30 DAY PALEO CHALLENGE

Hello all my (11) followers!  Ha! Happy Thanksgiving Eve.  This post is about, you guessed it, FOOD.    30 days ago I read a book called The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolff (*cool side note, the author lives here in Reno).  It was life changing.  He pretty much challenged the reader to not take his word for it, and he had lots of funny scientific words to say about what we are eating, but to just give it a try for a set amount of time.  I didn't need much convincing after reading about all the CRAP we are putting in our bodies and what it does to us.  I am one of the lucky people that can eat grains and dairy with out feeling sick after.  But that isn't the case for many people I know.  So here is my public service announcement before I get into telling you about my (and Ryan's! and even a little bit of the kids!) journey on the Paleo "diet".  If you have stomach issues, chronic pain, diabetes or celiacs,  I highly urge you to give Paleo a try.  If not for a month, maybe 10 days?  What could it hurt???  OK.  I digress.

So we dove in.  I found a blog that actually gave a bite by bite instruction of a 30 day Paleo Challenge (you can check it out here http://www.robinssweetconfessions.com/wp/category/paleo-challenge/ ).  She gives recipes, grocery lists, and even daily work outs.  Since I have had a pretty good track record at the gym, and Ryan runs 1567 miles a week, we didn't do her work outs, but followed her recipes for the first 2 weeks, until we got the gist of it, then I ventured out and made my own menu (FUN.  I love menu planning).  The first couple of days were great, it felt so easy, and then came day 3.  I thought I was dying.  I was tired, grumpy, had a headache, lethargic.  It was my body detoxing from all the carbs/sugar/crap it was used to.  By day 4 I was back to feeling good again.  I noticed my work outs changing.  While cardio was becoming harder - I just felt heavier - my weight lifting was getting better. I also noticed that late afternoon nap time need was fading.  I had more energy, was sleeping better most nights, and felt less frazzled with the kids (!) throughout the day.  And, if I may toot my own horn for a moment, we survived Halloween AND B's birthday party with zero cheats.  Most importantly, my blood sugar crashes are gone.  Didn't have one all month.  Crazy considering when it used to happen, the remedy was CARBS CARBS CARBS.  Now with no carbs, I have no hypoglycemia issues.   Ryan had phenomenal results.  He lost all the weight he wanted, and more.  He has toned up, and his throat allergies are SO much better.  He looks and feels amazing.  The only down side I can think of, is 1) I miss cheese, and 2) making 3 meals a day and 2 snacks for 4 people every single day gets old.  Lucky for me, Ryan does a lot of bbqing and he helps with breakfast some days.  And, we went to Grateful Gardens a couple of times to have their Paleo bowls.  And our wonderful friends Steve and Emily were even kind enough to have us over for dinner one night, catering completely to our dietary demands.  So you  may ask, now what??? The challenge is over, will you stick with it?  The answer is YES.  Absolutely.  Though we will also enjoy our selves on special occasions (Hello, Thanksgiving buffet tomorrow night!), we are committed to this lifestyle.  We have tried every "diet" under the sun.  This one just happens to work for us.  We've also cut back on how much processed food our kids get.  There are a lot more fruits and veggies being eaten in the Peel house. Here is my before and after pics.  I lost 7 lbs in 30 days, and am starting to see definition in my muscles.  Gotta admit, it's kind of daunting putting my post baby/2 c-sections body out on the world wide web.  The pics on the left are the post challenge.  Not a huge difference, but I'll take it :)