Yep, I'm still counting them :)
So my goal last week was to hit the 25lb mark but I fell short due to unclean eating. This week however I hit the mark and blew by it. I stepped on the scale 5x this morning and I was at the 25.8lbs mark and probably if I'd peed it would be 26lbs!
The downside to this great news is that I checked my fasting glucose and it was 114 this morning. The wind almost slipped out of my sails but instead I decided to convert it to motivation. So I'm more determined than ever to march on. Because shortly before that test I was trying on clothes again and seeing how baggy they were. I refuse to buy new clothes until I lose beyond what I did 3yrs ago. That is another 14lbs to be certain I'd make it an even 20. But I'm not going to make such a large goal and instead I'm going to set small ones. The next goal is 30lbs, then 40lbs, then 50lbs.
Most of all I am proud at how I have stuck with this. 51 days might not seem like a long time to some but to me...being such a quitter of healthy living all my life this is pretty huge. But, it's also proof of how easy it is to eat this way and lose weight. I've been hearing that weight loss is 80% what goes in your mouth and 20% how much activity you do. I would say I'm proof positive of this b/c if anything my activity level is than what it was before paleo. I don't regularly work out or go to the gym but I have more energy for household projects and yard work. The point is you don't have to exercise yourself into a sweat puddle and lose weight you just have to watch what your stuffing in your mouth :)
My journey to better health via eating like a cave woman.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Because some of us are more visual than others here's a graphic that I found very useful and wanted to share.
More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.
More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The last week has been a blur
My mom had surgery on Tuesday and came home on Friday. Last week I did not make the most healthy choices available and it started showing on the scale. When I first checked on Friday I was only up .2 but by Saturday I was up a full 4lbs. This because the hospital food choices weren't exactly paleo friendly. I foraged the best I could but I was not getting enough veggies or water. This also led to another issue... I was constipated for 4 days. I eventually had to take something. This is proof that when eating high protein without the recommended amount of fruit and veggies you're going to be in a bad way. Paleo isn't just meat, it's also about veggies and fruit and nuts....nature's natural fiber. Shame on me!
In the end I was ok and I came out the other side with a loss today... I'm down .4 from my last weigh in last Monday. My mom is home and doing great, I'm back on track too! I'm now at 24lbs lost since I started this new lifestyle. The last 10lbs came off much slower than the first 14 or so but I'm still losing and more importantly my clothes are not fitting! My gut is shrinking from not eating the harmful gluten or lactase, my body is burning the fat. I still feel fantastic!
Supplements:
I have always taken a multi-vitamin but recently I started taking fish oil and Magnesium Citrate. The fish oil because I know that I do not get enough omega 3 in my diet because I do not like fish. And the Magnesium because it helps curb sugar cravings. I slipped up last week and had some sugar, that caused me to crave more. In case you don't know sugar is HIGHLY addictive. Eat a little and you crave more.
Something to cheer about:
One of my paleo friends is down 24.5lbs! I am so happy when people take charge of their life and change things. This is not easy, giving up grains, carbs, and sugar is not easily accomplished. We are addicted to this stuff so it takes a strong will to put it down and not pick it up again. But once you do and the cravings stop it is one of the most freeing feelings in the world.
When shopping for my get together for Memorial Day I had no idea what to get for something "sweet" for my non-paleo guests. Looking at the cases and aisles of the sugar had no effect on me. Nothing appealed because I'd be happy with fruit or coconut. It was amusing because Leah felt the same way, we both stood in the bakery area for a good 20min trying to figure out what people might like. In the end we got a fruit tart because our paleo brains kept saying fruit...fruit...fruit....fruit.... I had a teeny tiny sliver of it and found it too sugary but most folks liked it. It was an awesome experience to stand in amongst all that junk food and not have any inclings to wanting it. I'm so proud of Leah and I both for our conversion.
Now for some honesty:
I've been neglecting this blog. I had originally wanted to show photos of things I make and speak of my journey. It's turned mostly into me just speaking about my journey. I haven't added any photos recently of paleo creations so my goal for next month is to get back to experimentation! I've also been cheating with my updates and info because I created a facebook group and find that format sometimes easier to quickly post updates to. So apologies readers I'm going to do better.
In the end I was ok and I came out the other side with a loss today... I'm down .4 from my last weigh in last Monday. My mom is home and doing great, I'm back on track too! I'm now at 24lbs lost since I started this new lifestyle. The last 10lbs came off much slower than the first 14 or so but I'm still losing and more importantly my clothes are not fitting! My gut is shrinking from not eating the harmful gluten or lactase, my body is burning the fat. I still feel fantastic!
Supplements:
I have always taken a multi-vitamin but recently I started taking fish oil and Magnesium Citrate. The fish oil because I know that I do not get enough omega 3 in my diet because I do not like fish. And the Magnesium because it helps curb sugar cravings. I slipped up last week and had some sugar, that caused me to crave more. In case you don't know sugar is HIGHLY addictive. Eat a little and you crave more.
Something to cheer about:
One of my paleo friends is down 24.5lbs! I am so happy when people take charge of their life and change things. This is not easy, giving up grains, carbs, and sugar is not easily accomplished. We are addicted to this stuff so it takes a strong will to put it down and not pick it up again. But once you do and the cravings stop it is one of the most freeing feelings in the world.
When shopping for my get together for Memorial Day I had no idea what to get for something "sweet" for my non-paleo guests. Looking at the cases and aisles of the sugar had no effect on me. Nothing appealed because I'd be happy with fruit or coconut. It was amusing because Leah felt the same way, we both stood in the bakery area for a good 20min trying to figure out what people might like. In the end we got a fruit tart because our paleo brains kept saying fruit...fruit...fruit....fruit.... I had a teeny tiny sliver of it and found it too sugary but most folks liked it. It was an awesome experience to stand in amongst all that junk food and not have any inclings to wanting it. I'm so proud of Leah and I both for our conversion.
Now for some honesty:
I've been neglecting this blog. I had originally wanted to show photos of things I make and speak of my journey. It's turned mostly into me just speaking about my journey. I haven't added any photos recently of paleo creations so my goal for next month is to get back to experimentation! I've also been cheating with my updates and info because I created a facebook group and find that format sometimes easier to quickly post updates to. So apologies readers I'm going to do better.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
What a long strange week it's been
We are finally home with mom now; her surgery is done. While in the hospital I struggled to forage for proper food and wound up cheating a few times. Fortunately I didn't pay for it on the scale too much as I was only up .2 for the week but I didn't reach my goal of 25lbs. But, more importantly my mom is on the mend and I can focus on my nutrition again. I have to keep this brief but I didn't want anyone to think I had disappeared :) We are all fine and hanging in there. Look for more paleo goodness next week. Enjoy your holiday and stay paleo my friends!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
More Revelations
So it's day 36 and I'm about to break the 22lb loss mark. I had stalled for about a week and I decided to go strict paleo for a few days to see if that would help. Turns out it did. This one might be a bit much if you things like bowel movements bother you if that's the case you probably shouldn't read my blog period because I firmly believe in analyzing what my body is telling me and I'm going to reveal that here.
The title of this blog post is revelations... so here we go.
The title of this blog post is revelations... so here we go.
- If you're not eating right your body is going to tell you.
- You're either going to feel sluggish, have stomach issues, have headaches or your bathroom visits will not be pleasant. I'm sorry to be so candid but it's what I've learned. Last week I was eating strawberries and greek yogurt nothing too terribly bad, there were minimal carbs in the yogurt but it was dairy and unfortunately I cannot readily find full fat yogurt almost everything in the store is low fat, 0% fat. Anyway my bathroom visits were not pleasant my stool went from being very consistent to rabbit droppings or frayed bits. I did some reading and discovered that this isn't a good thing. I decided to nix the dairy completely (save my Kerrygold grass fed butter) to see what would happen. My movements have been consistent and fully formed, no smell, normal color. My colon is happy again.
- If you're not eating enough veggies your body is going to tell you.
- Much like the poo situation a lack of veggies is going make you hungrier than you're used to. Being paleo/primal you don't have the urge to snack or feel constant hunger like one might feel eating a carb heavy diet. Veggies are excellent for filling the gap in your gut and making you full. They also have many of the nutrients we need so it's best to eat as much as you can. Again, I wasn't eating enough last week. This week I'm making it a point to have a B.A. (Big Ass) salad at least once a day topped with my favorite protein and fat....eggs, oil, and balsamic vinegar and hass avocados! The results? My weight has started moving again my energy is awesome again and no more headaches. I had migraines on Sunday and Monday and I am convinced it was the yogurt and strawberries.
- Sweet potatoes are like candy to me.
- I'm serious. One bite with melted butter and I thought I was eating caramel. My taste buds have changed so much that the slightest bit of sugar is easily detectable. I cannot eat normal ice cream anymore, certain tomatoes, even beer....they're all too sweet to me.My affinity for dark chocolate (something I used to hate) has grown exponentially. But, I eat it sparingly because it still has sugar in it. Once I cleansed I no longer had a sweet tooth it was replaced with a fat/protein tooth. I crave meat, eggs, and butter. On another note after having less than 50 carbs a day all week and having the sweet potato tonight my energy spiked thru the roof. I needed to do something! I needed to walk, run, anything but sit I could feel my body on fire. It was so much energy and it was divine :) I've been reading about this experience for months but until tonight I hadn't felt it. Were it not getting crazy dark out there I probably would have done more laps.
- Once you de-carb you get really thirsty.
- I drink water like never before. Carbs hold water, once you cleanse of carbs your body loses the water weight. My fat is dehydrating...at least that is what I like to think. I'm not medical and do not really know but I know I piss more and drink more water than I ever have in my life (besides maybe Basic Training). Sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up to pee and then I drink more water because my mouth is full of cotton. I was alarmed about this but it's not abnormal for this diet and my sugar is perfectly normal.
So those are my revelations from my almost week-long strict paleo experiment. I have been using this Paleo Track to make sure I'm following the strict paleo food intake and it's helping. I'm not normally one for being all gung-ho about counting stuff but in this case it was obvious I needed a refresher on paleo eating because I had been letting some cheats in on weekend days that were starting to sneak up on me.
The list of those following paleo or modified paleo diet is growing in my circle. This week I've had three more people ask about it and I know for sure one of them is doing it. She has lost over 3lbs since Sunday night. Rock on cave woman! I won't reveal names to respect their privacy but as the circle grows they help keep me accountable and focused too. I hope they continue to report their results, successes and stumbles so I can keep you all updated as well. The important thing is that I've been doing this for over a month and I've stuck with it. That is pretty huge for me because I have always been a quitter when it came to food. Fortunately once I found the right thing that allowed me to purge the junk my desire to fuel with junk is nonexistent. The only thing I truly miss is beer.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Becoming more active
So over the weekend I did try the paleo ice cream recipe. It tastes yummy but I screwed up my ice cream maker and it's more like sorbet than actual ice cream. I want to try the primal energy bars recipe as well but time sort of slipped away from me and this week is kind of crazy.
So it's day #34. By now this is all pretty easy to me. I've figured out what I really like to eat and try to prep that stuff or have it on hand. This equates to us going thru 2-3 dozen eggs per week. Yes, that many :) Anyway I'm feeling really good, full of energy and excited about getting active. I've lost 20lbs and have been bouncing up and down 2-3lbs. I know that I'm not losing as much b/c I need to incorporate more activity in my life so that's my new focus.... getting active.
Mark Sissson, the MDA Primal guy says that we should move frequently at a slow pace, lift heavy things, and play. So what does that mean? I take it to mean getting outside, hiking, kayaking, walking, running and lifting heavy stuff. But Mark has a much more detailed plan here.
I also need to get a better handle making sure I'm not eating too much and make sure I eat enough fat. I'm still having a hard time getting enough fat in me. I got protein down pat, the fat thing not so much. I truly think this has slowed my weight loss b/c my body isn't getting many carbs but it's also not getting enough fat which is what it uses for fuel so it's holding onto everything. So this week I am making a concerted effort to eat more healthy fat...i.e. avocados, grass fed butter, etc.
My lack of lost weight however wouldn't normally discourage me except that I'm in the 90 competition with some friends. My clothes are all fitting much better, my body is changing shape even if the weight isn't dropping. I know that I have to keep plugging along and it will come together but I need to pull my weight on my team so I'm going to do some extreme things to lose as much as possible.
That's it for this one; I feel like I'm rambling. I am excited that more folks are asking me about paleo/primal. A few friends are trying it and having great success! I'm confident in the long run this is what I need! :D
So it's day #34. By now this is all pretty easy to me. I've figured out what I really like to eat and try to prep that stuff or have it on hand. This equates to us going thru 2-3 dozen eggs per week. Yes, that many :) Anyway I'm feeling really good, full of energy and excited about getting active. I've lost 20lbs and have been bouncing up and down 2-3lbs. I know that I'm not losing as much b/c I need to incorporate more activity in my life so that's my new focus.... getting active.
Mark Sissson, the MDA Primal guy says that we should move frequently at a slow pace, lift heavy things, and play. So what does that mean? I take it to mean getting outside, hiking, kayaking, walking, running and lifting heavy stuff. But Mark has a much more detailed plan here.
I also need to get a better handle making sure I'm not eating too much and make sure I eat enough fat. I'm still having a hard time getting enough fat in me. I got protein down pat, the fat thing not so much. I truly think this has slowed my weight loss b/c my body isn't getting many carbs but it's also not getting enough fat which is what it uses for fuel so it's holding onto everything. So this week I am making a concerted effort to eat more healthy fat...i.e. avocados, grass fed butter, etc.
My lack of lost weight however wouldn't normally discourage me except that I'm in the 90 competition with some friends. My clothes are all fitting much better, my body is changing shape even if the weight isn't dropping. I know that I have to keep plugging along and it will come together but I need to pull my weight on my team so I'm going to do some extreme things to lose as much as possible.
That's it for this one; I feel like I'm rambling. I am excited that more folks are asking me about paleo/primal. A few friends are trying it and having great success! I'm confident in the long run this is what I need! :D
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Things I'm totally going to try this weekend
I'm finding that I need a larger variety of things to snack on rather than nuts, berries, coconut, and hard-boiled eggs. So today I'm scouring the blogsphere and forums for things to try and this is my list.
Oh and lastly... I want a drink. Gluten Free beer still has too many carbs in it. And red wine is blah. So hello to this! http://crossfitcooking.com/?p=291 St. Germain Lemondae made with St. Germain...less than 4g carbs per serving. I can handle that... if I can handle the price.
- Homemade Primal Energy Bar
- Homemade Paelo Ice Cream
- Turtles
- Nut butter chocolate cups
- Paleo Banana Mud
So I'm obviously not going to make all of these I'll pick one or two to try and then try more the next weekend. The bottom line is that I am excited to find things that will satisfy my sweet tooth but that are actually healthy... made with dark chocolate, made with natural sweetners, nothing inside is processed and all homemade.
I'll post pics as I work thru some of the recipes so stay tuned!
Oh and lastly... I want a drink. Gluten Free beer still has too many carbs in it. And red wine is blah. So hello to this! http://crossfitcooking.com/?p=291 St. Germain Lemondae made with St. Germain...less than 4g carbs per serving. I can handle that... if I can handle the price.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I screwed up :(
Yesterday I drank a Belgian witbier at Iron Hill but I still had salad for lunch. Then last night for dinner I ate some of my mom's famous green beans. Today I woke up and found I was up 1.6lbs on the scale. This doesn't tell the whole story though b/c I didn't drink much water yesterday if at all. The day before I had one of my mom's biscuits. So yeah a few slip ups and bam up in weight.
This has now caused me to get back on things even stricter than before. Aside from the weight gain I was starving all day yesterday from the beer and beans. My body wanted carbs. I know this, I've experienced this, I should avoid it but I still slip up from time to time.
So today starts day 1 again. This morning I had a half of a veggie omelet the other half will be for lunch and dinner will be burger no buns and a spinach salad. No more bread, grains, sugar, or beans for me.
On another note I just stumbled across this on /r/paleo
http://i.imgur.com/aCu80.jpg
]Lovely33[S] 2 points ago
"Modified from another recipe 4 medium zucchini 1/2 small onion, diced fine 1 shallot, minced 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 T white wine 1 lb. ground beef 1 egg 1 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup almond flour 1 t paprika 1 t rosemary 1 t marjoram 1 t basil Salt/pepper 1 T olive oil Preheat oven to 400 Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, hollow it out by scoring with a knife and scrape with a spoon (leave 1/4 inch thick shells). Arrange in baking dish. Finely chop the scooped out zucchini, set aside. In a sauté pan, heat up oil and add the onion, shallot, and garlic. Add chopped zucchini and salt. Cook for about three minutes. Add wine and cook until it reduces. Add beef with some salt/pepper, cook until done and break up into small pieces. Add rest of seasonings. Mix and cook for one minute longer. Take meat and put it into a bowl to cool off in the freezer (about five minutes). When cooled, add almond flour and egg, mix well with the meat. Using a spoon, fill the hollowed zucchinis with stuffing, pressing firmly and sprinkle with some almond flour. Place broth in bottom of the baking dish (like a bath) and cover tightly with foil. Bake 35 minutes. Enjoy..they are habit-forming and good reheated."
This has now caused me to get back on things even stricter than before. Aside from the weight gain I was starving all day yesterday from the beer and beans. My body wanted carbs. I know this, I've experienced this, I should avoid it but I still slip up from time to time.
So today starts day 1 again. This morning I had a half of a veggie omelet the other half will be for lunch and dinner will be burger no buns and a spinach salad. No more bread, grains, sugar, or beans for me.
On another note I just stumbled across this on /r/paleo
http://i.imgur.com/aCu80.jpg
]Lovely33[S] 2 points ago
"Modified from another recipe 4 medium zucchini 1/2 small onion, diced fine 1 shallot, minced 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 T white wine 1 lb. ground beef 1 egg 1 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup almond flour 1 t paprika 1 t rosemary 1 t marjoram 1 t basil Salt/pepper 1 T olive oil Preheat oven to 400 Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, hollow it out by scoring with a knife and scrape with a spoon (leave 1/4 inch thick shells). Arrange in baking dish. Finely chop the scooped out zucchini, set aside. In a sauté pan, heat up oil and add the onion, shallot, and garlic. Add chopped zucchini and salt. Cook for about three minutes. Add wine and cook until it reduces. Add beef with some salt/pepper, cook until done and break up into small pieces. Add rest of seasonings. Mix and cook for one minute longer. Take meat and put it into a bowl to cool off in the freezer (about five minutes). When cooled, add almond flour and egg, mix well with the meat. Using a spoon, fill the hollowed zucchinis with stuffing, pressing firmly and sprinkle with some almond flour. Place broth in bottom of the baking dish (like a bath) and cover tightly with foil. Bake 35 minutes. Enjoy..they are habit-forming and good reheated."
Friday, May 4, 2012
Hey it's day #24 and I'm down 18.6lbs
This is actually getting easier. The biggest thing about eating correctly is preparation and planning. I plan meals out a week in advance now and I know where and what to eat if I don't pack or don't make breakfast at home. It's so easy to just do the easy thing and hit fastfood or junk but honestly a few minutes of planning in advance will spare you a life time of misery. I never understood this until I took things very seriously so chances are most folks reading this are just thinking.... "blah blah blah in their heads". It's OK, I understand.
So yeah, stepped on the scale and was down 2 full pounds today. That made for a happy Friday indeed. I knew before going to bed I'd be down a good chunk b/c I was only up .2lbs from what I was that morning. Yes, I weigh myself multiple times a day. Yes, you could call me obsessive. But, it keeps me from hiding from the scale which at this stage is absolutely crucial for me.
Enough about that.... I just stumbled across this. Make your own Almond Milk and Almond Flour. I'm excited to try it!
Cutting this one short, TGIF everyone :)
So yeah, stepped on the scale and was down 2 full pounds today. That made for a happy Friday indeed. I knew before going to bed I'd be down a good chunk b/c I was only up .2lbs from what I was that morning. Yes, I weigh myself multiple times a day. Yes, you could call me obsessive. But, it keeps me from hiding from the scale which at this stage is absolutely crucial for me.
Enough about that.... I just stumbled across this. Make your own Almond Milk and Almond Flour. I'm excited to try it!
Cutting this one short, TGIF everyone :)
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Being sick suuuuuuuuuuucks
So my weekend was great, no really I mean it was great. Mom and I transplanted all of our herbs into larger pots that we had started from seeds ourselves. I got onions, lettuce, and asparagus planted in the garden outside. And Sunday Leah and I went on a nice long hike that made us sweat, involved me almost stepping on a snake's head, and seeing lots of plants in bloom.
And then it all changed. Somewhere around 5pm on Sunday I started sneezing my head off. Like constant sneezing and then the nose started running. I thought, OK this is allergies. So I methodically pop a Benedryl and nothing happens... instead by 9pm I'm dripping like a runny faucet my head is pounding and I'm feeling very... very run down. So, I take another Benedryl and then pass out in the bed. I wake up at 3am Monday morning choking on mucus rolling down my throat (yeah it was as gross as this sounds). I can't sleep, I'm miserable, so I decide to get up and go down stairs to the recliner. After several hours I fall asleep but again wake up choking. OK, this can't be good. /grumble, I finally admit that I'm sick.
Leah comes down and says why didn't you try taking Airborne or Sudafed? I'm like b/c I thought it was allergies but OK I'll try this stuff. I felt a little better, my head still weighed 50lbs but the headache subsided, I was still exhausted though and I pretty much stayed on the couch alllllllll day.
That night I try to sleep and I've developed a cough. The gunk that has been choking me has made it's way to my chest. So I'm coughing coughing coughing, shivering, sweating, blowing bloody snot...you get the idea. I rummage in the medicine cabinet and score some cough syrup and go to sleep. When I woke up Tuesday I felt like I should try to go to work even though I was coughing....when I got to work I needed to cough and clear my throat...upon doing so I noticed that my mucus had a new color...somewhere in the fluorescent green-yellow with a hint of blood spectrum. I knew this wasn't good and explained my coughing and chills from the night before. So I decided I should see my doctor who gave me a nasal spray and a Z-pak. I began feeling better by afternoon yesterday thankful to finally have the tired feeling and headache gone. And today while I'm still coughing and snotty I feel even better than the day before.
So why did I make this long disgusting post about my illness? Well, even though I didn't eat much at all during this ordeal I didn't lose much weight either. I'm hovering around 17lbs lost in 22 days but I did knock on the door for 18lbs but it slipped back away. To be blunt, I haven't been eating enough or right. The problem is I haven't been hungry... some days I don't get hungry until close to 11am and while Intermittent Fasting is encouraged and viewed as acceptable on paleo it's not something I should be doing this early on. I think I severely confused my body b/c I probably had 1-2 meals a day and they weren't very filling or caloric. But darn it, when you're sick you don't want to eat. Most people would see a weight loss if they did what I did but that's b/c most people are eating grains and when you stop eating grain you lose weight fast. Grains/bread pack on pounds faster than just about anything else you'll eat. If you don't believe me weigh yourself, cut out grain for just a few days and weigh yourself again. A friend recently discovered this from experimenting herself and discovered the truth. So I have my first convert in the making! She is going to slowly integrate paleo into her diet but I'm excited for her and think she's doing great. I'm not going to call her out in my blog b/c I don't think she's gone "public" yet with her new eating approach :)
I'm not preaching Atkins here. Atkins diet allows you to eat all manner of "Frankenfood" that has been processed to the point of almost being unrecognizable. I'm telling you that if you want to be healthy cut out the shit our bodies doesn't need and weight loss will occur naturally. I'm also telling you that once you cut carbs you will stop craving carbs. This isn't magic or hypnosis it's for real. I no longer want or crave bread, and I used to eat bread several times a day b/c I loved it and wanted it so badly. Carb flu is a very real thing, and if you give up the carbs and sugar you'll experience it. And, if you're like me it will scare the heck out of you b/c it will feel like you're giving up drugs. In a way you are.
Also, I was very upset to learn that the butcher where I was getting my meat from was not entirely truthful about their meat being grass fed. So to that end I discovered this place Break Away Farms it's near Mt. Joy, PA and I will be visiting soon. They also have a facebook page .
I'm going to end this blog with a link to a discussion that made me chuckle b/c it sounds like one I've had with friends/family recently. It's basically a paleo eater having dinner with his non-paleo friends.
Happy Meat Eating!
And then it all changed. Somewhere around 5pm on Sunday I started sneezing my head off. Like constant sneezing and then the nose started running. I thought, OK this is allergies. So I methodically pop a Benedryl and nothing happens... instead by 9pm I'm dripping like a runny faucet my head is pounding and I'm feeling very... very run down. So, I take another Benedryl and then pass out in the bed. I wake up at 3am Monday morning choking on mucus rolling down my throat (yeah it was as gross as this sounds). I can't sleep, I'm miserable, so I decide to get up and go down stairs to the recliner. After several hours I fall asleep but again wake up choking. OK, this can't be good. /grumble, I finally admit that I'm sick.
Leah comes down and says why didn't you try taking Airborne or Sudafed? I'm like b/c I thought it was allergies but OK I'll try this stuff. I felt a little better, my head still weighed 50lbs but the headache subsided, I was still exhausted though and I pretty much stayed on the couch alllllllll day.
That night I try to sleep and I've developed a cough. The gunk that has been choking me has made it's way to my chest. So I'm coughing coughing coughing, shivering, sweating, blowing bloody snot...you get the idea. I rummage in the medicine cabinet and score some cough syrup and go to sleep. When I woke up Tuesday I felt like I should try to go to work even though I was coughing....when I got to work I needed to cough and clear my throat...upon doing so I noticed that my mucus had a new color...somewhere in the fluorescent green-yellow with a hint of blood spectrum. I knew this wasn't good and explained my coughing and chills from the night before. So I decided I should see my doctor who gave me a nasal spray and a Z-pak. I began feeling better by afternoon yesterday thankful to finally have the tired feeling and headache gone. And today while I'm still coughing and snotty I feel even better than the day before.
So why did I make this long disgusting post about my illness? Well, even though I didn't eat much at all during this ordeal I didn't lose much weight either. I'm hovering around 17lbs lost in 22 days but I did knock on the door for 18lbs but it slipped back away. To be blunt, I haven't been eating enough or right. The problem is I haven't been hungry... some days I don't get hungry until close to 11am and while Intermittent Fasting is encouraged and viewed as acceptable on paleo it's not something I should be doing this early on. I think I severely confused my body b/c I probably had 1-2 meals a day and they weren't very filling or caloric. But darn it, when you're sick you don't want to eat. Most people would see a weight loss if they did what I did but that's b/c most people are eating grains and when you stop eating grain you lose weight fast. Grains/bread pack on pounds faster than just about anything else you'll eat. If you don't believe me weigh yourself, cut out grain for just a few days and weigh yourself again. A friend recently discovered this from experimenting herself and discovered the truth. So I have my first convert in the making! She is going to slowly integrate paleo into her diet but I'm excited for her and think she's doing great. I'm not going to call her out in my blog b/c I don't think she's gone "public" yet with her new eating approach :)
I'm not preaching Atkins here. Atkins diet allows you to eat all manner of "Frankenfood" that has been processed to the point of almost being unrecognizable. I'm telling you that if you want to be healthy cut out the shit our bodies doesn't need and weight loss will occur naturally. I'm also telling you that once you cut carbs you will stop craving carbs. This isn't magic or hypnosis it's for real. I no longer want or crave bread, and I used to eat bread several times a day b/c I loved it and wanted it so badly. Carb flu is a very real thing, and if you give up the carbs and sugar you'll experience it. And, if you're like me it will scare the heck out of you b/c it will feel like you're giving up drugs. In a way you are.
Also, I was very upset to learn that the butcher where I was getting my meat from was not entirely truthful about their meat being grass fed. So to that end I discovered this place Break Away Farms it's near Mt. Joy, PA and I will be visiting soon. They also have a facebook page .
I'm going to end this blog with a link to a discussion that made me chuckle b/c it sounds like one I've had with friends/family recently. It's basically a paleo eater having dinner with his non-paleo friends.
Happy Meat Eating!
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