Day 136

Seems odd that I still am counting the days.  I'm not really, not exactly I actually had to go back to an older post and then count up the days b/c I stopped doing that.  I don't have to count the days b/c this is easy now.  My life is my own.  I control it, food no longer controls me.  It's just food, I don't care about it except that it fuels my body.  Honestly, the only thing that I care how it tastes?  Beer.  I will not give up my beer.  It's become my only vice and I like it.  I just budget for it now... not a monetary budget a health budget.  I only drink my craft brews on the weekends.  That's my budget, my tolerance is low now such that I can't drink too much anymore so it's okay to enjoy it.

Anyway, day 136.  So in that time I've lost 42lbs, I've lost 4 pant sizes, my sleep apnea is gone.  My GERD is gone.  My PCOS seems like it's gone.  I've had 3 regular menses without the aid of hormones or meds.  By and large I feel amazing.  I sleep wonderfully, I have energy and don't feel like a slug.  I've been exercising at least 3x a week and I just don't stress about what I eat.  I can honestly say I'm happy with myself.  That's a far cry from being ashamed of myself.  I also still have a ways to go but I feel good about my path and know I'll get there.

This blog has run its' course I'm not sure I'll keep updating as frequently unless I hit some major milestones.  Thanks to everyone for reading :)  I'm not going away I'm just not going to stress about updating this.  Besides I am far more active in my facebook group than here.  If you want in on that hit me up and I'll add you.

I miss yogurt :(

One of the biggest changes in my life with paleo eating has been the elimination of all things dairy except grass fed butter and cheese.  So, I really miss my greek yogurt.  Not so much for the taste but for the benefits of my gut and the consistency it made my smoothies.  This week I was chatting up a co-worker who is a serious marathon runner and he mentioned he makes his own kafir.  Intrigued by this I thought it might be something I could try so he harvested some his grains and brought them in for me.  He gave me instructions and so I set to making my own kafir.  It's surprisingly easy and I'll go into that in more detail in another post.  For now I'll just cover what kafir actually is and I'm going to leave it to someone who can do a much better job explaining than I can.

Here is my source.

What is Kefir?
Kefir is a fermented milk product that originated centuries ago in the Caucasus mountains, and is now enjoyed by many different cultures worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia. It can be made from the milk of any ruminant animal, such as a cow, goat, or sheep. It is slightly sour and carbonated due to the fermentation activity of the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that make up the “grains” used to culture the milk (not actual grains, but a grain-like matrix of proteins, lipids, and sugars that feed the microbes). The various types of beneficial microbiota contained in kefir make it one of the most potent probiotic foods available.Besides containing highly beneficial bacteria and yeasts, kefir is a rich source of many different vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids that promote healing and repair, as well as general health maintenance. (2) Kefir contains high levels of thiamin, B12, calcium, folates and Vitamin K2. It is a good source of biotin, a B vitamin that HELPS the body assimilate other B vitamins. The complete proteins in kefir are already partially digested, and are therefore more easily utilized by the body. Like many other dairy products, kefir is a great source of minerals like calcium and magnesium, as well as phosphorus, which helps the body utilize carbohydrates, fats and proteins for cell growth, maintenance and energy. (3)

So it sounds amazing right?  Well... it takes a little getting used to.  It has a nutty flavor and a yogurt flavor but smells awful.  Regardless I added some to my fresh raspberries, coconut milk, and protein powder this morning and I had the combo I had been missing for months. :)

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog.  I hate to cop out and say life is busy but...life is busy.  We've been canning and preserving food, yard sales, and at work I'm in the middle of a huge.... HUGE project that is consuming my time.  The important thing is that I am still paleo and eating good.  I have slip ups but I really pay for them now.  The longer I'm away from grain the less tolerable to it I become.  I know there's no going back for me now.

And I'm back on the wagon

Whew, last week was a blurr of bad eating and lots of alcohol.  I started feeling absolutely miserable towards the end of the weekend. My body was so run down and my digestion was flaky.  I knew what I was eating was bad for me and I'm done with that again for a while as we started a new Healthy Wage competition.  We dropped 2 members and added 2 more members and so far we are all off to blazing start. Being part of a team helps keep me accountable I truly feel this is going to be the way I lose more weight.  That's not to say I don't want to lose for me because I do.  It just means people counting on me tends to make me work a little harder than I normally would for myself.

So, I've been going to Shelly's boot camp in addition to eating better.  I can tell a huge difference in my ability to do the exercises than I could 40lbs heavier ago. :)  I still have to modify ones that put too much strain on my shoulder but otherwise I can actually do about 99% of things.  So, my ortho was right when he told me I needed to lose around 40lbs to be able to do these things without impacting my shoulder or ankle.  It's nice to have muscle pain rather than joint pain these days....muscle pain is good pain.

My mom and I have continued canning and preserving stuff.  We've started doing beans and more pickles but on the horizon is soup!  The experience of doing this with her has been a treasure, I saw her do all this when I was a kid but I never was involved past just being her sous chef.  This time I'm learning all the recipes and tips/tricks.  I have plans to make my garden bigger next year too!  The joy of growing my own stuff is immeasurable.  Sadly all of this has truly kept me from keeping this blog as current as I would like it to be.  I'd love to be showing pictures and giving step by step instructions for stuff but I just cannot keep the pace with everything else and here too so me rambling will have to suffice for now.

What a long strange week it has been

So Friday was the last day to verify for our HealthyWage competition and I verified at 38lbs down!!  My whole team did fantastic and now we wait to see if we placed in the top 3 to earn some cash.  I went off paleo for the weekend and drank much much beer and ate bread the end result? I was up 4lbs this morning.
Today I am going to start boot camp again now that Sgt. Shelly is conducting them in the gym across the street from my house.... I no longer have a valid excuse to skip.  I have 50lbs to go and I'm going to get there!
I have been busy... very busy... between work and things starting to come in the garden I haven't had much time for myself.  I decided to make some time this weekend though and I played hard.  We have made pickles and a few kinds of fruit preserves this week we hope to start canning beans.  I am already planning new things for my garden next year :)
I also plan to make paleo keylime pie this week.  Every since Beth posted hers last week I have craved keylime everything so the only way to solve this is to make my own and make it as healthy as possible so I don't feel guilty for eating it.

Wow! I seem to be really losing fast again

So now I'm at 36lbs down as of this morning.  I really haven't changed much except I'm actually eating breakfast again.  I'm just eating good clean paleo food even some berries!  I think the bulletproof regimen kickstarted my body past the plateau.  I think it also had some negative effects on my body as well, mostly in the fact that it made my digestion completely stall and I had some major issues over the weekend.  But that jolt seems to be what my body needed and I'm cruising again.  I hit my 2nd goal of 35lbs lost and when I hit 40lbs lost I will reward myself with buying clothes that fit.  I'm sure most people are tired of seeing me wear the same things but some of my clothes are just too big and I do not want to spend money until I am well below previous weightloss attempts.

In all though it's been an exciting week.  I've made pickles with ingredients from my garden and also made blueberry jam the paleo way.  Beans and tomatoes are coming in so before long we'll be preserving those.  I feel so good about knowing exactly what's in my food and what I'm eating.  It's such a drastic change from how I used to be.  I started slow and picked up steam and honestly I couldn't be happier with how I feel! :)

Today marks 90 days paleo and...

I've lost 34lbs, 12.9% of fat.  But it's more than the weight that is gone.  I am no longer addicted to sugar or carbs.  I eat sustaining meals that are not processed; they are wholesome, planned, and cooked.  This way of living took quite a bit of getting used to after having spent half my life eating quick easy meals.  We've been duped by companies into thinking that something in a package that says "healthy" is actually healthy.  We've been duped by companies in thinking that grains, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), dairy, and GMO laden soy products are not harming our bodies.

Before these changes in my diet I slept terribly if at all.  I snored, I had acne, I had PCOS, I had high blood glucose, and I felt tired and miserable all the time.  The loss of weight is a nice bonus but all of these things correcting themselves is more than worth the change.  It hasn't been all peaches and cream along the way... in fact it's been challenging.  First trying to plan and cook for a family after not really having to worry about it before presented challenges...I had to actually think about what I'd cook...like in advance and stuff.  I sought out produce and meat that wasn't full of GMOs, hormones, steroids, etc.  But once I got the hang of it this way actually turned out to be easier.  I got to be experimental in the kitchen and just make stuff up and yeah we probably ate more egg scrambles the first month than I'd like to admit ;)  But the point is I stuck to my guns.  If I made some veggies and meat and my mom insisted on still having bread or potatoes I resisted temptation from eating it.  If there is one thing I wish though it would be for my mom to stop eating the grains and sugar.  She is a diabetic and get famished between meals, she also battles yeast infections and she doesn't believe that her sugar/grain addiction is the cause of it. :(

Along the way I have learned some things about myself too.  In the early days I felt like I had stringent rules to follow.  But then I discovered that this way of thinking is what caused me to quit countless other diets in the past.  I now instead view this truly as a lifestyle change and do not just say that because it's catchy.  The thing is once I kicked the addictions it wasn't hard to eat right.  And yes, I say addictions because that is exactly what it was.  Shaking and dreaming about sugar and bread is not exactly clean living, but that's what I experienced.  If I went too long without sugar I would start thinking about it, start craving it, my body wanted it.  Those first days of kicking the habit were the most enlightening in this journey.  I know that I never want to be there again.    I also learned that I sounded like a purist bitch in the early days preaching what you can and can't have.  As more people have approached me about the paleo diet and what I do I've taken a more relaxed approach and try to explain that you don't have to this 100%....just cutting out grains, avoiding GMOs, soy, and refined sugar and upping your veggie content will bring you to 80% and you're going to feel much better.  The other 20% is doing it 7x24x365 and eating grass fed meat and organic veggies.  This just isn't always possible so it's important to realize that not being perfect isn't the end of the world.

My journey has just started, I have many more pounds to lose but I have a life ahead that I want to look forward to one that is without preventable disease. :)

Pulled Pork.... Paleo Style!

So for the 4th I wanted to have something different besides the usual faire of burgers and dogs.  Somewhere along the weeks preceeding we decided on a pork shoulder and making BBQ.  I wanted to make this pork as paleo friendly as possible so I scoured the paleosphere until I found a recipe that appealed to my senses.  That's where I found this gem on reddit.com/r/paleo

Here's a few pics of pork in the crock and then the pork all pulled apart ready for consumption.

The noms had cannot be shown in pics alone it must be experienced.  Here are some things I will try differently next time.  It needs more chilies, I will add chipolte flakes, possibly some chipolte peppers rather than chilies.  I added some large onions and put them in the bottom of the crock, I also think it needs more garlic.  Other than that, this was fab.  It was so tasty and smelled divine.  It has also made some yummy leftovers.

Other than that the 4th was pretty tame.  I also made cole slaw and there were deviled eggs not much was strict paleo though beyond the pork.  Still, even non-paleos enjoyed the pork so it's proof that eating this way isn't bland :)

Day #80 of Paleo Change

So work and life in general has been busy this week.  I'm not getting to update this blog as much as I would like to.  But, having said that it's day #80 and I am still feeling great and seeing results.  I stepped on the scale this morning to see that I am down almost 33lbs since the start of this journey.  But it's not just the number on the scale that shows my progress.  I am in smaller clothes, I haven't bought any yet I'm just wearing old small clothes because I will not invest any money in clothes until I lose 50lbs and keep it off for a while. :)

I'm also still doing Bulletproof.  I didn't do it over last weekend and partook in some cake and other crappy food on Saturday and was up almost 2lbs by Monday.  It took me all week to lose that plus a little over another pound.  I need to stop sabotaging myself but I'm not blind to knowing that I still have a problem with food.  I could very easily slip back to old me if I wasn't vigilant about wanting to stay on track....even with the symptoms that comes with me eating poorly.  This is something I will probably struggle with and work on for the rest of my life I'm sure.  I know that eating this way is better for me but I also still crave and want to eat shit food.

So some observations were made this week.

1. I can now drink my iced tea sugar free most days.  This was the shocker for me because I have never liked the taste of plain tea.
2. Bulletproof coffee works not just for helping me lose weight but also helps keep me regular.  I didn't drink it over the weekend and had digestion issues until around Wednesday.  But after that I became regular...I did this without taking my magnesium citrate supplements this week.
3. I really really really love squash... like I could eat it raw love.
4. Once I start eating while on Bulletproof I can't just eat something small and expect I'll be OK.  I have to eat something substantial or I crash......very hard.  This happened yesterday.  I ate lunch a little early b/c of happenings at work my lunch was a very small salad with some shrimp on it (like 3) by 4:30pm I was so hungry I was shakey.  I went home and made dinner quick and was alright once I started eating.  But lesson learned, doing bulletproof I cannot skimp on my intake.

That's it for now, the bottom line is I still feel amazing compared to the old "slug" me that would never do stuff thru the week because it required too much energy ;)

Bulletproof Day #4

This is the first day where I'm actually a little hungry.  So I'm not sure if I'll make it till 2pm before I eat.  And I am totally craving a huge steak dripping in Kerrygold butter.

So yesterday was day #3 and up until around 10pm it was pretty decent.  It was very hot here yesterday heat index over 100 and we worked in the yard.  I sweated alot, didn't drink enough water and thus a head ache ensued.  This head ache progressed into a full blown migraine over several hours and by midnight I was in terrible pain.  I took some medicine and that didn't help, so I started drinking water.... lots of it.  After about an hour my stomach stared churning and I needed to....poop.  This was great because it had been 5 days since my last BM.  I went and my pain started subsiding.  Still there just not as bad.  I drank some more water and tried to go to sleep which I finally did.

I can only attribute my migraine to two things.  Dehydration and constipation.  Today I am drinking more water, lots more.  I was down another pound this morning so that was great but I'm not sure where I am yet on how I feel about this Bulletproof IF thing yet. I promised to give it a week so I have a few more days to go.

Tonight I made... Spaghetti

No really it was paleo sketti!

I started with some onions and orange bell pepper, kerrygold, garlic, S&P
Then I browned some burger and added some of my secret Italian spices (like basil, oregano, more garlic).  Once browned I added the peppers and onions back and some tomato sauce and season to your liking.

 Next I made my "noodles".  Which meant I cleaned and sliced some zucchinis with a veggie peeler.

When sauce is about ready boil your water and of course add a little EVOO to keep it from sticking and boil your noodles for just a minute or two.  Too long and you'll get mush, not long enough and they might be chewy.  This is totally up to your liking. 

 When that's all done you get this wonderful concoction that feels like you're eating pasta only without the gluten.  So yummy!  And this was totally on a whim, I made the rest of the family normal noodles and enjoyed my sauce my paleo way.

Bulletproof Day #2

Bulletproof Day 2


I got up early b/c my mind wouldn't stop racing.  A problem I worked on all day wouldn't leave my mind and I had somethings I just had to try today so I got to work almost an hour earlier than my usual time.

Weighed myself, was happy with result. I had gained some weight from the "gluten free" pasta at Olive Garden on Father's Day.  That weight plus more was gone or roughly 3lbs.

I made my coffee.  I used less Stevia today than yesterday because I found that I liked the taste less sweet.

I drank it slowly even though I wasn't really hungry.

I'm hyper as all holy bawls.  Not jittery just hyper.

I spilled tea on the table in the break room because I was talking with my hands like an Italian and apparently very hyper and excited about my garden at home.

Did I mention I'm hyper?
/twitch
/twitch

No hunger, I feel full, sated, and like I could run a million miles.  Time will tell how long this lasts....Leah still thinks I'm psychosomatic :p

Day 69: trying something crazy...

It's almost impossible to read about paleo/primal/caveman eating without encountering some mentions of IF (Intermittent Fasting).  The idea is pretty much exactly as it sounds.  You eat intermittently.  The funny thing is in the past few weeks I was doing this accidentally.  I noticed that I wasn't eating at regular intervals because I just wasn't hungry.  Now please note, I am not exercising therefore I do not need fuel like someone who is.  I am consuming the necessary calories and fuel for someone who is just doing normal daily activities.  Anyway, I would occasionally skip breakfast or lunch and wouldn't even realize it as I wasn't hungry.  Or sometimes I would breakfast and lunch but not dinner.

Then I started reading more about IF and how IF doesn't necessarily work for women the same way it does for men.  In fact, normal IF is actually kind of bad for women.  But, I've also heard that in some cases it does work for women.  That's where "Bulletproof Coffee" comes in.  So, here I am sitting in kind of a plateau, already IF'ing, and I think.... "WTH let's try it."

This will be updated throughout the day as I see how going bulletproof feels.

Last night on a trip to the store Leah and I perused the store aisles until we found single estate, wet processed coffee.  I actually found one. SCORE!  I knew we didn't have MCT oil but I thought I'd try virgin coconut oil since the stuff I had at home was pretty hard and processed and we already had Kerrygold grassfed butter.

7:20am:
I start making my coffee.  I didn't think to snap pictures, I will do that tomorrow.  The consistency is that of a latte at least at first glance.  It is creamy and I found it delicious but remember I'm a fat lover now.  The coconut oil made it taste exotic, I did sweeten it with some stevia.  I let Leah try it and she immediately turned up her nose and said it was "slimey".  But, she said it was something she might try.

8:45am:
I am done with the coffee and wishing I had more because I thought it was yummy. :(  So far, I do not feel any differently.  In spite of the fact I am not a normal morning coffee drinker I do not feel jittery or like I'm having a rush.  I am not hungry either.  I will update if anything changes.

9:52am:
I'm feeling a little hyper and focused but still full and not hungry at all.

11:57am:
Still not hungry, feeling pretty good.  I've gotten a good bit of work done :)

2:00-4:09 pm:
I was so frigging busy today I never got hungry once and what's worse is I never moved from my desk all day until close to quitting time because I was so focused on fixing a problem I never realized it.


4:10pm:
I started crashing, by that  I mean I was tired and hungry.  VERY hungry.


5:30ish pm:
I finally got dinner in me.  I immediately felt better and had a surge of energy.  I played with the dogs outside and walked them.


8:30pm:
I'm getting tired, sleepy even.  So I predict an early bed time.  And thus concludes day1 of Bulletproof.

Still chugging along

Like the little engine that could I am still going.  I'm still eating paleo and still feeling good.  I find that I sometimes cheat but I won't revert to old ways.  For me cheating is eating a coconut bar or eating honey sweetened paleo ice cream.  The appeal of processed junk food is completely gone from me.  I can't bring myself to eat it.  So if I'm going to cheat it's going to be something homemade.  I still have added sugar in my tea...although I don't use alot I still cannot drink iced tea unsweet.  /gag

My garden!

Bacon!!

But enough about that.... see that awesome picture of greens, onions, and bacon?  Yep that would be lettuce and onions from my garden killed/wilted with bacon grease.  And it is about as paleo as one can get.  But aside from that it is yummy!  This is a dish my mom used to make for us in the summers and man did it invoke memories of childhood this week when I ate it.  It also helped that this actually came from our garden that we've been diligently growing.

This past weekend I also made roast chicken. It had been a while and I stopped making it because it seemed like it was going to waste.  This one was extra yummy though as we used herbs from our herb garden to spice it up.  And I was able to capture most of the juice for stock.

mmmm grease

 Once we ate all this yummy chicken I decided to make a massive pot of leftover stew.  This became dinner last night and because my mom does still enjoy noodles and corn I added it to the stew.  I just ate around it because I know that stuff will kill me :)

These are some great examples of frugal paleo eating. I've taken to buying on sale meat in large quantities.  While I would love to eat pastured/grass fed meat it's just not possible to do that on our budget.  So we are trying to shop wisely and hopefully before too much longer we will be harvesting even more veggies from the garden.  One of the largest complaints about paleo is that it is expensive.  I'm telling you it can be done you just have to really plan and work at it and it truly becomes easier as you get more practice.  Yes, it is cheaper to go buy a McDouble for a $1 but that $1 meal is going to make you feel like shit and for a few couple dollars more you could each something that is nutrient dense that will stick with you longer and make you feel much better.

So before I close out I will say that my weight has been flip-flopping this week.  I was down to 28lbs but I'm back up 1.2lbs today.  I'm fairly sure I know why that is; it's not what I've been eating but what I haven't been doing.  I didn't take my magnesium over the weekend (tsk tsk) so once I get that back in me and regular I'll back down again.  I don't want this part of my blog to put others from trying paleo...please understand I've had digestion issues since I had my gall bladder out in my early 20s.  Most people on paleo do not suffer this ailment ;)

Links! Links! Paleo links!

I just compiled this list to give to a co-worker so I thought I would use it as an excuse to make a blog post.  YAY!

http://nomnompaleo.com
http://paleomg.com/
http://www.elanaspantry.com/
http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/
http://www.chowstalker.com/
http://www.katiekdid.com/

Now that is out of the way.  Guess what?  I am almost 27 pounds lighter today than I was 58 days ago.  Yep that's right I'm almost two months into this paleo thing and I'm still losing, still happy, still sleeping well, and still not really having to exercise to lose weight.  Crazy huh?  Don't get me wrong with my added energy I'm doing more outside things than I used to but I am in no way abusing my body to lose weight.  I'm just eating correctly and enjoying life.

It's hard to not get excited about this and shout it from every roof top but I am learning to reign it in a little bit.  I don't want to be that person that is critical of what my friends or family eat.  It's especially hard with my family because I love them so much that when I see them eat that bread with their meal knowing the body's response I  just want to yell at them.  But, I figure the best possible way to influence those around me that I care most about is to do it by example....so that's my new approach.  It's harder than I'd like it to be but at least I'm working on it!

And with that said I do want to make a disclaimer... if it's not obvious to you I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, a certified anything except Leah might say I'm a certified pain in her ass :)  So anything I say here, any answers to questions are all my opinion.  As with anything you read on the Internet you should verify it with a trusted source.

Happy Summer Paleos!  Bring on the sun :)

I was soooo hungry last night for good paleo food

So I looked in the fridge and saw:

Fresh pastured eggs
Heavy cream
Cheese
Spinach
Zucchini
Onions
Bacon
Jalapeño

I totally made something yummy! That became today's breakfast and will be lunch too. Being paleo is awesome :)

Except so much beer over the weekend caught up to me. I'm up 2.2 from my drinking binge but I should drop that pretty quick this week :)

Day 51!

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 :)

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.

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.

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!

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.