The 30 Day Challenge

When I decided to go paleo, it was a decision for life. Everything I read about eating this way made sense to me. I no longer felt like I would deprive myself of good things, because those good things really were the bad things.

Grains, sugars, highly processed foods, soy and corn in everything... it's just not that good for the human body. And I noticed positive changes right away... in my appearance, in my well-being. Life is better now.

Beautifully, with paleo not just being a fad, you are free to tweak things a little, so they fit your needs. Of course this also means, that sometimes you may fall off the bandwagon a little. With that I don't mean, that you'll start eating grains again, or stuff your body with a ton of sugar. In my case it was simply a little more of everything. More wine (can't live without wine), more dark chocolate, more nutty desserts. I got really creative, inventing desserts and snacks, that my whole family would appreciate.

And so, after several months of feeling incredibly good and healthy, I became a bit of a slacker. Not that this was a terrible thing. I maintained my weight, and I ate only paleo approved foods. But somewhere inside I knew I just didn't feel quite right anymore. I needed to recommit.

I started my 30 Day Challenge yesterday. Honestly, it's not that much of a challenge. I can't drink any wine during this time, and no chocolate at all. Fortunately I do not experience the same withdrawals as I did in January, when I went cold turkey from living a life of conventional wisdom foods to strictly paleo. It is only Day 2, and already I feel more rested. I had a delicious breakfast of eggs and bacon this morning, went to the gym, where I rode the spinning bike for 30 minutes and did 30 (THIRTY!!) real push-ups. Yes, I took one minute breaks after each set of 10. But, good grief, this is the first time in my life that I can do real push-ups! I'm 36!!

Check out the little food plate up in the corner. After the new food plate was released a few weeks ago, people started tweaking it. This is one of the paleo versions. Mine would likely have a little more protein on it, but otherwise that's pretty much how I eat. Life is good!

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And now for something completely different:
Remember I self-published a book in April? Well, the book is available on Amazon, and you can take a quick peek inside before you buy it. It's now available for $9.99 on paperback, and for only $3.99 on the Kindle. It's a good book, a nice and easy summer read. CHECK IT OUT!
http://www.amazon.com/Planned-Gabrielle-Moon/dp/1461085543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309277440&sr=8-1

Snacking fun

Snacking has been a big issue in my life, ever since I went primal (yes, I'm calling it primal now, because I do in fact eat some cheese and butter). In a constant effort to excite my children about this new way of life, I have been baking banana nut muffins, coconut flour brownies, baked kale chips (not a favorite around here), and created my very own version of almond butter balls. All of these things are of course quite delicious if somewhat time consuming to prepare.

I will start posting recipes for these things here, starting with the banana nut muffins, courtesy of my running buddy B.

Ingredients
2 cups Almond Meal
1/4 cup ground Flax Seed
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
4 tsp Cinnamon
5 ripe Bananas
2 tsp Honey
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Optional:  Walnuts (1 1/2 cups), Dark Chocolate Chips (1 1/2 cups), blueberries (2 cups) or anything else you like to have in a muffin!

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix wet ingredients in one bowl, mashing or blending the bananas well (Unless you like banana chunks in your muffins).  Then mix all the dry ingredients in a 2nd bowl.  Blend the two bowls together.  Spoon into well greased (coconut oil) muffin pans.

Bake for 22-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Of course, sometimes you just need a quick snack. For such cases I recommend fruit or vegetables dipped in almond butter. A celery stalk can have almond butter spread all over it... a few raisins on top, and the snack is interesting for kids, too. :)

Have you ever tried Chia seed pudding? It's not for everyone. But if you're into the ooey gooey Chia seeds, try mixing them with water to desired consistency, add some sweetener (honey or maple syrup will do), and enjoy.

And finally, how about some fruit salad? Just add a variety of fruits (berries, bananas, maybe an apple, an orange) in a bowl. For protein add a tablespoon or two of almond butter, and if you're into coconut milk, you might add a little bit of that too. This is an absolutely delicious treat, and the kids love cutting up fruit.

Have a wonderful day.

The Case of the Incredibly Shrinking Shady Lady

 

On the picture above you can see my best friend, Shady Lady. The date: Christmas Eve, 2009. (The other two people are my parents.)

This was a time in Shady Lady's life, when things weren't so rosy. Her husband was gone in Afghanistan for a year. She struggled with being an only parent and with a sweet, little daughter, whose emotional reaction to her father's absence, resulted in physically painful eczema. 

It was also a time when Shady Lady, as she was looking at her body, made peace with the fact that this is who she was. Being a busy homeschooling mom in her mid-forties, she was convinced, that this is just what she looks like, and quite frankly, she was just fine with it. :) She was an inspiration to me, because she made very conscious decisions about the foods that went into her body. I was convinced, too, that "at this age" that's just how it is. 

Well... not so fast! In October of 2010 SL and I stood in her kitchen, and she proceeded to tell me that she planned to go on something called the paleo diet. She already had to be gluten free for a number of reasons. Now she would also cut all grains, sugars, starches, and legumes... I looked at my best friend in disbelief. Was she nuts? Why would anyone give up on rice and pasta... on delicious milk chocolate and cheese! She clearly had gone and lost her mind. 

And so, because there wasn't a whole lot of support from anyone, she didn't last very long and gave up this new way of life. 

Until early February of 2011, that is. You see, in January, my running buddy B., told me about the paleo diet. Unlike October I focused on the foods I was allowed to eat as supposed to the foods that were forbidden. I hopped on the paleo wagon and off I went, and I felt great! 

But this is not my story. About two weeks after I changed my eating habits, Shady Lady, who of course had already done a lot of research about this lifestyle, jumped on board... this time with the support of friends... and slowly also her husband, the Lizard King. Let me add here, that neither Shady Lady nor I started to eat like this for the purpose of losing weight. It was a pleasant side effect... but the main purpose was to get healthy... to eat the foods our bodies can easily digest. 

Well... introducing a radical change such as this almost always will result in some weight loss. And in Shady Lady's case, the transformation has been nothing short of incredible. As of last week, she was down 28lbs! Check out her AFTER picture:

Yes, people, that is Shady Lady now! She looks fabulous, doesn't she? (psssst... she's 46!) I consider myself lucky to have been there all the way. Both, Shady Lady and I, found one thing incredible. It is the fact, that it was so easy. As soon as the body is cleansed, you no longer crave the junk food. You start feeling better pretty much right away. And the weight just came off... yes, I mean that. It just came off. Pound after pound after pound. 

Of course, having seen this kind of success has made her wonder, what is possible. Could she actually lose more weight? After all, it still is coming off ever so slowly at this point. So yesterday she decided to go on a 30 Day Challenge... She started it with a 36 hour fast, during which she ate nothing, and simply drank tea with heavy cream. For the next month she will not eat any fruit or nuts. She will stick with meat, vegetables, eggs and just a little bit of dairy. 

A year ago I would have called her crazy. Who can live like that? I would have said something like, "Hey, knock yourself out, but I'm here to enjoy life, and there is no possible way you can enjoy life if you deprive yourself like this."

Today, though, I am thrilled with and for her. I love her success, and I admire her determination. I know she'll stick with that 30 Day Challenge, and she will come out on the other end an even better person (if that's even possible... because she's so darn awesome already!). I know, she is not depriving herself... I've learned that it's the other way around... the rest of us are over-indulging. Yeah, let that thought sink in for a moment. :)

Shady Lady, you rock! I love you! And I totally support all the way!!