Pre-Experiment

I've never gone on a diet.

Never thought I needed to. I've always been height-weight proportionate, and I didn't totally live on junk food. I always had "real food" for dinner.

A few weeks ago, I randomly caught an episode of "The Colbert Report". I'm really more a Jon Stewart person, but hey, why not. The in-studio guest on the program was self-proclaimed "Caveman" John Durant. He's not a scientist, he didn't author a best-selling diet book a' la' Dr. Atkins. He's a 20-something bachelor living in Manhattan's Upper East Side and he works in online advertising.

He talked about his own personal lifestyle, in which he has forsaken modern foods for the diet of our paleolithic forefathers.

Homo Sapiens has been around roughly half a million years. In the last ten thousand, since the development of agriculture, man's diet has changed drastically.

Let's take a look at the Paleo-Diet's mascot and hero, "Grok". Grok is tall, lean, muscular, and nimble. He has low blood-sugar and healthy cholesterol. He can walk all day and run when necessary, without dropping to the ground for lack of oxygen. Grok is a hunter-gatherer. He forages for nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruits and small game mammals, fish, and the occasional score of big game.

Now, let's look at what I ate yesterday. A bagel with cream cheese. Some tortilla chips and salsa. A Beef -n- Cheddar sandwich from Arby's. An ice cream sandwich. For dinner we had garlic mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, and a big hunk of shoulder steak with spicy salsa and cheddar cheese. I drank a good half-gallon of homemade sweet tea. Sure, none of this was absolutely terrible (an argument could be made for the Arby's) but most of it wasn't particularly good, either.

The simple fact is, our bodies did not develop with the intent to process grains and sugars. We have a taste for sweets so we will choose to forage for fruits, not so we will dive into a pint of "Phish Food". And I am, admittedly, a sugar addict. I love chocolate. I love dairy. I love pastries and cake and ice cream and doughnuts and Cherry Coke. However, I also love my family, and I want them to be as healthy and happy as possible.

Enter, the CaveMom Experiment.

For one month, March 1st to March 31st, we are going to set aside our Velveeta Shells and Cheese and our 2% Reduced Fat Milk and our Chicken Nuggets, and eat like Grok. We are a real family, living in the real world during a real recession, so we will be eating like Grok on a budget.

In one week, the family will weigh in - my husband, my son, and myself - and we will begin. Will it be hard? Oh, yes. My sugar addiction, and my husband's infatuation with all things cheesy will be pushed to the limits. But we're looking for a bigger picture. A healthy, fertile body for me, some weight loss for my hubby, and... well... I'll be happy if my 18 month old son willingly ingests a vegetable for the first time in his life.

Grok on!