My Story: PaleOlivia

Since Paleoleander has posted her background, I thought I'd do mine. I came to paleo by way of primitive skills, which I'd been interested in for a while prior. In researching indigenous cultures and their lifestyles, I began to uncover information on the hunter-gatherer diet and it made a lot of sense to me, so I decided to try it out. I joined Paleolander's challenge and saw significant changes in my energy levels, ability to concentrate, sleeping habits and general well-being. As a self-admitted sugar junkie, I did have to weather the initial symptoms of sugar withdrawl, which were very trying (as Oleander can attest, I became exceedingly grouchy!). Once that passed, the effects were very positive, with the exception of one important aspect: Our social lives became much more difficult to navigate. Going out to eat was often a chore, with most dishes incorporating some kind of starch or sugar in them. Visiting with my Sicilian-American mother was near impossible, and the inevitable work situations arose. I would love to have some discussions with other people who have been in similar circumstances and worked through them.

After the trial period we went off strict paleo, and I eventually went off paleo altogether, with predictable results. I've since become "paleoccasional", always meaning to get back off the sugar but never quite managing to do it. I started exercising regularly over the past year, which has helped me a lot health wise, but my diet seems to be the missing part of my whole health equation. So I'm ready to take another shot at it! Looking forward to feeling good again.