I don't plan on updating my blog every single week of the year & where I'm at on my 'word' for this year but since it was the first week I thought I'd share a few thoughts.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm following a Paleo-ish diet. Meaning, I've adopted many of the principles of the diet but I'm not going to feel bad if I 'cheat' a bit here and there. Any by cheating, I mean eating something that may not be 'allowed' but that is still healthy. Example - last night we had chicken wraps so I had a tortilla shell. But I didn't add any cheese or sour cream to it so in my book that's still pretty healthy.
Another non-Paleo friendly but healthy recipe I tried last week were these banana oatmeal muffins. The texture is more like oatmeal than muffins and I don't think I blended the ingredients as much as in the recipe but they were still very good. Even my little one gobbled them up! Next time I will lower the amount of sugar added as I don't think it needed so much.
I get the whole concept of the Paleo diet but I also think it's not so bad to eat bread, dairy, potatoes, grains, etc once in a while. When you start looking at some of the Paleo friendly foods you then start seeing (or at least I did) that they're using GMO ingredients which, in my mind, is worse. Our ancestors certainly didn't have GMO's either! And in the long run I don't feel that it's necessarily healthier for me to eat more meats than grains. Just my opinion. But for now I think (I hope) it'll be good for me to lose some weight. And after that I'll work on limiting them in our diet because I think overall that'll be the best for my family.
I've also been keeping a food journal. I write down the calories/fat if I know it. I don't think you necessarily need to do this when you're watching your diet but I'm doing this for 2 reason: 1) It's a lot harder (at least for me) to cheat when you have to hold yourself accountable & actually write it down, and 2) I want to have a record for my doctor if I'm finding that I'm still not losing weight.
So here's some thoughts about the first week:
I did not cheat. At all. Yes, I had a couple non-Paleo foods. But they were still healthy ones. I had no treats. NONE. It was hard....not gonna lie. So many times I was trying to reason with myself...just one won't hurt. And then I thought about the cute shorts I want to wear in the summer. Or how I want to wear a bathing suit without feeling like a beached whale. For me it's ALL about willpower. I had to continually tell my self NO.
I'm hungry. Like, almost all the time. And a handful of cashews doesn't help all that much. Drinking more water doesn't help all that much. I think I just need to suffer through this phase. {sigh}
On the flip side, because I'm not eating high fiber, starchy foods I don't feel as bloated. And I haven't had much of that nauseous feeling I have after nearly every meal. So while I hate being somewhat hungry all the time, it also feels better.
I can't tell if this is good for my Crohn's or not...yet. The first few days I felt great. Then I had a few rough days. I think my body is adjusting to more veggies.
Speaking of veggies...I'm getting bored. Yes, already. There's not a ton of veggies I like...and some of them are Paleo no-nos which is a bummer. And I like even fewer fruits. I'll work it out. But it's a little boring when you can't make a sandwich, or a wrap, or most soups, or pasta.
I gave myself 1 free day - Saturday. And you know what, I felt like crap for part of the day. I got that bloated feeling after eating (we had lunch at Olive Garden). I have a feeling soon my free day will just turn into letting myself have a treat or maybe a sandwich but nothing more.
I still have 1 Coke a day. Although I didn't have one Friday. I will quit...eventually. Baby steps.
I would like to say after the first week that I've lost even 1 pound. But I haven't. That's frustrating but quite honestly I expected that. My body sucks. Just being honest. But I will trudge along!!! I'm hoping my body will get with the program and soon!
Here's to week 2!!
