Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Paleo Day #1: "Seemed Like A Great Idea at the Time"

Aside from being a great title for an autobiography, that is exactly what I was thinking yesterday afternoon while my stomach grumbled, my head swirled, and my body ran close to E in the tank.

Things I've learned
  • I am going to be eating a LOT more bananas
  • Trips to the grocery store may very well become daily
  • I need to eat much more often

Yesterday at work was quite busy, so my dinner was cut in half and pushed back about 2.5 hours.  So by the time I finally got to eat, my body was so hungry that I was craving processed food; something with dense calories.  I ate a salad, munch on some chicken and beef, and stuck it out.  I mean, come on!  It was Day #1.  I can't bail out this early (I have to at least wait 'till day #2).  I also got cut short on lunch with time, so I ate a bunch of fruit which did not fill me up for as long as I'm used to.  Might have been the trainer ride I did before work, but oh-well.

Here's Day #1 in food..

Breakfast
  • Clementine
  • Banana
  • 3 eggs scrambled with spinach and green pepper

Lunch
  • banana
  • clementine
  • 1/4 cantaloupe

Dinner
  • Spinach salad with 1/2 granny smith apple & lime
  • 1/4 cantaloupe
  • Beef strips
  • Chicken medallions
  • Banana

It is going to take some ingenuity as well as mental toughness to get through the next 29 days!  I've never felt more accurate in saying the following..

"Here goes nothing!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Questions
1.  Did you ever start something and then immediately after starting thought "why the heck am I doing this?!"
I'm not as prepared as some for a new diet with recipes, and a back up, but I'll hold out as long as I can.

2.  Do you have any go-to snacks that I might be able to steal the idea from?


Swim fast.  Bike smart.  Run hard. 

9 comments:

Matthew Smith said...

You're going to shrivel down to nothing if you don't eat more! That didn't look like enough to me. Good luck with it all!

Anonymous said...

Im in between paleo and a veggie. What I'm learning is make sure you get that good fat in! I cook my eggs in coconut oil and eat avocados too. Nuts etc are great snacks and I still eat cheese..

Ironmom (Julie) said...

Yeah, "lunch" looks pretty skimpy there! Be sure to take some time today to cook something that you'll have as leftovers for a few days: chili, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed peppers, stew, Paleo Pad Thai—look up some recipes and get busy! You may end up at the grocery store a lot, but you'll probably spend even more time in the kitchen chopping and cooking. :)

Just don't starve yourself. It definitely won't hurt you to be a little hungry, but it's not fun, and you have other things to worry about (like cooking).

Ironmom (Julie) said...

Also, don't lean too heavily on fruit. It's easy and it's "legal," but it still has a lot of sugar, and the point is to get your body running on stored fats, not bananas.

Karen said...

Ditto what they said... Lunch was pretty skimpy there. Maybe add some protein there and you'll be a little less hungry throughout the day.

Michael said...

Ditto what everyone has already said. Nuts are definitely a quick and easy protein source that you can keep with you and don't have to worry about preparing if you don't have time.

Check out this website if you haven't for Paleo recipes. I haven't tried any - yet - but they look pretty good.

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-recipes/

SingingJo said...

Sounds like this diet is hard work!! You're buying things in bulk from whole foods or a natural food store, I assume? That can give you back a lot of quick meals and grains

Jill said...

I'm very intrigued with the Paleo thing; I'll be sure to keep checking up on you to see how it's going. Good luck!

Faerunner said...

Suggesting that you pack some trail mix for those busy days - I don't know if you're following a version of the diet that allows dark chocolate but if so, dark chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins or dried cranberries make an amazing high-energy mix for those busy days. There's a lot of variety you can get with trail mix and it packs really well (but you probably knew that).

I also made a really nice pan-fried chicken breast with broccoli and fresh tomato today :) Cooked in a little olive oil, and the veggies tossed in and steamed, covered, for the last few minutes. Absolutely delicious!

Good luck on your diet!