Trying out this 'Paleo' thing...

Sammyantha13

We've been talking about it for a few weeks, but FI and I just decided last night that we are going to try the Paleo diet for 30 days and see how we like it.  

We already do a pretty good job with balanced meals (dinner last night was marinated pork chops with asparagus, tossed salad, and FI made some sweet potato 'chips'.)  But we do eat a lot of grains.  That will be the hardest part.  I LOVE cereal for breakfast and we usually have some sort of whole wheat pasta or brown rice dish a couple times a week.  So that's what we're sad about.  Giving up dairy isn't so bad; I love almond milk (though FI doesn't and will have to adjust to it) and we barely eat any other dairy, except for some occasional cheese tossed on top of tacos or something.  

We've decided that one night of the weekend--either Saturday or Sunday--we will have a cheat day and fix some pasta or have some ice cream for dessert, just because we know it will be difficult to give up those things cold turkey.  Once the 30 days is up we will reevaluate how it went and decide if we want to continue, with or without our 'cheat' days.  (I'm 97% sure we will still want our cheat days, haha.  PASTA FO LYFE!)

So does anyone have any input on the paleo diet?  Or any recipes to share?  I'm going to be keeping a food journal of what we make so we can gather recipes.  

theartistformerlyknownas

Good luck! I tried a Whole 30 and made it a day and a half before I dove head-first into a brick of cheese. Pinterest had a lot of recipes that looked great, I just... failed, miserably.

cupcait927

Ditto @lolo883 Pinterest has TONS of Paleo recipes. FILs are pretty much Paleo-only, with occasional cheat days (plus FMIL refuses to give up he cereal for breakfast). However, their meals get pretty boring - grilled meats and veggies almost every night. I believe there's also a few Paleo cookbook apps for smartphones and tablets.

FI and I may try the whole Paleo diet. He's practically there - doesn't eat a whole lot of grain, and usually only does if I make pasta or sandwiches. He won't make that stuff for himself. I will have a MUCH harder time because I. love. grains.

FFIL and FI also did the Whole30 and that diet is just nuts. Between FI's corn allergy and the fact that you have to avoid all added sugar grains, and a ton of other things (like soy, legumes, etc), I gave up trying to cook anything for him the month that he did it. He got there though, and only cheated a couple of times during the month with a couple glasses of wine.

kat1114

For information on the Paleo diet, I recommend checking out Mark's Daily Apple, specifically read his Primal Blueprint. He advocates following an 80/20 principle, and he even supports dairy (and wine!) in your diet, so long as you can tolerate it.

For recipes, Pinterest is always a good source. I also really like PaleOMG.com and TheIronYou.com.

KatieinBkln

Nomnompaleo.com has delicious-looking recipes. I will never give up grains or dairy, ever, but I like some of the paleo recipes!

Can I ask, what's your impetus for trying the paleo diet? Just for kicks/to see how it feels, weight loss, as part of a strength training regimen?

wandajune6

I can never keep my diets straight. What I eat is mostly South Beach, I think- but I end up bringing the same foods to work most days that my boss does, and she's eating paleo.

Is quinoa or brown rice allowable on paleo? Or no grains at all? I love quinoa and find that it's a decent substitute for rice. It also helps that I don't love cheese.

We eat lots of egg whites and beans. I like them because they're easy, relatively cheap and, more importantly, are always in the pantry or fridge. I make lots of 'junk' salads with things we love- cucumber, corn, beans, black olives (for me!), beans, eggs, steamed green beans, etc. Consider things like a salad nicoise.

Spaghetti squash is great when you need something pasta-y but aren't quite ready to cheat on your diet. I also like making "noodles" with zucchini.

Use a lot of seasonings. Fresh herbs are wonderful. When in doubt, ginger, garlic, honey, and a little soy (which I know is cheating) makes everything taste wonderful.

I'm a lot better when we don't have FSS around. 15 year old boys don't love eating low carb or healthy. Also try to eat at home a lot as it makes life much easier.

Good luck!

kat1114

KatieinBkln said:

Nomnompaleo.com has delicious-looking recipes. I will never give up grains or dairy, ever, but I like some of the paleo recipes!

Can I ask, what's your impetus for trying the paleo diet? Just for kicks/to see how it feels, weight loss, as part of a strength training regimen?

Oh, I forgot about Nomnompaleo! Her cauliflower fried rice is amazing! I honestly like it better than fried rice I've had at most Chinese restaurants.

Sammyantha13

KatieinBkln said:

Can I ask, what's your impetus for trying the paleo diet? Just for kicks/to see how it feels, weight loss, as part of a strength training regimen?

I guess it's basically for kicks.  We're both already healthy people.  FI is 5'11" and only weighs like 145 lbs, he is usually trying to gain weight but has a super high metabolism and can't.  I work out at least three times a week.  We just want to cut out the sugar and preservatives, and eat a lot more veggies.  

So far it's been good, except for that every night this week FI has asked me to make brownies.  Usually we'll make a box once every week or two.  That's our biggest sweet that we enjoy.  But I've resisted and talked him down, haha.  We can't wait until our cheat day on Sunday, lol.  

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!  I've already pinned some yummy-looking recipes.

JCbride2015

I recently gave up most grains for my current diet (I don't know what to call it-- basically low-carb, high-protein, but it doesn't have a name or anything).  I thought it was going to be really hard and I whined on TK about it, but actually I feel great and lost 3 pounds the first week.  I'm not doing some of the crazy stuff the trainer recommended though, like protein powder and faking pancakes with coconut somehow.  I'm just journaling my food and trying to stay within the carbs/fat/protein ratios.

Yesterday I had a consultation with a nutritionist (set up by me personally, not the trainer) and she just said anytime you start cutting carbs and eating more meat, you need to really up your intake of leafy greens to balance out all the meat.  Lots of salad and green smoothies in my future, which makes sense for anybody on a diet.

IbreatheImhungry.com has a lot of good recipes.  Also fedandfit.com.

The one thing I cannot do, and don't understand how those on Paleo do, is substitute a "diet" food for a "cheat" food.  Ex. cauliflower fried rice, or spaghetti squash.  If I'm having a craving for fried rice or pasta, I figure it's probably better to just eat a small amount of the food I want and actually satisfy the craving.

hikebikebemerry

Sammyantha13 said:

KatieinBkln said:

Can I ask, what's your impetus for trying the paleo diet? Just for kicks/to see how it feels, weight loss, as part of a strength training regimen?

I guess it's basically for kicks.  We're both already healthy people.  FI is 5'11" and only weighs like 145 lbs, he is usually trying to gain weight but has a super high metabolism and can't.  I work out at least three times a week.  We just want to cut out the sugar and preservatives, and eat a lot more veggies.  

So far it's been good, except for that every night this week FI has asked me to make brownies.  Usually we'll make a box once every week or two.  That's our biggest sweet that we enjoy.  But I've resisted and talked him down, haha.  We can't wait until our cheat day on Sunday, lol.  

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!  I've already pinned some yummy-looking recipes.

FI actually makes black bean brownies.  No idea if they are Paleo, but it is a healthy-ish alternative to boxed/ regular brownies, and they are shockingly delicious!

MsLodge

I have been trying to reply to this post FOREVER, but for some reason I have been unable to. I guess today is my lucky day!

My wife and I have been doing the Paleo thing since the beginning of June. We decided to try for 30 days and then see how we felt after and if we thought it was worth it to continue. My wife is diabetic and I can't believe how much of a difference it has made. We decided to keep going, it was that much of a change.

We have had a couple "cheat days" since and I feel awful the next day, almost like I'm getting sick: my throat hurts, I'm completely congested, even my joints are sore.

I would highly recommend trying it, but not cheating at all for at least 30 days, that way you can really see the difference. I love to cook so I bought several cookbooks which has helped a lot. There are so many great books to try: The Paleo Kitchen, Against All Grain, Beyond Bacon and I could go on and on, I think we have close to a dozen of them now!

Good luck!!

jynxiie

My FI and I did it for 30 days, we felt great. Should have kept it up... We got knocked off...

Lost 20lbs in a month, didn't feel bloated and I was more awake.

For us... It was really hard.
If we wanted to eat ANYWHERE... Fast food or not... It was SO challenging to find anything that was possible. The first 3 - 4 days were awful too - felt so sick.

I did keep some of my habits from the 30 days, I haven't been eating rice and I haven't eaten much bread. I have been drinking a lot of dairy and I realize that I have a lot of issues with it - so as much as I love pretty much EVERYTHING dairy I will have to give it up.

I think I will go paleo until the wedding again, lost a couple more, clear up my skin and feel great.