A paleo snack at Whole Foods
When diabetes and heart disease runs in your family and you do your absolute BEST to be in good health, I am super proud to say, according to the Competitive Edge BC-1000plus scale, my metabolic age is 28 (and I’ll be 51 next week!)
Several months ago I took a slow plunge into the paleo lifestyle. It’s the best thing I ever did for my health, though a nutritionist told me that my metabolic age is because of what I’ve been doing all along, that it wouldn’t get that great in such a short time. Though I feel amazing on paleo, I attribute my good health to three things: 1. Having a great husband and great friends; 2. regular exercise; and 3. avoiding processed foods as much as possible (especially in the past two months).
Earlier this year, I felt I was doing something wrong because I was getting sluggish. I could have chalked it up to age, but I wasn’t ready to be a couch potato. I also had some minor things that seemed to be pre-menopause related, like headaches and dizzy spells.
I spoke to three different nutritionists and after extensive research I decided paleo was the way to go. “Paleo Manifesto” by John Durant was one of the books that greatly inspired me because it covered so much ground and answered many questions for me.
So, the way I eased into paleo. It started around spring time of this year. First I gave up gluten. About a month later I gave up grains. Then by June I was eating nearly almost a paleo diet and I’m now 100 percent (with the exception of the xanthan gum in that stupid hot sauce I used today, it tasted lousy after not consuming it for so long! And no, Whole Foods didn’t have Frank’s in their dining area!)
I can honestly say it’s been months since I’ve had dizzy spells and headaches. And best of all, I had some minor arthritic pain that is slowly, but surely subsiding. I feel fantastic! What’s really cool is I’m eating less natural sugars as well. I’m down to two servings of fruit per day. And when I eat bananas I only eat a half. Since I shared my story, several people have come to me and said they have less pain since being on paleo! I even started a community on Face Book called “Hey Ho, Let’s Paleo!”
Mind you, if you decide to take the step into paleo, you may have a transition stage where you need a lot of sleep and maybe get some pimple break outs (yes, at 50 I’m getting them). Just think, you’re eliminating garbage foods and putting nothing but good stuff in your body, so it’s gotta cleanse.
For me, while my diet wasn’t bad at all, my downfalls were chips, “natural” cookies and SOY — the most processed food! To give up that stuff and just concentrate on REAL food: seaweed salads, fermented foods, grass-fed beef, pastured eggs and chicken, wild caught fish and a variety of fresh organic vegetables, while limiting fruit to two servings per day.
Then the FUN part — healthy fats: Kerry Gold butter, avocados, coconut oil and sweet potatoes. And a concoction called Bullet Proof tea that helps assist in intermittent fasting. My version is: oolong, Kerry Gold butter, raw extra virgin coconut oil and unsweetened cocoa — blend then sprinkle with cinnamon! It tastes like hot chocolate!)
I eat all this stuff and keep my weight down. In fact, I even lost a few pounds! It’s really hard to gain weight while eating like this because you’re not putting anything bad into your body.
Avocado — GOOD fat! 
Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta 
You must be logged in to post a comment.