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Thursday, July 9, 2015

The Paleo Challenge

Okay it's about time. You had this coming.



So I know the word "paleo" is popping up everywhere in the world of fad diets lately but I want you to understand that this is no empty promise to make you drop fat like so many others. There is science to back it up

For those of you who have never even HEARD the word before, the paleo diet, sometimes referred to as "the caveman diet", tries to take us back to simpler times when our foods weren't chalk-full of chemicals. It's a high protein, low carb diet, which means it is ideal for athletes. Gluten, and any bread-based foods are eliminated entirely, forcing paleo-eaters to meet their carbohydrate goals by consuming more vegetables. A common misconception is that paleo is all meat. It is not. The human body can only metabolize 30 grams of protein per meal, so it would be pointless to eat pure meat. Paleo focuses on natural, easy-to-digest, fiber rich, resourceful foods to reset your digestive system, and naturally improve your sleep, energy levels, and mood.

As someone who has played around a lot with other types of dieting, including a month of being vegetarian, and a month of being vegan, those who knew me were really confused when I completely flipped sides and took the paleo challenge. I switched from avoiding meat entirely to eating it in almost every meal, and even though I had previously sworn that being vegan would make you feel "clean" I can now say that going paleo has made me feel "cleaner".

My inspiration was the 30 Paleo Challenge on this lovely blog. It goes by the name of "Robin's Sweet Confessions" and I stumbled upon it while on Pinterest and was absolutely thrilled to find that not only did Robin lay out everything we should eat for the first few weeks, but she supplied grocery lists, and recommended workouts. It was too easy. Everything was there. I had to do it.

(This picture and this picture alone inspired me to begin my paleo journey so I need to give another MASSIVE thank you to Robin.)

That being said paleo is A LOT of work to maintain. But if it wasn't worth it, my 30 day challenge would not have turned into a lifestyle that I cannot live without. I have gone back to regular eating for a few weeks here and there, just to see if I would prefer to go back... and I don't. As much as I think I miss Chipotle, pasta (used to be my favorite food!), Dairy Queen, and ice cream in general, paleo has always been worth it to me. If you're STILL not convinced that this is crazy awesome, you need to check out the Paleo Recipes on Pinterest page. Yum.

Now I am no Robin, but I am going to create a paleo challenge blog entry similar in the sense that it will help you kick start your paleo journey because I CHALLENGE YOU TO A 30 DAY PALEO CHALLENGE. It would be cruel of me to do that, and then provide no help. :)

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First and foremost there are rules to paleo:

  1. You have to accept the challenge. Remember that if it gets "too hard" and you quit then you'll only know what quitting feels like, and the point is to find out what succeeding feels like. You must give it your all. It will not be easy, hence the word challenge, but it is only for 30 days and you will thank me on day 31. I promise.
  2. You have to work out daily. Even if some days all you do is yoga. Or go on long walks. Do not cheat yourself. Trust me on this one.
  3. You must take before and after pictures. I didn't even realize how important this was until I looked at my before and after pictures. All in all it is discouraging if you feel like you're not making progress, and if you have pictures then you can SEE the progress you're making. You don't have to share these pictures, but you do need to take them. One set (take a picture head on, and then one of you turned to the side. focus on your stomach and thighs, or wherever you feel like your body personally stores fat) before you even start, and one set on day 7 of each week. Don't forget the final picture on day 30 because that is the second most important one! (arguably your "before" picture is the most important). 
  4. Avoid the scale. Numbers are discouraging as well. Weigh yourself before the challenge and then after the challenge is over. If you really want to you can weigh yourself when you take pictures (at the end of every week) but I would be careful. When I first started paleo I GAINED 10lbs in the first two weeks, and later found out it was because I gained a ton of muscle. However by the end of my challenge I was 10 pounds lighter than my original weight, and I've never been a heavy person so it looked like a lot. Every body works differently, and in the end it's how you look and feel that matters the most, not your proportion to gravity.
  5. Push Yourself! This diet is hard but fun. It's something new, and it's a crazy new adventure for you to try. You could hate every second of it or you could positively love it. Keep a positive mental attitude and comment here if you have questions or concerns or if you are feeling weak.
LUCKY FOR YOU I HAVE YOUR FIRST SEVEN DAYS PLANNED OUT
Meal plans, grocery list, workouts, EVERYTHING. Check out my blog post to find out what you should eat for the first 7 days to kick start a perfect paleo challenge.

Additional Tips:

In my paleo experience this is what I have discovered:
  • If you are craving something that is NOT paleo, write it down. Tell yourself you can have it again when the 30 days are up. It helps you get through weak times, and at the end of the challenge you won't even want it anymore so you can throw the list of cravings you've accumulated away.
  • Cook most of your meals. I know that this is not ideal, but neither is eating out while trying to eat paleo. If you do eat out, you should try to find healthier restaurants that are more likely to offer something you can eat.
  • Eat a lot of vegetables. Paleo is often thought of as a meat diet, but in all reality there are a lot of veggies at work behind the scenes. You CAN overdose on protein, but you CANNOT overdose on vegetables. My current fave is broccoli.
  • Break your meals up, and always stay full. Instead of eating 3 big meals I eat 5 smaller meals. This is not only way better for you in terms of digestion, AND fat-loss, but it keeps you full and IF YOU ARE FULL YOU WILL NOT CRAVE BAD THINGS. 
  • If you absolutely must must must must must have a dessert because you just NEED one on a particular day, make a paleo dessert. There are plenty of options. 
  • BE CAREFUL WITH NUTS. Keep your nut intake slim to none if you want the leanest results. Nuts ARE paleo but they also stunt your weight loss. That being said, don't be afraid of nuts. A handful a day will not hurt you. I promise. Just don't go nuts. Hehe.


When it comes to what you eat...
If I were you I would follow Robin's food entries as closely as possible. That's what I did until I got the swing of things. I was planning on writing my own food entries for y'all, but then decided I could not beat hers. Sorry.

Just to give you an example of what I eat on a daily basis (keeping in mind I'm not doing a paleo challenge, I'm just eating paleo daily because I enjoy it), I typically consume:

Breakfast: 
Tea
1 full glass of water before I even start eating
2 eggs
2 pieces of bacon

Lunch:
1 full glass of water before I even start eating
Some kind of fish (usually salmon or tuna steaks, but I've branched out to tilapia even though some may disagree with that choice), and 2 cups of broccoli

Snack:
An apple, or a bowl of blueberries

Dinner:
1 full glass of water before I even start eating
Chicken or other meat, vegetable of my choice, fruit

Dessert (I have it maybe once a week... Maybe twice if I hit the gym hard that day):
Banana ice cream (teehee)


As you can see I consume a lot of fruit, which isn't typical to the paleo diet (usually it's heavily focused on veggies and meat), but I do this because I work out daily and I've figured out how many grams of carbs I need in order to survive working out, and because I eat paleo I need fruit to reach my carb goals.

You too can tamper with your paleo balance once those 30 days are up if you decide to continue paleoing (casually invents a word) for longer.


Ummmmm that might be it! Sorry this was such a long blog post. If you're taking the challenge but you encounter a weak day and you want to quit, comment about it for support. I really hope you enjoy this challenge as much as I did. Good luck, may the odds be ever in your favor, and GO PALEO!

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