Generally low processed carb, high protein. Independent research, i.e. didn't follow a particular diet like Atkins etc.

I was WAP for about five years before going paleo. Going paleo wasn't a big deal for me because of that. Now I'm back eating grains after two years paleo. It's good stuff I just didn't feel I was better off without grains.

I was a "foodie" for years. I ate whatever I wanted but it was mostly very SAD-healthy. I ate all sorts of grains from various sources, lots of beans, and used canola oil, but that was about the worst of it. I didn't eat much in the way of processed foods for years, no HFCS, little soy, and I did most of my own baking when it came to dessert stuff and I didn't eat bread at home often.

Before that? Late teenage-early adulthood years consisting of tons of boxed rice mixes, Hamburger Helper, baloney sandwiches, breaded chicken tenders, Little Debbies... the usual icky. Still somewhat SAD-healthy but not so gourmet and much more processed.

As far as influences? Mass media, USDA recommendations, the usual CW. (Why I believed that stuff for so long on the subject of diet, I have no idea. I saw how stupid the CW was when it came to my pet sciences, so I don't understand how it took me so long to realize that it was silly to listen to magazines about diet that call the Higgs the "God Particle," for example).

I got on the Paleo bandwagon pretty easily. I was used to forgoing most of the processed/convenience/junk foods, so it was a lot easier for me than if I'd started in a worse place, I think. I took the last step after I took some prescription medications and developed an ulcer and really bad digestive symptoms that pointed to gluten intolerance.

Mostly I just ate a standard diet of semi-homemade foods. Frozen stuff from Trader Joe's. Fancy raviolis from the health food store with jarred pasta sauce, added sausage and vegetables. Homemade fajitas, which I still make and eat, just no tortilla. Rice and indian food from Trader Joe's. Rice or rice noodles and thai food made with one of those thai kitchen packages. Whole wheat bread and bagels, almond butter. Scones and coffee on the weekend. Lots of hiking and biking to try to keep the weight off and not having it work. Then I went on a diet where the goal was maximum calories at the lowest weight and lowest cost. Candy bars, cheese, artificial dehydrated crap foods, candy, cookies, crackers. Lots of hiking. 3000 miles of it. That broke me once and for all. I couldn't keep weight off no matter how much exercise I got or how much of a calorie deficit. I only came to paleo/primal because I was so broken I had to do something. I started with low carb, high fat and got good results. Paleo/primal appealed to me because of the evolutionary angle.

American Diabetic Association, USDA, American Heart Association, etc. Following the standard diabetic diet was not helping my glucose levels at all. I knew if I didn't find something else, it was going to make my life hell.

crap loads of cereal, oatmeal, occasional pizza binges. I was a Whole Grain junkie. When plain oatmeal started to taste amazing I got suspicious..I began to realize how hungry I would get 45 minutes after eating a huge bowl of oatmeal. That brought me to Google. Google brought me to Paleo.

I didn't feel terrible on grains..but I feel like I have a more steady energy now.

Im new in Paleo. Before, I was doing Ketosis and a balanced diet when not doing diet (based in proteins, good fats and small amount of fruits and vegetables. Also oats sometimes). My treats were (few times per month) pizza or Chinese takeaway (I love rice) and chocolate or biscuits. Not bad but not good either.

My path started at the healthy-edge of SAD (during university and for years after) and ended fairly healthy overall - I barely ate sweets, snacked on nuts, ate tons of veges, some fruit, limited dairy, and favored whole-grains over more processed carbs. Due to my partner's blood pressure during the latest pregnancy, I barely ate starchy foods for several months leading up to my paleoism.

For years I'd been reading about the problems with Dairy, processed carbs etc so it wasn't much of a leap for me to go paleo. I was always self-motivated and self-studied on my healthy diet choices. For example, I would eat lollies if they were there in front of me, but I have always had good self control in regards to not having those things available in the first place.

My previous diet was heavily influenced by Indian vegetarianism and typical new-age hippy bollocks about grains and beans as ideal staples of a human diet. In my 20s and early 30s, I could handle it, but the weight started creeping up in my late 30s, and by age 42 I was a skinny-fat blob... 6'1" & 190#, but if I lay on my side in bed, my stomach would flow out onto the mattress. The journey back to slender was only 30 pounds of weight loss, but the difference in energy levels was huge.

Years ago I read The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet Plan, and it wasn't so far off paleo. I couldn't commit to it fully, because I was actually in baking school at the time. I failed at it. Eventually I had to take a series on classes at the diabetes clinic (it's really insisted on here in Canada), but it was pretty useless, because the info wasn't very good. Other than that, I've been pretty SAD, even though I live in the crazy hippy part of my city.

Oddly, I did read about the Ketogenic diet years ago, because my daughter had a stroke at birth and had had a bad seizure disorder. The ketogenic diet is presented as a last ditch attempt at seizure control for kids with intractable epilepsy. However, her doctors wouldn't recommend that approach. I now wish I had done it years ago.

Avoidance of sugar. Eco Atkins.

Almost a year ago to the day, I entered a contest at my gym. It was a type of 3 month "biggest loser" contest. We got sessions with a trainer and a nutritionist. The gym's philosophy was SAD with calorie counting for weight loss. My nutritionist allowed me to eat more bread than I did normally (I always had a feeling that bread was bad so I limited it). Near the end of the contest I was put on a low carb diet. 2 servings of fruit a day after workouts, no dairy, and a cheat day once a week. This was OK for a few weeks, but unsustainable for me after the contest. (btw,I did end up losing 28 pounds in 3 months). On low carb, I was mostly hungry all the time and low on energy. When I added more fat in...bingo! I felt full and had more energy.

My trainer is really open minded and is very happy about me going Paleo. The only problem for me is that I still have cravings and don't stick to Paleo very well. But I'm getting better at it and less and less cravings.

None. A month of Weston Price before jumping into Paleo. I am still probably more WAPF than Paleo, because I am more into eating like my ancestors/ethnic group rather than like cavemen. I can handle red meat only in small amounts, though I can eat a lot of organs.

All about Dr. Weil. Almost convinced me to spend my entire paycheck on supplements.

I used to read the government food recommendations, NHS website etc

Now I question everything

What informed my eating prior to Paleo? In no particular order:

• Hunger (I'm in the mood for a burger)
• Habits (it's Friday, so it's pizza)
• Sweet tooth (mmmm snickers)
• Contrariness towards "health snobs" (they're weird, I don't want to eat weird things like they do)

The food pyramid, calorie-counting, and the old-school idea that vegetarianism is healthy, were my influences when I was a naive teenager. I thought carbs were important, and I didn't think anything about salt and sugar and processed food as being bad for me.

While I was never overweight because I was calorie-counting, I felt and looked awful.

After I cut out grains, dairy, salt, refined sugar and refined vegetable oils, and switched to full paleo...I now look and feel my best.

Now I know each ingredient I consume, and I eat only fresh produce and unprocessed meat.

veganism-- didn't matter what as long as there weren't animal products involved. this included a cornucopia of crap including (but not limited to):

-unfrosted pop-tarts

-luna bars

-bagels with tofutti cream cheese

-swedish fish

-diet coke

diet of champions!