As other fellow paleo pals have announced, some of us Paleo Pals - after our 30 days challenge in October 2009, decided to get back on the Paleo diet.
So let me fill you in quickly on my experience post 30-days Paleo Challenge.
1. Mad cravings
The post-paleo experience for me was worse than the getting started on paleo phase. All the repressed cravings from the 30 days lashed back with vengeance as I binged on bad food (most notably chocolate and cheesecakes).
2. Giving up ovo-lacto-pesco-vegetarianism
After 9 years of being quite vegetarian (not fully because I take seafood on and off) for ethnical reasons - I decided to start eating meat in the middle of November.
Going through 30-days of Paleo forced me to look back at the decision I made when I was 16. By getting more informed (largely influenced by the book The Vegetarian Myth) and deciding that I want to stop addressing the symptoms of a problem (industrial food) and start learning more about the causes of the problem. I could go on and on about this but it will take to many blog posts, so I will end at this.
The first meat I started reintroducing was beef as it was the easiest to eat. Follow by chicken. The last meat to reintroduce was pork as it was the hardest to eat and even now I am picky about how it is cooked.
For the first two weeks I felt pretty constipated (is this too much information?). But after that my body adjusted to the new diet (phew!).
3. Better food for me and you
Going through that 30 days paleo really did change my life. As some of you read - it was initially very tough cutting off half the food I routinely eat, such as rice, bread, milk, cheese, etc. Some foods which I thought were healthy like oats and yogurt, apparently weren't healthy enough!
Since I grew up eating out and never cooked anything fancier than instant noodles and fried egg - I had to start learning how to cook for myself. From making soups, stir fried vegetables, steamed fish, etc. It was initially difficult and time consuming.
Eventually I got used to it and post paleo - I've maintain some Paleo-ness such as having fruits and nuts for breakfast and snacks (instead of sandwiches and biscuits) and cook in more often.
And after cutting off my addiction to instant mix coffee drinks like the 'white coffee' mix - I've opted for freshly grind coffee beans without sugar.
The good thing is, the close people around me also adopted some good eating habits. The Mother is influenced to eat less grains, The Brother also ditched the instant coffee for freshly brewed coffee, The Boyfriend ditched cereals and is slowly cutting down on instant coffee.
Round 2, new Paleo rules.
For Round 2, most of us are choosing Paleo as a lifestyle instead of a "30 days challenge". Which means we have to each develop a system which works best long-term.
Here some guidelines which I'm following:
1. One cheat meal in every 4 days - Every 4 days I'll treat myself to 1 cheat meal.
2. Make the best of the situation - On occasions where there is no Paleo food available, I will just choose the next best thing. This is to avoid getting gastric and other stomach problems.
3. Coffee with milk - Coffee to me is not just coffee. It's therapy. It's a ritual. From choosing my beans to grinding them. Letting it sit in the plunger....watching it black turn into milky brown when I pour the milk in..... having the first sip.....hmmmm. Now, while initially I stopped drinking coffee with milk, by the 4th day I was not able to perk my mood up. Considering work circumstances (stress) and deadlines this week, I've decided to have milk with my coffee until this period is over. I will slowly phase it out after March.
I've been on Paleo for two weeks now following these guidelines. Yeee-har!
No comments:
Post a Comment