by Laura Burton
It’s been 13 days since the 30-day Paleo experiment. If you haven’t read my first post, you can read it here. Let me catch you up on the past 23 days.
The last 10 days of the Paleo plan were overall a little easier than the first 20. I had gotten in the groove of meal planning and snack-packing, and I was becoming accustomed to saying a simple ‘no’ to my cravings (which were becoming less frequent, by the way). It’s funny - my mind actually felt a great deal clearer since I wasn’t spending mental energy combating the grasp of cravings against good sense, or bargaining with myself for little everyday treats. Certain foods were off-limits, and that was that. As restrictive as that sounds, it was surprisingly freeing.
But let’s get to Day 30 – the eve of the eagerly anticipated ‘eat what you want’ day (which felt strangely similar to Christmas Eve, if that gives you any idea how excited I was). I spent the majority of this day contemplating what foods would be really worth indulging in the next day. I woke on Day 31 with an extra pep in my step – cereal! I fixed my bowl of Fiber One mixed with Cinnamon Life and frozen blueberries and prepared myself for an awesome experience. But to my surprise, the cereal was just okay. As I started packing that day’s snacks and lunch I instinctively went for the almonds, the chicken breast with tomatoes and slaw, and strawberries – all Paleo foods. “Are you kidding me?!” I thought. “I can eat anything I want today but my body is actually craving lean protein, vegetables, and fruits? This is nothing short of a miracle.”
Since then, I’ve had my share of sweets, margaritas, and bread. And don’t get me wrong – I’ve enjoyed them. But I feel less-connected to those foods. I have found a satisfying balance between the strict rules of Paleo and the freedom to eat what I want. I have incorporated low-fat dairy, peanut butter, and beans back into my regular diet. I eat probably 2-3 servings of whole grains a day, which seems like a good balance for me. Diet drinks are back in the game, and they’re not going anywhere any time soon! For the most part, I'm eating the foods that make my body feel good and function better.
The post-Paleo me is more comfortable with hunger (not stomach caving in, give me food or I might get violent hunger – because there is nothing comfortable about that, and I try to avoid this intense hunger at all costs). I plan my meals and snacks in 3-hour increments, and usually I get a nudge of hunger about 2 hours after I eat. Previously, and especially if I was stressed, I would almost panic, thinking “What can I snack on until I can get to my lunch in an hour?” or “What can I munch on while I’m cooking dinner?” Since I didn’t have a whole lot of options for extra snacks on the Paleo plan, it trained me to sit in my hunger until my planned meal or snack time rolled around. It taught me to feel and appreciate hunger – not hate it.
To sum it up, I’m thankful for the experience, and yes, I would do it again! I think it’s healthy to challenge ourselves every now and then; we need reminders that we can still be very much in control of our health. But let’s not make this out to be bigger than what it was: simply a series of small, consistent, smart decisions. That’s the key to good health – Paleo or not.
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