Trying Paleo

Along with working out at the crossfit gym with Frank lately…we’ve slowly been changing our diet. It’s called Paleo (or Caveman diet/Zone..they are all pretty similar). Basically you cut out all processed foods, gluten/starches, legumes, dairy, sugar, to name a few. Eat lots of veggies, eggs, grass fed/organic meats, fruits/berries, nuts. To make it easy, you knock off the bottom level of the food pyramid (breads and grains), and the dairy. I’ve still been eating a little dairy now and then…creamer in my coffee, and very limited cheese. And of course we have “cheat” times where we’ll eat a pizza and dessert! We’re trying to limit those cheats to just once or twice a week. So far we’ve been doing this about 4 weeks and feel great. I’ve actually been cooking Paleo dinners for about a year. Now we’re getting a little more serious about it.

I didn’t just walk into this blindly, though. I researched a ton online, read a book about it…and I’m still researching...it all made sense once I understood how our bodies process different types of food. I’ve had a really hard time eating veggies, pretty much my whole life. There were about 3 or 4 veggies that I would eat, and I did not eat them often. Same with fruits and fish. The past couple of weeks I have been forcing myself to try all sorts of different foods, and I am realizing that they aren’t as bad as I thought, and I actually feel a lot better eating them! This whole way of eating has been a wake-up call…I’ve realized that I can do without breads, pastas, and sugar. Yes, it tastes really good…but doesn’t really make me feel all that great. Just in the past few weeks my energy level has shot waayyy up. I no longer get drowsy in the afternoons at work, I feel great after eating a high protein breakfast every day (I would skip breakfast a lot before), and I just overall feel a lot healthier.

Frank is really reaping the benefits of this. He has trimmed up a ton and looks great! I’m really proud of him and I’m glad we’re in this together and supporting each other.

We’ve tried all kinds of new recipes lately. Just last night I made these (but used spinach instead of zucchini): http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/03/family-style-frittatas/ . It’s a breakfast meal, but we had all the ingredients on hand so we had breakfast-for-dinner. The leftovers went in the fridge and tasted really good reheated in the morning.

Just thought I’d share. Sometimes I think we’re a little crazy but it really has made a world of difference. Last weekend I did cheat quite a bit with my beach trip. Of course, this weekend I’ll probably indulge a little too since I’ll be in TX for my friends shower and wedding planning. Wedding cake tasting? Yeah, I can’t quite pass that up! And I'm sure a few celebratory drinks will had to celebrate her birthday too :). For the most part, however...I think we'll be sticking with this.