Paleo Week 1

I guess working at JD has changed hubby's mind about what type of food we should really be eating (that and he has Crohn's Disease and I have PCOS, we are both out of shape and working on our 5k for Nov. 11th). He came home a few weeks ago with a Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook and said, "We're starting this next week." Ummm hello- excuse me "We're" you mean, YOU! I was totally not looking forward to giving up my bread, dairy, sugar, and processed foods for 30 days. We stared our Paleo 30 challenge 1 week ago, and I have to say When I weighed in this morning, I had lost 4 pounds. Running my behind off everyday  every other day and getting rid of processed stuff has not only allowed me to really prepare for my race, it has gotten me compliments! I am already showing signs of improved health and just FEEL better when I wake up! So, have I convinced you yet?

This is what you would be eating:

Okay, I know what you are thinking: So basically, I have to eat chicken and salad and water for 30 days. NO THANKS! You're wrong. You don't have to eat that, but you do have to get creative! We started here and have been very successful! We also started with this cookbook too! Hubby brought it home from work and I was skeptical really enjoyed cooking out of it! So how can one turn a boring non realistic eating plan into realistic with results? GET CREATIVE! I even made CHOCOLATE FUDGE (Paleo friendly of course, click the link for details)!!Here are some of the things we ate in our first week of Paleo:

Organic "Fried Chicken" with Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" and green beans: our gravy didn't turn out that great and the "mashed potatoes" were a little on the spicy side from the garlic, but good first attempt! We would make this again!

Many days for lunch I would have leftovers from the night before I would bring chicken and salad. I found that getting a rotisserie chicken was easier for me with time, money, and packing in advance. I also searched high and low for a dressing that would be acceptable (no sugar, no wheat, no crap) and I actually did! I found it at Super HEB! It tastes really good too!

For dinner another night we got our cookbook out again, and got creative with making Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes! They are made with almond flour, NO sugar and are perfect if you are craving something sweet and bread-y! They actually have pumpkin in them, so they did come out a little wet, so to me, they tasted more like french toast. We topped them with wild berries and honey. We also had cage free eggs and organic sausage! We felt as if we were cheating, that's how good dinner was!!

Snacking at school I would usually stick to fruit, but I also got addicted to these:

Before my runs, to protect my potassium and my blood sugar drops, I would have a banana (soft carbs) with cinnamon and honey. Super sweet, but eaten 20 minutes before a run helped me to regulate and push through! It also kept me from leg cramps!

I started to get tired of chicken, salad and dressing so I used some homemade salsa (the only kind out there that doesn't have crap and sugar in it) on my salad! We had some left over from our fajitas hubby made!

Speaking of Fajitas, we tried our hand (for literally an hour) at making coconut flour tortillas. They looked beautiful, but didn't taste that great! We threw them out, tried again and finally I headed to HEB where I bought Corn. You cannot  have corn products or wheat products, but since we were having friends over, we decided to cheat and then we ended up getting yogurt because our friends forced it upon us!

On the note of cheating, I was about sick of lettuce this week, and decided to get a JD gluten free sammie with chicken, avocado, and tomato. It was heavenly since I hadn't tasted bread in so long. On Paleo, you can have some gluten free products, but during the 30 day challenge you are to steer clear of ALL grains, including rice flour (which gluten free bread is made from). Oh well. After a long run, I felt I deserved a "healthy cheat."

WE have a run this Sunday and I am so excited. Paleo has not only given me the confidence to get through it successfully, It has rid me of the waste. In one week I can tell I am feeling better sans junk, wheat, dairy, and sugar. I can even see it on the scale!

Last Tuesday, Day 1:

This Tuesday, Day 7:

That's a 4 lb loss in 1 week! I think this way of eating is definitely helping my PCOS symptoms. I have been doing C25K since April. Off and on, I would diet here and there throughout, but my results weren't noticeable, just water weight. I think that through all of this running, others can tell I am getting healthier. A few people have said comments and I unbelievably went on about my business. I had a family member tell me to look at my FB pics and I would see how I've changed. BOY have I. Left is from 1 yr ago on Halloween. The right is just 2-3 weeks ago, even before the above 4 lbs lost. Inches lost are showing (and this is just in the face and cheeks)!!!!!

I cannot wait to tell you all about our color run and week 2 results from Paleo! I am so excited to feel better, look better, eat better and run better! Speaking of running look at that time! I beat my fastest mile! WooHoo GO ME!!! I know it isn't fast, but the more I lose, the faster I seem to go! I actually just increased to run 2.5 the other day! I'm not yet at a full 3 but I got to 2.3 out of the 2.5 I was was pretty proud of that. On that run, I also beat my mile time! I was beaming afterwards! GO PALEO!