More fun than leading a Paleo (ish) lifestyle is the reaction to people around you. It’s amusing to be quite honest. People get honest to goodness upset with you, as if you are forcing them to eat a certain way. As my father told me when I was a kid…. when people strike out at you, it’s because they don’t feel good about themselves.

My advice to you, is what I follow: let them criticize. Hell I got ripped on last week because my toothpaste isn’t Paleo. There will always be one person standing in the corner, for whatever reason…. ready to pounce. Just be stronger. Easy. It’s not you…. it’s them. Carry on friend. Carry on.

Folks often equate Paleo (and remember in my case… PaleoISH) to low carb. Not so. You can make it low carb, just like you can make ANY diet low carb. This isn’t the south beach however, this is the real world. Paleo (ish) is only low carb if you make it so.

Just as an example:

  • 1 slice of bread = 11-15 grams of carbohydrates (CHO)
  • 1 sweet potato= 27+ grams CHO
  • 1 banana = 25-30 grams CHO

My motivation for all of this is my health. Not only did I have a severe eating disorder from age 10-20 that resulted in a massive cardiac event at age 20, I have experienced some frightening health issues in 2012-2013 that really caused me to look at what I was putting into my body.

Dr. Terry Wahl is who really turned me on to eating more “plant based” . Her experience (and research) into the role the diet plays into neurological disease caught my eye. Whole30 as you know caught me as well, and allowed me to determine I don’t have any food sensitivities (hello gluten!).

I had a limited palette for too many years. In the past 10 months I had my first sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pears (yea, I JUST had my first pear), avocados…. the list is ridiculous. Previously I ate bananas, oranges, grapes. Broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce. Not much more beyond that adventure (and too many grains!).

I just feel good and that right there…. is evidence enough for me. I focus on real foods, not low carb. I focus on foods that have no ingredient list, not in certain categories. I am not a total true Paleo girl (I had some ice cream last night) but I am for being better than I was before.

As I journey through this whole lifestyle thing I am intrigued and interested most in buying local. I never realized how much of a fruit and vegetable farming industry existed here in Western New York. Not only is this area gorgeous but we are abundant with local farming and opportunity to get it! Here are a few examples of places you can buy:

The good food collective is something I stand on the edge of joining. My only hesitation is I am afraid I’d let something go to waste. My husband eats VERY similar and wouldn’t let that happen, so I should just JUMP!

Breathe Yoga and Juice Bar: I taught yoga here for ten years, and Cyndi has a teaching kitchen right in the complex. She focuses on homegrown ingredients and their meals are unreal. So are there juices.

Real life food and fitness is a new place downtown that focuses on small group ex classes, personal training, yoga, etc, but they focus on real food. Locally grown and made, another great place to buy meals!

There are a bunch of other places, including the Rochester Public Market, Effortlessly Healthy, and more. There is a farm up the street from me that I purchase eggs at…. what a difference in taste when they come right from the farm! Curt and I also expanded out garden this season and now that we’ve got a fence around it, should yield us veggies galore soon!

Bottom line: don’t worry about what people say. There’s always one who thrives on tearing you down any chance you get. This is your choice, your life, your body, your health. Don’t care what other people say, make good informed decisions about what you choose to fuel your body with!