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.

1.   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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.