Coming Out

I have been debating on weather to blog about this...mostly because I don't like to deal with the drama of people's opinions. Before I go any further let me be clear, I am talking about diet here not some big secret issue. I eat Paleo. That's it.

I first heard of the Paleo diet about a year ago when my brother started doing it. I have always been against any eating plan that didn't allow flexibility and some indulgences so I quickly wrote him off as crazy and didn't think much more about it. Then time passed and I started to think about it again. Besides my brother turning into a lean machine, I wanted to achieve better health...I was on the hunt.

I have a nutrition background as I spent most of my time at BYU before as an exercise science major. I am sort of a nutrition nerd. I love the chemistry behind it and I love understanding what your body does with what you give it. (I get so giddy and passionate and diet and exercise. I love to watch it change my life, and would love nothing more than to help others experience that joy. My favorite part of doing hair is helping people feel better about themselves. By finishing my exercise and wellness degree I also hope to learn the tools I need to help myself and others achieve their own personal happy place). I also love carbs, sugar, and junk food of all kinds. I also have always struggled with digestion problems, stomach pain, feeling like a blob, needed my gallbladder out, and so much more.

It was in November I believe that I drove my brother home from the airport. We started talking Paleo and it started making a lot of sense. He gave me a book to read. I finished it in two days. I was almost a believer. It made so much sense to me. Returning to our roots, eating how people ate before cancer, infertility, obesity and type two diabetes were commonplace in our society. I wanted to know more, so I read another book. I loved this one even more than the first. It was full of WHY Paleo is smart. The science is there. The logic is there. I loved this not as a diet to lose weight, but I decided I wanted to adopt it as my permanent way of life.

Ryan was not so easy to convince. He likes to be healthy, but doesn't care much at all about actual nutrition or what the food is doing inside his body. He doesn't struggle with any major health problems, and thought Paleo sounded extreme and difficult. However, he wanted to lose some weight, and since I was converting he said he would give it a try. The longer he does it the more I am convinced he might never go back.

So what is Paleo? In short, it is a "hunter gatherer diet". It is dairy free, grain (and therefore gluten) free, and sugar free, with the exception of fruit. It also encourages fresh food free of additives and preservatives. You eat this way 85% of the time, meaning three meals a week can have "cheats" in them, though I rarely find a need to venture out of Paleo approved foods.

I am new to this. I don't know everything. I don't expect everyone to think it is a wonderful idea, but it is something I am becoming more and more passionate about. I believe in it. Being pregnant, I am clearly not in it for the weight loss, I am in it for a healthy lifestyle.

In the short time since I started hardcore Paleo, I have already noticed changes. Including:

• more energy
• better quality of sleep at night
• weight loss (for Ryan)
• Fat loss for me. 
• very healthy steady pregnancy weight gain. I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant with Kyle. It was in no way healthy and I felt terrible all the time, even worse after delievery. I lost control. This time so far I am on a MUCH healthier track to gaining only the weight needed for a healthy pregnancy.
• Virtually zero digestion pains or issues.
• no more lethargic blah feeling after we eat
• improved body image
• A whole new perspective on food. When I choose not to eat something it isn't because "that will make me fat", it is because "that is not good for me, it won't make me feel good". This is such a healthier, more positive way to live emotionally.
• I don't obsess about food as much. I don't crave things terribly. 
• Tonight we ate our first "cheat" meal...afterwards Ryan said "wow, I don't feel good at all. I think I would have rather eaten completely Paleo"....I am converting him! Not me really, the results do the converting. 
• I have gotten creative in the kitchen. I love preparing our meals.

I have hesitated saying anything publicly for a few reasons. I really am not a confrontational person. I don't like to argue. It is totally fine if you don't agree with me, and I am open to friendly conversation, but I hate feeling attacked. It is not how I roll. I also feel so new at this I feel silly claiming it as my lifestyle, and I still don't have all the answers. Lastly, I considered waiting for 3 to 6 months and reporting more results. BUT then I thought..

Why not share my journey? Maybe you have been considering Paleo? Maybe you have never heard of it? Maybe you want to try it but find it intimidating or overwhelming? Well whatever the case may be, I hope maybe I can help a little by sharing my journey. Sure, I want to have all those great physical results too. Who doesn't want to look great? But for now, I am embracing how healthy and free I feel, even being pregnant. So I am sharing. I am learning as I go, but finding it is much easier than I anticipated and think I will love documenting my learning here. This isn't a resolution, or a short term diet, this is a lifestyle, and I am loving living it!

Resources:

If you want to know more I HIGHLY recommend reading:

The New Evolution Diet by Art De Vany

The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf

And an awesome cook book to get you started is:

Paleo Slow Cooking by Chrissy Gower

I refuse to become that preachy annoying person always talking about this. But this blog is a place where I can share whatever I want, so I will!