When Piper Dawes turned 42, she felt like her metabolism suddenly slowed down without warning. “What used to work in my 30s—skipping meals, eating ‘light’—just made me tired and cranky,” she says.
A friend introduced her to the Paleo lifestyle, and at first, she was skeptical. “It sounded extreme,” Piper admits. “No grains? No legumes? No dairy?” But the more she read, the more she realized that the focus wasn’t on restriction—it was on nourishment.
Whole, anti-inflammatory foods. Balanced meals. Less sugar, fewer blood sugar spikes.
She gave it a try. The results were subtle at first—less bloating, more stable energy—but over time, her joint pain eased, her digestion improved, and she felt more grounded in her body. “I wasn’t chasing weight loss,” Piper says. “I just wanted to feel good again.”
Her approach isn’t rigid. She doesn’t worry about labels or stress over the occasional piece of sourdough at a friend’s dinner. But her core meals follow a Paleo rhythm—grilled salmon with roasted root veggies, chicken stir-fry with cauliflower rice, or breakfast hash with sweet potatoes and spinach.
Most importantly, she focuses on how her meals make her feel. “I’m not 25 anymore,” Piper smiles. “And that’s okay. My meals reflect the woman I am now—intentional, calm, and strong.” She encourages other women over 40 to stop chasing crash diets and start listening inward. “Paleo isn’t magic,” she says. “But eating real food with love and purpose? That changes everything.”
