Figuring out a diet for yourself is tough stuff. There’s a lot of information out there, and guess what? It ALL CONFLICTS!

You may recall that I have recently been trying out the paleo diet, as there are a lot of claims out there about how awesome it is and how clear your skin gets when you’re on it. At first, I was into it. The benefits that I saw in the first month or so were these:

  • My skin did look pretty awesome
  • I knew exactly what to buy at the grocery store, in what proportions, and what to cook every night. There was a system, and it worked.
  • Frankly, it was delicious
  • I felt pretty good, although I wouldn’t say “miraculous”

But the Boredom Set In

Buuuut…. then I started getting reeeally bored of it. Remember this article? I wrote about how I went on a river rafting trip and suddenly began binge eating and couldn’t seem to stop myself.

At the time, wondered what was going on, but I’ve realized since that I was simply craving more variety. I was so frickin bored with my meals that I began to rebel against myself. In fact, it actually made me really sad, because despite how yummy I knew my meals were, I began getting really aggravated about cooking. I didn’t look forward to dinner at all.

But it wasn’t only that. I started to not feel great – lacking energy and being cranky often. The way paleo people talk about bounding with energy – well, that just wasn’t me.

I’m not hating on paleo. I agree with the principles of it, such as its focus on whole, natural, quality foods. And I strongly believe that animal foods are important in a diet, and so are plenty of good fats – but I disagree with the rigidity of “labels”. And I don’t mean that only about paleo, I mean it about any food label – vegan, raw foodie, atkins dieters, fruitarian, meatarian, pesco-lacto-ovo this or that.

It puts you into a box, and makes you feel guilty when the prescribed food list doesn’t work for you precisely as they say it should, or if you eat non-prescribed foods too often. And if you get really into a community based around a diet label, it can be really hard to change if things aren’t going well.

It’s tough though, because in the blogging world, and in life, labels do make a long story short. Instead of telling you a long list of things that I eat, it’s a lot easier to just say that I eat “paleo”. But I’ve recently started eating a lot more (non-gluten) grains, fruits, beans, and general carbs again, and cutting back a bit on some of the fat (but not all of it). And that’s not reeeally “paleo”.

I guess you could say it’s more like “Weston A. Price”…. but…. …. what’s this post about again? Oh yeah…. shunning labels.

Seasonal Eating May Be The Answer

To be honest, I just think eating too paleo was a bit heavy for the summer months, and maybe it will jive better with me in the winter when you are craving dense things to keep you warm. Seasonal eating is important, and now did not feel like the right time. I needed something lighter.

Anyway, my skin is just fine since I started eating more carbs, and since I feel better physically, I’m just gonna stick with it. The facts are – different people need carbs, proteins, and fats in different ratios based on their bodies, metabolisms, and environment. That is something you just need to figure out for yourself – no label or diet can really tell you that.

On a related note – some of you may have noticed that I’ve put a “Books” page up at the top there on the menu bar, and am now selling my ebook about how you can achieve beautiful skin with food. This is a collection of everything I’ve learned about eating for the skin through experience, my holistic nutrition program, research, and opinion.

In my book, I have not chosen to go with a concrete “label”. What I recommend has some paleo principles, but it’s not exactly that. I take the mystery out of food, explain the pros and cons of each food group, and I leave you completely enlightened about what and how to eat for great skin. Yet it is not rigid, and there is still room to maneuver and make up a diet that works for you personally (without depriving you of all your favourite foods).

I also address such burning questions and curiosities as:

  • How can I figure out what my food allergies are without paying for an allergy test?
  • Is all dairy bad? What makes kefir okay, but normal milk bad?
  • What can I eat when I go out to restaurants?
  • How do I deal with unsupportive people?
  • How can I make healthy eating more convenient?
  • How can I afford to eat healthy food? What do I do if I don’t have a health food store near me?
  • Do I have to eat all my food organic?

Anyway, I still don’t have the internet (and I do have a full time job), so it’s been a bit tough to find the time to tell you all about the book in detail. But I will eventually. Believe me though – it’s fabulous, and by the time you have soaked all this info up and put it into action – you will look and feel fabulous too.

As a celebration of me finally releasing it, I’m putting it on sale for $19 for three days only – that’s like 35% off!! Don’t miss it!