Going PALEO????

(I am sharing this with you because I want you to know that you should never be afraid to change or try something new, especially if you aren't feeling at the top of your game. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.")

This diehard vegan is changing her ways. Just for 30 days. It's all my little sister's fault. She challenged me. Repeatedly. Having studied nutrition so long and in such depth, when she first went Paleo, I worried about her. I thought, "she's killing herself!" After all, meat is the big taboo, the big no-no...all those studies show how it increases heart disease and maybe even cancer and everything. No, I knew better and I wasn't going to fall for the hype. So I kept on eating my precious beans and rice, my lentils, my split peas, my peanut butter bagels and veggie wraps. I kept on working out every day. And yet, there is this slight bloat to my belly. There's some jiggle in my thighs. Even on the day I ran my marathon. How could this be, for the girl who eats so well and works out so much?

And then there was the whole mood thing. My life is totally awesome now, and yet I battle depression and anxiety. I have crazy, weird things going on in my body...acid reflux, strange pains, my tongue would swell slightly and get sores on it. And the fatigue...tired all the time! My brain is cloudy, my vision blurry, my thoughts muddled. How could this be when I am doing everything I am supposed to be doing to be healthy?

So my sister made me read "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf. After months of urging, I finally caved. There are so many concepts in this book that I never heard of, and a lot of the stuff challenges my education as a nutritional therapist. Most of my beloved foods, my "superior" foods, might be causing my problems! ??? The stuff in the book makes perfect sense. I figured that one month wouldn't kill me, so I might as well give it a try.

Let me tell you...I am on day 3, and already I feel better. Not perfect, but much, much better! I have more power when I workout. I'm not hungry all of the time. I'm not really craving much sugar or "bad" food today either. I drink and enjoy my coffee black, and I fill up on all of these foods I haven't bought in years....for instance, yesterday morning I sautéed 2 cups of spinach in garlic and oil, scrambled it up with 3 eggs, and chowed on 4 pieces of bacon, and then topped it off with some fresh berries. I was so full! I didn't even get hungry until 3pm. (I think I overdid it a bit!) So I had a nice, green salad for lunch, with some avocado, green onion, toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, green olives and mushrooms with a squeeze of lemon on top. Yum! And then I made homemade chicken vegetable soup for dinner. I woke up this morning feeling amazing, no, ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! And...I lost 3 pounds already. My belly isn't bloated and I have a lot of energy.

I'm excited to see where I end up at the end of 30 days. I think I'll even get my blood drawn to see if my notoriously high cholesterol (yes, veggie girl has high cholesterol!) has budged in any direction. All I know is so far, I feel like a kid again...eating bacon and having energy. Who ever would have thought???!!!