Lily Bloomberg has always had a complicated relationship with food. Now 39 years old, she was an anxious child and struggled with bulimia as a teenager. In her twenties, she began to work as a school counselor and had reached a good place, where she was comfortable with her body and self-image. 

In 2010, three years after giving birth to her first child, she took up CrossFit, a globally popular exercise regimen that also promoted the paleo diet, modeled on what hunter-gatherers are supposed to have eaten thousands of years ago. Based on lean meats, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, it restricts a wide range of modern-day staples. 

At first, Bloomberg, who lives in Los Angeles, did not follow the diet, mindful of her history of eating disorders. Others in her CrossFit community respected her decision, but she became curious and began reading books and listening to podcasts about the plan.

“I was like I’m in,” she said. “They all talked about how the cause of diseases like cancer or mental health issues, or anything was because of eating grains and dairy, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, the cause of everything terrible is all these toxins in food.’”