Sixth month LC and Paleo Newbie

[DanPaleo]

I am sixty and recently found myself facing ALOT of health challenges. Obese with chronic back pain, nervous disposition, terrible Lipid Profile, insomnia, and I suppose the list goes on. However six months ago I started down the right path quite by accident.
Fifteen years ago my wife and I both did Atkins, but after an initial flurry of success, 20 pounds lost or so, we both eventually lost interest and regained all of the weight.
Now, however, my back was up against the wall. My back has deteriorated to the point that the orthopedic surgeons want to do a three level fusion (my back is really messed up, but that is a story for another forum). My health overall had gotten so bad that it really threatened my ability to work, or do anything besides sit around.
Knowing the basics of low carb, and understanding the glycemic index gave me a place to start-eliminating white starches, sugar, etc. I could not do a lot of exercise to start with, but was just surviving hour to hour with narcotic painkillers. (Yet, another forum topic) But I figured if maybe some of my belly
came off, perhaps the "twist" on my spine would lesson.
My thirty five pound loss, and the improvement across all of those (un) health markers above to me has been a personal miracle. Less back pain, unbelievable lipid panels, sounder sleep, more energy, and a much brighter outlook.
So thank you's are in order for the Legendary Dr. Atkins, Gary Taubes, Jeff Volek, Stephen Phinny, and Loren Cordain (to name just a few) They have had the courage to stand up to the "Established" nutritional insanity that has had the gullible American people gorging on carbohydrate poisons for the last thirty years.
All is not perfect in my life now. The back pain is 24/7 but I am weaning off of the heavy narcotic painkillers. I am more confident now and as the Beatles put it, more "self assured." Just last week I broke through a two month weight loss plateau. I really have had to learn to take the scale readings with a grain of salt, pun intended. I also quit a really good job three weeks ago to focus on Low Carb Paleo living full time. There will be more of that for me when the time is right. I am beginning to understand how to synthesize all of this very good (and sometimes conflicting, (e.g. dairy) information into something that works for my very individual and unique metabolism. Being so new, I am keeping the carbs at 20-30 g/day. I am more liberal with saturated fat and hard salamies than Paleo, but have eliminated dairy, and read extensively about the anti nutrients that Dr Cordain has advised against.
Hello to all who have read through my wordy and optimistic post.

[AmyP]

Sounds like you are on the right track! I also kind of stumbled into a paleo way of eating through low carb. It is how I will eat now for the rest of my life. It went well beyond a "diet" for losing weight to a way of life for my health, both mental and physical.

[girondet]

I stumbled into paleo too, from general low carb. I had been moving to all natural food and the highest quality I could find, no processed food anyway, and then discovered there were books out there about it that were not vegetarian. I had been ignoring all the new diet advice for years, not looking at the books, thinking only calories mattered. Hah!

Eating paleo has been especially good for autoimmune issues, which I do have. I feel I'm adding many years to my life as well as much higher quality of life!

Reading your 2 posts is inspiring and motivating. I listen to podcasts and read most paleo stuff I can find, to help me stay motivated too. I love it!

[juliekaboolie]

GOOD FOR YOU! Welcome to the forum! I understand back pain by observing my own father. I have never seen a human endure so much. It's awful. He has had a spinal fusion, metal rods inserted, and spinal stenosis surgery (which he described as worse than his open heart surgery BY FAR) and is weaning off narcotics, too. It's a difficult, long, slow process. Be patient with your body, keep up your great work and awesome eating habits. Work at reducing stress as much as possible and see about starting a (back-safe) weight training program as increasing muscles increases insulin sensitivity. Don't do so much that you cause a stress response, tho. Congratulations on how far you have come! What an inspiring post!!!