Whole30: Finished!

Yesterday marked Day 30 of the Whole30 Paleo Challenge, and I realized that this last month has been the only time in the last 14 and a half months of Paleo/Primal eating that I've been as close to 100%-Paleo you can be in the modern world. On my most-Paleo days prior to Whole30, I still put half-and-half or cream in my coffee... and dairy is not part of the Paleo lifestyle.

So what's changed over the last 30 days?

-I now drink my coffee black (sometimes with cinnamon and coconut oil too). I can't imagine using any type of creamer again... mostly because I realized that it makes me nauseous if I combine it with coffee.

-I stopped snacking. There are two possible explanations for this: 1) Strict Paleo makes me less hungry, or 2) I only snacked because I had Paleo/Primal snack foods (nuts, seeds, fruits, and dark chocolate) in my kitchen. I realized I cannot keep non-meal foods around because I will eat them.

-I started cooking my eggs in coconut oil (instead of butter) and adding coconut flakes to my omelets. For someone who hasn't tried this, it may seem a little odd to pair coconut and eggs, but it's delicious!

-I lost that little bit of weight I put on from too many nuts, fruits, and dark chocolate. That's certainly nice, and there was no additional weight loss... which is totally fine and no surprise, considering I hadn't really changed much about my eating habits. I think this is the weight/size my body is supposed to be.

-I've had more energy and have been sleeping better too.

It was also really interesting to keep a food journal to see exactly what I was eating every day. Spinach, tomatoes, eggs, broccoli, mushrooms, chicken, beef, and bacon dominated, coconut and olive oils were used quite frequently, and I tried raw fish (salmon) for the first time.

This really wasn't too difficult, considering all I had to do was cut out that little bit of dairy and stop eating dark chocolate and nuts. Cheese will probably come back occasionally, and maybe I'll sprinkle nuts on my salad or crush them to make flour, but there's no way I can buy/snack on them anymore. And as much as I love dark chocolate, I can't have it in my lifestyle-- as a former carb-addict, it's just way too easy to go overboard with it.

I'm glad I did this challenge, though. While it wasn't a life-changing experience (considering I've been eating Paleo/Primal for over a year), it eliminated my snacking habits and made me realize that I need to continue to avoid dark chocolate, not keep Paleo snacks around, and only eat nuts and fruits occasionally and in very small quantities to avoid excess consumption and weight gain.

Quote of the Day:

"Forget about what you used to do. This is the moment you've been waiting for." -Jack LaLanne

This is just amusing:

Day 5: Paleo Challenge Update

It's Day 5 of the Whole30 Paleo Challenge and so far, so good. However, I originally thought I'd use this as a way to curb my coffee addiction by cutting it out all together, but I couldn't fight through the blinding withdrawal migraines while attending classes and trying to research/write a term paper. So coffee came back on Day 3. To follow the Whole30 rules, however, I've cut out my tiny splash of half and half and am now drinking it black. It's not as awful as I thought-- I can do this. And who knows: maybe at the end of the 30 days, I'll never need to put dairy in it again! (Also: coconut oil in coffee is amazing.) Drinking coffee black, I've realized, doesn't make me nauseous like usual-- perhaps that tiny bit of dairy (which I didn't think was a significant amount at all) was the cause of the nausea. Remove the dairy, and the nausea goes away. Magic!

For the first time ever, I'm also keeping a food diary. Everything I eat is healthy, of course, and has been for quite some time-- however, I've become a notorious snacker lately (mostly on nuts and dark chocolate, and occasionally pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds), so I'm hoping that if I actually see what I'm eating every day, I can figure out what's maybe preventing weight loss or making me feel gross. If I've learned one thing from Paleo over the last year or so, it's to listen to my body and act accordingly.

I find it amazing that after only a few days of strict Paleo, I don't need to snack anymore. I attribute this to two different things:

1. The offending foods (dark chocolate and nuts) are no longer around. "Clean out the pantry" is the first step in switching to Paleo/Primal in the first place, so I should've just never bought them to begin with-- if I have these foods, I will snack on them, whether hungry or not. Okay, so nuts and dark chocolate aren't exactly on the same level as SAD snacks like chips, Nutella, and cookies; but snacks are snacks, and they needed to go.

2. I haven't felt nearly as hungry in between meals. Perhaps this is just a mental thing, as a result of #1-- food's around, so my mind tells me I'm hungry, even though I'm really not. Whatever the cause, though, I'm only eating meals again-- as a result, I just feel better.

Twenty-five days to go. No problem!

Quote of the Day:

"Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won't get any coddling, and you won't get any sympathy for your 'struggles.' YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written." -Whole30

Something to check out:

I did a guest recipe post on Hive Health Media a few days ago. It's a really great site with some fascinating articles about a lot of different health and nutrition issues-- I highly encourage you to check it out!

Two interesting articles connecting health and religion... in totally different ways:

-Are the Religious Prone to Obesity?

-^^Not if they're pole dancing for Jesus!

Today's lunch:

Baby spinach salad with egg, tomato, shredded coconut, flax seeds, and parsley in EVOO and apple cider vinegar. Yum!

30 Day Paleo Challenge

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I recently reintroduced nuts and dark chocolate back into my diet after a year without them. I thought I'd be okay handling them because I've gained some pretty good self-control when it comes to food over the last year, but now I know why I cut them out in the first place: they're addicting. Really, really addicting. What starts as one handful or square turns into an entire bag or bar. The result? I just feel pretty gross, and I know I've gained weight for the first time in a year (I haven't stepped on a scale since last spring, but I can just feel it in my clothes). I clearly can't handle these foods in moderation just yet-- my self-control isn't that good.

I'm also way too dependent on coffee. I've been an addict for the last few years, and I get awful headaches if I don't have my morning coffee. I've tried cutting out coffee before-- last spring, I tried detoxing off of it, but ultimately failed. During my few months of Primal vegetarianism, I had a lot of digestive issues (maybe from the soy?) and attempted cutting out coffee then too... but also ultimately failed. No more of that. I don't want to live my life dependent on it.

I also don't usually have dairy, but if there's high-quality cheese around (oh man, brie!), I'll go crazy. Again, not enough self-control. That can't continue.

Tomorrow thus begins the 30 Day Paleo Challenge (as outlined by Whole30... but without any nuts or coffee). I need to regain my control, break my coffee addiction, and make my jeans fit perfectly again. No coffee, no dark chocolate, no dairy, no nuts. Wish me luck.

Quote of the Day:

"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self." -Aristotle