I've been on the list for a month or so and am happy to have found it. I've
gotten a lot of useful information in that short time.

This is the way I decided to change my diet.  In mid November or so, while
sitting in front of my computer, I realized that something had to change. I
now
think of myself as having been a "lazy vegetarian." I ate well enough: I am a
member of and shop at the local health food co-op, getting nearly all my
cheese, vegies and fruits there. Even, at the time, organic smoked turkey (I
was not a strict vegetarian). I liked macaroni, couscous, rice, tabouli,
etc. I
also have a sedentary job as a wordprocessor (I type), and at home I sit back
and surf the net. About my own form of exercise is walking or bicycling to and
from work, and some stretching exercises and pushups in the morning.

I was not unhealthy (I take plenty of vitamins and herbs), but I didn't *feel*
particularly good--and I had to buy slightly larger slacks for this winter.
They're warm... but bigger than I want to have to wear.

So I decided something had to change. How about the *way* I eat? I recalled
something about the "Fit for Life" diet and it focusing on food combining. I
surfed around the net and found enough info that I then went out and bought
two
books on it. But... something wasn't quite right. In my surfing I found hints
of and links to the paleo diet.  I recalled reading a book more than ten years
ago about the subject and being impressed... but not enough to change my diet
back then (I wasn't as heavy back then, either).

As I read about the paleo diet, something clicked and I decided to try it. The
only drawback is that for more than a year I had been gathering y2k supplies,
which naturally included a lot of noodles, rice, polenta... Oh, well. Also
canned vegies and some fruits, and lots of canned salmon. Undaunted, I decided
to go ahead anyhow and freeze a lot of flesh foods and hope that Y2k would not
mean electricity brown outs or black outs.  Also, I decided that if at all
possible, all of the new foods would come from either the co-op, another store
called Wild Oats (with prices similar to the co-op but lots more variety),
or a
local natural food butcher.  (If all this interests you and you want to
move, I
live in Albuquerque.)

Just thinking about going on this diet in the first few weeks, I lost several
pounds :)  Now here it is some... eight? weeks later, and I'm down about ten
pounds (depending on when I weigh and if I'm wearing any clothes. I hover
around 165 now on a 5'3.75" frame and I'm 48. This ten pounds isn't very much,
but I've always heard that weight lost slowly tends to *stay* off. When I was
much younger, say, 20 years ago, I weighed around 125 and I'd like to get down
around there again since my frame hasn't changed in those years, just...
matured.

I can't talk about "women's problems" as I stopped, um, shedding excess iron
about 2 years ago. I used to have painful cramps when I was a kid but cleaning
up my act (no colas, watching ingredients, etc.)and adding vitamins and herbs
helped calm that; ibuprofen also helped a lot ;)

At the moment, I've just finished sauteing leeks, mushrooms and organic
chicken
(thigh) plus skin in olive oil and garlic with Bragg's Liquid Aminos for the
salty taste. I've added it to filtered (Brita) water and it's all simmering
together now. I used to do this, minus the chicken, prePaleo. I also have
turkey in the fridge and lots of catfish. The only red meat I've eaten since
The Change is lamb (grown in this state). Organic beef and pork is available
but I haven't bought any yet. I still eat a lot of greens, maybe more than
before, arugula being a favorite. I like to stir them into scrambled (brown,
hand-picked local) eggs in the morning.

I haven't been able to give up on wheat entirely (I still have all those
noodles stocked up--and Y2k ain't over yet...), but I've cut back so much that
I think it's made a big difference. For one, I don't often feel bloated. I
still have a sweet tooth but it's diminishing--a good thing since I just had a
crown put on broken tooth this week... it is quite possible to chew roast
turkey (bought vacuum packed and quite yummy) on one side of one's mouth. :)

Unfortunately this week I had to put my ancient (+15 years old) cat to sleep.
He was my 4th cat in 20 years and the longest lived of them all. I do not plan
to get another one soon (while I miss Little, I want to get used to being free
to travel, free of cat odors, free of lots of the responsibility, free to
sleep
late...). When I do get another cat eventually (give me 5 years at least), I
plan to try to feed him/her/them as paleo as I can.

I had been giving Little treats of raw meat, fish and fowl (all organic except
the catfish) and, after reading a hint on this list, raw organic chicken thigh
bones. Up until very recently, he liked them all a great deal (recently he
could not eat much at all, regardless of the quality of the meal). But as my
cat had two bouts with cancerous tumors (the most recent one causing me to
have
to put him to sleep), I cannot help but wonder if the grains (mostly corn) in
his normal foods, as well as other bizarre ingredients ("chicken byproducts"
for example) in common grocery-store cat food (but not so much in more
expensive cat food from the health food store--though it still has grain),
contributed to his poor health in his later years. I've since started giving
all the y2k stored cat food away. If I didn't have so much and didn't have an
impoverished friend who has a new kitten, I'd toss it all out.

Before I get another cat, then, I want to be sure I can keep on hand a lot of
raw meat/fowl/fish to feed him/her/them. I'll probably need more than a
refrigerator-top freezer, which probably means I'll need a house. Preparing
such meals will take a lot more time, but I'll know that going in. Maybe this
kind of diet (supplemented by some health food cat food, especially for
catsitters to use) will mean a cat who will feel full faster and won't need to
eat as much. It will be something to study up on, eventually.

So that's me at the moment. My leek soup smells great already! I usually leave
it on the heat (electric) for at least 45 minutes. I may have to boil some
noodles to go with it, to stretch out the ingredients for lunch tomorrow...
but
in time I'll run out of those and the 20lbs of rice and the cups and cups of
polenta... and I'll have an even better diet.

Again, thank you all for unknowingly teaching me a lot and giving me many good
ideas :)

Debby
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"Life was never meant to be a struggle; just a gentle progression from
one point to another, much like walking through a valley on a sunny day."
   --Stuart Wilde