So why is Paleo an anus? Well there are many reasons...
The diet itself is quite contradictory. You cannot eat legumes due to the phtates and lectins (referred to as 'anti-nutrients'). However you can eat dark chocolate and nuts, which are extremely high sources of phtates. Lectins can be found in fruits and vegetables, which are also allowed. Maybe the dude who came up with the diet hated beans but couldn't give up his chocolate?
Another thing that bothers me with Paleo (and always did) is the thought process that 'because our ancestors ate that way, it must be better for you'. Well our ancestors didn't really have much choice in how they ate. It was a matter of survival. If you get deep into Paleo you will start to find blogs encouraging you to remove snacks from your diet and eventually cut down to 2 meals a day. I tried it for a little while (not because 'Paleo Man' used to do it, but because the reasoning that we aren't designed to be shoving food into our gobs every 3-4hrs seemed logical). Eating 2-3 times a day only left me feeling highly agitated. Not hungry, just stressed.
Paleo starts off alright. Just eat real food. You eat a fucktonne of fruit and veggies, a bit of meat. You feel great. You do a little more research and delve a little further and find an abundance of forums and blogs that lead you down a path of paranoia. You fear food. Potatoes are allowed, but not recommended if you are trying to lose weight. Fruit is allowed, but not recommend if you are trying to lose weight. Shit. You quickly remove all fruit and starchy veggies. Your 2-3 meals per day now consist protein & fat but barely any carb. Carbs are baaaad. You do lose weight to a point but eventually your body almost shuts down due to the lack of carbs.
After a few months of low carbing I felt like I was walking under water. The stairs I used to run up were now a very slow process that required a lot of effort and grunting. I took longer to recover after gym. I lasted about 5 minutes boxing before feeling fucked, when I used to do back-to-back classes.
I'm now eating 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. That's what my body likes. I still avoid grains, dairy and sugar. That's just me. We all know sugar is bad in excess and I fail at moderation, so I cut that shit out. Except for special occasions, of course. (Holy fuck, just wait till I get my hands on a Cadbury Marvellous Creations Easter egg next month). I don't eat and grains and dairy as the norm because both make me feel like crap. My son thrives on oats, sourdough and cheese. Everyone is different.
So I'm no longer a caveman but am still a picky bitch. I don't think carbs are bad. I do think refined carbs (shit out of a box like Cherios and yes, Special K) are unhealthy. But not the humble potato or piece of fruit. I actually lost a little more weight when I added the carbs back to my diet and felt human, which is nice.
I don't regret trying the Paleo diet, but in the future I hope to avoid anything that pushes a 'one size fits all' approaches to health. Actually, I just want to avoid diets in general.
