----- Original Message -----
From: "Theola Walden Baker" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2002 11:01 PM
Subject: Re: Cordain's fat recommendations



> No, there are three camps.  --Those of us (or am I alone here?) who eat a
> variety of cuts, some of which are lean and others fat.  I eat whatever my
> taste buds yearn for at the time.  --Or is there some kind of other
> internal, self-regulating signal?
 >
> Theola

Before I found the Paleo way of eating (WOE) I could not trust my body to
know what to eat. I was hungry all the time and the only signal I got that
it was time to end a meal was the pain in my stomach and gut from being too
full. Today, after eating paleo for 3 1/2 years and after having lost 146
lbs, everything regarding food is different. I eat only when I am truly
hungry, I eat the foods that appeal to me at the time, and I quit eating
when I get a clear signal from my body/mind that I have had enough.  The
times that I eat to the point of pain in my gut are times that I let my
intelect decide when to quit eating. I occasionally have fear that I am not
eating enough to sustain me. My doctor says to quit losing weight even
though I am at the top end of a normal weight range ( 174 lbs at 5' 10'').
So I sometimes try to eat extra to keep from losing weight.

Fruit has helped me stop losing weight. When I was losing weight at about 10
lbs per month I ate only about one apple per day or 1 pint of blueberries.
When my doctor said to quit losing I started eating about about 5 or 6
servings of fruit (bananas, pears, fresh figs, oranges, etc.) and I quit
losing weight. Again, this fruit eating is an intelectual effort that I am
not sure is good for me. I feel the best when I trust my body to know what
to eat, when to eat, and when to quit eating.

Life gets really complicated and difficult when I let my intelect (my
thinking mind) take control. Today I don't eat on any particular schedual,
don't watch my cholesterol intake, don't limit the amount of fat I eat, and
I don't count calories, carbohydrates, or vitamins. All those functions are
done by my body. I try to limit how my thinking controls my eating. I pay
attention to my experience of eating and I find joy.

The Paleo WOE has given me a new life (a life so good I could not have
imagined it before) and I am gratful to this list and to Ray Audette for
showing me the Way. I also need to give credit to certain spiritual
practices that I have adopted to deal with my eating. These include Zen, the
Twelve Steps, and living in the present.

Many thanks to all of you,
Michael