I've been exploring paleo-living for about two years now and I feel
compelled to share a few things.  For a little background I am a 28 year old
biochemist living in Seattle.  Ten years ago I was a competitive powerlifter
eating a pretty standard american diet (emphasis on carbs ala-bodybuilding
magazine suggestions).  My interests shifted from PLifting to kickboxing and
my diet started down the road towards vegetarianism.  Over the course I went
from a strong but smooth person of 185 to a weak and smooth person of 155
(on a light/medium 5'9" frame)  In those four years I completed my
chemistry degree and started medical school while being plagued by digestive
problems high blood pressure and depression.  It was not pretty.  While in
medical school in an effort to save my ever deteriorating health I became
vegan and then the bottom really fell out of things!  Amidst my own health
problems my mother had been trying unsucsessfuly to find a cause to her
health problems, also centered about the digestion and depression.  My
suggestions of a grain and legume diet nearly killed her. (perhaps medicine
is NOT my calling!) After six years my mother received the multiple
diagnosis of celiac sprue, Lupus, fibromyalgia and several other lesser
known auto immune problems.  I suggested that my mother keep a food diary
and revcord her reactions to foods.  About a year later she was eating free
range chicken, meat, fish seasonal local vegetables and fruits mainly of the
mellon and berry variety with only the occasional yam or sweet potato.  I
looked at what she was eating(which seemed to have put her Lupus into
rmission) and i knew I had herd of something like this before.  I remembered
the "caveman" diet recomended for people suffering yeast infections went to
my computer and put "paleolithic diet" into the search engine.  I found the
paleo doet web site and on that page a link to professor Devanys' site.  I
Abandoned the vegetarian diet at a bodyweight of 152 and a digestive system
so chronicly inflamed that it hurt to place a pillow on my stomach.I started
eating (my first serving i think I ate nearly three pounds, my hands were
shaking and it tasted better than ANYTHING I have ever eaten.  I started
back onto my former powerlifting routines and made good progress but the
exercises were boring to say the least.  I started doing the heirarcal sets
combined with alactic training and two days ago I deadlifted the largest
weight i ever lifted at 185 while only weighing 170.   MY best 40 yard time
in high school ten years ago was 4.7.  Not horrible but my best time to date
is a 4.3.  Evolutionary fitness and the paleolithic diet have transformed my
life.  I have left medical school and am in the process of looking at
graduate programs.  I am looking for biochemistry, physiology, or related
programs which have an interest in evolutionary/paleo emphasis
(recomendations are welcome)  Sorry fo the length of this post, but ten
years of ones life is difficult to compress beyond a point.