today marks exactly two weeks of this whole PALEO PLAN taking over my life – so it seems as good a time as any to offer a little update. here’s the rundown:
recently enjoyed: paleo trail mix, chef’s salad, paleo pumpkin muffins and tilapia with macadamia and avocado salsa and roasted beets
let’s go back in time about 3 weeks. BUDDY aka MURK aka life coach aka…you get the idea…showed up to her usual babysit EBN gig (which is less babysitting and more preschool of one – i always come home to find a kid who knows WAY more than she did when i left in morning) with a funny looking lunch. apparently, she was going to try a paleo challenge for the next 6 weeks and she had brought with her meals number 1 and 2. for those of you who aren’t in the know (which means you don’t live in the bay area and you aren’t on pinterest) paleo is all about eating like a caveman caveperson. there’s a lot of meat and seeds and nuts and veggies and fruits. there’s no dairy or grain or sugar or processed food. if you know me at all, you’d know that typically i’d be all, uh, no.
but then we go back another week or so. turns out a couple of ABN’s coworkers are into this whole paleo thing and one of them gave a presentation that i took part in, about the paleo lifestyle. his dramatic weightloss got me thinking for sure, but so did the other benefits. i’m a girl who has had constant tummy troubles since high school. no question, it’s stress related. but it’s triggered by food as well. and i think it would be difficult to find someone who likes her carbs and sugary snacks and diet cokes as much as me. it was time for a detox.
i’m a girl who takes direction pretty well so we’re following a specific plan. i’m cooking a ton. that’s an understatement. i’m cooking 3 meals a day, plus preparing a snack. cooking. not pouring cereal into a bowl for breakfast. it’s taking basically all my free time (which explains my lack of crochet progress) but the recipes have been delicious. i’ve had lots of foods in my house that i never imagined i’d find myself slicing, dicing, roasting and grilling. recent meals include: pork sausage stir fry, ginger beef and broccoli, egg with avocado and salsa, grilled chicken breast with sweet potato mash and sautéed kale.
after two weeks i can tell you – i’ve lost weight. mostly, i think it’s due to the fact that i’m eating way less than i typically eat. there’s no extraneous snacking; no shoving a handful of cheddar bunnies in my mouth as i set out EBN’s lunch, there’s basically no dessert. but, even better, i’m feeling great. not a tummy ache to be had (okay truth: i’ve cheated once. my friend was visiting and she brought cheese and bread from CHEESE BOWL in berkeley and it was just too much to resist. i had very little and yet, i paid for it dearly). for the first few days i’d finish a meal and still feel hungry. then i realized, it wasn’t hunger, i just wasn’t stuffed. go figure.
so two weeks down, four more to go. as of now, i’d like to keep it up after the challenge portion is over. i mean, don’t get me wrong – i’m looking forward to a flex day in which we can order in sushi (yes, those date nights are on hold right now), or i can swing by a drive thru and pick up a fountain soda diet coke. but for right now, i’m enjoying my paleo trail mix.
