olive june

wellness wednesday~ my 30 day paleo challenge ends… celebrating with the johns

olive juneOctober 3, 2013

yesterday, october 1, my 30 day paleo challenge ended … do i feel better- YES. was I ready to indulge in some of my favorite foods- YES. so I celebrated with the johns. at school, our only option for ‘ordering out’ -due to our 15 minute cafeteria lunch break- is jimmy john’s (which I love) so three of my co-workers (who are so sweet) celebrated 30 straight days of no grains/bread/processed foods with me. loved it. and then for dinner, tim and I ordered our ‘we are too tired to cook (which we cooked almost every meal for 30 days straight), so let’s order papa john’s pizza!! mode. also loved – but neither meal tasted the way that they used to and although I loved the treats, I want to continue clean eating. my plan is to do 80% clean eating and 20% treats. you all know by now that I am a foodie- always will be- and still want to enjoy!
However, the way I feel and the health of my body are more important to me.

i am worth it.

*many of you have messaged

about an interest…

here is some advice:

What does the Paleo Diet consist of?

• Grass fed meat, free range fowl and wild caught fish

• Seasonal fruits and vegetables

• Healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil

a great resource to use if you are interested in starting… Guide

Not too bad right? Except I ate meat like MAYBE once a day, maybe a banana or strawberry here and there, and ate some veggies, mainly around dinner time. Now that I look at it, all the food I consumed were carbs from gluten, rice, beans, etc. For over a year, I haven’t been feeling the best and I thought something was wrong with me… maybe a major issue? Blaming it on everything, I started feeling hopeless and just wished that one day I would magically feel better. Which did happen… when I went Paleo.

The First Week
Did you know you can go through withdrawals when you cut carbs, dairy, and sugar? Well you do. My first few days were hard; I had such a bad headache and just overall felt terrible. I missed my Starbucks lattes hardcore- esp. with my favorite- pumpkin- out right now. I also missed grains- esp. bread. I usually would have oatmeal or cereal for breakfast, and then a sandwich for lunch. And cheese…. boy did I miss cheese. But I hung on and kept going.

Second Week
Luckily, Mr. Monaco agreed to do this challenge with me – which helped so much!! Thank you, love. I am not sure if I could have done this without your help and support. Did you know there is a Paleo alternative to all your favorite meals? Well there is and I’m finding they taste better than the real thing. Paleo Cookies…so AMAZING. I also started feeling better heath wise, no more sluggishness, no more bloating, and I didn’t have a food baby in my belly after I ate. Oh… guess what? I lost about 6 pounds at this point.

Third Week and Beyond
It didn’t take me long to get hooked on eating Paleo. I think waking up day after day with a flat belly was pretty amazing. I felt great… just felt clean and healthier. Another great thing, my face started clearing up. No more acne. That felt good, it’s been a long time since my face has been totally clear. I started researching more about gluten and how horrible it is for you. After this, I think I definitely have a gluten/dairy intolerance. The bloat, stomach issues, acne, etc all went away when I cut out gluten. Plus, I am just happy and I haven’t felt this good about myself in a long time.

The Facts
… what you eat is pretty important~
1st Week: lost 4 Pounds
4 Weeks: lost 11 Pounds

What Did I Win?
I won my life back. I have clearer skin. No more food babies or stomach aches. I have more muscle and feel more toned overall. I get on the scale and I keep dropping weight and keep losing inches. I won clothes that have sat in my skinny section of my closet for too long.

So what now?
Am I going to go back to eating what I did before? Oh, heck no 🙂 I feel great, why would I give that up? Why? Everywhere you go, you can order Paleo if you have to eat out … just ask for no bread, chips, order extra veggies, hold the cheese. Restaurants hopefully won’t mind 🙂 I also plan to workout 5-6 times a week this month – walking, hot yoga, and running are on the agenda.

Thinking about going Paleo?
I highly recommend this lifestyle!! I still am a major foodie- that will never change. So I will be posting recipes, information, etc. on here. Think you can go Paleo, but don’t want to give everything up? Check out Primal. They’re very similar to eating Paleo, but allow some more things such as cheese. You can get great results with that also. Plus the internet is a wonderful thing. You can find out tons of information and recipes!!

Some of my favorite sites:

• Robb Wolf: Great Resource for anything Paleo
• Everyday Paleo: Amazing Recipes and more
• Paleo Hacks: Great community forum

YouTube: Purelytwins
Pinterest: PurelyTwins
• avocado lamb sushi wrap
• sugar-free marshmallows
• broccoli breadsticks
• pumpkin pie fudge
• triple chocolate cream cake

Sarah at FitBetty
FitBetty.com
TheFitCookie.com
• Chocolate truffles with Strawberry cream (guest post on Paleo Parents)
• Chocolate Chip SunButter Fudge
• No-Bake Coconut Macaroons

Amber has gone through an awesome transformation herself
exsoycise.com
@exsoycise
• Sweet Potato Pie Pancakes
• Paleo Pumpkin Pancake
• Curry Spice Drumsticks

Gabrielle Brost Hoffman
www.gabbysgfree.com
Twitter: @gabbysgfree
• Sweet & Salty Carrot Chips
• Herb Lamb & Pork Meatballs
• Easy Green Curry Chicken Soup
• Crockpot Beef & Bell Pepper Red Curry
• Cocoa Coffee Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork
And yet another awesome CrossFit Chick, Gina Matsoukas
Blog: Running to the Kitchen
Twitter: @Runtothekitchen
Facebook: Facebook.com/RunningtotheKitchen
• Sun-dried tomato pesto stuffed flank steak
• Spicy salsa verde chicken
• Sriracha lime chicken skillet

wecanbegintofeed.blogspot.ca
@WeCanBegin2Feed
Entrees
• Homemade Pork Breakfast Sausages
• My Paleo Meatloaf
• Spicy Meatballs
• Sweet and Savory Crock Pot Pulled Pork
• Spicy Dry Rub for Pork
Breakfasts
• Avocado and Egg Boats, with Kate’s Flax Toast
• Ham and Egg Baskets
• Savory Squash and Flax EggCakes
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl Scramble
• Vanilla and Cinnamon Coconut Pancakes
Soups
• Carrot Soup with Sweet Potato and Red Pepper
• My Summery Gazpacho
• Curried Coconut Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup