The Reluctant Convert

So, I am the only girl in a family with five children.  I have one older brother and three younger. This, of course, makes me "Princess". Growing up I had a fiery relationship with my mother but in my eyes my Daddy could do no wrong.  We have a very special relationship and although it has changed over time he is still one of the most important men in my life (of course my husband is first :). My dad is one of those people who has never, ever, ever had to watch what he puts in his mouth.  He has never met a pastry he doesn't like and he is super fun to bake for because he enjoys every bite.  He has 4 or 5 girls in our church who will bake him treats and bring them to his work or our home. My mom, who like me gains 10 lbs just looking at a cookie, has often remarked that he wears the same waist size as he did when they got married, nearly 40 years ago.  Anyway, can you see where the problem is? When we announced that we were going Paleo my dad gulped.  I admit I tricked him into doing the 30 day challenge and bless his heart he gave it his best shot.  I have heard tales of him "cheating" at work so he wouldn't hurt his "baking girls" feelings but he did cut way down and at home he gave it his all. Well, he went kicking and screaming and he knew exactly where we were in the 30 day count down, but at least he was doing it. About three weeks in he went for his yearly physical and our whole world turned upside down.  He has crazy high blood pressure. The kind where they send you to the hospital for observation and put you on a lot of drugs.  Now, if you don't know my dad let me explain something.  In my almost 38 years I have seen him angry exactly two times.  He is one of the most calm and collected people you will ever meet.  No way would you look at him and think, "That guy's gonna keel over from a heart attack". So, this came as a shock to us. I've mentioned the litany of health problems my mom has had but dad has always been "healthy". Of course, the discovery of his high blood pressure led to a battery of other test. He met with a nutritionist who told him to add whole grains back into his diet (we expected that) and told him that depending on his cholesterol levels he may have to re-think other aspects of his diet. So, we waited. In our fifth week of Paleo he went in for more blood tests and the next evening his doctor called him at home after 5:30, this could not be good.  We were all hanging out in our "bar" in the garage and he comes in, phone in his hand, perplexed look on his face and I swear I felt the earth shift.  He looked up at me and said, "That was the doctor. My bad cholesterol levels have gone down 30 points." WHAT?! Had I heard him right? In the 30 days we had done Paleo his cholesterol levels had gone down 30 points! Now, I have to admit when he first came home with his high blood pressure diagnosis my first thought was, "Oh, God, don't take my Daddy." but my second thought was, "Now I'm never gonna get him to stick with Paleo." Now, he was standing there with this incredulous look on his face and I knew I had him.