Why Paleo is the black sheep of the diet family

Many days I just want to shout, “Wake up you dolts! Paleo is the answer to what you are missing!” You probably know someone that needs to change the way they eat or workout to improve their quality of life. When we find something that works we want to share that knowledge and help others lead a healthy life. So why don’t people listen? Why do they look for excuses? If this really works, then why don’t more people know about it and follow it?

Yes, this is me in the picture.

Money

The Paleo lifestyle doesn’t have any nifty little products to package and sell on your local grocery store shelves. It doesn’t have a line of “magic presto pills,” meals that come to your door or a piece of essential fitness equipment.

Public: OK – but can’t that be seen as a good thing too? I’m not getting scammed if you aren’t trying to sell me something, right?

True, however, that’s also why people don’t know about Paleo. Nothing to sell = no $$$ = no publicity. No celebrity spokes model is out there to market and sell Paleo to you.

Carb Lovin’

It’s not easy to convince people to give up crusty bread, flour in their baked goods, and sweet corn on the cob. Many of our comfort foods are derived from grains. Combine that temptation with the media telling us to eat our comforting whole grains, we nod like lemmings and continue on the path to self-destruction.

Fad Diet

The Paleo/Primal lifestyle often gets lumped into the “fad diet” category, which is comical since it is adopted from our ancestors. You really want to compare that kind of history to the grapefruit, master cleanse, raw diets out there? Well, not eating grains seems like a radical idea so it must be a fad. Please improve your ignorance and do some research before you shove Paleo aside! There is a reason we have a community growing by the thousands with hundreds upon hundreds of REAL success stories.

How do I convince loved ones Paleo/Primal really works?

Lead by example and others will take notice. They will complement your appearance and ask what you are doing. It’s important to reach out to family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors if they express health concerns or interest in your lifestyle. Read and recommend The Paleo Solution or The Primal Blueprint to get into the nitty gritty of Paleo/Primal.

When people ask me about my diet, I smile and say, “I’ve been eating more protein, vegetables, and healthy fats.” That’s where I stop unless they dig deeper. Otherwise, you will receive odd stares or turn people off if you go into no grains or dairy, “caveman” diet, etc. They will write it off as a bizarre fad diet, whereas the media has made protein, veggies, and ‘healthy fats’ socially acceptable.

Until more people wake up and realize Paleo isn’t the crazy aunt no one invited to the party, we must stay strong in our actions with a friendly and confident approach. 

Are you having difficulty explaining your Paleo/Primal lifestyle to others? Do people treat you differently when they find out you are Paleo/Primal?

Krista

Family Matters

Sorry I haven’t updated in a little while. It’s been a busy week at work, at home, trying to get a template (that I like) to work, and updating the blog with static pages (menu bar). Hope you like it! Also, I didn’t feel inspired by any topics until I had dinner with my in laws.

Questions from family & friends

Ever since I went Primal successfully, several family and friends have thought about trying it. They ask a lot of questions that get me to think and look up answers. I’m terrible at explaining things – you don’t want me to tell jokes or funny stories…it’s just bad. For some reason I can’t put stories/explanations into words successfully without getting word vomit. You don’t want that in your carpet so I send links to websites or books to explain. 

Family successes & spreading the word

The other night my Mother-in-law was telling me of her success on Paleo. She read the links I’d sent her and changed her diet/workout accordingly and lost 6-7 pounds in a few weeks. This is really great for her because she has tried so many diets over the years, until recently she would practically starve herself (600-800 calories/day + chronic cardio) just to drop 1-2 pounds in a month.  We were so proud of her and now she wants to start cooking this way for my Father-in-law – great! Now he is in great shape for his age and he is concerned with his cholesterol and eating saturated fat than losing weight. To avoid word vomit, I just told them how I’d read several examples on Paleo/Primal lowering cholesterol for many who live by the diet. I don’t find it very convincing telling someone that you read something somewhere, because you can read about Elvis being abducted by aliens, probed, and is now back among us but that doesn’t make it true. So I followed up with some links today (click here if interested).

My Mother-in-law also told me about how she is pickier with what she eats. They were just returning from a class reunion and she told me that she is now thinking more about what is available and asking herself, do I really need that or maybe I should wait and see if a better option is put out. Like comparing instant mashed potatoes out of a microwave to having Paula Dean make them for you herself with all the fixin’s (I know which option I’d choose).  I laughed as she was telling me this, because the other day my Mom was telling me about how she is pickier about the carb options she consumes. My Mom has been going as low carb as possible, not fully Paleo, but she has seen the benefits and believes it can work (lost a total of 12lbs in 6 weeks) - great results for not a full 100% effort.

How to get your family interested in Paleo/Primal

Nothing speaks louder than actions. If you would like to get your family started on the Paleo/Primal lifestyle, the best way is to lead by example. Do not approach them about what you are doing and what they should be doing. No one wants someone else’s beliefs shoved down their throat. People want to make their own decisions. Wait for them to come to you – trust me, if they care about their health they will come.

How are you doing with Paleo/Primal? Has your family questioned your “diet?” Do you try to get them onboard?

Krista

Paleo vs. Primal

**See chart below if you are more of a visual person for a quick skim through of the specific differences (me).**

There are a few different versions of the Paleo and Primal diet depending on whose book/website you read. Loren Cordain’s version focuses more on eating lots of lean meat, vegetables with some fruit, no sugar (artificial is OK – wtf?), limit fats (avoid saturated –  bummer), and the usual no dairy/grains/legumes. Robb Wolf’s is similar to this, but he eats green beans (legume), allows yams/sweet potatoes (athletes), and grass-fed butter is OK if you can tolerate it. 

If you read the forums you will find that the Paleo diet varies by person. What Robb Wolf really stresses, and I encourage as well, is to go 100% Paleo for 30 days. Then experiment with adding foods to your diet to find out what works for your body (butter, potatoes, you get the idea).

OK, so what’s Primal? Mark Sisson introduced the Primal Blueprint as a lifestyle. This is what I follow, because it is more flexible and works for me: 80/20 rule, some dairy (cream, full fat Greek yogurt, cheese, butter – hell yes), more fats (another hell yes), wine (this one gets a WAHOO!), and focuses more on the quality of life. The Primal Blueprint incorporating play, sleep, sun, while avoiding stress, trauma, and chronic cardio. 

Neither of these are a one size fits all solutions. Do what works best for you.