Today is officially day 2 of the The Paleo Diet that my brother finally talked me into giving a whirl. He's been thriving off of this diet for the past few months and swears by it now. He's a great coach and motivator. Looking at him you can't help but wonder what he does to look so lean and healthy. Granted, he's also a freak of nature- a 30 year-old man with the metabolism of my toddler's and a discipline for diet and exercise that comes so naturally that it's a fun and exciting lifestyle for him instead of obligation (Yeah. NOT FAIR)- but still. He's pretty much my hero for his healthy physique.
Although I've been relatively committed to exercise over the years- kickboxing, running and yoga (on and off enough to keep me in my jeans, but never a hard core active person- don't get the wrong idea!)- I've never been a "diet" person. My diet has always consisted of eating within moderately healthy means, but pretty much whatever goes, in whatever portion sizes, if the desire is there. I'm not opposed to junk food, although I prefer not to eat it very often (I don't buy it or keep it in my house, not because I don't enjoy it, but because I have no self control if it's within arm's reach). I try to avoid sweets, but I will not pass them up if they are offered to me. I don't go to buffets, but if I do go, it's all or nothing. The all or nothing thing also goes for parties, out at the bar, and feasts at family gatherings and on holidays. Basically, I struggle with self-indulgence and self-control.
With this Paleo diet, I'm hoping to get a handle on some of those control issues I have with food, thus ultimately providing better nutrition for the baby I'm nursing and ridding my body of the processed food toxins that I believe play a role in making me feel drag ass during the day. Without getting too much into it, The Paleo Diet makes sense to me, where most other diets don't. I've no desire to be a vegetarian or a vegan- I like meat. I don't believe that cows and chickens were put on this planet to be pets. They taste too good. HOWEVER, I do believe in eating more sustainable meat- from happy animals- so I get my meat from the Oklahoma Food Cooperative. I wouldn't go on a diet that had me eating a lot of mystery meat from Wal-Mart or Sam's.
I got this cookbook and am excited to start experimenting with it. One of the hardest things for me with food is the fact that I really enjoy cooking- and most of the things that I cook are anything goes. TASTY, but anything goes. With this cookbook, my goal is to get my husband and I on track, since I have recently come to the realization that I have the power to control whatever he eats too. He will eat anything I put in front of him, so why not make him do this diet with me and see what happens?
He says he's up for it, so here we go!
For anyone that has a German Shepard, you know that they are basically attached to your leg, everywhere you go, at all times. I know all dogs do this, but the loyal and protective German Shepard is particularly prone to it. They're bred to shadow their masters. I've always been a cat person- and this is maybe because cats give you plenty of space. My dog Gretchen is the first dog I've ever owned, and this whole co-dependent thing GSs do is not something I was used to. It took a long time for me to get used to having her follow me around everywhere all the time- and even though I'm used to it now, it still drives me nuts sometimes.
Now that I have kids, I not only carry around a newborn all day, but my toddler is attached to the other leg that my dog is not glued to. So the four of us are practically one singular force, mobbing around the house and up and down the stairs all day.
Anyways, Gretchen is no longer allowed in the kitchen. My boss at my previous job used to tell tales of his dog not being allowed in his kitchen, but I never believed it possible. I always pretty much let my pets go wherever they wanted go and do whatever they wanted to do- up until when the babies came around.
This became a problem with my dog during my first pregnancy, when I grew fat and clumsy. Gretchen used to loom around my feet while I was cooking, and I almost tripped and fell over her so many times that I finally kicked her out completely. It took some training, but it has worked.
Here is a picture of my pretty girl, lingering around her kitchen boundary. This is her spot. Close enough to the stove to stalk me with her big sad "I'm so neglected" puppy dog eyes. She lays around here and waits hopefully for a treat of human food, which she gets more often than I like to admit. She is only allowed in the kitchen when I drop food on the floor accidentally and am feeling too lazy to mess with it. Then I call her in to come take care of it, which she does swiftly and effectively before running back out to man her spot incase her services are needed again.
Today has been one of those days where an ongoing mess has been following me around the house since I woke up. Massive baby spit up explosion all over me (and the baby). Check. Spilt orange juice, little sticky Agave nectar hand prints all over the kitchen appliances, laundry baskets tossed over on their sides with clean little clothes and cloth diapers in rainbow colors strewn about the room. Check. Cat vomit surprise in the upstairs hallway and under my desk. Check. Toddler pee pee accident on the couch. CHECK. It's difficult not to laugh like a person gone a little mad while cleaning these messes, one after the other. But what else can you do?
Below during art time, Jude painted a masterpiece that perfectly sums up the first part of the day in our house: a big hot, colorful, beautiful mess.
Here is a picture of Baby Sumo in the bath. I post this randomly because the rolls on her arms make me happy.
