Paleo Magic

paleo-omelet The Amazing Triangle Omelet with Greens

Years ago, prior to discovering the Paleo diet, I was a vegetarian. I ate lots of salads, grains, legumes and soy products. As time went on, I began to question all the "faux" foods I was eating. I knew intuitively a frozen soy burger with a bunch of ingredients couldn't be healthier than a piece of wild salmon or even a steak. Mostly, I couldn't shake the feeling that in my efforts to not hurt other animals, I was actually hurting myself.

I was ready for a paradigm shift.

I will never forget the first meat dish I had after years of going without. I was in Key West, a hurricane was headed our way, and I was brimming with excitement about becoming a meat eater again. I ordered a salad with grilled chicken and in typical American fashion, it was gigantic. I ate every last bite. The next day, I had a shrimp omelet. Sausage made an appearance shortly thereafter (every former vegetarian I've talked to has a sausage story).

People have asked me if I noticed a difference when I started eating meat again. More energy? No. Weight loss? No. An epiphany of some kind? No, not really. It tasted good, but other than that, nothing earth-shattering happened. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed.

But the story doesn't end there. As the years progressed and my nutrition education continued through trial and error and numerous books like The Paleo Diet, Good Calories, Bad Calories and Protein Power, I made another big change: I gave up grains and starches.

I dove head first into low-carb Paleo.

That's when it happened: Paleo Magic! I experienced a surge in energy and leaned out, which is amazing when you consider how many years of conscientious eating and exercising I had under my belt. I thought I knew a thing or two about "healthy eating," but really I was just going with the flow of conventional wisdom. I realized that my past efforts had kept me treading water; whereas, shifting to Paleo allowed me to move forward and make improvements.

I learned that the ubiquitous advice to "eat plenty of whole grains" is recycled rhetoric. Like many of my fellow Paleo eaters (and low-carb eaters, too), I understood that all those years of diligently eating whole grain breads and pastas had led me down the wrong path.

Grains and starches don't belong at the center of our diets. The value of grains is that they provide calories to people who rely on them; however, grains are not health food.

Here's what Art De Vany, PhD and author of The New Evolution Diet says about grains:

"Oh, yes--it's that dietary staple that the USDA esteems so highly. But simply stated, our bodies are not genetically adapted to process grains. Grains cause allergic reactions, high insulin levels, obesity, and digestive disorders."

So, what exactly is Paleo Magic? It's when you find yourself in a place of balance and bliss, surrounded by the Paleo foods that are truly healthy.

The next time someone tells you to "eat your grains," just smile and move on. You've got better things to put in your mouth.

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