Here We Are

Well, here we are a little over 2 months into our journey and there is no going back. My husband and I were just saying this morning that we can not imagine a life where we ever let wheat back into our home or bodies. Our children are thriving, they are not missing out on anything and my husband and I both feel like years have come off.  What a wonderful time in our lives. Thank you God! That's all I have to say for now :)

Whole 30

Well, the festivities are over for awhile and it is time for me to embark on the next phase of my journey. When we first began Paleo we cut out a lot of things. We went Whole Paleo. No grains, no refined sugar, no dairy, no legumes, the whole nine yards. But I know myself and I knew that eventually I would need to take it to the next level. I really needed to get my system cleaned out. In short, I needed to do a Whole 30. What is a Whole 30? Well, it's where you take yourself off everything for 30 days. All the things stated above and then some. No sugar or sweetener in any form (well except what is found naturally, like a piece of fruit, but even that is limited), no dairy (which we had added back, in strict parameters), and no alcohol. Now, honestly, I did not feel like this would be very tough for me. In the past I have done more restrictive diets and I had already cut out a lot of the things, so how hard could it be? Yeah, famous last words, I know. First of all, I love coffee with creamer and splenda, I hate black coffee but being one of those caffeine addicted people I knew I couldn't go without. So, choice one; "cheat", go without, or drink it black. And the winner, black coffee (although only half of what I usually drink), I didn't die but it was a close call. Here's another thing, and those of you with children will be able to relate, I was shocked by how much I "nibble" off my children's plates! No wonder I was having trouble loosing weight. Oh, and another thing, I have come to rely on my dark chocolate and glass of red wine! I hadn't realized how much a part of my routine they had become until they were no longer a part of that routine. One of the unforeseen benefits, I have seen how much I rely on food for comfort, even good healthy food. In stead of looking to God for peace I had begun to rely on that glass of wine and that piece of chocolate to help me "unwind" from the day. Without that crutch I am once again being turned to the Lord, from whom comes all my help.  So, although I'm only 3 days in I am already seeing the benefits, both physically and spiritually.

Falling Down

Falling down is not a big deal, as long as you get back up. In fact sometimes falling down is a good thing because it reminds you to watch where you are going. This weekend, at my mother-in-law's wedding, I fell flat on my face.  I did great all weekend, until they broke out the carrot cake. To say that I love carrot cake would be an understatement. I have never been able to say no to carrot cake. So, I figure what the heck go for it, how many times does your mother-in-law get married? (For the record my beautiful mother-in-law was married for 40 odd years to her first husband. He died in a plane crash 4 years ago and the man she is now married to is wonderful. So for this daughter-in-law it's only happening once.) Besides I'm not really allergic to wheat, I'm "carb sensitive". Yeah right!!! I ate that piece of cake (it was GOOD) and not an hour later my stomach was doing things it had never done. I will spare you the ugly (and they are ugly) details but let's just say I spent awhile "indisposed". I know, it could have been the sugar in the icing or the combo of sugar and wheat but whatever it was, it was not pretty. Now, I don't even want to mention my children. They didn't just fall off the Paleo wagon, they dove off, head first. Even the baby, although technically she was pushed. (One of our good friends "shared" a cupcake with her. Yeah, I'm still dealing with the consequences of that, know what I mean?) Anyway, here's my point. We all fell this weekend and we all dealt with the consequence, individually and collectively. But, and this is important, we all got back up, brushed off our pants and got back on the wagon. Willingly.  The kids were so happy to get home and back on track. We all felt so horrible and remembered how good we had felt that we couldn't wait to return to "normal". That's right, for us this is the new normal. So, what's the lesson? We all fall down but maybe it's not such a bad thing if it helps you to remember why you're doing what you're doing.

New Traditions

Here's to new traditions! We just got back from our first camping trip since going Paleo and none of my fears were realized. It was also the first time we had seen my husbands family since going Paleo and I was a little apprehensive about the response we would get from them.  Of course, they took one look at us and were amazed at the physical transformation. Not just the weight that my husband and I had lost but our children's countenance was so different.  Gone where the puffy faces and tired eyes.  Rebekah, our 11 year old who has  severe allergies, looked and acted so differently that they were intrigued.  Of course, they were also intrigued by the fact that my husband, the well know beer connoisseur, was no longer drinking beer. (Really, you have to know him to know what a big deal this is.) Anyway, there was the normal ribbing about having bun less hot dogs (nitrate/nitrite free) and hamburgers, and not eating potato chips or having smores (how can you deprive your children!) but overall they were very respectful and towards the end of the week I think they were a little curious about this whole "Paleo thing". Now, I'm not saying we didn't make concessions. We did. I bought a fruit/nut mix with greek yogurt chips in it. I also bought some sweet potato chips that were cooked in sunflower oil and we had corn chips with salsa. The children also got to have hot chocolate. Most of the concessions I made were "legal" but I must say there is a fine line here. Just because something is "legal" does not mean it's profitable or "healthy". When we are home we do not eat chips, I just don't think they are the best choice and given the choice between sweet potato or corn chips and carrots my children will always choose chips,so I don't give them the choice.  Hot chocolate is a treat and one we only enjoy in the cold morning air around a campfire. Some concessions I was not willing to make. I don't care if someone comes up with a "Paleo" marshmallow, we will not eat it, even as a treat. So smores are out. But you know what, my kids didn't miss them. They didn't even ask for them. I made some gf cookies and brownies before we left and we were allowed to have one every night.  Even then we forgot most nights and we came home with most of the brownies (we broke out the cookies one night when friends were visiting so those went fast). My point is this, we are the ones who create our traditions. I noticed that for my kids it was more about the bonding around the campfire; the time spent playing games, telling stories, and singing songs, than it was about the food. I was the one who put so much emphasis on the food. The kids didn't care about the food, they cared about being with us, creating memories that would last a lifetime.
I would love to hear about some of the traditions that you are creating with your family, whether or not they are "food centered". How do you celebrate important milestones? What do you do different than you did before?

The Reluctant Convert

So, I am the only girl in a family with five children.  I have one older brother and three younger. This, of course, makes me "Princess". Growing up I had a fiery relationship with my mother but in my eyes my Daddy could do no wrong.  We have a very special relationship and although it has changed over time he is still one of the most important men in my life (of course my husband is first :). My dad is one of those people who has never, ever, ever had to watch what he puts in his mouth.  He has never met a pastry he doesn't like and he is super fun to bake for because he enjoys every bite.  He has 4 or 5 girls in our church who will bake him treats and bring them to his work or our home. My mom, who like me gains 10 lbs just looking at a cookie, has often remarked that he wears the same waist size as he did when they got married, nearly 40 years ago.  Anyway, can you see where the problem is? When we announced that we were going Paleo my dad gulped.  I admit I tricked him into doing the 30 day challenge and bless his heart he gave it his best shot.  I have heard tales of him "cheating" at work so he wouldn't hurt his "baking girls" feelings but he did cut way down and at home he gave it his all. Well, he went kicking and screaming and he knew exactly where we were in the 30 day count down, but at least he was doing it. About three weeks in he went for his yearly physical and our whole world turned upside down.  He has crazy high blood pressure. The kind where they send you to the hospital for observation and put you on a lot of drugs.  Now, if you don't know my dad let me explain something.  In my almost 38 years I have seen him angry exactly two times.  He is one of the most calm and collected people you will ever meet.  No way would you look at him and think, "That guy's gonna keel over from a heart attack". So, this came as a shock to us. I've mentioned the litany of health problems my mom has had but dad has always been "healthy". Of course, the discovery of his high blood pressure led to a battery of other test. He met with a nutritionist who told him to add whole grains back into his diet (we expected that) and told him that depending on his cholesterol levels he may have to re-think other aspects of his diet. So, we waited. In our fifth week of Paleo he went in for more blood tests and the next evening his doctor called him at home after 5:30, this could not be good.  We were all hanging out in our "bar" in the garage and he comes in, phone in his hand, perplexed look on his face and I swear I felt the earth shift.  He looked up at me and said, "That was the doctor. My bad cholesterol levels have gone down 30 points." WHAT?! Had I heard him right? In the 30 days we had done Paleo his cholesterol levels had gone down 30 points! Now, I have to admit when he first came home with his high blood pressure diagnosis my first thought was, "Oh, God, don't take my Daddy." but my second thought was, "Now I'm never gonna get him to stick with Paleo." Now, he was standing there with this incredulous look on his face and I knew I had him. 

Traditions

Traditions, every family has them.  We have a lot.  We have traditions for the "big" things like holidays and ones for "little" things like camping or movie night.  I would say that the hardest part of going Paleo is letting go of these traditions.  It's not just about the food but it's about the memories linked with those foods. For instance we have movie night every weekend with our kids. This started many moons ago and although the movies have changed one thing has remained constant, kettle corn. No, not the kind you buy at the store but home made, like my mom used to make. A little canola oil, some kernels, sugar and salt, yumm!! Or camping (we are getting ready to take the first trip of the year), this was always a time when we "cast off restraint".  Eat all the junk food we stay away from normally and just "have fun". And then there are the holidays (I'll skip over them this time). Anyway, you get my point. Well, here's my real point, I can't do that anymore. Not just because we're Paleo and most of those foods are on the "not" list. I can't do that because now I know. I know what those foods do to my family. I have been educated and can not turn a blind eye. So, what's a mom (and dad) to do? Create new traditions. So far we have made "treats" on movie night; chocolate chip cookies, brownies, ice cream (all Paleo and not all on the same night). Do we still miss kettle corn? YES! but I love my children and my husband more than I miss kettle corn. That one was easy, camping won't be. We have always had a "healthy" SAD diet so camping was about eating all those foods we didn't get normally. I'm pretty sure my kids are expecting that we will cast Paleo aside while camping. We won't but what consessions are we willing to make? Where do we draw the line? What new traditions will we create around the campfire?  I don't know yet but I'm thinking about these things as we are gearing up for our first trip. I do know this, having a plan before we go is key. My husband and I agreeing on what we are willing to "cheat" on is essential. The first time is always hard but go ahead create new traditions you won't regret it. I promise :)

Unfounded Fears

Okay, so I think we are on week 5 (or maybe 6) but I'm not even keeping track anymore.  I have been on so many "diets" in my life that I've lost track but I know one thing that they all had in common........I couldn't wait for them to end! I usually felt deprived, hungry and grumpy (which was really fun for my family). I was so obsessed with my children not having a "fat" mom and instead they got a grumpy mom. Great trade off, huh? Anyway, we cruised right by the 30 days and nobody even noticed. Yippee!!! My husband, the beer snob, didn't even go back to drinking beer! Now, if you don't know him you won't understand what the big deal is, but if you do know him.........He found a "hard" cider that he really enjoys and he's stuck to that.  He also created his own version of the NorCal margarita. Our children, all 7, never even blinked when day 31 came around. We just kept going as usual with the addition of our favorite Dubliner aged cheddar. One thing my husband has noticed is that he is highly sensitive to wheat. He took one sip of a dark beer my dad had and had such a bad reaction. We've also noticed that he and our daughter Rebekah (who also has a wheat allergy) have had a bad reaction to the cheese.  So, they both limit their intake. Last night, which was Friday, we had our first "pizza" night (used to be a weekly, Friday tradition).  I made the awesome crust from Everyday Paleo and we did all our favorite toppings.  I made a pesto and bbq sauce from Comfort Foods and we put our shredded chicken, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, pine nuts, canadian bacon, salami, and olives on our pizza. Just like before. The other thing we did was grill them.  If you've never had grilled pizza you don't know what your missing! Everyone loved it. We were having pizza and homemade ice cream and life was great.  Tonight we are going to have a "weenie" roast at the beach.  I found some really great nitrate free hot dogs and although they are not a part of our everyday life it's great to still be able to create these memories as a family. So, all this to say that although when I began this journey a month and a half ago I was apprehensive about all the changes we were making I am so gratified to see that all my fears were unfounded.  My husband and I are so pleased with the results we see in our children and ourselves that I can honestly say, "What took us so long?"

Mirror Image?

If things are not put in their proper place they become a weight around your neck, weighing you down.  One of the big reasons we chose to eat Paleo was not for our outward appearance but because of our health.  When I was 32, my mother, who had been overweight her entire life but had remained relatively "healthy" in spite of it, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although this diagnosis was devastating enough in itself it was just the tip of the iceberg. This diagnosis was the catalyst for what I view as her "health avalanche".  Within a year-and-half she was diagnosed as pre-diabetic,with non alcohol cirrhosis of the liver and a myriad of other things (did I mention that she was and had been overweight her entire life?).  This lead to some very drastic decisions for her health but it also woke me up.  I had spent the last 10 yrs steadily gaining weight until I reached my highest weight of 230 lbs (I had also had 5 children in that time span). I was so out of shape and unhealthy and unhappy but I could never motivate myself to "stick to it". Every diet I tried, I failed. I had begun to workout but it was half-hearted and when I didn't see the results I wanted immediately I would become frustrated and give up.  It was at the moment of my mom's diagnosis that I clearly saw I had it all wrong.  I was worried about how I looked, not about my health.  I was putting my body through the roller coaster of strict dieting and over training and I was killing myself.  My husband, God bless him, had been trying to tell me this for years.  He is a very no-nonsense, tell it like it is guy. I love and hate that about him. So, when I would complain about my appearance he would say something like, "Who cares what you look like? How do you feel?" or my personal favorite, "Obviously you don't feel bad enough because you're still doing the same thing that got you here." Don't get me wrong he loves me has never cared about my weight. Heck when we got married I was overweight (200 lbs). He was right. I had it all backwards.  I was trying to fix my outside but was not concerned one iota about my inside.  Now, I'm not saying this was an overnight transformation. I still struggle with body image. I still look in the mirror and think, "Ugh, if only_________." The difference is I now know those thoughts will not get me what I really want which is health, energy and strength. A wise man whom I have recently had the opportunity to meet says, "Healthy body's look good accidentally" (Jason Seib). In other words as I work toward health my body changes on the outside as well as the inside. Now, my light bulb moment came 5 yrs ago and ever since then I have slowly been working toward being healthier. In that time I had two more babies and my weight has gone up and down but I know that as I strive for a healthier lifestyle my weight and my body will fall in line. I don't sweat the small stuff and since we have switched to the Paleo lifestyle I not only feel better but darn it, I look better!!
Oh, and p.s. my mom is doing great. She is 5 yrs cancer free, is no longer pre-diabetic and her liver function is great. She had to take some drastic steps to get there but she is now determined to stay healthy, the right way. She is part of this Paleo journey and I thank God that He kept her here with us so we could do this together.

No Turning Back

Three and a half weeks ago we cleaned out our refrigerator  and our cabinets and embarked on a journey that we had never taken as a family.  We were about to change everything about how we ate. From the ground up. With 7 children I can honestly tell you that I was ready for battle that first week. I was sure that my older children (14, 13, and 11) would fight me every step of the way and that my younger ones (9, 6, and 3) would whine and cry for their favorite foods. So I woke up that first morning and had a little talk with myself, "You are the Mom. You are in charge and you can handle whatever they throw at yourself."  Breakfast went very well. Who doesn't like eggs, bacon and fresh fruit? I made the kids Lara bar knock offs, hamburger patties, and gave them fruit and baby carrots for their lunches and sent them off.  About 9:00 my 3 yr old, Stephanie, opened her snack cupboard and looked at me with horror in her baby blues, "Who took my snacks?!" she screamed. So, I calmly handed her some carrots and went about my chores.  When the kids got home from school I could see them wandering around the kitchen like lost puppies. Now my oldest has never met a carb she didn't like but she has met plenty of fruits and veggies that she detests so I knew she would have a hard time.  But here's what I hadn't counted on.  All of my older kids (they're all girls) knew how important this was to me.  My second (Abigail) and third (Rebekah) children are two of the ones with health problems.  Abigail has type 1 diabetes and Rebekah has severe allergies accompanied by asthma. My oldest (Esther) is like a "mini me". She loves to help me out and she is very sensitive to my feelings and moods. So, even though I know it was hard for them, they didn't let on.  They looked in the cupboards and fridge and threw together snacks for themselves and their younger brother and sisters. And that is how it has gone for the past 31/2 weeks.  Oddly enough it is my 3 yr old who had the most difficulty. At about day three she threw herself against my legs and wailed, "I just need a piece of bread!" I walked over to the fridge and grabbed her a Paleo Pumpkin muffin. I also discovered that she loves almond butter on a spoon with honey drizzled over it. This is where my compulsive disorder comes in handy. I'm a planner. I have notes on my notes. I do the same thing at the same time almost everyday. If my schedule gets messed up I go catatonic.  My adherence to the schedule is what allows me to function. I even schedule time for "unplanned events". Yup, I schedule spontaneity. My husband, who is the definition of spontaneous, makes fun of this but, hey, it works for me. Anyway, I knew the way to win the battle in the early days of Paleo was to be prepared, so the weekend before the "big Monday" I baked all kinds of goodies for the kids. I made muffins and pancakes and Lara bars (my good friend Sheilla figured out how to make them and it has saved me lots of money), I made the chocolate chocolate chip ones and didn't tell the kids what was in them. They love them! I had fruits of every shape and size and lots of turkey and ham cut up. I made trail mixes. I was prepared and you know what it helped, a lot. The other thing that helped was some advice I got from Sarah Fragoso. If you don't have it, they can't eat it.  Basically, children are resilient and they won't starve. If they get hungry they will eat. So for the first 2 weeks I had this conversation with Stephanie (my three yr old) everyday. "I'm hungry!", "Have some baby carrots.", "I don't want baby carrots, I want goldfish.", "Well, then you're not hungry.", "But I am!", "Then have some carrots." Now, sometimes she would walk away pouting, but, oh, well no skin off my back. I can handle pouting. But amazingly some days she would go get  the carrots. And now, she doesn't even ask for goldfish, she asks for carrots.

Why Paleo? This is why

I have been married to the most wonderful man for almost 16 yrs. I'm not saying marriage isn't a lot of work but let's just say I would rather work hard at being married to him than have an easy life with anyone else. That being said, for the last 16 yrs I have been woken up with the most horrible hacking, nose blowing, phlegm-clearing cacophony. EVERY morning! And everyday he would struggle with headaches and body aches and fatigue.  He rarely complained and if he did complain I knew the pain was beyond baring. But every morning he went off to work to provide for us (I am one of the lucky ones who gets to stay home with her children) and every evening he would come home exhausted. We have seven beautiful children and he loves them, a lot. He would try to hide his exhaustion and give them the attention they craved but some days it was all he could do to stay awake. Now we knew that he had severe allergies. Mostly environmental but some to food (garlic anyone) so I would make sure and keep the house dusted and we got commercial carpet that was low "pile" so dust wouldn't collect in it. As we became more familiar with food allergies (we have two daughters w/allergies to wheat and dairy) we wondered if it could be something along those lines. But we never wondered for to long because, well, my husband loves beer and not Budweiser but micro brew. We call him a "beer snob". So, knowing his love for the beverage I never imagined he would give it up for even a day let alone long enough to see if he felt better without wheat. But as I'm always forgetting there is a God and He still does miracles.  As I began looking into Paleo and talking to him about the benefits I could see for our children he began to wonder if it might not help him. And so he made the commitment to try it for 30 days. Thirty days with no wheat, in any form. No beer! I thought for sure it would never last but 3 weeks in he's talking crazy talk. Maybe he won't go back to beer. What would cause a man who loves beer to say he may not drink it again? His health. For the first time in as long as either of us can remember he feels GOOD. Not okay, not just alright but GOOD. He comes home from a long day at work and is ready to go. He's been in his garden with the kids, he's been walking to the park with them. I could go on and on but it is really good to see the man I love feeling good, having energy and I won't lie......it's really nice to not be woken up by a  hacking, nose blowing and phlegm-clearing cacophony.

Why Paleo?

Why Paleo? Believe me I have asked that question at least a hundred times in the last year or so.  The first time I heard about Paleo I laughed. Having been overweight my entire life I am always on the cutting edge of the newest diet craze so I had heard of the Paleo diet. But, I am a Christian and therefore do not believe in evolution and so I found it hard to buy into the premiss of the Paleo diet (caveman diet). That being said, to understand why we went Paleo you might need some background. When I was around 28 I hit my heaviest weight (230 lbs) and stayed there for about 4 years. Well, off and on, but I was never under 200 lbs. I would try whatever the latest greatest plan was (think Atkins) but could never stick to anything.  Finally, after the birth of my 6 child I had had enough. I asked my husband to help me and he did. I wrote down everything I ate, showed it to him, worked out everyday and slowly but surely the weight came off.  One thing became quite clear, I had an intolerance to processed carbs; breads, pasta, all the good stuff.  So, after two years I had lost 60 lbs. and gotten into pretty decent shape. Things would have probably gone on how they were but for a few twists and turns. Twist #1: in October of 2010 our second oldest daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  It's a long story best saved for another time but she was near death when she was diagnosed and it was an eye opener. At first she did really well, ate a balanced diet, stayed away from carbs as much as possible but lets face it she's a teenager and she started to slip into bad habits which resulted in more insulin in take. Twist #2: our third oldest daughter has always had severe allergies and asthma but we just assumed that she inherited it from my husband who also has severe allergies. He has always told me that he has had headaches for as long as he can remember and I can not recall a single morning in our 15 years of marriage that he has not woken up with severe congestion.  Well when my Mom began to do Paleo she told us she thought our daughter had wheat allergies. I, of course, did not want to believe this because I knew it would make life hard for her and us and we were already dealing with two children with dietary restrictions. Which brings me to Twist #3: daughter #5 was born with a severe milk allergy. (Just a side note. I know that I have repeatedly used the word "severe" and it is not an accident.) So she has been on a soy milk regiment her entire life.
Now back to the first question; Why Paleo? To be honest I had big reservations. Fortunately, we have some really close friends who went before us. They have been doing Paleo for almost two years and although they never pushed it I did notice a difference in them and their children (like us they have 7). So, although I was not sold I couldn't just dismiss it either. First, how do you take a family of 11 and completely change their lifestyle? (oh by the way my parents also live with us and my mom had already tried to introduced me to Paleo) In this economy how can you afford to? Isn't Paleo expensive? All these questions and more ran through my mind but honestly when I looked at my husband, my daughters, and my other children I thought to myself, "Isn't their quality of life worth some sacrifice? And it could only do good things for the other children." So I picked up Sarah Fragasos cookbook and read her bio.  I have to admit it was her before and after pics that caught my attention.  She looked amazing and when she talked about how she felt so much better I was sold. And so the journey began. I cleaned out the cupboards and the fridge and we started our new life. We Went Paleo.