I Contemplated SUICIDE!

I use the word “suicide” here to, yes, get your attention, because that’s what I was feeling before I started the Paleo/Caveman Diet.

My husband Todd and I really felt we ate better than most people until I started getting ill.  I didn’t understand it.  I exercised, weight trained, did yoga, and did cycling ever other day.  We also walked three miles just about everyday and yet I couldn’t lose that hanging gelatinous fat.  My doctor ran a CRP test because I was losing muscle mass.  Yes, it was low.  I look back on the last twenty years of eating and realize I always ate my protein last, if I had any at all.  So you can imagine that eating protein sources at every meal was going to be a big concern for me.

I was 45 when I “hit the wall” that Ted Slanker writes about so often.  For some reason, all within one year, I was diagnosed with an onslaught of chronic diseases.  Here’s the run down!  An inflamed gallbladder, IBS, gastritis, hiatial hernia of the esophagus, inflammation of the throat, acid reflux, abnormal EKG caused from moderate heart palpitations of the upper chambers of my heart, a kidney stone, a tumor on my liver, moderate/severe spinal stenosis of the neck and lower back, inflammation of my cervix, overactive bladder urinary incontinence, and went post menopause in one year (what happened to menopause?).  Yes, and recently I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  Forgive me if I have left something out.  There’s just too much to remember.

As you can tell I was faced with a lot.  My husband Todd could see I was suffering so he was determined, as he always is, when it comes to helping me.  Therefore he set out on a mission to see what he could do to help.  Last Christmas (2010) he ran across The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.  He was so excited for me to open my gift on Christmas Day.  When I opened his “most important gift” I was disappointed.  This was his idea on how to change my life for the best?  A book asking me to change everything I knew and loved.

Let me tell you my anxiety and deepening depression took hold, but Todd said let’s give it a try for one month.  I’m thinking to myself, he wants me to eat protein three times a day (FAT!!).  Isn’t that what caused my low functioning gallbladder in the first place?  So I went into the kitchen, looked in the pantry, and then proceeded to throw myself on the floor yelling, “I can’t do it!  There’s nothing to eat in here.”

We ended up throwing almost everything out and bought fresh.  I threw out all flours, pasta, sugar, honey, maple syrup, canned goods, frozen corn, soybeans, peas, legumes, soy sauces, salad dressings, popcorn, brown rice, etc.  Everything that lasted more than a couple of days.  Scary huh?  I tried to complain about the cost of fresh food but Todd set me straight!  You’ve spent more than $15,000 on medical testing and doctors so where are you now Melinda?  I couldn’t argue with that so I “crawled” on board.

Todd found Slanker’s website and ordered half a beef and that’s all she wrote.  I can honestly say that almost all my health issues have disappeared since the first of the year!  This approach to food is life changing if you stick to it, which means no cheating.  I found out about that the hard way.

Yes, I have slipped up!  A week ago Todd and I felt comfortable enough to take a trip camping.  We cooked all our healthy food the day before and were off.  Halfway through the trip we ran low on food and drove into town for some Veggie.  I had been feeling so good, I thought what could it hurt to pick up a bag of “healthy chips,” organic cookies, and a small bag of marshmallows to go with my smores?  The first day I didn’t notice anything different, but by the next day I had a headache that lasted several days.  I also experienced a tremendous amount of gas and bloating and a bladder that needed to go every 20 minutes.  I was delirious with pain!  So as soon as I entered the house I was on the phone in a panic trying to get an appointment with the first available Urologist at UT Southwestern Medical.  Needless to say I got right back on the diet.  Amazingly, I improved so quickly I canceled my doctor’s appointment that was set for next week.

As you can imagine I’ve discovered that going out to eat is a whole new ball game!  I know this sounds extreme but I refuse to go out to restaurants if I can’t bring my own food.  I take eggs (Christopher Eggs) recommended by Slanker’s.  I just bought five dozen today for 99 cents marked down!  I won’t eat any other egg knowing the one to one essential fat ratio my body needs.

I do take egg’s to Mimi’s Restaurant and have them make me an omelet on Sunday mornings with broccoli, onions, and tomatoes.  Delicious!  They even have Cholula sauce.  Now days we save so much money eating at home with friends that we can afford the slightly higher cost of grass-fed beef.  I’m hoping that my teenagers will get on board with this lifestyle as I wish not to outlive everyone

The Diet of Man is amazing!  I’m like the Energizer Bunny.  I don’t seem to need as much sleep.  Life seems good again, especially since I know I can control my health.  Ted, we are so happy that there are farms like yours out there that we can buy from.  We’re looking forward to our next order.

M in Dallas