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I'm just one year into being 4P (Paleo/Primal/Panu/Pastoral) and my "safety period" is now past.

When I started down this path, I was trying it for a month, then a quarter, then I was in-for-life. 8^)

I promised myself that I would not start a blog till I was one year in, and knew my arse from my elbow, and that time has come around. However, I do find myself wondering... Does the Paleosphere really need another blogger?

I'd bring an odd mix of biochemistry, metabolism, kitchen-play, and adult-onset athleticism to the table, but would I be helping or just clogging up the Net?

Some of you have been reading my writing here on Paleohacks for a while now, any suggestions?

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whoa. a bunch of people answered at exactly the same time and we all said exactly the same phrase... "I say go for it". weird. – Jack Kronk Apr 7 2011 at 14:14
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PALEO GOGGLES PROMOTE CONFORMITY! – gone2croatan Apr 7 2011 at 14:18
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as an aside, I really like the phrase "adult-onset athleticism." Kinda my jam right now too. – gone2croatan Apr 7 2011 at 14:18
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"adult-onset athleticism" is a great term! Though Sisson says there is a difference between being athletic and being healthy. I guess something like "adult-onset health" doesn't have quite the same ring. – Lee Apr 7 2011 at 14:47
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I'd read it.... – David Moss Apr 7 2011 at 15:16
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13 Answers

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Dooooo eeeeeet.

Your recipes are great. You come across fascinating studies few other folks are linking to or talking about. You ask provoking questions. You are clear about "this is an n=1 thing I do because it makes me happy" and "this is a thing which seems to have some scientific support here and here and I'm totally curious to see more research" and "okay, this thing is pretty exhaustively supported, let's do this".

I have some bias, because I've been reading your assorted online things for so long... And Stuff. ;)

I'd RSS that.

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Ah yes, you knew me back when I was more fat n' jolly... I doubt those days will come back if I can help it. Heh, I'm also sure that you won't see me posting grain-based foods like I did when I was fat n' jolly... mmm, Correlation. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:19
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I am joining the choir: do it. There is always room for a good quality blog. Find your own voice and have fun.

I've been writing blogs for years. Mostly it was private among a close group of friends... but some time ago I started anew. Now I have two blogs (or rather two parts of my blog), where one focuses on my social justice/diversity/politics views together with life ruminations, the other on food/paleo etc. but from a very personal side. I am not considering myself an expert, so I am not doing much of teaching on paleo, but I like to describe my own experiences, challenges, struggles and successes. It helps me organize my thoughts and think clearly. If someone reads it - that's great, if not, it's still worthwhile for my own benefit.

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You have a very distinctive online voice - go for it!

Don't worry about clogging up the net. Think of yourself as more of a light fluffy particle of a blogger rather than a small dense one.

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LOL, I'm a happy particle, that is for certain. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:16
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This has nothing whatsoever to do with Paleo, but years ago I started a blog for reasons I can't even recall and it wound up changing my life in myriad ways. It can be a superb exercise in finding your voice, excavating your soul and understanding what makes you tick - so long as you grant yourself permission to write about any topic that graces the space between your ears. It's also the best therapy that money can't buy.

Go for it! I'll totally read.

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That's a great viewpoint from the blogger's side. Writing about life can lead to a sort of faster personal evolution. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:21
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I'd read it! I often look for your answers on PH.

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Thanks Ben, that's quite the compliment. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:13
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I'm already planning on doing this myself and I'm only 3 weeks in. Mine is going to focus less on the paleo thing and just more on the food :)

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I could always use more cooking inspiration. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:14
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I've thought the same thing because I've had a true health transformation in a very short period of time. The only downside in my view is the time commitment: many people won't read a blog, no matter how good, unless it's updated frequently. I rarely click to Taubes' blog any more because he rarely updates it. I personally prefer Dr. Davis' blog because he updates it regularly but doesn't feel the need to write a tome.

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Yes, it's a shame more people don't use RSS readers -- get all your blogs in one feed. People don't "click to" all their Twitter friends to see if they said anything today; they follow them and get them aggregated into one feed. That's the way to follow blogs too, so if someone doesn't write for a month, they aren't taking up space on your toolbar or something, and when they do write you get it along with the others. Most don't do that, though, so if you want to maintain a readership, you have to feed it regularly. – Aaron B. Apr 8 2011 at 2:23
I was planning on writing a few entries ahead, and then start by posting each Tuesday and Thursday. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:15
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Everyone has a unique offering because of perspective and experience. You bring thoughtful discussion and questions to PH and are obviously very personally invested/committed, so why not try blogging? You could even be in it, "...for a month...a quarter...a year..." and suddenly it's a part of your extended paleo community and lifestyle and as much a part of your routine as a fine grass-fed steak. :-) Add your blog link to your PH profile once you're up and running, too!

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I'm almost always driving to speak up if I think it could help, that was part of holding back until the one year point. It is almost certainly going to happen. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 21:20
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I've been blogging for 3 years, and it started out as a "personal" blog then sort of morphed into a "food" blog and is now a "paleo/primal/lowcarb/real food" blog. And I'm enjoying it now more than I have in quite some time - it's sort of like a new lease on blogging life.

By all means, begin a blog. The paleo blogging community will welcome you - there's always room for one more voice.

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An excellent point about how a blog could (and will) change with time. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:11
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What the hell? Do it up.

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If I ever started my own blog, my primary reason would be for me to direct people to it personally if I am trying to explain to them what I eat and why.

There are a couple reasons for this:

1) People are always asking me questions. I reckon it's not going to stop anytime soon, like... ever. I think it would be cool for me to be able to say... "Well here, check out my website". This would allow me to get my 'best' info to them to give them a complete picture.

2) It's less intimidating. Reluctance would be lowered because it's not on a personal level. Not that I'm against a personal level, but most people need to see something more 'official' than just a conversation. If I already have a blog with all kinds of topics laid out, then whoever I talk to will not feel "pressured" to convert. They will know it's just what I do. You know... like the questions people ask on Paleohacks all the time like... "How do I get my parents involved without pressuring/offending them?" "How can I convince my brother to go Paleo without getting into an argument?" I think having a blog of topics already written takes the edge off.

Funny too... because I've had tremendous success so far with family/friends, even without a blog like I'm talking about. It's like people are drawn to this when I tell them. Almost my whole family is switching over. I didn't expect that but I'm very happy about it.

Adam - I say go for it. As you said, there's a lot of info out there already, but just like starting a journal, it always seems 'too late', but it's never too late.

Put your own spin on it and claim your space on the net.

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this is why I started mine, and is almost identical to what Id have written. Thanks for saving me time Jack! ;) – Stephen-Aegis Apr 7 2011 at 17:55
@Jack:throw your link in your profile too – Stephen-Aegis Apr 7 2011 at 17:56
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dang man i have even visited your profile page before but i didn't realize you had your own blog. i'll definitely be pokin around on there. – Jack Kronk Apr 7 2011 at 18:58
im actually pretty lazy on it, I post more on here than on there by far. It's primarily a "I dont have hours to explain my views to you, go read my blog".. in a nice way of course. I need to reformat to have an introductory section and then the meat and my views on secondary pages. – Stephen-Aegis Apr 8 2011 at 11:39
I like the idea of the blog being a bit of a flier and a reference for what I love doing. Thanks for the ideas. Once it is up, I'll make sure to throw it in my userinfo here. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:10
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As a newcomer of a couple of months, my opinion is the more voices there are, the merrier.

Conventional wisdom's echo chamber -- the lipid hypothesis, "a calorie is a calorie," and so forth -- is a substantial obstacle.

One thing I love about the paleo diet that there is no paleo diet. The friendly (and sometimes not friendly) debate within the paleo community is, I think, an asset rather than a liability. It suggests that honest scientific methods are the foundation of our discussion. I say go for it.

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I know that don't always agree with the other folk here about the particulars, but we often agree in general style. As long as I am not telling them how they must eat, and vice versa, we are a pretty happy community. I love that. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:04
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You are clever and write well. I say go for it. Figure out an angle you'd like to focus on, and run with it!

(As an aside, I'm thinking of moving my blog in a more wellness-oriented direction myself.)

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Thanks for the reminder about focus, I'm going to have to do a bit of that. I think I'm also going to discover what market there is for a company like this ancestralgeneration.blogspot.com here in my part of Upstate NY. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:02
Wellness is a sort of play where I feel deeply rewarded if I improve just a bit, even if it is just a bit at a time. Then there is my do-gooder's smile that shines out when I realize that I have helped others while helping myself. – Adam Crafter Apr 8 2011 at 20:24

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