If you read my preggers post, you may be wondering about my diet. If you feel like reading about it, I'm sharing about it. Here goes the back story... I have always (quite literally, people) been overly aware of all things food and health related. I have always been on the heavier side so by the time I was 14, I put myself on a 'diet' and have been on one on a regular basis ever since (I'm not advocating this, it's actually quite annoying).
I have memorized every piece of nutritional information I could get my hands on related to 'how to lose weight'. I have always been pretty active, I've never 'drank' my calories (wellllll, except for the wine), I've always eaten only whole grains (I grew up on wheat bread; my mom was always very health conscience), skim milk and fat free dairy, lots of fruit and veggies and healthy fats (avocado's and olive oil).
All the stuff you're supposed to do, right? But, for some reason, I have always carried around an extra 10-15 pounds.
At one brief point when I was around 25, I was at my target weight. But sadly, it didn't last because I was doing so much more than I could possibly maintain. At the time, I was single and would go to the gym after work, then meet up with a girlfriend (hi Gwen!) and run up to five miles, then go home and eat either a can of green beans or a baked potato or a single piece of tilapia for dinner. I also did the boot camp program at the Fishers YMCA. And I trained for and ran a 1/2 marathon. So, once a boyfriend entered the picture I slowly lost all the muscle tone I had gained because I couldn't keep up that workout schedule and then once he became my husband, I packed on the pounds again. I was cooking a full course meal every night; meat, veggies and a starch. Naturally, I ate it too. So I know exercise works (especially for me), and can fix the problem, but right now, I struggle to find time to finish just ONE 10 minute workout dvd per day! I'm looking forward to working out insanity style as Bentley gets older... it's just tough with a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old (either of whom barely sleep through the night on the same night, ever).
I have memorized every piece of nutritional information I could get my hands on related to 'how to lose weight'. I have always been pretty active, I've never 'drank' my calories (wellllll, except for the wine), I've always eaten only whole grains (I grew up on wheat bread; my mom was always very health conscience), skim milk and fat free dairy, lots of fruit and veggies and healthy fats (avocado's and olive oil).
All the stuff you're supposed to do, right? But, for some reason, I have always carried around an extra 10-15 pounds.
At one brief point when I was around 25, I was at my target weight. But sadly, it didn't last because I was doing so much more than I could possibly maintain. At the time, I was single and would go to the gym after work, then meet up with a girlfriend (hi Gwen!) and run up to five miles, then go home and eat either a can of green beans or a baked potato or a single piece of tilapia for dinner. I also did the boot camp program at the Fishers YMCA. And I trained for and ran a 1/2 marathon. So, once a boyfriend entered the picture I slowly lost all the muscle tone I had gained because I couldn't keep up that workout schedule and then once he became my husband, I packed on the pounds again. I was cooking a full course meal every night; meat, veggies and a starch. Naturally, I ate it too. So I know exercise works (especially for me), and can fix the problem, but right now, I struggle to find time to finish just ONE 10 minute workout dvd per day! I'm looking forward to working out insanity style as Bentley gets older... it's just tough with a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old (either of whom barely sleep through the night on the same night, ever).
So there. I'm tired.
Point of that? I have much better control over my eating right now than my exercise.
So, wah wah. Sad girl can't lose the last 10 pounds. Ever. Then, last summer, I heard about this eating plan called Paleo or Primal (similar plans, but with Primal you can have some dairy, in Paleo, no dairy). You can find all the scientific details at marksdailyapple.com (Primal) or everydaypaleo.com (Paleo). But the general idea is to eat what our ancestors ate. Cut out all the "food" that is made in a factory and comes in a box. And cut out all the gut irritants, like gluten and legumes and dairy (for some people). I would like to clarify that a big part of this is based on evolution... which I do not believe in. I believe that God created people as we are now. So, I'm not buying the stuff on how our bodies evolved to eat certain foods.
But I fully believe in cutting out all the gross processed food.
But I fully believe in cutting out all the gross processed food.
I stated eating Primal in March 2011; I was six months pregnant at the time. As you can tell from my pictures, I was able to only gain 20 pounds with B, verses 50 with Jack! AND, I was back to my pre-Bentley weight in THREE WEEKS! Not kidding. Three weeks. For comparison sake, it took me about one year to get within 10 pounds of pre-Jack weight. Seriously. I am now about eight pounds under my pre-B weight (but flabby... working on that).
(and because how boring would I be without a picture? awwww, little B)
I eat, meat, fruit, veggies, eggs, nuts, seeds and a little dairy (some cheese, no cow's milk, just coconut milk). I also eat 86% dark chocolate squares and I still have wine. I'm not totally hard core, I will eat some 'processed' food like mayonnaise or salami.
I do not eat legumes, any grains (bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal), white potatoes, corn or added sugar.
Sounds easy, right? That's because it is easy. Easy and delicious. We are enjoying so many new and creative foods now, and TONS of new veggies that I had never eaten before! For example, things I love now that I rarely (if ever) used to eat... brussels sprouts, turnips, fennel, parsnips and beets. The food is all so fresh and delicious, I can't imagine eating any other way.
The biggest change in how I feel is I no longer feel sluggish or over-full after I'm done eating.
I am also very satisfied after eating and no longer need to graze all day long.
And I am in LOVE with eliminating all the processedfood crap from my life.
So, after all these (many many many) years, I have *finally* discovered a way to eat that is so healthy, easy and that I can live with (except for those occasional runs to DQ. But c'mon, we all know those cave men would have traded a slab of fresh beef for a Blizzard of the Month). I even have Jack and Chris on board (for the most part).
PS, this is NOT a "low carb" plan. If you are eating enough vegetables, you will get plenty of carbs.
Just sayin'.
So, that's the scoop. I've been writing this post for a month now (busy mom, anyone??) and now B is almost four months and I'm scheduled to do my first Insanity workout tomorrow.
There's a chance you may never hear from me again.
Wish me luck!
I am also very satisfied after eating and no longer need to graze all day long.
And I am in LOVE with eliminating all the processed
So, after all these (many many many) years, I have *finally* discovered a way to eat that is so healthy, easy and that I can live with (except for those occasional runs to DQ. But c'mon, we all know those cave men would have traded a slab of fresh beef for a Blizzard of the Month). I even have Jack and Chris on board (for the most part).
PS, this is NOT a "low carb" plan. If you are eating enough vegetables, you will get plenty of carbs.
Just sayin'.
So, that's the scoop. I've been writing this post for a month now (busy mom, anyone??) and now B is almost four months and I'm scheduled to do my first Insanity workout tomorrow.
There's a chance you may never hear from me again.
Wish me luck!
