It's My Health and My Body!

Today I read a blog that made a lot of sense to me.  It was a blog where the people that wrote it had been Paleo for quite sometime and are now quitting that lifestyle.  In the comments they were ridiculed as well as praised.  But for me the post meant more, much more.  I felt that out of all of the blogs that I read this morning it was empowering because they were standing up for themselves and not just going along with the crowd.

Don't get me wrong, I can truly appreciate the Paleo lifestyle.  It fits and has helped so many people, myself included to an extent.  Last Fall I lost 20 pounds eating strict Paleo.  However, after that I hit a plateau and haven't moved from that point.  I have continued to eat very healthy, but nothing seems to help.

This Summer I have found that sugar is not my friend.  I broke out in blisters all over my face and it seems to be due to sugar and dairy.  So not only is Gluten not good for my body, but processed sugar and dairy seem to bother me.  I guess I should qualify dairy.  I can eat homemade yogurt and that doesn't seem to bother me, but milk and a lot of cheeses do.  So once in awhile I do eat homemade yogurt and do okay on it.

But I have lost a lot of my enthusiasm towards the Paleo lifestyle, especially as I have been making double the meals due to my husband not wanting to eat that way.  Oh, he is pretty good to eat a dinner that I've made, but he likes his sweets and treats.  And when the family comes over it's been hard to eat differently from what they are eating.

So in a nutshell, here is how I truly feel.  I like a lot of the concepts that Paleo/Primal teaches, but I don't think it is the only way one should eat.  I think that we need to all, everyone of us study things out and see what is best for us.  I will still eat those good things that I've learned how to make without using grains and sugars (because my body responds well to this), but I will also be looking at ways to incorporate other good foods into my diet.  I think there are some grains that can be beneficial to me that don't contain gluten.  And most importantly, I feel that one must use Moderation when it comes to how we eat.  I feel that our bodies need exercise and we need to use our heads when it comes to our own bodies.

I first began this journey by reading the Green Smoothie Girl's diet.  I felt like she really had something until I came to the part in her book where she says that we shouldn't partake of "animal flesh". To me that was a BIG RED FLAG!  Then I began reading the Original Fast Food diet and he seemed to be onto something, until he too talked about not eating meats.  I think that sometimes people tend to go overboard once they embrace a lifestyle.  I think that God put animals on this earth to help us in one way or another.  I think that when we begin to want to say our way is best and to push it onto another person or to tell them that their lifestyle isn't good ~ then we really need to step back and take a good look at what we are doing.  No one should tell another how they should live.  We each need to do what is best for us.  No one knows what is best for me, except me!  I know my body better than anyone else and I know what it responds best to.  So if I feel I need to eat some grains and carbs, then I should be able to do that without any ridicule, if I feel I need to partake of some protein through eating meats it shouldn't be looked down on because someone else says it's bad.  All in all I think we need to each do what is best for ourselves without pushing it on others.  I think it's okay to share our experiences and let others do their own studying to see if it may help them, but don't ridicule someone else's way of life.  We don't know where they are in their life or what they are going through.  Let's all just try and help each other instead of tearing others down!