As you know I eat under the influence of Paleo. I’ve been writing and video blogging about it for a few months and sharing with you how awesome I feel and about all of the benefits that have come out of this new lifestyle for me. This week what I wanted to do is give you other people’s stories about eating Paleo. The whys and hows and what its done for them. Another point of view, other than mine.
Below, find Kerri’s story. She’s been Paleo for over a year and has a unique reason as to why and I’m happy that she shared her story with us today.
August of 2011 I did a “Going Paleo” experiment on my fitness blog. I jumped in with both feet and went strict Paleo for 30 days.
At the end of that experiment I felt AMAZING. So amazing that I couldn’t believe how not-amazing I’d been feeling without realizing there was a problem. Paleo was a game-changer in my life. In my health, in my fitness, and in my over-all sense of being well.
After that experience there was no going back. I’ve been Paleo just over a year now.
A year prior to this I’d tried Paleo and Primal both and failed miserably. I just couldn’t stick to either. What was different this time around? Why was I able to stick with it for 30 days and beyond? Two words: my husband.
You see, my husband has narcolepsy. The worst case his sleep specialist doctor had ever seen. If you click on that link and read the symptoms, he had the worst case scenario with all of them. It had a huge effect on his life. It was tough on all of us.
I began noticing that he seemed worse after eating certain foods. Through trial and error with his diet we found that Paleo (actually maybe a tad closer to Primal for him) made virtually all of his symptoms rare if not completely absent. He wasn’t trying to go Paleo, he was simply removing foods that seemed to be an issue.
On Paleo my husband is now taking half the dosage of all his medications and doing 1,000 times better than we ever thought possible. It’s nothing short of amazing. Needless to say this was a big incentive for me. I wanted to be supportive to him, but I also wanted to see what Paleo could do for me.
It’s done a lot. Again, I was amazed. Eating Paleo I feel just all-around well: energetic, clear headed, and ready to take on my days. My urge to binge eat is non-existent and my adult acne is no longer an issue (it seems to be dairy that causes that for me). Yes, I’ve lost pounds and inches too, but for me Paleo has more to do with how I feel.
Needless to say, we’ll be eating Paleo for years to come.
Is Paleo for everyone? I won’t even pretend to know the answer to that one. What I do know is that we should all be searching for what works for us and not just following the crowd. In that quest I firmly believe we need to pay more attention to how food affects us. How it makes us feel. What physical reactions we are having to it.
30 days of strict Paleo is a great way to remove all the possible culprits. Then, if added back in one at a time (if you choose, we choose not), with care and attention, you’ll know for sure if something is affecting you negatively. For instance I now know dairy makes me breakout and wheat and sugar make me feel lethargic and generally like crap. Good to know. I believe that many people are having similar struggles and don’t even realize it’s the foods they’re eating.
Would you ever try 30 days of Paleo?
About The Author:
Kerri Olkjer is a wife and homeschooling mom from rural Colorado. Most days you can find her wrangling kids (the people kind and the goat kind) and chickens, all the while sharing her adventures via instagram and twitter. She blogs about her wanna-be-farmer ways on 4acresfarm.com and health, fitness, running, and Paleo on FitViews.com. Join her the first Wednesday of each month for #paleochat on Twitter.
