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?