As a couple of you might know, I decided to give a new 'lifestyle' a bit of a try. It's called the PALEO Diet. I would like to explain in MY words what it is, what it isn't, why I did it and why I want to continue it.
I stumbled across the Paleo Diet because I have been having some problems with my skin and I have this HUGE desire to be in really good shape for the rest of my life. I started researching ways to cut out bad foods and ways to cut out SUGAR because I think I'm addicted to the stuff. (Ugh...this has been the toughest part for me, especially after the cookie and bread-filled holidays.)
From my past experience with working out and eating healthy I have learned that in order for my body to drop weight, it's important that I stick to veggies and lean meats. When I introduce carbs and sugar, I don't maintain my weight and I constantly feel hungry, irritable and have all around 'issues'. So, I know my body well enough to know that these foods have to be out of my daily diet in order to maintain. So I started researching, stumbled upon some awesome and inspiring blogs and set a goal for myself.
I researched the diet and decided that I wanted to stick to it's core values starting Jan 1st. These values include: eat lean meats (including red meat), pay attention to what is fed to the meat (grass-fed is BEST), eat organic fruits and veggies when ever possible, include good fats (i.e., coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oils, eat nuts (almonds, macademia and others) in moderation and avoid GRAINS, DAIRY and SUGAR (all the crap that makes you feel like a slug, the stuff that makes us 'plump' and the stuff that causes major inflammation of the digestive tract/gut).
Paleo is a way of life, NOT a weight-loss plan. Frankly, I don't need to shed more than 5 to 10 pounds to be at my ideal weight and I just like to challenge myself. I chose to do it to see if I would FEEL better and see if my face would get back to normal. It has been hard. Way hard. But it's the journey and not the finish line that I am looking for here.
Let me tell you this: A) OMG! This is not the easiest way of life, B) It takes PLANNING and TIME, C) it's so hard to explain to your friends why you want to do it and D) I FEEL AMAZING when I follow it. and E)it is NOT as expensive as one would think (healthcare and failing organs is much more expensive I'm sure of it!).
I have definitely STUMBLED and fallen off the Paleo wagon since January 1st. I can tell you that even though I stumbled, ate sugar, bread and grains...I am committed to this way of life. I follow it about 80% of the time, but I want to follow it more closely to 95% of the time. I want to do it and I'm going to do it, even when my friends look at me like I'm nuts and offer me a cookie (so hard to resist).
I read about the Primal/Paleo way of life daily. I LOVE IT! It is sooo interesting to me and I love to learn how the body works. I have found the following books/blogs to be so helpful.
I have made the book above my BIBLE! And I browse the following blogs in this order:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://girlgoneprimal.blogspot.com/
http://www.paleonu.com/
So far, so good. My body feels great! I'll keep you posted on this journey!
Bree--Cheers to LIFE!
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