Paleo We Go!

Starting a paleo diet plan isn’t for the faint of heart. If you haven’t heard of the paleo diet plan you’ve either been under a rock for the past year or you’re just not into Pinterest and social media. In case you actually have a life outside of Pinterest or have yummy carbs with you under that rock here’s a wiki-definition.

The paleolithic diet (abbreviated paleo diet or paleodiet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era. Centered on commonly available modern foods, the “contemporary” Paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

I don’t believe in evolution or paleolithic cavemen, but getting back to the basics in our diet makes a lot of sense particularly in the wake of GMO crops, pesticides, and other toxic ways our food is currently grown and processed. So why are we going paleo now? With two kids in diapers it’s certainly not a convenient time to make life-altering changes, but both Hubs and I have experienced some health problems as we’ve begun our 30′s. We’d like to cure Hubs’ gastrointestinal distress and my kidney stones with a paleo diet plan. Wish us luck! We’re three days in and I feel like ripping into a loaf of bread with my teeth. That’s the way a caveman would do it, right? While I’ve enjoyed delicious things like almond butter, lots of meat, Celtic sea salt, and coconut oil, my grain and sugar addicted body is not happy right now.

Supposedly the worst of the withdrawal symptoms that occur at the start of a paleo diet plan (headaches, fatigue, weakness, etc.) are over after the first week with symptoms fully receding within 3-4 weeks. I hope we can last that long!

My sugar addiction reached epic proportions after Gus’ birth. Since I’m not pregnant anymore and breastfeeding is burning all these calories I might as well eat dessert after every meal, right? Let’s have a little sweet treat in between meals and before bed too while we’re at it. That’s not including all the pasta,  rice, bread, and potatoes I was consuming. At one point last week I didn’t even have the energy to get off the couch that evening. That’s when I decided to join Hubs for 30 days of a paleo diet plan to see if it helps my energy levels and keeps kidney stones at bay. If you are getting started on a paleo diet plan too, check out the links below.

Paleo Diet Plan Resources:

The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet by Nerd Fitness – A humorous guide complete with Lego men. What’s not to love?
Paleo Recipes from Health-Bent (love how these are categorized)
Paleo Recipes from A Girl Worth Saving – Kelly creates amazing paleo recipes, includes paleo recipe roundups, and even has a new paleo dessert cookbook out!
Paleo Hacks – Got a question? Ask it here
Paleo Poor by Whole Nine – a paleo diet plan gets expensive. You’ll need these tips.

I’m very much a beginner to this lifestyle, but even with just a toe in the water I’ve learned a few things:

• Ditch the all or nothing mentality – While a true paleo diet plan consists of only grass-fed meats, organic produce, and raw butter, mama can only do what mama can do! Guess what? Meat from the grocery store and produce on sale at Aldi is better than the Little Debbies and Velveeta I was eating all the time.
• Prepare only what you have time to – I’m not talking about cheating with a drive-through meal because you can’t miss tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead. Set the DVR and cook! However, if you’re sacrificing quality time with your kids, not getting enough sleep at night, or showing up late for work because you’re constantly shopping for or preparing food then it’s time to scale back. Pick up a hot and ready roast chicken for $5 at the grocery store, throw in a bag of microwave veggies, and get to bed at a decent hour.
• Purchase only what you can afford – It’s no secret that prepackaged, processed foods are cheap and filling. If paleo is hurting your wallet too much and you’ve already reduced your cell phone’s data plan, turned off the cable TV, and stopped making Starbucks runs (ahem) then try some of the budget tips at the link above. If that’s still not cutting it, maybe try a gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free diet. It’s like paleo but you can have beans, legumes, oats, potatoes, and rice. There’s a few cheap breakfasts and dinners in that short list that are a heck of a lot better than the  cinnamon roll, bagel, or pizza that you were going to revert back to since you “can’t afford to go paleo.”
• Keep it simple – Grill some meat and make a salad. Sure there’s lots of awesome paleo desserts out there using specialty coconut flour and almond meal, but the simpler the better to start off with. Wait until you are bored with your meals before you experiment. If that’s only after a few days then go for it!

Our goal is to follow a paleo diet plan for the next 27 days. After that we may revert to a gluten, sugar, and dairy-free lifestyle with the occasional slice of birthday cake and bowl of pasta for special treats. And don’t worry, I’ll still be posting non-paleo recipes here at Sweet T Makes Three if for no other reason that to reminisce about the taste and look forward to our next special occasion.

Are you currently on or starting a paleo diet plan?