I feel a strong sense of responsibility to tell you guys that going paleo has actually been very detrimental to my health. And I apologize for inspiring some of you to try it.
I had been following the paleo diet since 2011. In 2015, I committed to my first Whole30, which is a strict version of paleo. Over the course of ten months, I lost about 30 pounds and everyone around me noticed. I was so excited and grateful because I thought I found the perfect diet.
Yes I lost weight but what I didn’t mention was that I felt tired all the time and that I’ve been having serious gynecological issues, which have escalated over the last year or two.
I was so convinced that paleo was the answer and the healthiest way to eat. But I’ve recently had a reawakening, which was sparked by an article I read by Cyrena Jacoby, Nutritional Therapist, which you can read here.
In this article, Cyrena talks about the risks of consuming such high quantities of animal products, specifically relating to my health issue (ovarian cysts and other issues), but also relating to health in general.
I was eating meat 3 or sometimes 4 times a day. I recently added cheese into the mix again, and my body has been struggling.
I have also put some of the weight back on and I haven’t been able to lose it for over a year now, despite my biggest efforts.
My jeans are tight but more importantly, my health issues have not been resolved even after multiple doctor visits and trying to tweak my paleo diet in a million ways.
The paleo movement, and more recently the keto movement, are very misleading.
Yes you can lose weight initially, but then you will stall because the body can’t thrive on this diet long term.
Everything I am reading about the whole-food plant-based diet makes sense to me. I’ve been doing this for 9 days and I already feel better. I have more mental clarity, less anxiety, and overall I feel really good.
It’s just the beginning. The true test will be to see if my medical issues clear up. And I have strong faith that they will!