Well, my commitment to two weeks turned into 30 days. With those that follow paleo closely, the initial 30 days is to be a "Whole30". I can say with confidence that I did no abide by their guidelines for the "Whole30", but I did focus on a paleo-style menu for those 30 days...which meant no dairy, grains, or refined sugar. As I sit here on Day 31, this is what I am thinking:
1. Expectations met! My main expectation in committing to this was to see if it made a difference in how I felt, and if it helped my skin any. I feel great, and am curious to see how reintroduction of some of the items will go; the past 30 days I have been free of some of the issues I had experienced for a long while, so will little by little add things back in to see how my body responds.
2. Mental reset! I was also hoping for a reset in mindset to how I approached my menu planning through this process. Over the years, I have gotten into the habit of low-fat this and low-fat that...thank you, diet-focused media/advertising. So, the shock value on fat consumption alone was probably the most difficult for me in that first week. The 30 days reintroduced me to a better balance of nutrients for sustained energy, not the quick spikes I was used to. Although I did track calories throughout the 30 days, I started to get that distinction back between actually being hungry/craving something and just wanting something for the sheer sake of it looks good/stress.
3. Weight loss - My best guestimate is around 5 pounds. This put me back to right about where I was for my brother's wedding in December. So, I'm thrilled to be back at a solid point to push my fitness level further through the summer months and begin prep for marathon training. Originally, I wanted to run a marathon in the fall...then, I realized that would mean training through the heat of summer (I may be crazy, but when it comes to training for that long of a distance, I want cool mornings to run!). So, I'll be looking at spring marathons later in the summer. :)
4. Meal planning! With any restrictive plan of eating, planning ahead is imperative for success. What I rediscovered, is that I love meal planning and it makes my life much simpler to just have things prepped and ready to go (portioned out and all). Although before I was doing great at keeping healthy foods prepped, what I was failing to do was account for portions and actual meal balance. That is one thing that I will definitely be keeping, and am building a fun (well, fun for me) plan for quick menu planning when I don't have time to search for new recipes.
5. Now what? Also with restrictions, it's easy to say that was a great 30 days and go back to old habits (really...a month with strict guidelines, then freedom! Where's the frozen yogurt?). Although I will be slowly reintroducing grains and dairy back into my meal planning, I was also really happy with how I felt while eating paleo. So, I plan to adopt a good bit of that planning guide into my usual day-to-day living. You can bet, though, that my afternoon snack will return to yogurt...that's the one thing I have missed most! And, you can't keep a mid-western gal from sweet corn in the summertime! :) One thing I did notice, though, is that my taste for sweetness is quite sensitive now...fruit tastes better than ever! And, I've gone to sugar-free chocolate....still amazing! I must confess, though, that my morning snack today will include three pieces of chocolate, which were brought back by colleagues from France and Brazil and have been sitting on my desk since about Day 5...I will enjoy every last morsel of them :).
6. I'm an ag girl...there's a lot of talk out in the blogging world and books galore about the 'evils' of food or food companies for specific things. While I think we can all use a substantial reduction in processed foods and the preservatives that are used in such processed foods, I stand by the agriculturalists who are day in and day out working hard to provide the food we enjoy with such easy access in America. Agriculturalists are the hardest working group of people I know, and have a deep rooted sense of responsibility for the rural way of life...one of respect for the land and others.
7. I miss having a garden. It may just be the time of year, but this process has also reminded me how much I long for the day when I can have a garden of my own. Yes, I want to be able to walk out my back door and go pick some fresh herbs to toss in a dish and get excited over the first picking of vegetables. And, I want to be able to play the dirt (even if it means weeding...)...nothing beats that connection to your food and the satisfaction of eating the products of your labor!
Sorry for a bit longer of a post than I anticipated! Bottom line is that the paleo style was a great reset for me, and when paired with the 3.60 challenge and devotional has been just what I needed, when I needed it. I look forward to bringing some things back in, but also adopting some of the practices from the past 30 days into a clean-eating lifestyle...balanced with some chocolate and sweetness, of course :). Counting my blessings and thankful for some restoration of this passion of mine! Now, time for some chocolate...
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