food

The beau and I are HUGE foodies.  With that said–we also know that food is our downfall.  Our addiction. 

Paleo has become our AA.

Paleo in a nutshell:

• the do’s- Meat, Veggies, nuts,eggs, healthy fats and oils (coconut, avacado, olive), limited fruit

• the don’ts- No Sugar, No Dairy, No Grains

 The biggest advice for starting Paleo is plan, plan, plan!  It IS hard in the beginning, I won’t lie–your body is adjusting from the lack of sugars and you will be tired by 7pm, but honestly, it’s so worth it to feel better and not bloated or awful after each meal.  Dealing with the cravings and being tired for the first week or two is the worst but if you can make it past those two humps, the way your body & mind feel are definitely worth it and you’ll understand it isn’t just a hype diet, it truly does transform.

 As far as being successful with Paleo, I would say you’ve got to plan your meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I plan everything out on Sundays, make sure meat is laid out, veggies in stock etc.  We’ve realized that Thursdays are rough nights for us as it’s close to the work week end and neither of us feel like cooking, so Thursdays are crock pot night.

 The thing I love about Paleo is that if you are eating the RIGHT stuff (eat meat and vegetables, healthy fats, some fruit, little starch and no sugar, grains or dairy), there is no counting or weighing.  It’s about feeling strong, mentally and physically, not a number on a scale.  It destroys the idea of a typical American diet, putting you in control as long as the foods you take in are healthy, you’ll be healthy, period.  There is no expense other than your grocery bill (which could be a little higher depending on the kind of food you currently eat), but there is no special food to buy, no membership fees to “join”, no special pill or elixir to take daily.  This is YOU eating the food we were designed to eat.

 I would FIRST start off by reading this–and if you’re serious–doing it!  This is the 30 day plan Lew and I did in October 2010.  We are going to start doing this VERY strict 4 times a year in 2012–January, April, July & October.  http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/

 We basically do the same thing now, but have some dairy–cheese in our omelets, and cream (yes–full cream) in our coffee and allow for a FEW splurges occasionally.  Your body needs you to cut it out completely in the beginning to get rid of the gluten especially but also other harmful things that your body has been fed for years.

 If that interests you, I would then spend the $20 and get the Everyday Paleo cookbook off Amazon.  Lew got it for me for my birthday and it is SUCH a great “starter” for someone new to Paleo.  The recipes are AMAZING and she has a great intro to Paleo as well as great workouts you can do at home.  The link to amazon is on her blog: http://everydaypaleo.com/  This is especially great as she’s a mom of 2 young boys and 1 teenage boy and their entire family is paleo. Her book has great tips for getting the family on board.  She also has a weekly podcast that is helpful.

 I would also look into Robb Wolf’s stuff for the more technical reasons of why the paleo diet works.  http://robbwolf.com/  He has a ton of testimonials about how Paleo has helped out certain disorders on his blog–be sure to look at that!

 Finally, if you’re wondering if this works or if you want to do it, all three of these sites (and more listed below) will say is if you’re questioning if it will work–just do it (strict) for 30 days and if you don’t see/feel a difference, then go back to how you were eating before. I would also echo that a 30 day commitment should be enough to convince you.

 I “stock” my google reader with Paleo blogs to keep me interested and motivated.  I also have a Paleo board on Pinterest and honestly, need to un-follow lots of other food boards & blogs so I’m not derailed.  Here are some great blogs I follow:

• The Clothes Make the Girl–Probably one of my favorites–her new cookbook is amazing!  Her paleo Pad Thai is amazing.  http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/

• Marks Daily Apple–One of the first Paleo blogs, but one I’ve only recently started following.  It’s a really great combo of recipes, technical info on health, success stories, etc.  http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

• Wellness Mama–a great one from a mom’s perspective. She also just released an app!  http://wellnessmama.com/

• Paleo Parents–great video, recipes and more for parents!  http://paleoparents.com/

• Growing Up Paleo–does the podcast with Sarah from Everyday Paleo.  Another good one for parents and even how to be paleo while preggo and breastfeeding.  http://www.growinguppaleo.com/

Feel free to ask more questions, but there are tons of resources, recipes and testimonials tucked away in these  sites alone (plus a lot of links to others) that should keep you busy for a while!  :)