I suppose those who've had a lobotomy are similarly blissful, but I don't envy them all that much. I want to constantly learn about new toxins so that I can modify my avoidance strategy. It has the challenge and reward of a good video game.

OF COURSE. pizza, deserts, sandwiches all look absolutely delicious and it is brutal to watch people scarf them down at group lunches or just in daily life, etc. Of course I am in better shape and feel great physically on paleo, but that doesnt change what you said - its absolutely true. and i agree about the knowledge part - you cant deny it

in regards to the other answers - i cant stand how arrogant people TRY to sound on hear. TRY being the key word because it is so obvious. DONT DENY it - you miss eating pizza. it sounds so fake in some of the answers above

great question by the way

honestly, yes. Same thing with politics and religion...I became a citizen of the USA in 2007 and started paying attention to politics, listening to political radio, reading all kinds of news, etc. I now find myself having to step away from the news sources because I get angry, stressed out, etc. Before, when I knew I couldn't vote, I honestly didn't give a crap and I was never stressed out about "news"... Same thing with food...although the food issue is a bit different because when I do eat something sugary (and yes, I do occasionally) I FEEL it...i'm a label nazi now, I have to "think" about what i'm going to eat if i'm away from home, I have to keep myself from falling back into bad habits. For some it's easy, they never want to go back and feel great about where they're at. For me it's a daily struggle...i'm lazy by nature, i'm rebellious with or without cause and I am very attracted to the "easy way out". So for me, yes, sometimes I wish I didn't know what I know now..but then again...going back to eating SAD makes me a cranky, constipated bitch that's ignorant...vs. a occasionally cranky (yet gloriously unconstipated) bitch with a crapload of knowledge in my head (no pun intended). Either way, I do feel much better off, Ijust have to work on relaxing and not getting so stressed over the little stuff.

I never feel that way, because this is a concious choice that I make everyday. I can grab something from the bakery if I want, I just choose not to.

I look at my life before, and now, and I wish I had heard about it 20 years ago!

I sometimes miss some of the foods I used to eat - the ones everyone seems to live on these days. But I don't miss how they made me feel and I notice that when I taste those foods now (like the ¼ of a cupcake I had a couple weeks ago) they don't taste nearly as exciting as I remembered them. Expecially not when I remember the guilt free bacon/avocado snack I have waiting for me at home. Or the brisket cooking in the crockpot or the grass-fed taco meat with the made-from-scratch seasoning sitting in the fridge.

But more than wishing I could eat those old foods with abandon again, I SO wish I could find coconut flour biscuits at a drive thru when I get up too late to make a great breakfast. I wish I could find coconut flour/almond flour cookies at that bakery everyone is getting their pastries from. I wish I didn't have to bring my own homemade "bread" if I'm meeting someone for lunch at a deli. I wish someone out there were willing to make small batches of macadamia nut mayo for the chicken salad I want to order on occasion.

In short - I want THEM to catch up with ME. Just a bit. I don't really want to back to that unhealthy, inflammatory way of eating. I just want the occasional hassle-free meal away from home. I never really loved cooking for one all that much. Now that I've chosen to be healthier, I have so few choices If I eat out.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss and I sometimes wish I could "be like everyone else" mindlessly eating a bagel and cream cheese in the morning, but then I realize that ignorance can also make you sick. I feel great and I know I will have a healthy long life ahead of me to spend with my family!!

To me, you are really asking, do I wish I had taken the blue pill?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCUhFZnxoBU&feature=related

Or is ignorance bliss -

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7BuQFUhsRM

For me, it's too late. I've already taken the red pill. Now given orthorexic tendencies, I continue to see how far the rabbit hole goes. But there is no turning back.

Last quote from geekdom - there is a difference between knowing the path and walking it. At some point, orthorexia needs to yield to living life rather than obsessing about every last f-ing hack that will lead to nutritional Nirvana. Hopefully someday soon for me, but not yet.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NErHBnXONvM&playnext=1&list=PL866428DD56B49800

I don't miss it, because when I was "blissfully ignorant" I was also feeling incredibly lost and clueless as well. I say knowledge is power!

Nope. I look at how soft, unhealthy and generally unfit most people look/are (and often getting really frustrated because they feel like they're doing the healthy thing, avoiding red meat and butter, drinking juice, eating soy products, etc.) and I'm always thankful for the knowledge I have. And that I will never ever again have to force myself to eat tofu due to a misguided belief that it's good for us.

I don't want to go back, but the really sad part is that this isn't something that everyone can actually choose tomorrow. How much of the food supply is currently tied up in HFCS, Vegetable Oils, Sugar, Corn, Wheat, Grains, Legumes and the animals that have been fed it? What if all of that food and food products vanished tomorrow, and all of the jobs that either produce it, provide it or sell it, vanished with it?

When I cleaned out my pantry, which was very well stocked, I had to make a choice what to do with the food, and I choose to give it to a family member, who might be convinced of the need for Paleo, but who is very low income, and struggles to make ends meet. They gladly accepted it. But I think for Christmas, I might just buy them a chest freezer stuffed with Grass Fed Meat. Ho Ho Ho!

no, i only wish i could convince more people...

Never. What I do wish is that we lived in a culture where all food was healthy, so it didn't matter what you knew about nutrition. I sometimes wish my mom would just cook me all traditional foods that she learned from her mom who learned from her mom etc. However given that our culture is so radically different from those with traditional food habits and practices, I'm very glad that I know about paleo, and I feel very fortunate.

I also like being unique. Not gonna lie, it feels good when people are impressed by my knowledge of health and biochemistry. It got me a glowing recommendation from my biology teacher too.

Nope, quite the opposite...

I wonder what my health and life would be like if I had been raised with this information and way of life.

Would go back with the mythical time machine if I could.

I don't necessarily miss the food, but I definitely miss the convenience of grabbing a Eggo Waffle in the morning or a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch for dinner when you just didn't feel like cooking.

Gracious me, no.

Call it what you will, but I'm so glad that I found Paleo. It's given me a community of peers who understand me and my weird eating quirks and can empathize and sympathize with me when I lament whatever woes -- emotional, digestive, or otherwise -- that I choose to share.

Even if it wasn't called "Paleo" I'd still be eating like this. My body requires it and in not-too-subtle language, guided me to this diet. I'm incredibly grateful for Paleo and the awesome, brilliant, like-minded people I've met through it. :)

Not me- I used to feel miserable every day because of my gluten intolerance, and I struggled with my weight. As an added bonus, I finally have an interest I'm truly passionate about; kinda sad maybe, but I don't think I had really had that before.

Not me. Paleo="I am special";

I used to go to the Supermarket to get Beanie-Weenies. Now I go just to jeer at the ignorant, misled masses. Makes me feel good about myself.

I don't miss the food of the past. And although a paleo lifestyle is rather simple, before life was easier: you just lived and ate as everybody did. Now, it is something that is on my mind quite a lot, not bothersome, but just something I think about a lot.

So I guess my 'problem' is more or less social. If everyone was paleo (imagine that!), that would disappear.

All. The. Time. I'm happy for people who do this and never want to look back and are perfectly happy gnawing on meat all day every day. But I miss my donuts. I miss my cookies. I miss my sandwiches. I miss my pasta. I miss my ice cream. But what I don't miss is the way those things make me feel--depressed, bloated, and downright ill. I slip up and sneak a cheat, and I ALWAYS pay the price with how I feel later in the day or the next day. It's so hard sometimes I wish I could give it up and go back, but I simply cannot bring myself to do it. It's a terrible feeling sometimes, but I slog it out and try to ignore it. You do the best you can, I guess.

Not a day goes by without me muttering #@%& Paleo (technically Primal). Not a day goes by with me giving thanks for it. Most of my frustration comes from having to keep my carbs down. (I shoot for under 75 grams/day.)

Oh yeah, I do. Exactly what you say: I just can't go back eating 10 slices of bread with chocolate sprinkles on top of them each day...

The knowledge is hard to just ignore. And yeah, that sucks sometimes :( Too with other people just stuffing away all the rubbish they can find. Life can be hard :D

I don't regret knowing what I know now. In addition to feeling better myself, I think the search for wellness can be contagious. When people look unwell they often feel unwell, and as a result do a lot of complaining. If they happen to do that complaining in my general direction I can either share some paleo-geek tidbit that I think might help, dispel a nutrition myth that might be working against them, or point them in the direction of a good resource or two.

I wish I would have known about it sooner! I much rather chow down on a nice big juicy steak covered in butter, then bread covered in butter, but that is just me.

hell no, I feel 10 years younger than I did 3 years ago, and I don't even get worried about grass-fed beef, or any of that stuff, AND I drink too much. just killing off grains and sugar and processed crap changed my life/energy levels, all of it.

I've never been in sync with the majority anyway, this is nothing new to me.

Its all about freedom to choose. But, before you have choice you should at least have the knowledge required to make that choice. I only feel bad for those who don't have the knowledge to choose. And no, I would never wish to know less. My freedom of choice is too important to me.

no. (adding to 15 char)

well, I sometimes wish I wasn't that arrogant. I've become a food snob while I'm only 20 years old. true story but all in all? NEVER.

Knowledge is the source of all wealth. When we apply it to tasks we already know, it becomes our new productivity, our new method of living. We then can apply the new knowledge to tasks and behaviors that are new, it becomes innovation and personal change. We can become something new from just a thought.......that is what knowledge can do for anyone person.

We can have any life and any health we choose if we just think before we act.