Pandpmeant2be

abt8113 · October 2013

How did you get started in Paleo? I've been fascinated with it, and have been really wanting to just live a healthier life. I'm already relatively thin, but I have been known to yoyo 5-10 lbs. Is it difficult to stick with it? Any websites or books you recommend?

PandPMeant2B · October 2013

Yay, my first shout-out! :-)

OK, this might be a little long, so bear with me... I love talking about Paleo and try not to be too "preachy," so I hope I don't come across that way. I'm just so excited about how it's changed my life and the lives of a lot of people I know.

My sister and her husband do crossfit, so they were introduced to Paleo through that. I was visiting them for a week and they were telling me all about it while I was eating all the yummy food my sister cooked. My sister is a little "crunchy," so I was taking everything with a grain of salt. But everything she cooked was delicious and not too different from what I usually eat. So when I got home I went all in. I completely cut out grains, dairy, processed flour, and refined sugar. I thought it would be much harder than it was, but there are so many great resources out there that made it easy.

The first few days were the worst because I got headaches (nothing too terrible) and was really tired. After that I started feeling great. I wasn't working out at the time and the weight literally started melting off! Besides the physical side effects, the hardest part was getting used to cooking "real food." I have to go to the grocery store more often for fresh fruit and veggies and I'm cooking everything pretty much from scratch, so it obviously takes longer. It's also more expensive to buy quality foods, so that was an adjustment. It helped to look at it as an investment in our health. After a few weeks I reintroduced dairy (only full fat, good quality) because I can't stay away from cheese, so I'm actually considered Primal (Paleo + dairy). You said you've been fascinated with it, so I'm guessing you know the basic premise. If you want to know more about the history and why it "makes sense," The Primal Blueprint is an excellent book to check out.

The thing I love most about it is that it's a lifestyle, not diet. So when I'm at a party and feel like having a piece of pizza or birthday cake, I allow myself to live (not cheat). I got myself in the habit of saying "I don't eat that," rather than "I can't eat that." I can definitely tell the difference in the way I feel when I eat that kinda stuff and sometimes it's worth it, but most of the time it's not. I really don't miss a lot of things I thought I would (bread, pasta, sugar in general) because there are so many other options to satisfy any cravings I might have. Plus, I eat all the bacon I want! :-)

There are SO many cookbooks out there depending on what types of recipes you're looking for, so I would use the Google machine for that. My favorite Facebook pages are Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations, Paleo Parents, PaleOMG, Paleo Cupboard, and Paleo Con Queso. I also follow a lot of them on Pintrest.

Long story short (too late!), I lost 30lbs pretty much without working out (I started towards the end, but was lazy in the beginning), I feel great, and I don't miss the garbage I used to eat. My brother in law used to suffer from terrible migraines (literally every day) and he went from taking a month's worth of prescription pills within two weeks to maybe two pills a month. My sister and seven year old niece used to get really bad eczema and that has completely cleared up. I have two friends with fibromyalgia and their flare ups are few and far between since they started Paleo. It really is fascinating how much your diet can affect your health. Sorry this was so long; there's just so much information and I can't help myself.

If you do decide to go for it, good luck and I'm here for you!!!

abt8113 · October 2013

There are two things that really stop me from doing this; DH and the fact that I'm lazy. DH eats like he's a child (sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and cookies). Does your h do it with you? Also how do you do your meals? Do you cook every night, or prep ahead of time? Most days we aren't home until 7 and are hungry.

GoodWolf · October 2013

I just want to butt in and say we eat Gluten-free (we both have an intolerance) and vegan, and the change has been so worth it. So in a way its sort of Paleo, but without meat and we do eat GF grains. Like @PandPMeant2B said, it does cost more to buy quality foods, but it's a huge investment in our health in the long run. I recently had my blood work done and I am now the 'poster child' for cholesterol. And keeping off the 25 lbs I've lost over the last two years has been easier to maintain since changing our diet. It's hard work, but I am so thankful we've been able to make the change! And I never thought DH would get on board, but I slowly relayed bits of information to him so it didn't overwhelm him and he eventually made the choice for himself as well. It's been great to see him feeling better!

PandPMeant2B · October 2013

DH does it to support me, but he still drinks beer and is a lot less strict than I am. We also have a 12 y/o boy in the house half the time who insists we're on a "diet/healthy kick," so getting him to realize that just because something is Paleo doesn't mean it's not "normal" food is tough. Plus, he eats all the junk he wants when he's with his mom, so it's almost pointless. We usually make him a side of pasta or something non-paleo so #1, we can sneak in veggies and #2, he sees we're not forcing him into our "diet." There are a lot of recipes that can totally pass for what YH is used to (ie: I bread my chicken nuggets with almond or coconut flour with some spices and you can't really tell the difference).

DH works from home, so that obviously helps A LOT, but we cook and freeze whenever we can. And now that fall is here, the crockpot will get used a whole lot.

PandPMeant2B · October 2013

GoodWolf said:

I just want to butt in and say we eat Gluten-free (we both have an intolerance) and vegan, and the change has been so worth it. So in a way its sort of Paleo, but without meat and we do eat GF grains. Like @PandPMeant2B said, it does cost more to buy quality foods, but it's a huge investment in our health in the long run. I recently had my blood work done and I am now the 'poster child' for cholesterol. And keeping off the 25 lbs I've lost over the last two years has been easier to maintain since changing our diet. It's hard work, but I am so thankful we've been able to make the change! And I never thought DH would get on board, but I slowly relayed bits of information to him so it didn't overwhelm him and he eventually made the choice for himself as well. It's been great to see him feeling better!

That's great! I forgot to mention that I had to get blood work done before I started my new job in April and my numbers (choleserol, BP, etc.) have never been better. And, like I said, I eat a lot of bacon lol!

Kudos for being smart about relaying the info to YH and lettig him make the decision on his own! DH was with me at my sister's so he heard it all with me. Thank goodness he's supportive!

Pandpmeant2be

Re: Pandpmeant2be

Choose Another Board

Search Boards