Switching from a typical American diet to a Paleolithic diet requires considerable changes. I would think this might seem overwhelming at first, and that this may initially turn some people off. Yet if a person makes slow, sustainable changes in eating habits, the transition can be successfully be made.
I was thinking back to my own transition to the Paleo diet, and it was a multi-year process. I simply dropped various foods when I was comfortable doing so. To demonstrate, here's a timeline of the last time I regularly ate certain foods. Other than the odd occasion, the last time I ...
- Drank milk was 2001
- Ate bread was 2003
- Ate ice cream (or any other dairy product) was 2005
- Ate rice (or any other grain) was 2006
So since 2006, I have been eating pretty much pure Paleo on a day-to-day basis. For me, there is no reason to turn back - my health and energy increased with each diet improvement I made.
I'm sure other people have made the transition in one fell swoop. Or if a person was facing some type of health emergency, then they would want to move quicker. Personally, I was looking to make long-term, sustainable changes, and so I wanted to take my time and make sure the changes would stick. They have.
The opposite of this view is the diet culture we live in. Everyone is looking for (and selling) the quick fixes and the pills. How can I lose 10 pounds this week? Or shape up for a reunion or a wedding? But these type of superficial efforts are bound to fail. Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do.
Switching from a typical American diet to a Paleolithic diet requires considerable changes. I would think this might seem overwhelming at first, and that this may initially turn some people off. Yet if a person makes slow, sustainable changes in eating habits, the transition can be successfully be made.
I was thinking back to my own transition to the Paleo diet, and it was a multi-year process. I simply dropped various foods when I was comfortable doing so. To demonstrate, here's a timeline of the last time I regularly ate certain foods. Other than the odd occasion, the last time I ...
So since 2006, I have been eating pretty much pure Paleo on a day-to-day basis. For me, there is no reason to turn back - my health and energy increased with each diet improvement I made.
I'm sure other people have made the transition in one fell swoop. Or if a person was facing some type of health emergency, then they would want to move quicker. Personally, I was looking to make long-term, sustainable changes, and so I wanted to take my time and make sure the changes would stick. They have.
The opposite of this view is the diet culture we live in. Everyone is looking for (and selling) the quick fixes and the pills. How can I lose 10 pounds this week? Or shape up for a reunion or a wedding? But these type of superficial efforts are bound to fail. Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do.