30 Days and 30 Nights – Paleo Success

Ro is in our trainer mentorship program. She’s a hard-working boot camper that’s looking to take her results to the next level. She’s committed to a 30 day Paleo diet. She’ll be sharing her experience on our blog so you can share in her Paleo diet journey.

I’d like to say that the last 30 days have been the longest days ever, because that’s how I felt a month ago; I remember thinking, I can’t wait until February 5th. However, to my great surprise, they were the fastest 30 days ever! I started the Whole 30 Paleo Challenge on January 5th and just completed my 30 days without a single lapse; no sugar, grains, alcohol, dairy, legumes, or processed food of any kind. The result has been a healthy belly, stronger body, and overall upturn in health.

Finding balance

I can’t say that I was “unhealthy” when I decided to go paleo, but I definitely felt out of balance. It was about that time when I could no longer enjoy pizza without burping it up the rest of the night or worry about what I was eating because I’d be scared it would give me a stomach ache later. Even worse, I was a crazy sugar binge eater. If there was a dessert spread in front of me, I could easily have multiple servings of cookies, cake, and candy, really anything that was in front of me, without being able to put the brakes on my consumption. Now I know why.

My hormones have been completely out of balance because of what I was eating. Not only that, but I was eating foods that had little to no nutrient value so my body never felt full and was sending crazy signals to my brain telling it to eat more and that sugar was good for me (oh that tricky junk food). And just because I exercise daily does not mean I could eat all this unhealthy food and still be healthy; constant stomach aches, fluctuating energy levels, and body aches are far from healthy, or normal. Thus, a drastic change was necessary.

Reset my body

Really, I started the Whole 30 Paleo Challenge as a way to reset my body and see if I could, in fact, make this a lifestyle. Now that I’ve gone paleo there is no way I’m going back. I’ve learned so much about how foods affect my health and I don’t want to ever feel tired, achy, and unhealthy ever again. Not to say that I’m not going to have wine, French toast, or some other “non-paleo” food ever again, but I’ll hopefully be able to do so in moderation and hope that it doesn’t have a negative impact on my health.

Preparing for paleo

What I used to prepare, and guide me through the last 30 days was It Starts With Food, which I highly recommend for anyone to read who wants learn more about the Paleo diet and how food really is the root of many health concerns. It outlines the 4 standards to follow with food. The food that we eat should: promote a healthy psychological response; promote a healthy hormonal response; support a healthy gut; and support immune function and minimize inflammation.

I will tell you that sugar, sweeteners, alcohol, grains, and legumes fail all of these standards. Sadness, I know. My favorite comfort food has always been a PB&J. Sure it does contain some fiber, protein, and maybe a few other nutrients that might be sort of good for me, but mostly it was doing more harm than good. It’s ok though, a banana with some macadamia butter has made a great substitute.

Really that’s all the paleo diet is! Finding REAL foods to eat that provide you with more good than bad. The thing that really isn’t fun is the time it takes to prepare all your meals, which is where a lot of people drop out. You have to cook almost all your meals in order to avoid any added sugars or other unhealthy substances or be very cautious when eating out, but it is 100% possible.

You can do this!

I grew up eating burritos, beans and rice, spam, and loads of other greasy Mexican food so if I can do this, anybody can do this! Again, not everyone needs to make a drastic change such as going paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, or any other lifestyle change, but if you do feel that your health may benefit from a change in diet, I can always throw some pointers your way.

I’ll be posting some more delicious Paleo recipes in the near future as I will continue to follow the trend past my 30 days. I’ll also continue to keep you posted on any new results or updates I find. Until next time! – Ro