Paleo 'Diet' Your experiences and reviews

This lifestyle (Primal/Paleo) is very interesting to me. So today my Hubby and I went to the Bookstore and bought $100.00 worth of books & cookbooks on this life style. I have made my mind up to do it. However, I have a question for you guys that have been living this life style. I noticed in a couple of the cook books I purchased, the nutrional facts (calories) are over the top. How do you control your calories on this? Are you even watching your calories, carbs, etc?

I am asking because I am a diabetic, high cholesterol, stage 3 hypertension and to top it off failing blood vessels in my left eye. Causing me to go blind. While I am a bit over weight (20 lbs.) I am not obese by any medial standard. I do believe that the type of food I eat is causing all this now that I am middle age. But I must admit that I am concerned about the calorie levels in the servings.

Please help me understand how you are losing weight and not worrying about how much you eat. I am truly interested in eating as clean as possible but I have to get the 20lbs. off asap and it must stay off forever. So how are you doing it? Do you log your calories?

Well, we all come to paleo/primal for different reasons. Some people feel okay on their previous diets, and do it because of the promise of better long term health. I came to it because I gave all the other healthy diets the good college try (basic balanced, regular vegetarian, low-fat vegetarian, vegan, whole foods), and I found it very hard to lose weight, sometimes gained weight (I gained weight being vegan!), and sometimes just felt vaguely unwell.

I then tried Atkins and felt pretty wonderful...but the 2 weeks of induction and the scientific counting of carbs and all the rungs were too complicated for me. I'm a bit of a simpleton, I have to admit. But the one thing I took from Atkins was the realization that I was wheat intolerant, and that I generally felt better without all those whole grains, and that I am at my best running on fat (I'm actually not much of a meat person, oddly enough).

I eat primal because it is so simple...the simplest thing in the world. Not always easy, but simple. And I am good with simple. I'm not exactly a bikini model, but I'm at a healthy weight. And I do not spend an hour and a half on the elliptical machine. The only time I gain weight is when I start sneaking grains back into my diet...when the occasional splurge starts to happen all the time. When that happens, I cut them out, and the weight goes away. Simple.