The Atlantic

Mistakes in 'Paleo' Eating

A meaningful diet resolution might be to eat more sustainably.
Source: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Advertising is screaming at us: New year, new you. New, new, new. Everything will be better when it’s new. The old you was probably great, but it’s harder to sell things to people who honestly believe that.

The most common January undertaking in that quest is dietary—shifting the actual molecules that fuel everything we do. Most of us will fail to meaningfully change, and then feel only more inadequate in that failure. We fail because absurd goals can never be maintained, and because sometimes our own bodies (partly the way we were born, but mostly the way we’ve trained them to demand constant supplies of simple carbohydrates and insulin) make it almost impossible not to fail—to live without feeling deprived and hungry and joyless.

Maybe most importantly, many people fail when they don’t truly believe in what they’re doing. The

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic3 min readCrime & Violence
Donald Trump’s ‘Fraudulent Ways’ Cost Him $355 Million
A New York judge fined Donald Trump $355 million today, finding “overwhelming evidence” that he and his lieutenants at the Trump Organization made false statements “with the intent to defraud.” Justice Arthur Engoron’s ruling in the civil fraud case
The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
The Americans Who Need Chaos
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here. Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why peop

Related Books & Audiobooks