noted an increase in energy, and a number of my symptoms disappeared! The only symptom that remained was the tingling in my hands and feet.

The realization that this diet was seemingly correcting my health problems was so encouraging that I couldn't help but feel motivated to continue it. I mean, when you see such obvious changes in an incredibly short period of time it definitely tells you that something is working and you would be a fool not to continue with it. This was such an answer to prayer! There did come a problem after about day three when my appetite picked up. I should mention that I went home to Jersey to see my family to celebrate my mom's birthday, which meant lots of great Italian food and desserts, and was tempted to cheat and eat what I shouldn't given I was outside of my environment.  Knowing that I would crash and burn if I didn't increase my eating options, I loosened the fast and allowed dairy back into my diet. (I couldn't not try the eggplant rolatini and chicken marsala at her party- yum! :) With dairy back on my plate, it opened the door to a few more foods and eased my hunger a bit. Interestingly, I did observe that my eczema returned after I ate the dairy. Yes, I have that too. It's something I've had for years and from what I can tell is an a type of allergic reaction, which I did not know until after being on this diet. So good to know, but it still  didn't stop me from eating the dairy while out of town. Before we left to return home, I made a stop at a great produce market called Verchios and picked up a ton of fruit and veggies- the sell the cheapest produce you'll find anywhere. If you're ever driving through South Jersey be sure and stop by this place- you won't be disappointed!

After we returned home, I did go back to cutting out the dairy since I realized that not only was it causing my eczema to flare up, it also wasn't good for my trying to lose baby fat, which I should add is slowly going away :)

So let me go over the specifics of what it is I am eating these days. on my plate I have grilled chicken, eggs, steak, apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries, cashews, coconut milk, almond milk, almond butter, chicken soup, stuffed cabbage w/out rice, salmon, cod, shrimp, zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes (yes, I had to eat them since I was starving without the starch in my diet), salad, hamburgers, tomato salad, you get the idea. What am I not eating? Any breads, sweets save fruit, rice, beans, corn, dairy (well maybe I cheat sometimes, but not too much). It's amazing that I am doing this and I pray that I can continue it and don't get lazy and start adding things I shouldn't. I will have a little ice cream of something like that if I'm at a party just to be social, but otherwise it's all hands off for me.

Now if you don't mind, I'm going to veer off topic for a moment.

It's been a good thing going without carbs because not only is it good for my body, but it's a good penance for my soul. I find that the discipline of not eating what I want all the time is helping me build what people used to call "character", aka virtue. Since I've been on this diet I have noticed I'm not as short tempered or as depressed as I used to be.

It would be a lie for me to say that I don't suffer from depression because I do and have had some really bad moments when I've just wanted to die. Yes, I admit it. Many doctors have advised I take an anti-depressant to treat it and honestly I tried it for about a month, but found that the side effects from trying to get off it made all my depression symptoms worse. After that, I was determined never to go back on them again, especially if it meant I could never live independent of a drug. Plus, I read that the risk of having fertility problems increased so I said forget it. God has blessed me with wonderful fertility and I am not about to take any chances losing that by taking some medication. And besides, there are other methods to helping oneself, like exercising, Paleo dieting or simply getting out and being around  people again. Nothing beats being around good friends and people who you know love you. It makes life feel so much more worth living.  Yet sadly, that's something I don't have much of where I live. Having the little ones so close together has forced me to stay home nearly all the time so I don't have the opportunity to get out and meet other moms. This seclusion gets hard on all of us.
In an attempt to help this problem, my husband kindly encouraged me to get out and take evening classes. So taking his advice, I signed up for an aerobic dance and ballet class with my daughter.

Dancing is one thing in my life that always takes me out of myself. Most, if not all, people are shocked when they see me in my element on the dance floor. See, I come off as a very reserved person, but once the music starts, it's as though someone else comes out of me and I feel so free from everything that usually holds me back. There is no way I can explain why it happens, it just does and I love it! From what I am told, I'm a pretty good dancer as well (I confess I do have a history in musical theater and dance) so I'm making a complete fool of myself while letting it all hang loose :)

Aside from the dancing, I will also be attending an evening of recollection once a month at a local oratory to help me grow in my spiritual life. I can't ignore my spiritual needs in all of this, right? Perhaps through this I will meet other people whom I can share a deeper friendship with. Time will tell.

So maybe between this diet, doing the dance classes, and growing spiritually things will get better for me. Hey, maybe I'll even have to change the title of this blog to something more blithesome. Anything is possible :)

Well need to sign off for now. Hope to find out what my blood results showed early this week. Have confidence all will be fine, but will let you know. Till then. Later.