On Apr 15, 2006, at 3:50 am, SUBSCRIBE PALEOFOOD Anonymous wrote:

> I meant that=
>  I
> had given them up but it was just harder to do than giving up dairy  
> (whic=
> h I
> also did).

Hi there - just caught the tail end of this thread

The fact that you found grains harder to give up suggests that was  
what was causing you most problems in the first place.  The things  
that cause damage to your body are very addictive.  The more you want  
to eat a non-paleo food, the more fanatical you should be about  
excluding it from your diet.

> Today is day 8 and I am feeling better.  I am also, though,
> having a hard time accepting increasing the fat as, although I am  
> only ab=
> out
> 10 lbs overweight and exercise regularly, I come from a family where
> everyone has high cholesterol.  I have been doing the low-fat thing  
> for s=
> o
> long, that it is hard to switch.

A lot of people just can't comprehend that eating fat does not mean  
you store fat (imagine if your body stored all the excess water you  
drank).  Many people, and I suspect a great many on Atkins too, don't  
understand that fat is a (very good) source of energy.

I think the problems with switching to fat are mainly because  
reducing dietary fat has become a sort of witch-hunt.  Many people  
are disgusted by fat, and it can take a long time to get back to a  
sane state of mind.  Now when I look at meat, I look first at how  
much fat is on it, then eye up how much meat I can eat with it  
(usually about 3-4 times by volume) and the rest of the lean is dog  
food.  (I just need a dog now.)

> I am famliar with and have "The
> Cholesterol Myth".  Still, I am dreading my next blood work.  What  
> does
> happen with people's cholesterol numbers on this diet?

Too many numbers, too many numbers!  Go to Greenland and ask some of  
the natives if they ever worry what the seal blubber is doing to  
their HDL levels ;)  When you realise that the whole of western  
dietary advice is &*!!$#!+ and the whole of western medicine designed  
to treat the problems caused by western food is also &*!!$#!+ you  
will stop worrying about the pointless tests doctors run.  If you are  
eating the correct foods and your cholesterol is high, all that tells  
you is that your body currently needs a lot of cholesterol to stay  
healthy!  Every substance your body creates is just an attempt to  
keep you in normal working balance.  High cholesterol under dietary  
stress is no more unusual than sweating when it's hot.  It can be  
shown *independently* that eating nothing but meat and fat does not  
cause any of the problems doctors claim it does, so unless you know  
what your body is actually doing with the cholesterol, the level of  
it in your blood is just a curiosity.

Sorry if I seem to rant!  But I find learning to trust common sense  
instead of medical dogma takes a lot of worrying off your mind.  And  
peace of mind is the best thing you can get off paleo, but only if  
it's good wholesome home-grown peace of mind, not the artificial  
stuff that disintegrates everytime they realise WHOOPS we shouldn't  
have been testing your triglycerides, actually its your  
quadrapolynonapeptides that matter WHOOPS wrong again actually it's  
your... and round you go again

> I am hoping this diet will revitalize me -- that
> is my primary reason for trying it.

Same reason here - it took a long time to get it right but I think  
I'm finally almost there.  Good luck finding the right combination  
for you.

Ashley