{beginning} weight loss journey // paleo diet {day 1}

Recently, I just wasn't feeling one hundred percent. I felt exhausted all the time, I had very little patience, I started getting headaches regularly, taking naps during the day. My clothes weren't looking how I wanted them to look on me. I started drinking more and more sodas and coffee in an effort to stay awake, which honestly wasn't doing anything but putting more pounds on my body. Something had to change.

I can't diet, though. Literally, I cannot. It never works out, I always set the bar high, get excited about beginning my diet, and by the end of day one, I'm either starving to death or indulging ten rice cakes in one sitting. Being a mother, it's so simple to just pick up food on the way home and skip making dinner, but of course that results in over a thousand calories in just one meal.

My problem, has always been snacks. I chose to snack all day instead of eating whole foods. So, about a month ago, I started cooking. I wanted to be religious about it - three meals a day, two snacks, and of course a nice homemade desert after dinner. I would spend my mornings searching pinterest for recipe's and then my afternoon at the grocery store, then all evening I would slave over the stove. While I was doing all of that, I would snack, hard. So by the time dinner was done, I wouldn't even have an appetite. Besides that, the dinners I would make, were based on taste - not health.

I weighed myself and I weighed 132.

I gave birth at 148.

Needless to say, it was time to nip this in the butt. I needed more of a lifestyle change instead of a "diet." I didn't want to count calories, or be stuck having rice cakes and one hundred calorie snack packs each day. That's not healthy and I'm hungry directly after I eat a damn snack pack, actually it probably makes me hungrier. That's not how I wanted to live. I'm not a vegetarian, I like my steak and my chicken (don't judge). One thing I definitely wanted, was to stay away from processed foods.

So, I spent the next three hours on my computer, searching and searching for a meal plan that looked somewhat appealing to me. It was important to me to get away from the processed foods and eat organic as much as possible. I feed Tristian all organic things, but I have been neglecting myself, completely. I'm the one that needs to set an example for him. As he gets older he will be able to pick and choose his own foods, and I want to get in the habit of not having junk in the house.

"Eat like a caveman and shed pounds."

Well, that caught my eye.

 That's the theory behind the Paleo Diet.

The Paleo Diet is an effort to eat like we used to back in the day, WAY back in the day. Basically, if a caveman couldn’t eat it, neither can I. This means anything we could hunt or find – meats, fish, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, fruits, and seeds. So yes, the pasta, cereal, and candy will have to go! Instead, I'll be making things like chicken stir fry and zucchini spaghetti. Like I said before,  I hate counting calories. I don’t like keeping track of how much I’ve eaten or obsessing over how many grams of a certain nutrient I’ve had. Not only do I hate counting calories, but I know that calories are really only half of the battle, as they’re not all created equal – 400 calories of Doritos do NOT affect your body in the same way as 400 calories of high-quality vegetables and protein does.

Fortunately, if you can expand your horizons and remove certain types of food from your diet, you can stop worrying about counting calories FOREVER. This particular type of eating doesn’t require counting a single calorie AND allows you to eat until you’re no longer hungry. Oh, and it can help you lose weight, build muscle, and get in the best shape of your life. 

I know, that sounds like an ad for some really shady supplement or diet book that you’d see on TV at 4 AM. 

It’s not, it works. 

So, how does the "paleo" diet work?

You see, many years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice meals, our ancient ancestors thrived as hunter-gatherers. Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t changed that much since then.

The average Homo Sapien back then: tall, muscular, agile, athletic, and incredibly versatile.

The average Homo Sapien now: overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from a myriad of preventable diseases.

So what happened? Agriculture! 

Years ago humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers. We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today. The problem is, our bodies never adjustedd properly to eating all the grains that we we’re now farming. As they became REALLY good at hunting and gathering our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years. After the agricultural revolution, we started farming - where our diet has shifted (but our genetics haven’t). So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains – bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.  The government continues to recommend 6-11 servings of grains a day, which is unnecessary.

66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.

Clearly something’s not right. The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start living healthier immediately.

What the heck is a paleo diet?

Basically, back in the day, grains were not apart of our diet. As Mark from Mark’s Daily Apple points out in his “definitive guide to grains” article: grains cause kind of a funky response in our system.  Grains are composed of carbohydrates, and those carbs are turned into glucose (a type of sugar) in our system to be used for energy and various other tasks to help our body function – any glucose that isn’t used as energy is stored as fat.

 Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video – “Why You Got Fat“

Next, most grains contain gluten and lectins. 

  What are they and what’s wrong with them?  I’m so glad you asked:

• Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant (hence all the new “gluten-free!” items popping up everywhere). Over time, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from consuming gluten: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.
• Lectins are natural toxins exist within grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being eaten by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, prevent the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.

As Mark so eloquently puts it in his article: grains are unhealthy at best, or flat-out dangerous at worst.

 The Paleo Diet also almost completely eradicates sugar. Unless you’re getting your sugar from a fruit, forget it. Sugar causes an energy spike and crash in your system, turns to fat unless it’s used immediately, and wreaks all kind of havoc on our bodies.

So, no grains, no sugar, no processed foods. 

Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues can be reversed with these three simple changes. Take a look at this time magazine article on cancer patients who switched to a zero-sugar diet and saw positive results.

Where do I get my energy?

So, if we’re not eating 300+ grams of carbs every day, where are we supposed to get our energy from?

Our bodies are designed to operate on a lower amount of carbohydrates than what we’re used to eating, so less carbs isn’t an issue. When there is an absence of carbs (which is how we’re USED to operating), our body will take stored fat and burn THAT for energy in a process called ketogenesis.

What I’m trying to tell you is that our bodies are pretty effin’ efficient.

So, less carbs = less glucose in your system, which means your body will have to start burning fat as your fuel source.  Win!

 Can I eat dairy?

Dairy’s a tough one, as most Paleo folks tend to stay away from it – a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.  Why is that? Because no other animal in the entire kingdom drinks milk beyond infancy.  Hunter-gatherers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling – milk was consumed as a baby, and that was it. As with grains, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption.

Here’s a great read on the benefits/criticisms of dairy.

So no grains, no dairy: what DO I get to eat on this diet?

Okay, so if we cut out the grains, almost all processed foods, and dairy, you’re left with only things that occur naturally:

• Meat - GRASS-FED, not grain-fed. Grain causes the same problem in animals as they do in humans.
• Fowl - Chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.
• Fish - Wild fish, as mercury and other toxins can be an issue in farmed fish
• Eggs - Look for Omega-3 enriched eggs.
• Vegetables - As long as they’re not deep-fried, eat as many as you want.
• Oils - Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil – think natural.
• Fruits - Have natural sugar, and can be higher in calories, so limit if you’re trying to lose weight.
• Nuts - High in calories, so they’re good for a snack, but don’t eat bags and bags of them.
• Tubers - Sweet potatoes and yams. Higher in calories and carbs, so these are good for right after a workout to replenish your glycogen levels.

Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries, grilled chicken salad, massive omelets that will fill you up for the whole morning, apples dipped in almond butter (my favorite snack ever), and so on. Pick any of the things from that list, and eat as much as you want of them (with the noted exceptions). 

You’ll feel better and be healthier.

Why won't I get fat?

Because these foods are so nutritious and filling, it’s almost impossible to overeat.

To get the equal number of calories from a bag of Doritos or bread (which, as you know, you can eat all day long and never really feel full), you’d have to eat 2-3 Mack trucks full of broccoli and spinach.  Okay, that’s clearly an over-exaggeration, but you get the point. A GIANT plate of vegetables and a reasonable portion of meat can keep you full for hours, while eating carb-heavy foods can result in being hungry again soon after.

Back to myself...

 The human body is so incredibly complex that I doubt we’ll ever have a definitive answer on the best possible diet. This one might sound like a fad to you, or it’s too restrictive, complicated, etc. All I ask is that you try it for 30 days before passing judgment.

I could cite sources about how the Paleo Diet has changed people’s lives or even saved this Doctor’s life (must watch!), but instead I just ask you to try it and then judge for yourself.

Take 30 days and give it a shot

Cut out the grains and dairy, start eating more vegetables and fruits, eat more humanely raised and non-grain fed meat, cut out the liquid calories and sugar, and see how you feel after the month is up.

Take a picture of yourself now, and then another 30 days from now. I bet you’ll be surprised.

 This are my "before" pictures. Taken on July 5th, 2014. 

Weighing in at 132 pounds - nowhere near where I would like to be.

This is day one of my lifestyle change.

Before ending this post, 

I wanted to remind everyone how AWESOME the benefits of the Paleo diet are:

• Reduce your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and most chronic degenerative diseases that affect people in the western world
• Lose weight if you are overweight
• Improve your athletic performance
• Slow or reverse progression of an autoimmune disease
• Improve or eliminate acne
• Sleep better and have more energy throughout the day
• Enjoy an increased libido
• Improve your mental outlook and clarity
• Enjoy a longer, healthier, more active life

 Be on the lookout!

 A few times a week, I will be posting my progress pictures, daily meal plans, how I feel, what's changed, my weight progress, etc.