Monday, March 5, 2012

Prime{al} Time

You know that I am not one of those people who is in to fad diets. Not in the slightest. I have always believed that following healthy eating principles is the way to go. I always try to help my clients get into the habit of eating foods closest to their natural forms. In doing this you rid your diet of processed foods that can be full of added chemicals, sugars, and additives that can be extremely unhealthy for you. Consistency of good habits is where it's at people.

I have had a lot of friends and coworkers in the past few years that have decided to follow a Paleolithic form of eating. This idea is very similar to the method of eating that I have already been following, but with some added strictness. The basic idea behind paleo eating is to follow the basic diet that a caveman would eat. I have been reading up on this type of lifestyle, and have never really thought I would be able to stick to it because, as you know, I don't love meat. However, I have been wanting to get a little more strict with my diet, and change up my exercise routine, and I feel like adapting what I eat closer to this method may be beneficial for me.
I have been reading a book called The Primal Blueprint, and the main idea this book expresses that the paleo way of eating is cutting out ALL processed foods and sugar. Yep...all of them. In doing so you help your body to become a fat burning machine instead of always just burning up the carbohydrates that we tend to feed ourselves day in and day out.

Now, I still believe in whole grains. BUT, I am also always willing to give something new, that sounds reasonable and healthy, a shot.
So...as of TODAY I plan to...
- Eliminate all processed foods. Harder than it may sound. No sweeteners, no sugar free anything, not even any honey.
- Build my meals around lean protein, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, nuts, and good fats.
- Eliminate grains and legumes (This is going to be the hardest part for me. No oatmeal, no peanut butter, no beans, no Kashi cereal when I need something quick. YIKES.) The reasoning behind this is because of the way they are processed. Oftentimes these items activate an insulin response which can cause your body to store fat.
- Increase good fats. This is a crazy one for me as well because although I do include some good fats in my diet, I generally keep my fat percentages on the low end. The primal way of eating encourages a higher fat content with the notion that as you cut out the excess carbohydrates and sugar, your body then uses fat as fuel. The fear of fats that has been instilled in our overweight population has come from the fact that most high fat diets are also high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. The combination of a great deal of sugar, refined carbs, AND a great deal of fat can be deadly.
- Decrease chronic exercise. This is also a really tough thing for me to wrap my mind around, but I'm going to try it. (At least for 21 days.) Exercise is my stress relief, but I have also just always counted it as part of my job. I exercise everyday for sometimes two hours a day. According to a lot of reading I've done both recently, and in the past, the body can become almost numb to these high amounts of exercise. I am still training for my marathon, so I will have some endurance workouts still. BUT not everyday. I'm going to change up my routine.

My shopping list today looked like this...
- hormone free chicken
- eggs
- greek yogurt
- almonds
- broccoli
- carrots
- onion
- asparagus
- berries
- bananas
- baby spinach
- cherry tomatoes
- lemon
- apples
- balsamic vinegar
- salsa

Looks pretty tasty right? SO...here goes nothing. I am excited to challenge myself with something new. I may hate this and go back to my normal bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, but AT LEAST the next twenty-one days I'm committed to sticking to this way of eating as much as I possibly can. I really don't think of this as a fad diet, but a VERY very VERY clean way of eating.

Have you ever eaten Paleo? What did you love or hate about it? Any tips for me?

17 comments:

Unknown said...

I just wrote about switching to a more paleo type life style on my blog! I have been trying for the last few weeks to mainly eat this way and I LOVE it! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I swear that at some level our brains are connected! I told Daniel last week that I wanted to change up my daily diet and go to a more natural and "strict" way of eating for a while. I'm not cutting out all processed food (like some grains and beans). Yesterday I stocked up on chicken, fish, and a LOAD of fresh fruits and veggies. Here we go!

Smith Clan said...

Can't wait to see how this goes! Keep us posted!

Momma got the runs said...

I guess there has to be one naysayer--
I ate this way STRICTLY for 6 months And one day I just couldnt take it anymore. No matter what people say, its still a diet.
You know what works- Whole grains, lean protien, veggies, fruit good fats and the occasional treat. ANY way of eating that elimanates ANYTHING is a diet and will have a brief moment of success and an inevitable crash. Lots of good info in the Paleo way of life, stuff that you should take with you.....and add it to your ezikle bread and random froyo treat. Its life, its about living.You have 70 more years of this awesome ride-enjoy it! Food is fuel and it is fun. Eat healtfully MOST of the time, move your body and 20% of the time have a burger or a piece of cake. I know you know that, its one of the reasons I like your blog! Just an opinion from someone who has been there. Everyone has an opinion and in 21 days Im sure youll have yours! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

My hubs started Crossfit and they promote the Paleo diet. I wasn't very supportive because I thought it was along the lines of Atkins, etc. I look foreard to hearing how you like it as he really needs a kick start.

kara t. said...

I'm now 14 months paleo.. with the occasional treat.. and still love how it makes me feel. I would say my favorite thing about it is that my energy level is much more consistent instead of spiking after a meal followed by a crash. I also love not having to count calories or eating every 4 hours. I just eat when I'm hungry and only eat til I'm satisfied. Also, when I was marathon training I ate cut up Lara Bar or honey stix instead of GU and drank coconut water instead of powerade. Check out my paleo board on pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/misskarat/p-is-for-paleo/

Lisa@The Daily RUNdown said...

Good luck! Definitely keep us posted! I would like to try paleo but I know I'm not dedicated enough to stick with it right now. What you said about exercise and that your body becomes numb to is really interesting. I workout a lot and now I'm wonderingnif it's too much?

Nichole Barney said...

If anyone can do it I know you can! I can't wait to hear how it goes! I am trying to figure out how to not be so hungry after running. I struggle with that so much! I feel like I eat way more when I am training and not always the best choices. I need to change it up myself!

Dan and Liz said...

I found your blog somehow, but can't remember. Never commented, but decided to since we've been living this lifestyle for quite some time. My husband first started and I followed a while after I had my first son. For anyone who struggles with weight, this is seriously the lifestyle change they need. I'm pregnant with #2 and I try to still eat this way when I can. Gluten just isn't meant to be put in the body for a majority of people, whether they realize it or not. I certainly could tell a difference after a short time of eliminating that stuff. And, I've never been more full after eating this way than I ever have been. Eating cereal and that stuff in the morning just does not keep us full. I started out slow, but some people have more success going cold turkey. Also, I love his style of working out, as it SO fits being a busy mom. I don't have time to be working out all the time! I did my first mt. bike race last summer and I have never felt better...ever in my life thus far (I'm 31)
Good luck on your journey. My husband is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to all of this, so email me anytime with questions. He's an ultra marathon runner, currently training for his first 100 miler in April :) He's added in potatoes and rice to get more fuel, which is totally fine to do when training for such an endurance event.
Good luck and embrace it!

Jaeme + Randy said...

I'm very interested to see what you think of this at the end of 21 days. I have to admit...I totally agree with the comment from "momma got the runs". To me, it's just another form of a diet where you are cutting things out, but hey, I haven't tried it so I can't speak from experience at all. Good luck!

Jaeme + Randy said...

I'm very interested to see what you think of this at the end of 21 days. I have to admit...I totally agree with the comment from "momma got the runs". To me, it's just another form of a diet where you are cutting things out, but hey, I haven't tried it so I can't speak from experience at all. Good luck!

Rachelle Wardle said...

Good luck!! I am glad you have decided to not eliminate dairy because I think dairy is so so so important for runners. Low calcium can lead to stress fractures, ect. I think Paleo is great but I personally also think that just eating clean is just as good. I think it just depends on your goals. I'm sure you will do great!!

Molly said...

Im just curious about your working out comments. I noticed more changes when i started doing really quick workouts and only like one long workout during the week. lots of resting and letting my bod build up instead of constantly breaking down. Im such a believer now that working out is important but not nearly as important as tightening up that diet. and yes.

Mel said...

I eat almost paleo. I do eat corn tortillas, brown rice on occasion

Anonymous said...

I'm not going to lie...I thought about doing this for about five seconds. And then it said no diet coke and no kashi and I'm pretty sure those are my main two food groups.

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