Here's what happened...

I always considered myself a healthy person.

I have tried hundreds of diets, everything from being vegetarian, to counting calories, to low fat diets, to following the food pyramid and consuming a lot of "healthy whole grains", to consciously choosing soy products over dairy, to starving myself. You name it I have probably tried it when it comes to dieting. I eventually settled into a not so happy place of eating about one or two meals a day so I wouldn't get fat, and that one meal usually consisted of some form of whole wheat, soy, beans, sugar, and processed meat. More often than not, that meal came from a restaurant or a microwavable box in the freezer section, who has time to cook anyway?!

Nothing ever made me feel full, nourished, and satiated.

I never really knew when to stop eating because I never felt full, and that would lead into occasional binges where I would eat muffins, bagels, cakes, cookies, fast food, and any kind of bread-like product I could get my hands on until I had eaten so much I was sick. I must've said "I feel gross" a million times a day and after every bite of food I put into my mouth. On top of that, I worked out on a regular basis and never noticed changes in my waistline or my muscle mass. My stomach was always "jiggly" and even though I wasn't considered overweight, the fat I did have was clinging to my gut and back. And worst of all, I was always completely exhausted with a lingering dull headache. I wasn't looking for a change because I assumed it was inevitable that I would eventually lose weight and find some energy. I just needed to work out harder and eat even less, and one day something would click in my body and the weight would just start to peel off. I wasn't on any kind of search for a new lifestyle, even though looking back on the way I felt, I should've been.

It must've been meant to be.

A different way of eating just fell into my lap. My sister told me about how she had just finished doing something called a Whole30 and was transitioning into a "Paleo" lifestyle - a lifestyle in which you look back in time and eat what humans were genetically programmed to digest. Fruit and vegetables that grow from the earth, fish and animals in their purest form. No preservatives, additives, fillers, chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides or who knows what else that our food is laced with these days. She said she had never felt healthier, and I was curious. Being a modern dieter, I was all about any kind of cleanse or detox ever invented, and since this thing pretty much sounded like a 30 day cleanse to me, I was all about it. I didn't know it would change my life.

Everyone thought I was crazy.

I began a Whole30, and I really didn't think I'd take it much further than that. It was really hard at first. I worked in the food service industry, and was constantly surrounded by delicious food and alcohol.  Plus, many people are not open minded enough to realize that perhaps what we have been taught our entire life about food is actually wrong, so I received flack from almost everyone in my life. The idea that a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a cup of coffee with nonfat milk isn't an excellent breakfast option, or to take it a little further, that any bread/milk/sugar (etc) is unhealthy, is something most people refuse to believe.  However, two weeks into my Whole30 I was feeling so great I knew I'd never want to stop.

What I was feeling was really truly human.

I don't know how else to describe it. I just felt the way I knew I was supposed to be feeling my whole life. My body was nourished and I had energy, I was sleeping at night and popping out of bed in the morning, my skin was clear, I wasn't getting headaches, I was changing my relationship with food, and my body was figuring out when I was full and letting me know. I was clearheaded and happy, I just felt so "well". There are few things as satisfying as doing something healthy and excellent for the body.

My curiosity sparked. 

I wanted to figure out exactly why I have been taught by friends, family, nutrition classes, magazines, books, media, movies, television, restaurants, doctors, nurses, health coaches, commercials, radio stations, schools, articles, advertisements, and documentaries that the food I had been eating my whole life was healthy, when ultimately it was leaving me fat, depressed, exhausted, hungrier, and craving. And why I had spent my entire life being "brainwashed" into buying foods that promote sickness, health problems, and disease.

I want to share my findings with you.

I live a busy, constantly on the go lifestyle. Incorporating the Paleo diet into that kind of lifestyle is difficult because almost every meal has to come from your own kitchen. We all know this is a fast-food nation, so that alone is a big adjustment for many, including myself. Because of this, I have struggled with falling off the Paleo wagon over and over again, and staying off the wagon for longer than I'd like to admit. The good thing about falling off the Paleo wagon is being able to personally experience the differences in how I feel when I am eating Paleo and when I'm not. I don't claim to be perfect, but I do learn from my mistakes. And I have learned a lot of little tips and tricks to incorporate Paleo into my life without seeming like a freak. All you've gotta do is be a little creative.