A needed boost

I had a week or two of not feeling good, mentally. I wasn't taking my own advice, and was getting bummed that the scale wasn't budging. I took some measurements, and those weren't budging either. Except for my thigh - that was bigger! Seriously, seriously bummed.

And to just to make myself feel worse, I had a lot of self-talk regarding the "cheats" I'd been making. My mother-in-law came for a visit, we went out of town...my food choices weren't entirely my own. And even when they were, I made some "bad choices" - I really didn't need to eat 4 spoons of my son's ice cream. And I knew it.

Let the self-hate commence. I was getting ready for a good old-fashioned wallow, a self-induced depression that might "make it OK" to indulge a bit more. I feel like crap, chocolate will make me feel better! I've already had some ice cream; why not add fast food french fries to the mix?

(I really  need to write that post on self-talk I've been mulling over.)

But I took a step back and realized my problem was really one of perspective. I'd forgotten how far I'd come, and how much I'd changed. The best way I knew to demonstrate that to myself - and get some love from others, I admit - was to take photos and put together a before-and-after collage.

So here, in all my glory, is me in my underwear. I'd already lost ~7 pounds by the time that first set of photos was taken. I was too impatient to start this way of eating to wait for someone to take pictures of me! As you can see, I still have a ways to go before I look like the gals you see on the CrossFit videos. But, oh baby! Look how far I've come!

Paleo day 97

OK, the secret is out: this blog has not been written in real time!  I had so much I wanted to say, and so much I wanted to share, and I wanted to do it in order, so I decided to do just that, even if the posts followed the activity by more than a month.

But that is getting harder for me to do. I am finding there are things I want to talk about NOW, posts I need to write NOW, things I need to process NOW.

So today is the day I play catch up with the blog.

Today is day 97 of eating a Paleo/Primal diet. This is the longest - by a month -  I've ever stuck with eating in a way that is different from "normal" - different from the way a majority of people in America eat. I haven't been super strict, and I have eaten "off plan" from time to time. But I don't like the way it makes me feel, and it has not once been worth it for more than the instant I am eating the food that isn't good for my body. It's the noticing how my body reacts to food that has made it easy to keep eating this way.

I haven't quite reached the goals I had set for myself. For example, my waist is still above 35 inches, my waist/hip ratio above 0.85, and I can't seem to manage a work out more than once a week for a variety of reasons. But I've gotten rid of 20 pounds and dropped a couple of sizes. My energy is better, my libido about the same, and my temper still needs a LOT of work.

But this is still early days. And things can only get better as I continue to write my own path.

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The numbers, day 90:
Weight: 159 pounds
Waist: 94 cm
Hips: 102 cm
W/H ratio: 0.92
BMI: 24.9 (in the "normal" range!)
Bodyfat: 25.9%

What I eat

That last post might have you wondering what I do eat. After all, if you eliminate grains, sugars, dairy...what's left? No toast, no pasta, no cheese. Does it sound boring? Or like you'd lack energy?

The truth is, it does seem a bit boring at first. And hard! But after the first week, it wasn't either.

By getting away from my lipid-phobic ways, I opened my eating up for foods I had either always avoided and hadn't had in a long time. Real bacon! Steak - often! Full-fat hamburgers (organic). The day I found myself eating braised short-ribs for breakfast, I knew I'd really made the transition.

But that doesn't happen often. A normal day looks a bit like this:
Breakfast: 3 eggs, bell pepper and onions (or other veggies like zucchini) scrambled together in either coconut oil or pastured butter. (that's pastured, not pasteurized...two different things)  3 breakfast sausage links. I might add a quarter of an avocado, some salsa, and/or berries depending on what's in the house.
Lunch: Usually a big-ass salad, using whatever veggies we have in the house. Romaine, spinach, bell pepper, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, green onion. Add some walnut pieces. Top with ~4 oz. of some sort of meat (usually either steak or boneless chicken breast, but sometimes tuna). Homemade dressing of olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar.  If we're out of salad fixings or I'm rushed for time (i.e. feeling lazy) I might have leftovers.
Dinner: Here's where I can get creative! We used to eat basically two kinds of protein - boneless skinless chicken breasts or ground turkey. Occasionally lentils or other beans. But now we have steak, roast, meatballs, chicken thighs, hamburgers. Indian butter chicken. Beanless chili. Braised short ribs! (OMG those were yummy. Can't wait for the weather to cool so I feel like making them again.). Add in some veggies - braised kale with pancetta. Or mashed cauliflower (instead of potatoes). steamed broccoli and carrots. Anything really, except corn. Corn is not a vegetable!

But that's only three meals, you might say! What about snacks? Aren't we supposed to eat 5-6 small meals a day to keep our metabolism up? Well, that's actually one of the top diet myths, according to LiveScience. Along with "eating fat will make you fat" and "exercise will make you skinny," these are things we've long believed, things the media keeps telling us. But they aren't true!

But I need snacks! you say. If I don't eat every three hours, I get irritable! Or nausteated! Well, guess what? This used to happen to me, too.

On day 6 after making this change, I had plans to go to Costco with a friend. I ate a salad with tuna about 11:30. By the time we got to Costco, I was feeling kind of hungry. Plus, the clock was telling me I hadn't eaten in 4 hours; I "knew" I needed to eat soon or suffer the consequences. So I decided to get a hot dog. But the line was super long. I decided to wait. We shopped for about 90 minutes, and I was carrying my baby the whole time. It was late when we left, so I didn't stop to get one on the way out.

In the end, I went over seven hours without eating. That is the longest I've voluntarily not eaten during waking hours in...over a decade? And I did it without once feeling irritable, shaky or nauseated.

That was a huge revelation for me. I was hungry, yes. Tummy growling, feeling like I should eat something. But having none of those awful symptoms of low blood sugar and low energy? Totally awesome.

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The numbers, day 41:
Weight: 166.7 pounds
Waist: 97.5 cm
Hips: 105 cm
W/H ratio: 0.93
BMI: 26.12
Bodyfat: 29.5%