Eating PaleoPlus

Research the Paleo way of eating on the internet and you will see references to "eating how our ancestors ate" or "cavemen".  To me, that painted a picture of unappetizing food, eaten purely for survival and occasionally the idea of me having to hunt down and kill my meal.

I love food.  I want to enjoy my meals and I certainly don't want to have to kill anything.  I'm really more a lover than a fighter!

Thankfully, Paleo eating is delicious and incredibly simple.

• Lean proteins
• Lots of veggies
• Some fruit
• Healthy fats
• Nuts and seeds

All the things that we would have eaten before modern-day agriculture.  Real food.  Locally grown whenever possible.  Organically grown is always best.  Less processed.

My other favorite thing about eating Paleo - no calorie counting.  It's actually discouraged by most of the experts.  Paleo rejects dieting in favor of "permanent dietary changes that will transform your body into a lean, fat-burning machine."  (from Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson)

Paleo eating removes all the things that have been shown to cause inflammation in our bodies or create an intolerance or other negative symptom.  You will eliminate grains (and therefore gluten), legumes (which includes peanuts), dairy and all refined sugars and artificial sweeteners.

If you read My Paleo Story, you know that my daughter is able to tolerate small amounts of non-gluten grains (rice flour) and we occasionally eat russet potatoes.  (We choose to buy organic, we peel them on most occasions and gently boil them to make them less starchy and prone to harmful chemicals.)

Paleo is a lifestyle and the reason so many people are talking about it is how great you feel once you've adopted clean eating.  I wish I could put into words the transformation I have gone through physically - beyond the 80 pound weight loss.  But I can't.  I can only encourage you to give this 30 days.  Without cheating.  Or whining.  Or bargaining with the sugar demon.

If you're like me and have eaten poorly for your entire life, you may find that it will take you more than 30 days to get all the bad stuff out - but try it and see how it impacts YOU in just one month.

PaleoPlus is the way my family has taken on Paleo.  We are overcoming a lifetime of bad habits, so this is important to us.  We are also on a tight budget.  That doesn't allow me to buy grass-fed cuts of meat or wild-caught seafood (unless I find a great sale!).  We can't always afford only organic fruits and veggies, but we try.  I watch sales and buy seasonal and make up my recipes based on what looked best and was priced right.

We still eat pizza once a month-ish.  It's our agreed upon indulgence.  I go really light on the cheese and always get thin crust (because that's what I love, thankfully).  And I usually feel it the next couple of days - I'm either congested or bloated (isn't that sexy?), but I go right back to PaleoPlus and I am back to normal in 24 hours.

I will never be called a Paleo Fanatic.  Except for those first 30 days.  I believe you owe it to yourself to make the commitment and adhere to a strict Paleo eating plan for 30 days.  I don't have any wiggle room there.  I don't believe that it's too hard.

I was a diet soda junkie, I ate bread at least 3 times a day and we had a sugary treat of some kind almost every evening (think giant bowls of ice cream!) and I did it.  I felt 'blah' most days and was starting to think I was just going to have to learn to live the rest of my life with aches and pains.  And I did it!

You can too!  I have a 30-day coaching plan, home chef options if you live in the DFW area and I will post easy, affordable recipes on this blog to help you get started.  Or you can do the research yourself - there is so much great information on blogs and websites and instagram and podcasts and periscope.  Google it!  Don't wait...this is the only body we get!