The Paleo "Bandwagon"

Welcome to the bandwagon.
Photo by Suat Eman

The other night, a friend of mine commented about how I had jumped on "the Paleo bandwagon."  As much as I wanted to shake it off, the comment irritated me greatly for a number of reasons.  For one thing, for reasons I shall not divulge, the statement came across as ridiculously hypocritical.  For the second, since when is choosing to eat healthy foods that improve my health a bandwagon?

Had I joined Weight Watchers would I have gotten this statement?  Nope.  I would have been applauded for my decision to throw thirty bucks every month into a hole so that I would have the privilege of carefully tracking everything that goes into my mouth while I am offered samples of sugary treats or snacks that are loaded with preservatives and other crap.  I've been there and done that.

Another reason this statement bothers me is that it assumes that I just suddenly chose to do something for the sole reason that everyone else is now doing it.  This says that the person who is saying it really doesn't know me well at all, and that makes me sad.  I'm not a bandwagon type of person.  I'm usually the first person to be skeptical and point out the flaws behind a given plan -- especially if it's super popular.  The fact is, I've read the books and thoughtfully considered the science.  It makes sense.

It's a sad statement on our current thoughts on health when eating whole, nutritious foods prepared from scratch and cutting out the packaged, chemical crap is considered a "bandwagon."