That sounds about how I worked my way into it. I'd been interested in health food for at least a year or so before I made THE SWITCH. I baked my own bread from local, organic whole wheat flour and thought it was just about the healthiest food on the planet. I downed 3 or 4 hunks of fruit a day, ate a ridiculously huge salad, ate brown rice with black beans and Tyson chicken, and had some meat now and then. I thought I felt as well as a human could...

... but I didn't feel that well. Being that I was working on my biology degree at the time, I had evolution on the mind pretty frequently. I often thought to myself, "there is no way this is how hunter-gatherers felt... they NEVER would have had the energy to work all day." At the time, I had terrible acne, extreme insomnia where I'd often go 2-3 days in a row without more than 2-4 hours of sleep, I was always exhausted even if I had been sleeping well, and meals just zapped my energy to hell.

I had some pre-existing inklings that eating like a hunter-gatherer would be different, would be "optimal". So I thought at some point, I'd heard the word "Paleo" with respect to some kind of diet, so I googled it. One serious mindfuck later, here I am, feeling incredible and sleeping a solid 8 hours a night and sporting exactly 0 zits at the moment.

I have had the worst diet up til recently. I'm appalled. Thank goodness for my skinny-boy genes, otherwise I might've ended up a fat bloated mess. Diet-wise, I never felt that I got much nutrition from food, and always felt tired and run-down.

Mentally, I felt like a mess! I've always been manic-depressive, with wild swings, mostly in the down direction...but when I was manic, it was bad news, go-for-broke weeklong benders and all money gone. Then the depression sets in and I bacame a shut in...anyway, I was sick of this cycle. So I decided to start going to the gym, then that led me to healthy eating (or so I thought), cutting back drinking and drugs, quitting smoking, and then on to Paleo!

All in all, I feel like a champ now! Onwards and upwardS!

I always liked cooking and appreciated good food, but ate a lot of crap for awhile. I got about 20 lbs overweight, did Weight Watchers & got portions under control, but still ate a lot of processed stuff. Before and during Weight Watchers, I got really bloated every day after lunch- this was really bad for about two years until I did a CLEAN Program detox and discovered I was gluten intolerant (I had tested negative for Celiac about 6 months prior and was really frustrated about not knowing what was wrong with me). I learned to avoid gluten and felt a lot better, but I've had a lot more improvement since going paleo; I think legumes are really problematic for me in addition to the gluten, so that's why I was only about 70% better after doing the detox thing (was eating a lot of hummus, lentils, etc.) My energy has improved too- I remember having a really hard time staying awake in meetings, and it's gotten a little easier :)

I felt like I was diminishing, losing ground and could not get a foothold or hand hold any other way I tried. Now after 50 days, not all physical problems are gone - but my basic core strength is coming back and I know I will regain much of my health over time. I have hope - truly when I had none.

I didn't eat a lot of junk before, but there was a bit of processed food and a fair amount of sugar, very little fat, tons of vegetables and fruit. My energy was actually pretty good, I just suffered from moderate to awful GI issues. Cutting gluten helped but cutting grains and sugar got rid of those problems completely. Unfortunately I have gained some weight since going (mostly) paleo and feel like I have less energy; not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg there. I suspect my energy would come back a bit if I could shed some weight, but like a lot of women here, I am finding it tough to lose. Pretty frustrated. Still not giving up. At least my gut is happy.

Before paleo: migraines, bloating, horrible cramps each month, anxiety, severe mood swings, fatigue, brain fog, impatience, heartburn/acid reflux.

I've always been on the search for the Health diet that would solve my health problems and control my weight. I've been vegetarian, vegan, Weight Watchers, Atkins.

When I started getting horrible gallbladder attacks, I got serious about finding a better way. When I came across paleo, it made so much sense, and as I discover more about the science behind it, I know it's the right path.

My gallbladder was creating a very strange sensation during my first week on paleo. Not pain, but it just felt like something was going on. And since then, it's been just fine.

No more migraines, heartburn, gas, menstrual cramps, bloating, anxiety, or mood swings. I struggle a bit still with fatigue and brain fog, but I've only been doing this for a couple months, so there may still be improvements and ways to tweek things.

My 10-year-old son hated his "baby belly," and decided to try paleo with me. The baby belly is gone, and he likes flexing his muscles he's developed doing push-ups.

Paleo rocks!

I felt great Pre-Paleo, honestly. I lost over 100lbs eating a moderate carb, high protein, high fiber meal plan that I created myself over the 6 years it took me to lose the weight.

The difference for me with Paleo, is what feels like a clearer mind, which I think is from not riding the typical carb rush rollercoaster and having cut out most of the processed foods from my diet.

Like 280 pounds of hammered dog shite.