Did you over do it this winter? I did. Somewhere between Halloween and Christmas, I totally lost count. Then, the stupid cold weather made me want to stay inside and eat bagels and chocolate chips until the sun came out again. I really tried to stay on track, but winter is my enemy! However, I am proud to say that since the beginning of the year, I have been really sticking to my Paleo diet (at least they were dairy free chocolate chips). Around New Years I noticed my hair was falling out and my skin was a wreck. As soon as I got back on plan, I stopped looking so haggard. This is the biggest reason I believe in the Paleo lifestyle. With all the information on the internet, it can be hard to know what is fact and what is fiction. For me, not having my hair fall out is fact. Yes, paleo makes me feel better, but I am also a little vain and when I realized what I was eating was causing my hair to thin and fall out by the handful, that really opened my eyes.
So in other words, I think Paleo is the cat's pajamas. Unfortunately though, if you don't watch it, you can really over do it with the calories. Yes it is so much cleaner, but when you snack on nuts and bacon all day, your calories go through the roof! Additionally, like the Atkins diet of my collage years, all that animal fat is murder on your cardiovascular system. What is the point of getting healthy if you have a heart attack later due to high cholesterol? Because of this, I do a modified Paleo plan that limit animal fats and makes sure I still get a balance of nutrition. Also, while many believers of the Paleo lifestyle don't think you need to count calories, I know that 2,000 calories of salad is still 2,000 calories, and that is too many calories for me in one day.
How do I do it? Before I found the Paleo way, I fell in love with these awesome little containers. They serve as my measurements for specific foods, and I get a certain number of them per day based on my calorie requirements. The original plan that accompanied it allowed for grains and dairy (big no's for me). I have simply removed those categories, and adjusted it for my needs. The red is for my protien which, if I am being honest, always involves eggs or bacon and chicken at some point in the day. The purple and green are for my fruits and veggies. The blue is for my healthy fats like avocado and coconut. The oranges are for dressings and nuts. The yellow is my favorite, and I use it for my paleo carbs. What are Paleo Carbs? They are the starchy veggies and flour substitutes (almond, flax, cassava & coconut) that have taken place of my grains. These include squashes, sweet potatoes and other roots like yucca and tarot. Lastly, I also consume teaspoons of cashew butter throughout the day- because it's delicious and its my favorite part of any meal.
Do I stick to the containers all the time? Absolutely not. Life gets in the way, and I am not going to measure all my food at a restaurant. I will usually follow this plan for 21 days, and then take a few days off. A few days don't derail any progress I've made and the longer I've done this, the more I am able to eyeball servings. Additionally, the containers are always in the back of my mind, so before I make a food decisions, I am thinking about the number of servings I have had of any particular food.
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