Sunday, June 3, 2012

Vegan vs. Paleo

Jumping into June, jumping into summer, jumping into change.

I tried, I really did. Years ago I was a vegan for seven years, spurred on not by cuddly, furry animals, but by the great Dr. McDougall. My journey ended with my health not improved, but eroded. The OMD I was seeing told me to go home and make some bone broth. It worked. Of course, it did. What did my mother give me when I was feeling under the weather? Homemade chicken soup, made with homemade stock; bones simmered until they crumbled. Why didn't I learn? I love veggies, and meat and I have always had a love/hate relationship. Love as in...bacon, fried chicken, hamburgers (mostly), pot roast, ham.... Hate as in: the smell of raw meat. Handling raw chicken. Weird textures.

So, what did I do? Watched "Forks over Knives," which is a great film by a lot of well-meaning people. But I should have remembered that everyone's body is different, and I think my northern European body just needs the meat. My tummy rebelled, I was tired all the time, and HUNGRY ALL. THE. TIME.

I know I don't need, or even much like, the dairy.

I research the hell out of everything I do, and one WOE just kept coming up...call it paleo, primal, or ancestral eating, much of it makes sense to me.

Starting with bone broth, just like my OMD advised oh so many years ago.

One thing I didn't anticipate? My hunger has greatly decreased. I can skip a meal without wanting to tear off someone's head. I feel..mellower, for lack of a better word. The flattening of my tummy a bit, even before any weight loss. Bye-bye, grains. Bye-bye.

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