Hans Kylberg wrote:
>How is it possible to compare this? Do You eat only dark meat for a month
>and then only white meat the same month next year and compare how much
>You produce or think or run or what. How can you determine that the effect
>is really physiologic and not the result of the fact that you like dark
>meat better, or it just looks better, or that You in have learned
>that it should be better for some reason (purines f ex)?

Your point is well-taken, but I think that I can safely rule out
psychological factors.  Less than one year ago, I believed that a whole
foods vegetarian diet was best for me, but my belief did not prevent
physical deterioration and anxiety.  At one time, I believed that juice
fasting was a good idea, but that didn't prevent me from feeling awful
during a fast.  In fact, I was reluctantly adding small amounts of white
meat (salmon and chicken breast) to my diet, until I ate my first steak and
was unexpectedly flooded with energy; that was a turning point for me.  The
effect various kinds of foods have on my sense of well-being is usually
obvious and immediate.  I realize that you have not noticed this kind of
effect yourself, so your skepticism is understandable.

Another example:  I don't like the taste of lamb, but when I was running an
elimination diet, and lamb was the only permitted dark meat available to me,
I desperately craved it.  Once again, I hadn't expected that I would desire
much lamb, but my body overruled my mind.  I still eat lamb regularly, not
because I like the taste, but because it's satisfying.  Ditto for liver,
except that it hasn't been available lately.

I admit that I *did* know about purines before changing my diet, but I
didn't realize how important they were until I had experienced the
difference myself.  The needs of people with my kind of metabolism are
typically at their most extreme in the morning.  Once again, I had been told
this beforehand, but didn't really accept it until I had experienced it for
myself.  Salmon tastes fine later in the day, but it's a bland breakfast
food.

>When I tell people about my paleodiet the often ask if I have more energy
>now and so on. But what can I tell them? I have been on paleo for 18 months
>now, and I could not tell how I had felt in this moment if I had not been
>on paleo. I weigh some 8 kilos less than when I started, and I was on my
>weigh up, so the difference to what it had been today is perhaps 9 or 10
>instead I guess, but how can I know.
>What really makes me feel better is the fact that paleodiet fits well into
>my general thinking about what is best for a human, and that I am quite
>shure I have made a good decision when "going paleo". Also I like much of
>what I eat now better than what I eat before (ground elk jerky w thyme is
>just wunderful). And last but not least, I like beeing a bit controversy
:-)

I have gained several pounds, a good thing in my case, and currently weigh
more than I have in years.  I have more muscle and energy (though I still
experience allergy-induced lethargy, unfortunately), my digestion is much
better (as long as I mostly limit my diet to cooked meat and vegetables --
nuts, seeds and raw foods are still problematic), and, psychologically, I
feel much more relaxed and assertive than I ever have in my life.  All this
despite the fact that, initially, I didn't want to believe that a meat-heavy
H-G diet was right for me.  In other words, I've noticed a difference. ;-)

The elk sounds good; I'm beginning to tire of farmed meats, and would like
try some wild game.  In the meantime, I'll rely on controversy to keep life
interesting. ;-)

Cheers,
-- Aaron Wieland