About a year and a half ago, I was at my highest weight, I felt gassy, I was bloated, my cholesterol was slightly elevated, and I just didn't feel like myself mentally. I soon found out that my son Landon (who has many allergies to certain nuts, salmon, dogs, cats, dander, grass, feathers, etcetera) had a dairy and gluten allergy - and since it is hereditary, this meant that I most likely did too. (Ahhh, that would explain the stomach issues!) Well, for the most part, I dropped the dairy and all wheat products and just ate corn, rice and potatoes along with a mostly healthy diet. I also began working out on January 3, 2011. I got to the point during this past summer where I was attending boot camp, taking spin classes, and doing kickboxing classes 5 to 6 days a week and sometimes 2x per day. I shed just a small amount of weight but I did lose 8-10 percent body fat. This is all great, and I feel much, much better but I still could not shed those extra pounds that I know I needed to lose. It was frustrating and I am still not comfortable in my own skin.
I heard about the Paleo diet several months ago. My friend talked about it and I read briefly about it. I knew I wanted to try it. This past December the holidays set in and I ate things I shouldn't have, which of course made me feel bloated and fat. This prompted me to start reading about the Paleo way of life. I started with "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolff. I then bought and read "Everyday Paleo" by Sarah Fragoso. (This is where I am getting a lot of my great recipes!) Currently I am reading, "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson. All are great books and it just makes sense! Basically you eat just like your ancestors ate, which would include mostly lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables including yams and sweet potatoes, nuts, seeds, and a little dark chocolate. In my case, I don't necessarily believe that we have been on this planet for millions of years, but I can go as far back as Adam and Eve, and base my diet on what they ate. It makes a lot of sense, and if you decide to read about Paleo, you will see why. It explained a lot as to why I am not losing weight.
So, today has been my 7th "official" day doing Paleo. I feel good and I have lost several pounds, which is a huge deal for me. I even decided to take Mark Sisson's 6 month challenge, which meant that I had to actually take and send him pictures today. I gotta say, I have come a long way, but that was still hard to do. (I am not quite brave enough to post them here right now.)
So that is the kind-of short version about why I decided to go Paleo. A year ago, I set a goal of 2 years to get myself in the kind of shape that I wanted to be in. I now have a year left, and I feel completely good about the workout part of my plan. I know I am getting stronger, and building muscle - I can see it, but now it is time to do the rest of it, so that is what I plan on doing. Feel free to join me, and let me know how you are doing. I would love to hear about it!
Take care,
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