Why Paleo? This is why

I have been married to the most wonderful man for almost 16 yrs. I'm not saying marriage isn't a lot of work but let's just say I would rather work hard at being married to him than have an easy life with anyone else. That being said, for the last 16 yrs I have been woken up with the most horrible hacking, nose blowing, phlegm-clearing cacophony. EVERY morning! And everyday he would struggle with headaches and body aches and fatigue.  He rarely complained and if he did complain I knew the pain was beyond baring. But every morning he went off to work to provide for us (I am one of the lucky ones who gets to stay home with her children) and every evening he would come home exhausted. We have seven beautiful children and he loves them, a lot. He would try to hide his exhaustion and give them the attention they craved but some days it was all he could do to stay awake. Now we knew that he had severe allergies. Mostly environmental but some to food (garlic anyone) so I would make sure and keep the house dusted and we got commercial carpet that was low "pile" so dust wouldn't collect in it. As we became more familiar with food allergies (we have two daughters w/allergies to wheat and dairy) we wondered if it could be something along those lines. But we never wondered for to long because, well, my husband loves beer and not Budweiser but micro brew. We call him a "beer snob". So, knowing his love for the beverage I never imagined he would give it up for even a day let alone long enough to see if he felt better without wheat. But as I'm always forgetting there is a God and He still does miracles.  As I began looking into Paleo and talking to him about the benefits I could see for our children he began to wonder if it might not help him. And so he made the commitment to try it for 30 days. Thirty days with no wheat, in any form. No beer! I thought for sure it would never last but 3 weeks in he's talking crazy talk. Maybe he won't go back to beer. What would cause a man who loves beer to say he may not drink it again? His health. For the first time in as long as either of us can remember he feels GOOD. Not okay, not just alright but GOOD. He comes home from a long day at work and is ready to go. He's been in his garden with the kids, he's been walking to the park with them. I could go on and on but it is really good to see the man I love feeling good, having energy and I won't lie......it's really nice to not be woken up by a  hacking, nose blowing and phlegm-clearing cacophony.

Why Paleo?

Why Paleo? Believe me I have asked that question at least a hundred times in the last year or so.  The first time I heard about Paleo I laughed. Having been overweight my entire life I am always on the cutting edge of the newest diet craze so I had heard of the Paleo diet. But, I am a Christian and therefore do not believe in evolution and so I found it hard to buy into the premiss of the Paleo diet (caveman diet). That being said, to understand why we went Paleo you might need some background. When I was around 28 I hit my heaviest weight (230 lbs) and stayed there for about 4 years. Well, off and on, but I was never under 200 lbs. I would try whatever the latest greatest plan was (think Atkins) but could never stick to anything.  Finally, after the birth of my 6 child I had had enough. I asked my husband to help me and he did. I wrote down everything I ate, showed it to him, worked out everyday and slowly but surely the weight came off.  One thing became quite clear, I had an intolerance to processed carbs; breads, pasta, all the good stuff.  So, after two years I had lost 60 lbs. and gotten into pretty decent shape. Things would have probably gone on how they were but for a few twists and turns. Twist #1: in October of 2010 our second oldest daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  It's a long story best saved for another time but she was near death when she was diagnosed and it was an eye opener. At first she did really well, ate a balanced diet, stayed away from carbs as much as possible but lets face it she's a teenager and she started to slip into bad habits which resulted in more insulin in take. Twist #2: our third oldest daughter has always had severe allergies and asthma but we just assumed that she inherited it from my husband who also has severe allergies. He has always told me that he has had headaches for as long as he can remember and I can not recall a single morning in our 15 years of marriage that he has not woken up with severe congestion.  Well when my Mom began to do Paleo she told us she thought our daughter had wheat allergies. I, of course, did not want to believe this because I knew it would make life hard for her and us and we were already dealing with two children with dietary restrictions. Which brings me to Twist #3: daughter #5 was born with a severe milk allergy. (Just a side note. I know that I have repeatedly used the word "severe" and it is not an accident.) So she has been on a soy milk regiment her entire life.
Now back to the first question; Why Paleo? To be honest I had big reservations. Fortunately, we have some really close friends who went before us. They have been doing Paleo for almost two years and although they never pushed it I did notice a difference in them and their children (like us they have 7). So, although I was not sold I couldn't just dismiss it either. First, how do you take a family of 11 and completely change their lifestyle? (oh by the way my parents also live with us and my mom had already tried to introduced me to Paleo) In this economy how can you afford to? Isn't Paleo expensive? All these questions and more ran through my mind but honestly when I looked at my husband, my daughters, and my other children I thought to myself, "Isn't their quality of life worth some sacrifice? And it could only do good things for the other children." So I picked up Sarah Fragasos cookbook and read her bio.  I have to admit it was her before and after pics that caught my attention.  She looked amazing and when she talked about how she felt so much better I was sold. And so the journey began. I cleaned out the cupboards and the fridge and we started our new life. We Went Paleo.