So you may recall a few months back when I embarked on Mark Sisson's 21 Day Transformation to a paleo lifestyle. I was disappointed in some aspects of the challenge as I felt they were not suited for my reality. Although I finished the food portion of the transformation, I did not do the exercise portion. Shortly after the challenge, I returned to grains and other unhealthy choices. It took me a few months to realize how awful I have felt since stopping the challenge. It has been like wading in mud everyday to get through the fatigue and weariness.
Recently, a friend of mine (you know who you are) began eating paleo. She reports that she has an increase in energy and less stomach pains. For some reason that really struck me. If her diet, which was already void of sugar and quite nutritious in American standards, caused her stomach pain and fatigue, then what was our diet doing to me and my family? So I started reading more about the paleo lifestyle.
In my reading, I came across a few different paleo families. Reading their stories gave me new hope and motivation to try this change again. Most striking were the stories about the change in their children. Suddenly gone were the constant need for antibiotics. Most recently, I read a success story on Mark Sisson's blog about a little boy Gabriel. This child suffered from severe stomach problems, low weight and poor muscle gain. Feeding him was torture for the parents. They converted his diet to paleo and suddenly he has grown in height, weight and strength. Sound like anyone in my family could use this? Read Gabriel's story here. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/my-son-is-growing/#axzz1sRi0nMjK
I have been reading about how to transform your family to this lifestyle. We live in a society where convenience and cute packaging is constantly thrown in our face. Our hurried lifestyles make it challenging to pack whole food lunches for school. Even if you manage to do that, your efforts will likely be squashed by the never ending cookies or cupcakes brought to the class room. So what do you do?
All of my reading has taught me that this transformation does not occur overnight. Most importantly though, it must start with me. Our children model what we do and if I do not eat paleo then they certainly will not. So on Monday I stopped eating all grains, processed foods, and the greasy garbage of fast food chains. I have to say I feel great. Over time, our house will slowly get rid of the foods that our likely holding back our children from living to their full potential. I tread carefully in this transformation due to the selective eating of my Rooster. I am confident though that making this transformation will greatly benefit his health.
Stay tuned as I blog about this venture. I plan to start my exercise portion soon. I hope to share recipes and exercises with you. I always love to hear from you as well. Do you have any health problems that you think could be "cured" from a paleo diet? Are you willing to try it for 30 days? Do you take medication that could be eliminated by this diet? Dare to challenge yourself, you can only regret not trying. Even if you have no interest in trying this, I hope you'll follow my journey.
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