At the beginning of the year, my honey and I decided to do a Paleo Challenge for the month of January. It was not intended to be a "New Years Resolution," but really a challenge for us to focus on what we were putting into our bodies. We've been eating mostly Paleo for well over a year now and I have to admit I've seen some pretty amazing results in my overall health so I was finally ready to take the plunge and go 100% Paleo.
I was pumped! I read the book "The Paleoista"by Nell Stephenson over Christmas break and was instantly hooked. I knew I too wanted to go completely Paleo, if possible. I was totally motivated and actually looked forward to the challenge as I knew it would mean new recipes to try, improved athletic performance but also just overall increased health and well-being.
Needless to say, the challenge didn't go quite as I had hoped. My husband, being the awesome, strong-willed man he is completed it with no problem. I on the other hand could not say the same. I felt terrible, bloated, gassy, and I had some pretty incredible mood swings, and not incredible in a good way.
To this day I'm still baffled as to what happened. I felt great for the first 2-4 days and then suddenly my body felt like it went in to shock (well let's be honest, it did! I was eating ALL nutritious foods for once!) I began researching my symptoms and knew that it wasn't abnormal to feel these things so I just continued on. It wasn't until the third week of feeling this way and almost having to take a sick day off work that I realized this just wasn't normal. So at the request of my husband, I quite.
I was pretty upset. I wanted to prove to myself, my husband and the world that I could do it. But the reality was, something just wasn't right and why did it matter so much who I was impressing anyway? I was going about it all in the wrong way. I was supposed to do it to increase my health not get recognition from the world.
Looking back, I am excited that I completed 23 days! It was a huge accomplishment! And while I didn't make it to day 30, I did talk to my CrossFit coaches got some advice on a few things that might help and then I began incorporating a number of things I learned back into my normal routine. I'll be sharing a few things in the coming weeks.
Today, my husband and I are back to our "normal"route, which consists of about being about 80 percent Paleo. Our dinners continue to be Paleo, as they have been in the past, as well as our lunches.
I've found incorporating a little dairy helps me a lot though! But having done the challenge for 23 days I knew that dairy wasn't necessarily a "problem" food for me. I don't eat a ton of it, but it seems to have helped me. I am by no means giving up on Paleo at all. I have seen the rewards of eating well, so I'll definitely continue to incorporate it into our lifestyle. I know eventually my body will get used to the change and will reap the benefits both upfront as well as long-term.
If you haven't tried a paleo challenge and are interested, I'd highly encourage it! It's amazing how our bodies respond when we feed them real food, unprocessed food! And while at the end of the challenge you may not end up going completely Paleo, you will find new routines you'll want to incorporate into your life just because they make you feel better, stronger, healthier and more energetic.
