I've challenged myself to a minimum of thirty days in the Paleo lifestyle. I'd like make it a lifestyle change, but I don't want to make that commitment without a trial basis. Thirty days seemed like a good number. Long enough to see if it's for me; short enough to make it through if it's not.
Before I get blasted with hate mail telling me I don't need to lose weight, I should go ahead and let y'all know weight loss is not a goal in this adventure. I'm curious to see what health benefits come from omitting dairy, grains, and sugar from my diet.
I looked into Paleo about a year ago and decided it wasn't doable for me. I have an unwavering love for carbs. Since then, I've talked to several people that have adopted the diet into their daily lives and some who, like me, are simply trying it out. I have yet to find anyone who says they didn't like it. (If you tried it and didn't care for it, please leave a comment as to why you feel this way. I'd love to know!) Everyone I've spoken with says they feel so much better and can feel a definite change. The only con I've heard is that it can be inconvenient, is costly, and takes a lot of organization and preparation--this could be a real problem for me.
After doing some independent research, I found some great recipes for breads and desserts. Granted, I'm sure they're not going to be what I'm used to but at least I can trick myself into thinking I'm not depriving myself of guilty pleasures.
Today was a bit of a wake-up call for me. Did I mention this takes a lot of preparation?? Perhaps deciding I was going to commit to it at 8:00 at night wasn't the best way to start, but I figured starting on a Monday would be ideal. I'm all for diving in, but I might should have started when there was a decent amount of time to look up recipes, make a grocery list, do my shopping, and prepare some meals for the following day. Oh no, that'd be too easy! One of my mantras I find myself repeating constantly is, "Life would be easy if I didn't make it so hard on myself", and this decision goes right along with it.
So I got dressed and loaded myself into the car around 8:30 on Sunday evening to make the 20 minute drive to the grocery store for some eggs, chicken, fruits, and veggies. After getting home around 9:45, I fired up the oven, baked a couple chicken breasts, and cut up some fruits and veggies in preparation for tomorrow's lunch. By the time the chicken was done, it was about 11:00 and I was in need of some serious z's. The plan was to wake up (without snoozing for 20 minutes), cook a couple eggs for breakfast, roast the veggies, and stick it in a lunchbox for work.
Long story short, I snoozed for the full 20 minutes because I was so tired from staying up so late and didn't have time to make breakfast. I completely forgot about the veggies until I cracked open the Tupperware at lunch time and faced that disappointment. But all was well because I had plenty of fruit--pineapples, peaches, blackberries, and blueberries. And let's not forget the dehydrated chicken breast. I may or may not have overcooked that bad boy, and of course I didn't prepare a Paleo-approved dipping sauce to help choke it down. Oh, and I was also informed, all too late, that fruit is Paleo-approved but only 1-3 daily servings. Did you hear all the fruit I named earlier?? Perfect.
No matter. I refused to let my lack of preparation, dehydrated chicken jerky, and fruit-overload get to me. I headed back to the grocery store after work and picked up some more Paleo-approved groceries and made myself a fine dinner. Turns out that chicken isn't so dry with my yummy homemade honey mustard, and the roasted veggies were fantastic!
So here I sit satisfied with a full belly and tomorrow's lunch packed and ready to go. I think this just might work out! Overall, I'd say today was a success!
Paleo Groceries So Far:
Chicken Breasts
Steak
Salmon
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Garlic
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Almond Flour
+ Olive Oil
Breaking the Bank
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