Cautiously optimistic :)

[seaglassgreen]

So my mom sent me a link that she bought Rich Food, Poor Food on kindle today, after seeing the authors on TV. And she also emailed me the recipe that she's making right now, Paleo Apple Crisp. lol... I have been trying to tell them about paleo/primal things for the past couple years... though with all my paleo yo-yo'ing (that is, losing 10+ lbs and then falling off the wagon and gaining them back), I suppose I haven't been the best role model!

Anyway, cautiously optimistic that the paleo idea might be catching on!

[Tom Denham]

I'm not optimistic. If people start eating Paleo desserts when they learn about Paleo, they haven't learned anything helpful. Yes, I am the grumpy moderator, but Paleo desserts are the last thing people need.

[Moluv]

Well I'm just a cheerful member so I'd like to point out that your parents Paleo cookbook (desserts included) offer a great departure from the SAD diet and could be a stepping stone to better health-but it's just that- one step. I spent a little time doing that kind of Paleo-ing and it's nothing special, as Tom said. Whole30=/=Paleo, it's in it's own special category. While the name Whole30 may not be mainstream (yet) it has a much greater capacity for healing than just

"paleo" and maybe you can help your family learn that. You'll have to sit them down and give them the "sex with your pants on" talk.

[seaglassgreen]

She was talking about getting Wheat Belly, so I told her we already have It Starts With Food on our shared Kindle account, so I'm hopeful she'll look at that

[seaglassgreen]

And PS- that was a little forcefully negative, don't you think, Tom? Obviously paleo desserts aren't as good of a health change as a full whole30 or anything, but it's better than the regular cookies or cake or whatever they would usually be eating. And even a small change like paleofying dessert might lead to realizations that grains (for one) are bad and need to be cut out elsewhere.

[Tom Denham]

I tried to soften my statement by confessing that I am the grumpy moderator. But seriously, I don't see improved desserts as a gateway to health. So many people who experience great improvements in their health from doing a Whole30 report that afterwards, they began to enjoy "Paleo treats, and then next thing you know, they have gone so far off road that they become lost and need to start over again. What a body needs is meat and veggies and healthy fats like coconut, avocado, and olives. Until most of what we eat is what we need without loads of processed junk and treats, our bodies do not thrive.

I get so frustrated when I browse the internet looking at Paleo sites. You would get the idea from many of them that the mainstay of the Paleo diet was "treats." And many people put their creative energy into making Paleo desserts while eating boring Paleo main courses. I think all the creative energy should go into making wonderfully tasty meat and veggie dishes so that you don't even want dessert.

Some of the back story of my grumpiness on this topic has to do with my mother. My mother is a Type 2 diabetic who lives on salads and "treats." She tells me these treats are okay for a diabetic to eat, but I know better. And her health proves the treats she is eating are not okay. Her death certificate will read congestive heart failure related to smoking for 30 years, but I know that being 100 pounds overweight for the past 20 or 30 years is what is killing her. She was referred to hospice a few months ago. She rejected the referral because she thought hospice was a rip off, but she is still dying.

I hope your folks will read It Starts With Food. My mother read the first 30 pages and then announced it was boring, slow, and did not tell her anything she did not already know. She stopped reading. I never really thought my mother would change anything she was doing, but I had hoped.

[Megan Claydon]

@seaglassgreen your right, it is a start or at least a foot in the door for starting more conversations! But proceed cautiously as Tom has advised, as it is easy for people to justify less healthy food options because their dessert is paleo. The thought process usually goes something like this--->Paleo = healthy = I can eat as much as I want!

I would say as long as your family understands that dessert=dessert and the true benefits from paleo come from a complete diet change, then keep taking it one step at a time. Hopefully, the options presented within the paleo diet will encourage to try new things.

[seaglassgreen]

Thank you all... I can certainly understand your frustration, Tom. It's terrible to imagine our parents fighting and dying from these issues that clearly can be improved with diet. I'll keep working on my parents, but I kind of figure at some point it has to be their idea.

[Colleen Roy]

I'm sitting here reading these posts in my mother's living room while she is upstairs exercising her recently replaced knee. I've been down here to help her out for a few days. I arrived Sunday night and only brought coconut milk for my coffee with me because I thought "surely there is enough good food there for me to eat, even if she's not eating this way". OH MY GOODNESS! The only thing in the house that I can eat is eggs. UGH. My sister (who lives with my mom) has a bag of chia seeds on the counter. When I asked her what they are for, she said "I put them on my eggs or in a glass of water and they fill me up so I'm not hungry". UGH. My mom's fridge and freezer and cabinets are full of processed and ready made food. Both of them struggle with their weight, migraines, arthritis, thyroid issues....

I've suggested that they (mostly my sister) read ISWF. My sister exclaims "I eat protein! I eat vegetables!" Yeah, but you don't eat enough and you also eat LOTS of processed food and unhealthy carbs! I know, I know, you can lead the horse to water but you can't make them drink it...it's just so frustrating!

So, yes, maybe eating paleofied desserts isn't the best way to try this, but it's a start and I think you can be cautiously optimistic. But remember, in the end, if they choose to adopt the whole9 way of life, it has to be THEIR idea, or it will never work. The only reason we did our first whole30 last July was because it was my husband's idea-otherwise, we never would have done it.

I'm leaving a copy of ISWF here at my mom's when I leave. Hopefully, my sister will read it and give it a try.

[mrsmaggie]

Hi

I can see this from everyone's perspective, I understand that you are feeling happy about your folks' openness to looking at their diet and so you are anticipating them making some changes in the food they eat. I think its great they are reading some relevant books and hopefully ISWF.

I would love it if my family showed more interest in maintaining their health and only body they are going to have. Especially my mum

However my opinion on Paleo 'treats' is that they may, for some people, encourage the mindset that is often applied to things like diet coke, fat free yoghurts, sugar free this or that - ie. "This is a 'healthy' treat therefore I can indulge 'guilt free'" - if a person has a treat habit which is not caused through hunger, not kept for the odd occasion, not rectified by altering meals to increase satiety, then the healthiest thing for them to do when they want a treat is to wait and watch their own behaviour, observe any emotions that arise through not getting the treat they wanted, have a glass of water etc. Mostly will be habit or emotionally based. Really best thing is to experience what is there in you when the treat doesn't come and just observe it.

Through completing a Whole30 I learned so much about my psychological attitude to food and my emotional relationship to it. I faffed around with Paleo stuff and some Paleo treat things beforehand but realised during my Whole30 that actually I feel most 'treated' by random meals that just seem to work really well with certain ingredients put together and it is such a pleasure for my tastebuds. All with compliant foods. I would never have got to that point without the necessary rules of a Whole30.

I would be the same as you seaglassgreen in terms of the family stuff, but I would say that I wholeheartedly agree with what Tom is saying. It must be black and white.

Keep us updated on your folks x