So...technically it was more like 27 days because we had friends over on Saturday and I didn't want to limit what they were eating (although we did manage to stay gluten free. We did not manage, however, to stay away from sugar. Pick your battles). But I have to say, those 27 days went by fast and fairly painlessly.
The premise and the challenge. Challenged myself and my husband to do 30 days of very strict Paleo. And not just paleo, but primal eating as Paleo can *sometimes* flex the rules a bit (like drinking alcohol, eating baked coconut flour goods, etc). I made everything from scratch, the only "processed/pre made" food I used along the way was bouillon once, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, coconut milk, curry and bacon. We completely cut out alcohol, dairy, grains and legumes. The only thing I couldn't do consistently was buy grass fed meat.
The reason I wanted to embark on this challenge to myself was we had just spent a good month and a half basically gorging ourselves. My inlaws had been in town for awhile and my mother in law is an EXCELLENT cook. We were eating very, very well with dessert often, and a couple of bottles of wine a week. I wasn't gaining any weight as we were still making it to CrossFit consistently, but I found myself dragging through some of the workouts, particularly after those binge nights were I was having two glasses of wine, a lot of cheese/cream, and probably two pieces of dessert. So as their visit was coming to a close and my progress at the gym was stalling a bit, I knew I had to get back on the wagon and it had to be drastic in order to reset my body and my mindset. So I made sure my husband was on board (he was hesitant at first, especially the thought of GIVING UP BEER. OMG), rounded up some forum references/recipes, and purchased a wonderful Paleo/Primal cookbook, "Well Fed" by Melissa Joulwan at the recommendation of another Paleo eater (that was probably the best $30 I could have spent before embarking on this whole thing!). I also went through my fridge/pantry and tossed a lot of stuff. Always a good idea to purge these on occasion, even better when you have a purpose.
So, get on with the results, you say. Very well.
Lost some weight. Although this wasn't at the top of my reason list for doing this 30 days I knew it was going to happen. I just didn't have a set number or goal going into it. I didn't weigh myself before, but I know when I started I was around the 184 range. I had been fluctuating between 182-185 for a few months with not much movement since the first two month of starting CrossFit.
On a quick side note, I did a slightly involuntary liberation from my bathroom scale when we moved. The scale was packed away, I was too lazy to unpack it, so I didn't weigh myself for a good two months. That was probably the best two months, ever. Seriously. It takes SO much pressure off you to "lose the weight" and just eat more intuitively, and THINK "how are my clothes fitting? How am I feeling?". Obviously it went a bit off the rails for me with all the eating but I am 99% sure I was able to maintain my weight over those two months. It might have fluctuated a pound or two, but for the most part, the fit of my clothes didn't really change much so I was comfortable.
Anyway...after not weighing myself for two months, I decided that I was going to do these 30 days not weighing myself either, since the goal wasn't about weight loss. So when I finally stepped on the scale, I was pleasantly surprised. I *knew* that I had lost some weight since I was able to fit into some clothes I hadn't worn in awhile (or in one case, EVER. WOOT!) and guesstimated the number to be around 10 lbs (I've done the weight loss game so many times I know for my body, I generally drop a size around the 10 lb mark). Lo and behold, it was 10 lbs. I clocked in at 174 when I stepped on the scale on Friday. That means in less than a month, actually, I dropped 10 lbs. Not too shabby!
Started eating more intuitively. I know I mentioned I was already doing this a bit, but doing the 30 days really drilled it home. One of the great things about Paleo is its a lifestyle change, not a "diet". At least not a diet in the traditional sense where all the goals are short term. Thats part of why I started this whole CrossFit adventure in the first place, right? I had always been so short sighted in the past when it came to my health so I inevitably lost weight only to gain it right back. All the "diets" I had done before were either VERY restrictive (I did Medifast for over a year. Thinking back on forcing that powdered crap down my throat for that long now makes me want to vomit. BUT...it did help me lose 35 lbs, which I promptly gained back with a vengeance) or focused really heavily on calorie counting/measuring. Paleo does no counting, no measuring. Just eat until you are full. Eat real food. Focus on how you're feeling. These are all ideas I could get behind and more importantly, maintain in REAL LIFE. Not only that, but I found myself listening to my body more, like what makes it feel good, what makes it feel bad. Case in point, I mentioned our dinner guests on Saturday. Some of the leftovers were consumed by me on Sunday and oh boy...my stomach was not happy with me. Instead of accepting that as okay, I had green beans for lunch. My body was CRAVING something green and so I feed it that. After, I felt much better, more energized. Funny how that works...
And along with that, started reading labels more carefully. I had to be VERY aware of what we were eating since we were supposed to have NO GLUTEN/GRAINS. And let me tell you...finding ANYTHING prepared without gluten is pretty impossible. Gluten is everywhere. Its used as flavoring, coloring, binding, etc etc. Its amazing, really. So I came to really feel for people who have legit cases of celiacs. But, that is essentially why I started making a lot of our sauces from scratch. Yes, they do not last as long but you have the control over what goes into them. And, newsflash, they taste better. It takes a little bit of effort but its well worth it. Doing that is not something I'm planning to stop because HELLO, homemade mayo? Its freaking awesome.
Performed better in the gym. This was really the top priority. In addition to having the energy to attend more consistently (which I'm sure also helped my performance) I have been able to go longer, improve my endurance, and lift heavier in certain WODs. I did my first full workout with unassisted pull ups, used the 35lb dumbells and RX'd a couple WOD's here and there. I felt like my energy levels throughout the workouts stayed more consistent too.
So. Overall, this experience was definitely a positive one. Was it all roses? Definitely not. That first week I was craving shit LIKE MAD, YO. I would longing stare at a piece of bread. However, as we got further and further in, I would look at bread and sigh, but I wouldn't be fighting so hard to resist. I also had to drink my coffee black. That was a HUGE adjustment for me, since I really only started the whole coffee drinking this year and I've always loved it with lots of cream and sugar. However, that too I really came to appreciate on its own. The ONLY thing that remained a challenge throughout? No alcohol. I do love my wine.
So going forward...we are sticking with Paleo, but definitely loosening some things. I'm willing to reintroduce chocolate into my life. Wine is DEFINITELY coming back, but obviously not as often as before (I think one bottle a week is reasonable). We're also going to let ourselves have one cheat day a week which still doesn't involve gluten (so we can have sushi, sans soy sauce) but could involve some other form of carb (french fries, ice cream, tortilla chips, etc) just so we don't go too crazy. I would also like to lose another 20 lbs to get to my ideal weight but honestly, its not a huge concern. I'm also going to continue my relaxed relationship with the scale. I have a couple of pairs of pants in my closet that once I fit into them, I think I'm pretty golden on my weight. So I'm excited what the next couple months will bring!
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