How did I go Paleo?

People often ask me how I got started eating Paleo…Well first of all, I got dragged into it, I went kicking and screaming. It was not pleasant, I was not pleasant, but I’ve come out the other side better for it.

ALL the credit goes all to my husband and our CrossFit gym. We joined our gym in late April, about 3 days in, my husband was signed up for a month long Paleo Challenge. We often thank Todd for tricking us into it. Someone had dropped out and Josh received an email along the lines of “congrats buddy, here’s your team, don’t disappoint them!” Obviously they knew to dangle that carrot, and appeal to our sense of devotion and integrity when it comes to teamwork and competition.

At the time I was grumpy. I was not nice. I had been doing Weight Watchers for MONTHS with little results (7lbs lost, I told everyone it was 10lbs. not that you could even tell). And now we were about to do another diet! Harrumph!  

That's my husband's angry pout!

I told my husband if this was something that he wanted to do then HE would have to be the one to buy the groceries, and HE would have to be the one to plan the meals, and HE would have to be the one cook the food (arms crossed and pouty lip out). He agreed and…he even followed through on it!

I was still dragging my feet. I was still pouting. I ate Paleo for lunch and dinner, but I continued to eat oatmeal with fruit for breakfast and thought I was being healthy – ha! I was craving cupcakes and mac and cheese every day. My husband quickly saw results and didn’t whine about not having his evening dessert of ice cream. Others doing the challenge were showing results in the gym and in their clothing! They all looked amazing.

In my classic stubbornness, I decided I was going to prove them wrong. There was no way they could continue on this path. This was just a quick fix. So I decided to read the books and look at the websites. I read them so I could see their side of their argument and create a counter argument. I mean what I was taught as a child couldn’t be wrong. Right? The food pyramid is totally awesome. Right? What doctors had been telling me for years couldn’t be wrong. Right? Those commercials regarding healthy food couldn’t possibly be driven by the bottom line and be guiding me the wrong direction…?

A funny thing happened. As I was reading those books, I started relating to the books. The books actually made sense. They were logical. They talked about history (yay!). As I read the books I would say “that’s me! That’s me too!” Oh no! I was turning into one of them! After eating Paleo and reading about Paleo for a few weeks… I began to open my mind and instead of going into it with a “white-knuckle on the constant verge of sabotage” type of attitude, I changed to a “let’s do this 100% and let’s wait and see what happens” type of attitude. And honestly, that’s how I still approach the way I eat… “Let’s wait and see”

My husband and I are not 100% a 100% of the time. I would say we are more 80/20. Even then sometimes we are more 90/10 or 70/30. It just all depends. We’ve noticed that if we stray too far from the 80/20, we feel physically ill and sluggish. Sometimes we might even feel like we have caught a cold. The bloat in my belly comes back and my IBS will act up. I have a physical motivator to eat real food, other than my weight.

The one thing I think most people need to learn is WHY do they eat the way that they do? Because someone told them to when they were in the 3^th grade? Because that’s what their family has “always” done? HAVE they "ALWAYS" eaten that way? What about a few generations back? WHY does the food pyramid say to eat so many whole grains? WHY do we NOT eat grains? Just something to think about…

So why do I eat Paleo? I eat this way because I want to choose nutrient dense foods for my body. I want get the most healthful bang for my buck. I want to treat my body right. I want to THRIVE, not just survive.