My Paleo

So, I have decided that I am an addict to "starting" things.  I start craft projects, I start writing books, but mostly I am constantly trying new ways of losing weight because nothing ever seems to work for me.  I have heard over and over from everyone that the key to weight loss is just eating the right foods in the right portion sizes, and getting the right amount of exercise.  Easy enough, right?  Not for me.  I don't know why, either, and that is what is so frustrating.  Some might say that I have an addiction to sugar or some traumatic event in childhood occurred that caused me to have an emotional dependence on food.  Whatever it is, it is something that I have been trying to battle all my life.

 With that being said, I admit that I am not coming to some great realization that enough is enough or anything else like that.  Quite the opposite, actually.  Since I am admitting to being an addict to starting new things, I will tell you about my latest.  Maybe this will be "the one"...maybe this will finally be the end of my lifetime of dissatisfaction with my body, my lifestyle, everything.  Or not.  Either way, it is something I am enjoying so far and I have the whole family onboard as well which certainly helps.  It is called a Paleo lifestyle, which is basically a gluten-free, dairy-free, legume-free diet (as in way of eating, not an attempt to lose weight).  This focuses mainly on eating vegetables (and many of them, including sweet potatoes, but no regular potatoes, corn, or peas), fruits (less of those, but still a lot), nuts, seeds, healthy fats (like those found in avocados, coconuts, fish, etc.), and plenty of proteins like eggs, fish, chicken, and other types of meats (strict Paleos prefer grass-fed animals as their source of meat). 

If one is a strict Paleo follower, they would eliminate all grains and dairy, but I admit, I am not keen on the idea of giving up all of those.  Baby steps for me, please.  So, I am still allowing milk, butter (which strict Paleos also eat very sparingly, but they prefer "ghee"--google it!) and yogurt in the dairy category, and I am allowing oats, wild or brown rice, and air-popped popcorn.  All in all, I am pretty satisfied so far and I haven't had too many complaints from the kids about the meals I am making.  I have been going for four days.  Mike is even on board!  So, for that I am grateful.  As for whether or not this will finally be the "golden ticket" for me and my endless search for something I can survive with and still lose weight...well, that remains to be seen.  I will keep you all posted.  If you want to learn more about this stuff, check out everydaypaleo.com  It is a great website!