For Lent this year I decided to give up creamer and sweetener in my coffee. I thought about giving up coffee, but then everyone around me would suffer as well, and it turns out that drinking black coffee for 40 days was definitely a sacrifice. I had also been reading about the Paleo diet everywhere I turned. It wasn't something I thought was for me, but it kept calling my name, so I figured that maybe I should bite the bullet and try it during Lent.
The Paleo diet, also known as the Caveman or Hunter/Gatherer diet, consists of meat and vegetables, eggs, healthy fats, nuts, and some fruit. There are some different versions you can find online, but basically if you can hunt it, catch it, or gather it, you can eat it. There are no processed foods or grains or dairy on this eating program.
I really didn't think I would be able to give up pasta and bread and potatoes. Not to mention my favorite food group - ice cream. That's why I figured if I was going to do it Lent would be a good time. It took a couple of weeks to get used to it, but I was surprised to find that I no longer craved those things. I did still miss my coffee mate and cheese once in a while. I was hardly ever hungry, and I was able to lose those last few stubborn pounds of baby weight plus some with less exercise. And it is pretty easy to adjust to family meals. For the most part I just leave out the starch and eat everything else that the family eats.
Now that Easter has come, I have gone back to my beloved creamer in my coffee, but I have decided to stick with a mostly Paleo diet. I mean this is a world in which I can have avacado every day, I don't get grouchy from hunger, and I can fit into a lot of clothes I haven't been able to wear since I was pregnant with Luke. There is no calorie counting and no portion control. I have read that even eating Paleo 80% of the time is great. So I figure that if I can do this 80% then I will have the health benefits and still get to splurge once in a while. I have given up Fiber 1 bars and yogurt but I've found that I love cashews and dates, beef jerky and roasted sweet potatoes. I don't know if I will follow this eating plan forever, but I will definitely be doing this for a while. I am amazed at the results!
