Our Paleo Trial

Good Morning Everyone!

We have been introducing some changes into our home that we have been loving, but at the same time have also proved to be a struggle.  For the most part we are fairly active, eat pretty healthy, and occasionally indulge in not-so-good-for-us food.  Over the summer I noticed I didn't have as much desire to workout or restrain from the tempting treats at work, and in turn I noticed my body changed. Once I started back in school and teaching dance, every day was a new form of exhaustion to say the least.  I could barely keep my eyes open without a cup of coffee in hand and I hated the feeling of being so reliant on caffeine.  I had been working out, doing yoga and trying to clean up my diet but I was still feeling sluggish and not like myself. 

So...

I started doing some research and came across the Paleo Lifestyle.  Instantly it screamed to me: I could eat all of the things I love, PLUS it embraced healthy fats...what?!  Over much contemplation I decided to give it a try and have been maintaining about an 80/20 balance for the past month (with the occasional Halloween treat here and there...I'm only human!)  The first few days were super easy, as I am not a huge wheat or legume indulger to begin with (although I did have to give up my beloved oatmeal and soy milk), but after a couple of days I found I got bored, or was too lazy to prepare something or couldn't think of anything to eat.  My boyfriend and I decided to search some meal plans that others have tried and are still on the search of finding meals we both enjoy and that fill us up.  The pictures below are some of the meals we have experimented with to date, all of which are equally delicious. 

To be completely honest, my main reasons to embark on this journey were the following: to stop mindlessly snacking (I was honestly a cracker ADDICT...I never left the store without a new package in hand), to incorporate more vegetables in my diet and to hopefully regain some more energy and balance in my life.  So far I can truthfully say I feel a lot better!  Although I still have my tired days, I usually now only resort to my one cup of coffee in the mornings (blended with coconut butter, if you haven't tried this you need to...right now!  It's so creamy and delicious!), I have a lot more energy than I did over the summer, I'm eating way more veggies that I would in a normal day (and I feel like I'm reaching for them at snack time which is very unusual for me), and I have been slowly but surely kicking my mindlessly snacking habit.  It's really amazing me how much more I notice about my body when I'm eating Paleo - I now can recognize when I'm eating out of hunger and when I'm emotional or stress eating.  I know this journey will have its ups and downs along the way, but I am really looking forward to learning more about my body and incorporating all the paleo goodness into some new recipes! 

 

So tell me, have any of you embarked on the Paleo lifestyle? Any tips to share?