paleo diet follow up

the paleo-diet, now dead, has not been missed. 


In its last, final days, it was really a struggle between me, lack of salt/carbs, and muscle soreness. 
When i talk to the others about the muscle soreness that I had, they said that they had experienced the same feeling as well. Interesting, I wonder why this happened? I heard that if you stay on the paleo diet longer that you just get more energy, so maybe that was the part where you have to struggle through the detox and  then reap the rewards later. However, the lack of caffeine also was completely awful. My BF and other friends don't seem to have the same level of addiction as me, but then again, they don't have to go to work at 5:45 in the morning and then have a full busy day as well. During the diet, I felt so very tired all the time that I had trouble running around school doing all the fun (not fun) stuff I do everyday. 


Here is what I realized about carbs after the paleo diet: they are the building blocks of modern society. not only do they taste great and make a good pizza, but you really do feel better when you eat them. I noticed after I stopped the diet, as I was walking to work early in the morning, that my legs didn't seem as sore as they had in the days before, as well as the fact that I was not as groggy and starving even though I had not eaten yet that day. The carbs just formed this little energy ball that I had reserved in me, and I didn't feel awful and tired that morning. It was great. I had been wondering, during paleo-fest, how I did all the things that I normally do each day without feeling so tired. I realized that it truly was carbs and everything else modern that I take for granted. 


I would also like to point out at this moment, that there was a yahoo news article on 30,000 year old bread: during the paleo era they had bread. Bread. Bread is a wonderful thing that we don't appreciate enough. 


All was not wasted on the diet, though. Here are a few things I think I will keep with me:

• ketchup is delicious and I love it, but it does not need to go on all foods, and can be used in moderation
• dairy products, though I love my ice cream and fro-yo's, are not really good for me, personally. Most of the time I now realize that they make my stomach feel weird/hurt somewhat, therefore i should enjoy them, in moderation/infrequently
• Larabars are delicious! They are the only "paleo-approved" granola-y type bars, and the one I had today only has 3 ingredients, which is cool/way better for you than eating a granola bar with 3000 ingredients, 5 of which you can say. Plus the flavors are tasty, and having something good for you, that I can just grab when I'm in a rush is better than not eating/eating something I have to pay 2x as much for on campus. 
• it is very hard to find things without salt. Why? because salt is miraculous and makes everything taste way better. But you don't need much of it. 

That's my summation of the paleo diet. It really is good to do it, for a little while, so that you like the things you can't eat during it more after the diet is over. That first margarita? Divine! Sandwiches? Awesome! But I think I knew those things already...