Jumping Into Paleo: How I Got Here

My name is Colleen, and this is my entrance into the Paleo lifestyle.

After a long spring and summer of surprise joint issues, my rheumatologist diagnosed me with ankylosing spondylitis - as the docs explained it and from my skimming of some sources, it's a lot like rheumatoid arthritis with the added bonus that the joints are also attempting to fuse. The emergence of the joint issues coincided with a resurgence of my gut issues. Many sick days and two hospital stays later, the GI doc noted he can't say definitively that it's Crohns, but it's a possibility, since Crohns and rheumatic issues tend to cavort together. Whatever it is, carbs, processed foods, and dairy are pretty major triggers for me at this point. Doing a wee bit of research - I'm a librarian, it's what I do in times of uncertainty and stress - it sounded like cutting out all of those essentially left me with the Paleo diet.

I was hoping I could sneak through the holidays and start the paleo thing once Nana's Stuffing (and pumpkin pie, and cake, and various other delicious foods) season was over, but no such luck - after eating what I wanted for Thanksgiving, my innards duly punished me. And so here I am, saying goodbye to sugars and grains and legumes and dairy products and refined/processed foods. Excuse me for a moment while I desperately hug my boyfriends Ben & Jerry for a tearful goodbye.

And so, thus begins my paleo journey. As I type, I have two crockpots full of vegetables and beef bones simmering in the hopes of getting a decent broth out of it (I'll be posting about weekend mass-cooking soon). I'm scouring the 'net for other good paleo blogs with useful recipes that I'll try to pop into the blogroll for anyone interested, and I'll post good recipes as I discover them in my own kitchen. As I read more about the paleo lifestyle and gut issues, I'll be posting reviews, info bits, and bibliographies with links to the resources I find particularly useful. If you're a paleo veteran, I hope you'll stop by with tips and advice; if you're a newbie like me, I hope you find something useful here.