I developed "Paleo" diet on my own, before I knew real Paleo diet existed.

I have thyroid disease (That is genetic, so in my case my family is "at fault", at least I am not fucked up as my aunt that ended having thyroid cancer and diabetes).

One of the first symptoms that shows in cases like mine, is skyrocketing cholesterol, immediately this resulted in doctors telling me to eat less meat, and more sugary stuff (fruits, vegetables, etc...), when I did what they wanted, my cholesterol don't changed, and my triglycerides shot up too. (mind you, this happened when I was 14 years old!)

I joined a Kung Fu academy, to try to lose the misterious weight I started gaining, I got stronger, and heavier (ie: I built up muscle, but didn't get rid of the extra water and fat).

I was alright, but I moved to another city due to college reasons, so I needed a new sport, doctors (and physical education teachers) recommended cardio, and high-reps exercise.

Also I went to dieticians, that recommended whole grains and whatnot.

My weight kept rising, and I started to weaken, at the gym after some months I could lift less weight than when I started.

Then I learned how the body process nutrients, for example eating cholesterol don't make it rise, the body disassemble it and stores the components, later if the body needs cholesterol it assembles it back, primarily out of carbohydrates.

So I theorized: if I dump carbohydrates, maybe things will get better.

I then asked the professional opinions, they all told me I was wrong, mad, whatever, and that I would fuck-up my heart, and that cabohidrates were necessary.

I still went ahead and started to eat at lunch only foliage vegetables (lettuce for example), carrots (because I like them a lot) and some source of protein (cheese, meat, sausage, whatever).

And at dinner I ate only a can of tuna.

My cholesterol suddenly dropped to high, but non-critical levels (it went from 280 to 195, with 200 being the "critical" level threshold, and I think 120 is the "safe" threshold), my triglycerides finally came back to what it was when I was 14, and my weight dropped from 130kg to 90kg (still too much though, I was supposed to weight 70kg).

Also I started to design my own exercise programs, and do heavy-lifting with free weights and low reps, and skip cardio completely for the most part (I was already reasonably active enough, I don't own a car, so anywhere I needed to go I walked).

For the first time gym felt like something that wasn't pointless, I finally started to get heavier weights over time, feel better, and get strong enough to do some day-to-day things better (Example: before this I could not grip safely in my hand a 2 liter coca-cola bottle safely if it was full, I would drop it, thus to pour drinks I used to put the bottle on the edge of the table, hold the top with one hand, the cup with another, and slowly tilt it, now I can just do like a normal person, and get the bottle with one hand in the middle and pour normally).

I am still too weak, and too overweight though, I finally started taking thyroid meds, and they helped a little, but not much, I am struggling to find a decent medic...

At least, I am not that old (I am 27), so I still have time to fix up my life, but is still a fucked up situation.