A friend of mine recently started the Whole 30, which is essentially a slightly stricter version of the Paleo, or Caveman, diet. (If you are unfamiliar with this diet/philosophy, please feel free to research it on your own…I won’t be going into the whole background of it here).
I’ve been listening to her daily updates, doing some research about Paleo in general, and (as expected) getting hit with resistance, disbelief and sarcastic comments from anyone I try to speak to about trying it. I’m sure many of you who have ‘gone Paleo’ have had a similar experience. It’s not surprising, really…it’s a rather extreme concept when you’re used to eating ‘normal’ food and drinking on a regular basis.
Concurrently, I’ve been feeling for months that I’m being a complete douche to my body. Here it is, doing all of these incredible things daily to keep me alive and moving, and yet I continue to put it on the couch or my desk chair for hours on end. I do my hair and makeup and make sure my clothes are doing the best they can to camouflage any unsightly bulges or blemishes, but my insides get no such kind treatment. Instead, my muscles, lungs and heart are neglected. Rather than allowing them to work, strain and build themselves up to be even stronger, I leave them stagnant. My liver, which has so many important jobs to perform, is being taxed continuously with shit food, chemicals and more alcohol than it probably knows what to do with.
Now, I’m far from being an earthy-crunchy environmentalist who feels the need to rage against the audacity of the government for not providing the nourishment needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle. I fully understand that choices need to be made on a personal and individual basis, and I take responsibility only for myself.
That being said, I think I’m going to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid and dive in. In one month, research tells me that my body will have refrained from using boosts of sugar or caffeine for energy. It will start to function as it was intended, and I will feel stronger and cleaner. I know it’s extreme and it will be met with resistance and debate, and for that reason I will be doing my best to keep it to myself and my blog. I will address things on an ‘as needed’ basis in social situations. I will not burden those around me with my struggles, mainly because I don’t want them to feel guilty about eating any of the things I can not.
It’s just a month.
If I hate it, it was just a month.
A month.
