Paleo and Weight Loss So Far

Happy New Year, friends! I really can't think of a better way to kick off this new year of blogging with a post about eating and weight loss. I'm sorry I left so many of you in the dark after September's post regarding Paleo eating. We definitely didn't fall off the wagon and in fact, we've been going full force since Gabriella has been here. Well, okay, I may have intentionally indulged a bit during the holidays. There were just a few things I couldn't deprive myself of since this type of eating only happens once a year. But there have been some of those no-no foods I haven't touched in months. Take for instance, bread and pasta. I think my last encounter with bread happened a week after Gabriella was born when I had a Jimmy John's sub. It was delicious all right but afterwards?.. I was sick, sick, sick. After slowly eliminating bread from my diet, my stomach couldn't handle all that gluten and I, er...found myself in the bathroom quite a lot that day. Ever since then I've really have no desire for bread or pasta. In fact, I can honestly say I have zero cravings and a big juicy steak with a side of veggies sounds WAY more appetizing than a bowl of pasta. And that's definitely something I couldn't say a year or even 6 months ago. I know for a fact I was a carbaholic based on my old daily plate records. It's amazing how your body starts to crave good stuff when you feed it right.

But let me rewind a bit and tell you all how our journey began. We absolutely did not jump into this way of eating head first. When I was pregnant with Gabriella, I really wanted to give Paleo a try [after months and months of poo-pooing it] so we just started out with Paleo meals. In fact, I don't think I ever did a full day of Paleo eating. We'd do eggs and bacon for breakfast and then have a sandwich for lunch. Or I'd eat fairly well all day but then indulge in a super sugary dessert after dinner. I was totally okay with that though because my whole intention was to slowly dip my toe in the Paleo pool. I knew if I jumped in full force, I'd fall victim to the "all or nothing" mentality, get frustrated with my lack of food options and in the end feel like a failure. The plan was to experiment and hopefully create a huge arsenal of recipes that were sure to equip us once we did Paleo all the way. And you know what? It worked. Jim and I slowly got our bodies off of the no good stuff, we started craving the proper foods and our energy levels just took off. Besides the normal newborn sleep deprivation feeling, I rarely found myself exhausted in the early afternoon....something that used to plague me a ton!

So, what are we eating? That's the question I get often and some of you have even emailed me asking for suggestions, especially for those picky toddlers. The cool thing is since our families know about our new eating habits, we scored some pretty awesome Christmas gifts. My mom and Don bought us 100 pounds of grass fed beef [which is going awfully fast!] and my dad and his wife bought us a care package from a local farm that is delivered to our doorstep every month. We get 4 dozen farm fresh eggs and a variety of other things like pork and chicken. I feel like we're eating like kings! Not to mention the fact that our grocery bill now falls somewhere between $30 and $60 for about 5 or 6 days worth of food. Yes, and yes!

Anyway, breakfast is almost always eggs [sorry all you egg haters out there]. For a while we did fried eggs with a meat but then I got sick of that fast. So I started getting a bit creative and made a concoction of scrambled eggs, ground turkey seasoned with garlic and cumin, tomatoes and avocado. I'd actually wake up in the mornings craving this breakfast. But now that we have those farm fresh eggs, I totally salivate over the typical fried eggs and [uncured] bacon combo. That's what I've been eating this past month and am not sick of it yet. We had an uphill battle with Eli and eggs but now he's totally into them. My suggestion to you parents whose child refuses certain foods is DON'T give up and be creative. Scramble eggs WITH meat, use salsa, sprinkle a little garlic salt...whatever works and keep trying! I thought I'd never see the day Eli would eat what we eat but now he does. I hear a lot of parents have "vegetarian" kids and won't go near meat but Eli most definitely eats a ton of chicken, beef and pork. And I know I sound like a broken record here, but you have to experiment to see what works.

Here are a few of our little secrets:

"Bread" chicken with almond flour and dip in homemade ketchup. Serve with a side of honey glazed carrots.

Make meatballs with diced carrots, celery and spinach and top with yummy [homemade] marinara sauce. Serve with a side of spaghetti squash.

Wrap chicken breasts in bacon and bake with homemade bbq sauce and sliced apples. Eli gobbled this up so fast, I actually ran out!

Mash up some steamed cauliflower, add a dash of whole milk, a tablespoon of butter, some garlic salt and you've got something that totally resembles mashed potatoes. Another Eli favorite.

Dip pork chops in homemade apple sauce.

An awesome dessert? Put a super ripe banana in a food processor with a splash of coconut milk, a half tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, some frozen fruit and possibly a small squeeze of honey for added sweetness. Eli went to town on this and probably would have ate a TON more if I let him.

And one of Eli's absolute favorites - coconut milk smoothies. I stopped making these for myself because I never got the chance to actually finish one with the boy around. Again, it's nothing more than coconut milk, coconut oil, almond butter and some fruit. If I feel like Eli didn't get a good meal or we're on the run, this is the answer.

As for us, Jim and I are enjoying some super yummy meals that are totally taking me back to our pre-Eli, trying-so-desperately-hard-to-get-pregnant days: Steak and asparagus, coconut shrimp, zucchini lasagna, baked cod, chicken wings, etc. Right now I get the majority of our meals from two cookbooks: Everyday Paleo and Make it Paleo. Both awesome books but I prefer the latter. Since I get so many request for food suggestions, I thought I'd throw the idea out there of posting our meal plan every 5 or 6 days. With the whole legality issue, I really can't write out the exact recipes but I figure it can't hurt to give you guys some ideas and a glimpse into our kitchen. Let me know if that's something you are interested it. Might be fun and would totally force me to get a little more creative!

So, the fun part - weight loss. I know that's what a lot of you are curious about, right? ;) As of this morning, I am 6 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. I consider that a HUGE HUGE HUGE accomplishment because 1) I plateaued at 10-15 lbs after Eli and didn't lose it all until he was 9 months - even with the so-called "perfect" diet and exercise, 2) I've actually yet to get on a consistent workout schedule and 3) I managed to lose this weight during the holidays. Pat on my back? Don't mind if I do. After a week or two of falling off the wagon with Christmas and New Years, I'm ready to jump right back in and say adios to these last remaining pounds. We're going to Florida at the end of February and my goal is to feel fabulous by then. Notice I didn't give a specific number...I'm slowly realizing how you look and feel is way better than that stupid number on the scale. I have to say though...yes, I'm still above my pre-pregnancy weight but I feel way less bloaty, floppy, and jiggly. As most women, I've always been on the quest for that perfect "diet" and I think I finally found my answer. I could definitely live and eat this way forever.

I've painted a pretty good picture for you guys, huh? That's my intent because I absolutely feel very strongly about this lifestyle and I've seen how it has affected our bodies and energy level. But I will admit that we're not perfect over here. For one thing, we don't buy organic fruits and veggies. I told Jim that since we're saving so much money by not buying meat now, I think we need to at least buy organic apples. He's on board.

We still feed Eli a lot of dairy and I'm totally okay with that because it's full fat and mostly organic. He gets cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese and of course, milk.

Jim wavers a lot more than me. When we eat outside the home, I still try to steer clear of off limit foods mainly because they don't appeal to me anymore, but Jim goes to town on all things non-Paleo. That boy is a food LOVER and has the appetite of a beast!

Unfortunately, there are some things that don't jive with me taste-wise. For one thing, baking with almond flour is just nasty. The gritty, rough texture is just something I can't get past and so I always gravitate towards recipes that call for coconut flour. Or I just say screw it and eat a cupcake in the way it was intended to be eaten....sugar, flour, the whole yummy nine yards! Another thing - I can't stomach the taste of coconut oil with my veggies, meat or eggs. Believe me, I've tried. A lot of recipes call for this but I can only stomach coconut oil in baked goods like Paleo banana "bread" or in sweet things like smoothies. I adore it though as a face wash and hand lotion.

And lastly, while I couldn't care less if I never see a piece of bread again in my life, I know I could never say good-bye to desserts and wine. Those will always be treats for me and I really don't feel guilty about that. I follow a lot of bloggers who are 100% Paleo but I know we'll always be an 80/20 family.

So that's where we are. Going strong and feeling zero burn out! Hopefully this gives some of you a better idea of the Paleo lifestyle. And if any of you want those meal ideas, let me know!