Obviously, doing a low carb way of eating has done a lot of good for me. I have struggled for a while to find an appropriate "label" to describe my way of living/eating, and have come to the conclusion that I am just not going to find one; at least not one that already exists. Perhaps that is not a bad thing. I have never really liked being labeled anyway, why do it now?
Recently a high profile Paleo blogger has abandoned ship, renouncing what he has touted as an optimal way of eating in favor of a more pesce-vegetarian, low fat diet with underpinnings of Chinese medical and religious philosophies (or, that's what I can gather out of it, at least). I find this all rather peculiar, since he has only fairly recently mentioned any issues he has had with the Paleo diet he has followed for 14 years, but he is obviously having some health issues (whether those issues are primarily related to what he believes they are related to is an entirely different story).
Paleo, Primal, Low Carb, Archevore, Atkins, Weston Price, Whole Food...what have I left out? All of these philosophies have contributed to the way I eat today. For the most part I shun grass grains and sugar, and most starches, though occasionally I will have some potatoes fried in lard or tallow, or some white rice. My way of eating is actually changing all the time. Changing, but not really diverting from a high fat, moderate protein, low carb model of eating. Some things I eat may or may not work for someone else. Why is that? Simply, we've all walked different roads, and the damage I have done to my body over the years with whatever toxins or "mal-nutrients" I have ingested has effected my particular genetic makeup in its own individual way. I have done a lot of damage, I am sure. I did eat low fat/low calorie for extended periods of time, and was anorexic during certain points in my life. I also ingested a bunch of processed foods and vegetable oils. Who knows what lasting effects that will have on my mortal body in the long run? Only time will tell, but right now, as I live in the present, I know that I feel better and perform better with very few carbohydrates and little processed foods.
I do believe everyone has to find their own best diet. I will not, however, ever believe that there is any good in Veg*ism, Low Fat or Low Calorie eating.
I will continue to read, research, and glean information about what could be beneficial to add and/or delete from my way of eating. I am a self-made guinea pig for my own well-being.
Labels: Atkins, low calorie, low carb, low fat, paleo, primal, Weston Price
LOL! I have been struggling with the same thing! I called myself "neo-carnivore" for a long time, but people wouldn't understand when I ate raw salad greens. I'm trending towards "Ancestral Diets" now, because I think "Paleo" is too trendy (and I don't think we have real paleo-foods available anyway. Plus I want to use spices and coffee). My main goal is to have something I can say that will let people know in a nutshell what I eat and why. I just don't want to have long, involved conversations about it unless they show a sincere interest.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and "Ancestral" seems to cover it pretty well.
ReplyDeleteGiving up spices and caffeine would not be appealing to me. I have a Creationist perspective, anyway, so I don't buy into much of what they proclaim our ancestors ate, anyhow.
I try not to debate things if I can avoid it, but sometimes I have to jump into the fray.
I love it when someone I haven't seen in a while says, "You look great! What have you been doing?" and I tell them, and they look at me like I'm a three headed monster. Ha! I guess it doesn't matter what it's called then. ;-)
This post really helped me feel better about my so-called missteps. I'm not perfect, and I eat some things that probably don't fall in line with any particular 'plan' or 'lifestyle'. But 90% of the time, I'm eating what my body desires/requires. The other 10% isn't cheating... it's just... I don't know what to call it. Human?
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