Going Bananas Over Survey Results

           I'm very excited to announce that my survey results have come in. I had an unrealistic fear that nobody would take my surveys, and they would end up going to waste. Then again, aren't most fears unrealistic in the long run? I published my first survey on July 20th, it's titled 'The paleo diet.' Since then, I've received quite a few interesting and thoughtful responses. A total of six anonymous people took it. Thank you all. 

          

           My first question asked how much people knew about the paleo diet, if anything. Four people admitted they knew nothing about it. The first responder described it as, 'Yes. There are different interpretations of it, but in general you're required to eat like a hunter/gatherer. Nothing processed or cultivated.' I think that about sums it up. The second one wrote, ''Yes, it's where you eat things that people "back in the day" ate. Meat's, veggies. No breads or cheese.'' Maybe these people have been reading my blog! Just kidding.

          

           The second question asked the number of people my responders knew who benefited from the paleo diet. I must admit, this one made me laugh because I never clarified what the paleo diet is. One responder pointed that out in the comments, "What is it?" Others commented, "no one." "Do not know anyone in my circle that has tried this diet." I like this comment, it's very straightforward. "I know no one who has tried it." To the last commenter, maybe you aren't aware of someone's personal diet history. I could have zombie neighbors, but I'm aware of the fact that I'm not aware. It's just something to ponder. All six people claimed to have known one person who benefited from the looks of the chart. Again, I laughed at myself. I forgot to put in zero as an option.

           The third question asked if they thought it was a fad diet, based on what they already knew. My responses and reactions were: "?" I understand your confusion. "It seems like a kind of type of diet." It most certainly is. "I really don't know, I would have to research it and find out the comments and suggestions in order to call anything a fad." Such a great open-minded answer. "No, it's only a fad if you try it and give up." How wise, I agree with that. Try it before you deny it. Also vice versa, try it before you buy it."Yes." I respect your opinion. "Seems like it, but I will have to read more." That's the spirit young explorer! 

           My fourth question asked: On a scale from 1-10, how important would you rate your internal health? (Everything you consume). 1 being least important. Explain. They listed a number, then elaborated.  The first one wrote "7". No explanation needed I guess. The next one wrote "10". The one after that wrote, "10, keeping everything working is what keeps me going." What a logical way to look at it, I admire that. "EIGHT." Cool. "5." Indifferent, are we? "10 so life is easier on you and you can live long without struggling." I wish I knew who wrote this so I could give them a high five. Living in the moment is hard for most people. We are told to remember important things, which drags us back to the past. We are also told to make goals and dream big, which shoves us into the future. From my last blog entry, I wrote about the Kitavans. Some of them have accidents or die from old age. They don't die from illnesses. Dying from exhaustion is really the best way to go. How many people can you think of who die from natural causes that aren't related to what they consume? I'm not going to expose my personal life completely, but I wish I had a conversation with my grandparents. 

            My fifth question asked: On a scale from 1-10, how important would you rate your external health? (Everything you do). 1 being least important. Explain. "5." No comment. "10." None for you either. "External health...?" Read the question again. "EIGHT." No comment. "6." No comment. "10 positive environment, clean environment, to be happy in a happy home. To love life and enjoy it." You are like fresh air to my soul. I hoped someone would mention exercise. That's the main point of controllable external health. I should reword my survey come to think of it.

          The fifth question was set up like a chart. Skip this paragraph if numbers bore you. No hurt feelings, I nodded off a few times while writing it. I asked them; What should the American food pyramid look like to you? 1 being the main staple, 8 being a rare treat. If you feel like a group doesn't belong on the pyramid, write a 0. There were eight food groups listed. Grains received one vote as the classic American staple, one vote each for fourth, fifth, and sixth place, and one person thinks it should be a rare treat.  Two people think vegetables should be a staple,  one vote for second and fourth place, and two votes for a rare treat. One person thinks meat should not be eaten, one person thinks it should be a staple, and rankings 3-6 each got one vote. Refined food is shunned by 3 votes, ranked third place by two people, and one person thinks it's okay in moderation as an occasional treat. Legumes won a single staple vote, two people think they should rank second, one third place, and 2 last place. Two people want fruit to be the staple. I bet Survey Monkey gave them brownie points for that answer. One person ranked fruit third place, and three people ranked it last place as an occasional treat. Nuts/ seeds got a vote each in first, second, third place, fifth, seventh, and eighth place. Dairy got one vote for third, fifth, sixth and seventh place. Two people ranked it fourth place. 

          Last question, stay awake with me here. I asked: Lastly are you curious about the paleo diet? Explain. "Yes -- I just bought a book on it!" Why thank you I feel honored! I guess my lack of explanation turned out to have its upside. "A little." That's a good start. "Yes, I wouldn't mind knowing more about the types of food you could make." There are plenty of paleo cookbooks you can check out, and even some awesome recipes online. It's never difficult because you are working with the bounty nature gives you. It's far from some elaborate recipe with over 30 ingredients. "Yes just due to the fact that I am over weight and look out for a different approach to lose weight." That's brave of you to admit that, and adopting a paleo diet is a great way to average out one's weight. If you want to become underweight, this is not the diet for you. It helps people balance out to their destined BMI weight. Adjust the diet to fit you, easing into it would work better. There is initial hunger pains that can last up to a month. Be careful to make sure this hunger is just the weaning process, not some from of malnutrition that could sabotage the whole experience. When I embarked on my paleo lifestyle, I developed a moderate B12 deficiency because I'm a vegetarian. This was mainly because I didn't eat eggs. Even if you are a vegetarian/ vegan, be sure to include enough healthy fat, b12, and calcium. If you eat meat, the transition should be easy. Make sure to read, read, and read some more before you begin the transition. "Yes. I would like to know what kind of diet it is." Feel free to. Unleash your inner cave wo/man. "Yes, I don't know what it is." Read my blog perhaps? It would be greatly appreciated. 

            I'm blown away with the feedback this quiz gave me. I've been putting off this update, but now I know that I can conquer my fears. As you might have noticed, I repeat a few concepts from my previous journal entries. I don't do it to fill up space, just to keep my readers from getting lost if they don't want to read all of my lengthy entries. I made some interesting connections based on the time in which the individual answers submitted. The people who became most excited showed background knowledge or indifference at first. The people who thought of it as a fad diet seemed the least interested in the end. I think this was a success, and I'll blog about weight loss approaches to the paleo diet next for my survey taker. It's not always instant weigh loss. I guarantee that if you do transition successfully, weight loss will not be what you focus on anymore. The countless other benefits will be the real reward, especially happiness. Because the root of our desires is happiness.