I was a vegetarian for 14 years and in those 14 years I explained to countless people why I was a vegetarian. The answer was always simple: It started out because I lived with vegetarians, but as time went on and I learned more and more about the industrialization of food I continued vegetarianism based on my discontent with our food system in this country.
So, I'm sure you are wondering what changed. Why give up 14 years of vegetarianism to eat Paleo? Well, I was ignorant of what the food I was eating was doing to my body. I kept gaining weight and at my heaviest I weighed over 200 pounds. That is when my now husband got worried about my health. It was time I looked in the mirror and figured out that something wasn't working. I worked out regularly, I didn't eat red meat, I watched my fat intake, but still I gained weight. That's when I found Grass Fed Girl, an amazing personal trainer and nutritionist who changed my life.
I started to learn about what carbs and sugar do to your body. I learned that you didn't actually have to feel like there was a weight in your intestines after eating and that by cutting out gluten I felt fabulous. I learned that fat doesn't in fact make you fat, and I learned that I really needed to be eating real food, not all these manufactured soy products I was eating.
I realize that you are thinking that vegetarianism and paleo couldn't be more different, but, really, they aren't that far apart - or at least they aren't for me. Going back to why I became a vegetarian - I didn't like the industrialization of food, but while I didn't eat factory farmed cows I was eating factory produced soy. What? Yup, I was doing exactly what I didn't want to do.
If I had truly stuck to my guns as a vegetarian all of my food would have been local, organic food. Real food, not something that comes from a box or something that is processed (think soy).
Now, eating Paleo, I'm eating real food. I am fortunate enough to live in SF where I have easy access to organic vegetables and fruits, and grassfed meats. It really doesn't get any more real than that. I'm now eating food that isn't industrialized, so I've finally reached my goal and I am feeling stronger and better than ever.
You are probably also wondering why Pratically Paleo, why not just Paleo? Well, I'm not fully there yet, but I'm OK with that.
