Hey there and welcome to my blog! This is my first post and my first day of a 30-day challenge that probably won't be easy at times, but I would like to think is for the best.
To start off my blog I wanted to talk a bit about what the Paleolithic diet is. Paleo is becoming more and more popular, especially within the cross-fit culture and those who exercise frequently looking for fast results. The diet itself is based on the beliefs of what humans used to eat thousands of years ago, when society was made up of hunter/gatherer tribes. To think that our ancestors were not waking up putting pop tarts into a toaster seems like an unreachable idea, but it's true! The "caveman" diet consists of foods that were only accessible to people at the time. This includes: different games, fish, fruit, vegetables and various types of nuts excluding peanuts.
So why would we bring back this type of diet when we have advanced so much in the food industry? Well, if you've ever looked at photos of cavemen, they were pretty fit. In fact, I don't think you will ever find a picture of a neanderthal who is overweight.
The reason why North-Americans are so overweight is because of the processed foods, refined sugars and the ton of wheat that we consume. Most Americans will never without a day of putting some form of grain in their bodies. The problem with this is that everyone on this planet has a sensitivity to gluten. Some worse than others, but none the less this does affect your body. In order for your body to break down wheat, your body either flushes it through your system completely or it is stored as fat. Many of us unlucky people get the second punishment, and it's quite frightening.
Scary because so many people cannot understand why they are gaining weight. I guarantee if most people took wheat out of their diet completely they would see a dramatic weight change already even without removing the french fries or processed cheese we all oh-so-love as well.
I am not overweight. So why am I going to practice this diet? Well little under a year ago I found out I am hypothyroid. That means I have to take a pill every day to produce a healthy amount of the thyroid hormone. Otherwise I am very low in energy, and my body becomes lazy with the whole "let's give you energy: thing.
On that note, becoming Paleo has proven to help your body in more than just the weight-managing way. Studies have put the Paleo diet to the test using individuals with several different autoimmune diseases and the results were tremendous. Those with hypothyroidism were cured of ALL of their symptoms within 30 days.
The idea of taking a pill every day for the rest of my life terrifies me. Especially when I could be doing my body the favor of eating foods rich in nutrients to help kick start my thyroid hormones naturally.
This diet will by no means be convenient sometimes, but I believe we all owe it to ourselves to realize we are human and that we cannot live off of McDonald's and starchy carbs forever. It is why we are so low in energy and because we are not taking in enough nutrients, it is why we are always SO hungry.
I understand this diet isn't for everyone. It's difficult- and it will take quite a bit of motivation for me to get used to it. But I hope that whoever does follow my blog that they become inspired to look at what their body is telling them and hopefully join the vegetable side of life a little bit more, as apposed to the deep fried one I too had become so familiar with!
So how will this blog be structured? Every day I will be posting my meals, recipes and photos :). I will talk about my challenges, tips I find along the way and even things that I find inspiring!
I want to thank anyone who decides to follow this blog even if it's just for one post. It is something that will help me along the way when I decide to crave cheesecake at 3AM in the morning.
Take care!
Modern Cavewoman
