About two weeks ago I started reading a lot about the "Paleo" diet craze that seems to have taken over the dieting world. The basic premise as I understand it is to focus on non-starchy vegetables (carbs), fats (good ones), and protein (organic, local meat).
I'm generally pretty good at eating vegetables and meat when I focus on them, and I do know that in the past I've felt a lot better when I do this. I think it's because I don't eat nearly us much sugar (usually in the form of chocolate). So I thought I would give this a shot again.
The past two weeks have been great. I've felt good, slept well, and my workouts have been fantastic. I haven't been snacking as much, and if I am I have tried to focus on vegetables and protein. This may be too much information, but my digestion has definitely improved as well. I've also been able to really notice when something doesn't "sit well" with my system. For example, I can definitely tell that onions are not my friend as I become pretty gassy. So, as much as I love onions I really need to make sure I eat them in moderation. I think the same thing goes for eggs, but this one requires a few more days without and then try it again. As I didn't separate them from the onions for some meals.
This weekend I've fallen "off the Paleo" wagon a lot. And by "a lot" I mean, I've eaten almost an entire container of Oreos (with chocolate icing I added to them), alcohol, nachos, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I've definitely noticed a difference in how I feel. It's made me feel slightly ill, and I actually feel the urge to eat vegetables just to see if that will make me feel better. I've decided that I really need to make sure I remember this feeling the next time I want to over indulge in sweets and refined carbs. This is definitely not the best feeling, and I much prefer how I was feeling earlier in the week to this.
Trying to focus on vegetables, good fats, and protein started out as an experiment to see how I would feel, not expecting to feel as good as I have and definitely not expecting to want to continue a diet based around those main types of foods. The most surprising thing about this is that it hasn't been that hard, even when eating out I've been able to focus on vegetables and protein (and I expected they were cooked in some kind of fat). I haven't "craved" sweets, but made the conscious decision to indulge. My new goal will be to remember the icky feeling when I ended up over-indulging and make the conscious decision not to indulge or to do so in a more controlled and defined way. Definitely a challenge during this month, but one that I'm definitely willing to try, as I think that if I can make it through this month - I can make it through any month. No excuses!!
