Friday, April 27, 2012

Keep on keepin' on! (goal and wine trail!)

Well, even though I was ruminating about my self-esteem issues yesterday and maybe a little down.... I woke up this morning to a great number on the scale. Sometimes that shows how hard I have been working in the gym and how diligent I have been with my calories:

129.6

Goal! First time I have ever been in the 120s as an adult. I am.... kind of overwhelmed. I know the hard part is not over, I need to maintain this now, maintain a weight lower than I've ever been.

But I am not going to get all serious about it at this very moment. Right now, I might bask a little!

I do love Paleo: I feel it has reduced pounds of bloat in my system and helped me to lose at least 2 or 3 pounds of fat. I eat slightly more calories than I did before Paleo and am losing weight on it. I feel that I have more nutrients in my body than ever before (due to replacing pitas, breads and rices with vegetables and nuts!). I kind of love this "diet"... and this whole time I have been on it, I have been thinking of ways to live a mostly Paleo lifestyle forever.

I think it is clear that for me, giving up the rice/potato/bread part of dinner is a must. Also: toast every day for breakfast? Not necessary. I don't think I will be AS strict on the no-grain rule, but overall, a huge reduction in grains will stay. And the grains that do come back will be whole (as they were before anyway).

Also, the no processed food at all rule: absolutely staying. I have found it exceedingly easy to turn down store bought candy and cake and things of that nature. M&Ms? Nope! Girl Scout Cookies? Sorry. I don't need or want them. It is helping me stay within my calories to not have these little indulgences at friends' houses, school or work. I very seriously want the only things to go into my body to be real food.

Paleo limits added sugars, which I want to stick to. However, I think I will relax a little when the added sugar is honey or maple syrup. I still won't consume them every day or in large quantities, but I want them back in my life.

Alcohol? It won't be a NEVER for me. But still very limited and just a glass or two when I do. I had already decided on this well before I went Paleo.

As far as dairy and legumes go: I think it will work out very well for me to continue to limit these groups. I was eating both groups every day as some of my main source of calories. That wasn't working for me. But an occasional yogurt? Sure! (Chris and I are interested in making our own to make sure it doesn't have added sugar or preservatives) Some black beans for dinner once a week? Why not.

Also: I want to test all these ideas by adding them back into my diet slowly when our 30 days of Paleo is up. I want to see if my body reacts strongly to any of these foods. If it does, I am okay with eliminating that food. If not, back it comes!

I so, so, so, so badly want to weight loss to be maintainable and sustainable and for life.

If I don't want to fall prey to the fad-diet-syndrome where you gain back all the weight you lost when you resume normal eating, maybe I just won't resume normal eating. I will alter it so that I can stay this weight!

I have so much drive and energy and desire to stay on track!

Now, briefly, I will let you know what I am doing this weekend. I am going on a wine trail with friends.

How's that for staying Paleo?

We scheduled this wine trail tour long before we decided to go Paleo. I didn't want to WAIT to go Paleo because of this trip, so we didn't. However, I am going to break the Paleo rules on Saturday and enjoy tastes of wine. We are going to 8 wineries. I am thinking at least 3 tastes. So 24 tastes? Hahaha. Kind of crazy. But it is a trip with 10 friends, we are going to be in a stretch biodiesel hummer limo and having a ball! I am not missing this weekend, I am not going to abstain from alcohol.

However! I am also not giving myself permission to go completely crazy. No excessive wine drinking outside of the wineries. No non-Paleo food (we have a fridge and stove in our cabin we are staying in) and I am bringing things like Larabars and nuts and jerky on the trail with us so we can eat during the day. One of the wineries has a lunch place we are going to, where we can get a salad and grilled meat.

This weekend will not derail me.

I will also have tons of fun this weekend!!

Both are promises to myself :)

Peace and love, everyone!

4 comments:

  1. Congrats! Not only have you achieved a beautiful weight on the scale, you also have managed to find balance in your life & diet!! Seriously, what you wrote is exactly what I want! I think what you have planned out is realistic and sustainable for sure! It allows room to enjoy events and life, which is just as important as anything else!! The occassional glass of celebratory wine or treat will just be a blip on the radar. Good for you! Your paleo posts totally pump me up!!! SOOOOOOO thankful for your blog!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on reaching goal!

    I think the plan you laid out of being Paleo but adding back a few things is very sustainable. Have fun this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Jeanette - you are an inspiration! And I am so grateful that you commented on my blog because you opened my eyes to the fact that maybe when I say "I can't" I'm not being honest with myself. Googling paleo... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind comment :) I like reading your blog, and I commented because I definitely think you *can*!

      Delete