Paleo/Primal Eating...what the?

I should preface this entry with why I have made this dietary change:
In 2011 I was quite unwell. Doctors where a bit slack at helping me work out why. I decided I needed to do a diet cleanse (consisting of 3-4 weeks) and as I reintroduced wheat into my diet I worked out gluten and me are not good friends. From there a lot of research into what foods, and non foods, are all about and a transition into eating to keep me healthy and healing (which I still am doing a year on) began.

I choose to eat according to Paleo/Primal principles:

I admit it is kinda easy for me to follow these principles of eating because I am gluten and dairy intolerant.(Strictly speaking Paleo is recommended as dairy free, but as you can see above, if you tolerate it - many don't - go for it!) I get pain and /or bad moods if I eat them. I wonder if I'd be that strict if I didn't obviously react. But then again, lots of people can go gluten free and still eat CRAP (Carbonated drinks, Refined sugars, Artificial sweeteners and sugars, and Processed) foods. There are many gluten free baked goodies out there that are full of this stuff, and I don't eat it, so I have to give myself some credit there.

What do you eat??? You ask. Here's an example of a day's worth of food:

Breakfast - eggs in multiple forms (scrambled, omelette  fried...). Hubby has bacon and eggs most mornings (I try to stay away from the bacon as it is store bought, sugar laden preservative stuff).

Lunch- everything you have in a good sandwich, minus the bread. Or left overs.

Dinner, once again most of what 'normal' people eat, minus pasta and pastries. It's mostly vegetables and meat/fish. I still eat white rice now and again. Yes white not brown. Whole grains are hard on digestion - as I found recently found out when I ate brown rice. You will notice beans/legumes are off the Paleo list as well for the same reasons as grains. However if you soak grains long enough they have less of the farty affect. But I haven't bothered going back to eating beans.

Treats/dessert- we've never really had dessert at home. I admit it is the one area I 'miss out' on if we go out for tea. I just order a yummy hot tea while hubby eats some ice cream concoction. Yes I realise this sounds boring as hell, and 'life is too short'. But not really, my taste buds have changed, so even if I could  eat this way...I would find it overpoweringly too sweet. 

I do LOVE my dark chocolate, and have started making mine own at home. Now and again I will make a gluten free pancake mix to pile berries and honey and lemon juice on...but it really is a seldom treat and a seldom want.

Now it all sorta sounds expensive. Bacon and eggs every morning!! But your body adjusts to needed less amounts of food to run on. Protein keeps you going a LOT longer than cereals. I no longer get swimmy with hunger. (I used to get terrible dizzy/hunger/grumpy spells.) So no it doesn't cost more, because we eat less.

I'm not rigid, but I am aware that when I do chose to eat things that are not real food I will notice it's affect on my body. I follow the 80/20 rule. Although it's more 90/10. The 10 is used in going out to restaurants for dinner, or visiting friends for tea. 

I'd like to say that even though the pyramid has meat as the largest portion I, and many other Paleo eaters,  do not sit around chomping humongous chops everyday all day. I do have to say though I respect and highly value the role that saturated fat (yes you heard that right) has in my diet. Brains (and therefore moods) love fat, which makes me (literally) happy :)

But at the end of the day, as far as I am concerned - you can ditch the labels and JERF (Just Eat Real Food).

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Wanna know more?

I love reading Mark's Daily Apple and recommend this as a great starting point for anyone wanting to head down this path. Mark advocates the 80/20 rule (actually that's not correct, he advocates 100% approach to eating this way, but the 80/20 rule is there to ease the pressure). As such it is a fantastic intro to diet changes. This is how my hubby got into eating healthier. To begin with his 20% of non conformity was a rather large 20%! But as he noticed the benefits his 20% shrunk and he asked a few more questions about what was and what was not 'Paleo'.

Correct Posture (not what you might think) and a Healthy Body

I deal with Endometriosis. For me it is painful periods where going without a painkiller is a big deal and a reason to celebrate. It is also of late a mild cramping feeling most of the month. I've started to change things to combat this, and last cycle I managed a pain killer free period. One thing I made a conscious effort in changing is stress held in the body.

I hold my stress in in my pelvic area. Where do you hold yours? For a whole cycle I had to consciously think of the area and 'release' it. Let my stomach flop out and be free :). I swear it made a big difference. It's like tensing if you're going to get a smack bottom - it hurts more. It's like rally drivers are taught to go loose and floppy when they crash to avoid serious injury. Tightness = pain.

Another reason I have held this area tight is to achieve 'correct posture'. But this has involved (when I actually do it) a pulling in and contracting of the pelvic area: Bum in, back straight, pelvis tucked in. Well that is wrong, and boy I am glad to hear it because the correct way supports softness in the pelvic are. It is going to take some getting used to and I will have to get over my Jay-Lo bum sticking out but it makes sense. It supports bone strength, rather than muscle strength. This is how all those Indian women carry vast quantities of water on their heads!

Here is a great video explaining why posture is so important, and how us westerners get it so wrong.

And here's a 6min 'How to do it properly'. It's pretty easy.

Why sugar makes us Fat/Unwell

I recently found this blog - inspirational from my point of view.

I have been trying to go down the 'no sugar' path for a few months now. I started this journey because I believed I had a Candida problem and treatment required a very restrictive diet. No carbs, no yeast, no sugar (including fruits). It was hard going, and the diet I was on(the Body Ecology Diet) recommended you stay on it for 3 months. I got to 3 weeks then it was my birthday. I had cake. I felt extremely ill the next day (it's like being hungover - but without the fun night out before). Then another 2 1/2 weeks on the diet, then it was Christmas... and... all over red rover! BUT the time I was on the diet I learnt two things. 1. Sugar and refined carbs mess with my moods something cronic. As Sarah Wilson says 'I became a much nicer person'. It's true! My blood sugar is more stable and therefore so are my moods (this includes my PMS moods). And 2. I am gluten intolerant. Which was probably the main cause of my troubles. BUT I am still learning not to binge on the sugar. It truly is an addiction. In fact I have read (and this is a GREAT read too) that some lab rats have chosen it over heroin!!


Anyway on with Sarah's awesome write up on that baddie sugar.

i quit sugar #3 (why sugar makes us fat)

posted on february 4th, 2011

OK. So this is where it gets interesting and a little bit tricky. As in, good tricky.

Today I’m going to cover off two key issues. Yesterday I said I’m eating more (good) fat and protein as a way of getting me through this quit sugar business. This is in part cos fat and protein satiate. They fill me up. So I don’t crave sugar. Or anything else for that matter. Oooh, but they’re fattening, you say!? Actually, no. Sugar is. Let me explain. Keep reading...