Day 40 - Fighting Illness in my Cave World

Hello Paleo friends.  Well, it has happened.  Despite my best efforts, my body has succumbed to the wonderful yellow film of pollen covering our vehicles and porch and ground in central Texas...ah, lovely allergies.  I awoke yesterday morning with horrible ear pain.  I fought it with Advil all day long to no avail.

Now, here is the wierd part.  I normally have HORRIBLE seasonal allergies this time of year.  I walk around in a continual state of sniffles, coughing, and clutching a handful of tissues all day long.  However this year I really haven't felt bad.  There has been a noticeable lack of sniffles and coughing and all of those related things that come along with seasonal allergies.  I have attributed this to my new found paleo lifestyle.  Inflammation all over my body has been so dramatically reduced...from the disappearance of my plantar fasciitis to the absence of neck aches and pains after a long day of teaching.  This year...not much of anything...until this ear thing left me feeling like I had a butcher knife stuck in my head all night last night.

So, lucky thing is I had already planned on taking a day off today (long story, I had to help close on a house that my parents have purchased and I am the power of attorney...unfortunately we don't live in caves anymore!) and so I was able to call my physician and schedule an appointment.  The pain was so bad this morning, I took 4 Advil to cut it.

When my doctor came in (note, this is my primary care physician...NOT my diabetes doctor who recommended the Paleo diet to me in the first place), he asked me what was wrong and went through the routine...you know what I'm talking about.  Temperature check, blood pressure, felt my glands, looked in my ears, throat, etc, etc, etc....(and I closed my eyes when they weighed me...keeping my vow to not look at a scale except once a month!)

Now, here comes the strange part...I do NOT have an ear infection.  My ear looks perfectly normal.  Seriously, at this point I am beginning to think brain tumor.  What else would cause this pain?  But really...do brain tumors just appear overnight?  Not a doctor...but I am guessing the answer to that is a big "NO".

Doctor then tells me that he thinks I have a sinus infection and that the pressure from my sinuses is pushing from the inside and causing my pain.  But, here is the part he cannot figure out...I seem to have an absence of nasal congestion and drainage.  Everything looks swollen and red like it normally would with an infection...but he cannot figure out why I have no...well, let's just say it....mucus.  All I can think of is the lack of dairy and grains in my diet has greatly reduced this ummmmm.....aspect of my body chemistry.

So, I have my prescription for antibiotics and I am still doubling up the Advil and I hope to feel better soon.  I know our Paleo ancestors got sick...so, it's not like I was expecting perfect health from here on out...but I can't help but think...I wonder if they ever had to blow their noses?

Ha!

Day 35 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Ok, don't know why I remember this movie...but it is an oldie, probably from the 50's.  The general plot is that people are being replaced by their identical doubles who are grown from pods by space aliens (at least that's what I remember about it!).  At first, no one believes this guy that thinks people truly aren't themselves, but then of course, as all horror movies go, everyone finds out that it is indeed true...people have been replaced by identical duplicates who are trying to get everyone to be replaced by these pod people.

I swear, I'm beginning to think that I've been replaced by another cave mom grown from a pod!  LOL!  Why?  Because the way I am thinking and acting lately has nothing to do with how I have always thought and acted in the past.  I literally am not sure who I am anymore!

I have always had certain habits and thoughts that I have just assumed were a part of who I was and how the good Lord made me to be.  Things like, "I will always want the chips and salsa!", "I hate to exercise.", "One of the best things in the world to eat is anything with drippy, gooey, cheese melted on top.", "I would never actually prefer a salad to something deep fried.", and "Fruit is NOT a sweet...chocolate is a sweet!"

But lately, this space alien pod version of me is finding that those statements about myself just simply are not true anymore.  It is mind boggling to me what this paleo lifestyle is doing to me and my attitude about food.  I am a lifelong "fat girl".  I am the one who is supposed to think those thoughts.  I am supposed to have low self-esteem and feel inferior...that's just who I am.  I feel like that by definition...who I am and who I am supposed to be is...the fat girl.  But, all of the sudden, I am not thinking like a fat girl anymore and to be honest, it is sort of freaking me out.  I am not sure if I can even put my arms around the thought of thinking about myself as anything but the "fat girl".  It's like I am almost scared that I am going to lose a part of my identity and now I have to go on this soul-searching journey to figure out who I really am.

If I am not the fat girl anymore...then who the heck am I?

I realized the total difference in my thoughts at lunch today.  6 y/o daughter and I were out grocery shopping in between a thousand other things on our "to do" list and stopped for a quick bite for lunch.  There was a salad bar and I made a delicious looking (and tasting) salad with fresh greens, carrots, celery, onions, some olives, artichoke hearts, sunflower seeds, grilled chicken, and a dash of oil and vinegar on top.  Sweet darling daughter had a huge, ooey-gooey, slice of pepperoni pizza.  As we were eating together, I thought of how many times in the past I have finished my children's meals for them when they said they were full.  I thought of how many times I have wanted to "skim the top" of pizza and eat the melted cheese and pepperonis off the top.  I thought of how much I loved pizza.  Then...and here dear readers is the CRAZY part, I glanced down at my daughter's plate and looked at her slice of pizza and it actually repulsed me.  It was all greasy and the cheese was melted over the edges...and it just looked actually disgusting to me.  My salad was so fresh and crisp and crunched in my mouth...and my daughter's pizza just looked downright nasty to me.  WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?   I am supposed to love pizza.   As Velma would say...Jinkies!  (And if you don't get that reference...you are either way too young or I am way too old!)

All I can do is keep going on as I am going on.  I know I am eating healthier and feeling better...it's just downright crazy that I am actually enjoying it and actually preferring it to my old lifestyle.  Dieting and healthy eating are supposed to be miserable...right?

Well, here in paleo world...I guess not.

It's a journey for sure...who knows where I am going to end up when I get to the destination.  Only time shall tell.

Day 34 - Confession Time

As you may remember, our school had our Spring Break vacation about a week ago and I was traveling and "on the road" much of that time.  Up to that point, I had completely given up Diet Coke.  For some reason...don't know if it was for comfort, for stress relief, for ease of availability (we were at my parents' house where Diet Coke cans are constantly chilling in the fridge), or just moments of weakness...or perhaps a combination of them all...I started drinking Diet Coke again.

At first, it was only a can one afternoon...then, the next day I had probably three or four cans while we were working on the house.  By our return home, I was drinking them again...and have had at least one or two every day since.

It's not like I don't like water now...or unsweet iced tea...or herbal teas...or black coffee.  I like all those things.  There's just something about popping that top and taking that first sip out of the can that I love.  Yeah...I'm just a tad whack-a-doodle...I know.

One side of me says it could be so much worse.  I could be regressing back into Taco Bell bean burritos or Butterfinger candy bars or macaroni and cheese.  Heck, I could have an addiction that is truly harmful or illegal...alcohol, smoking, drugs.  I know it shouldn't be a big deal...but for some reason it is.

I think it goes back to the post I made about being scared of cheating or slipping.  The anal retentive/obsessive compulsive/perfectionist side of me says that I need to stay Paleo and not waiver.  I feel like it's that slippery slope thing...when I waiver a little bit, I am so afraid that all of the sudden I will be completely off the reservation and eating deep dish pizza and sharing a pitcher of beer with friends somewhere.  I don't want that to happen.  And the crazy part of my mind is telling me that allowing Diet Coke back into my life is the first step to letting that happen.

So, as of this minute, I am going to stop all the Diet Coke and go back to tea, coffee, and water.  If I am tempted, I plan to come back and read this list of ingredients -- carbonated water (the only thing healthy), caramel color, natural flavors (really???  natural???), phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, aspartame, citric acid, acesulfame potassium, caffeine...and that alway present ominous warning on the can...contains phenylalanine.  I don't even know what that is...but if they are having to warn people about it, it can't be a good thing.  I would bet a pretty penny that our Paleolithic ancestors didn't drink phosphoric acid and aspartame, etc...

Not a sin, as far as confessions go....but I do feel like it needed to be said.

Thanks for listening/reading/responding...

Day 33 - Not About the Numbers

Hello all, after getting on the scale the last three days in a row and fretting when I don't lose anything and even questioning the amount when I do...I have come to a decision.  I am going to stop getting on the scale.  I am way too tied up in the numbers.

I am realizing that the numbers have been one way that DD (see previous posts...DD is the Diet Demon who loves to sabotage me and destroy my attempts at dieting) gets to me.  I can be super disciplined one week and then beat myself up when I get on the scale and discover that despite all the discipline I might have only lost 1/2 a pound or even stayed the same.

Likewise, in my long and illustrious diet career, I have many times of cheating and not being disciplined only to get on the scale and lose weight anyway.

That darn scale is messing around with my brain!

Yes, I agree with you naysayers that the number is important in some respects.  It gives medical personnel a lot of information.  It does provide a good record...over a length of time...as to whether or not a new lifestyle or eating plan is effective.  But, I think the key here is "over a length of time".  The daily weighing and checking in has to stop.  There are just too many variables, especially in women, that can affect our weight on a daily basis.

So, from this point on, I have decided to only weigh myself once a month.  I started this journey on Feb. 20.  I have my weight at the end of my 30 day challenge.  The next time I plan to get on the scale to measure my progress will be April 20, then May 20, and so on...  I am just not going to be caught up in the daily worry of analyzing what went wrong or what went right the day before.

In reality, I do not want to think of Paleo as a "diet".  I want to think of Paleo as "just the way I choose to live my life."  I can just tell from my daily activity that I am losing weight and feeling better each and every day...I don't need a scale to prove that to me.

So, check back on April 20 if you want to see how I am doing...number-wise.

But, keep coming back before then if you want to see how I am doing...lifestyle-wise.

Day 31 - Challenge Accepted and Complete!

Well Cave Friends...On February 20, I started this blog and told you about Robb Wolf's book, The Paleo Solution.  I had heard about this book from my diabetes doctor and with some urging from dear hubby decided to accept his 30-day challenge of trying the Paleo lifestyle.

I finished that challenge yesterday.  As Mr, Wolf states in his book...just try it for 30 days and see how you feel...then decide if the Paleo life is for you.

Well Mr. Wolf...I'm sold.  I've drunk your Kool-aid (as my college sons tell me when I decline bread and pasta) and I will continue to ask for more.

So, you all may ask...what are the results?  What are my feelings?  How do I feel physically?  Let's just make a small list here:

• I have lost a total of 18 pounds.  (I was down 20 before traveling out of town on a very stressful trip where I probably indulged in too many salt & pepper pistachios and servings of fruit...it is true what they say...stress does affect your weight loss).
• I have a TON of energy.  I suffer from chronic anemia to the point where I have to receive I.V. infusions of iron once a month just to keep my hemoglobin up.  I literally have more energy now then I have had in years.  It is incredible.  I can't wait until my next visit to my hematologist to see what my ferritin levels are!
• My clothes already fit better.  18 pounds does make a difference.  I've lost that continual bloated feeling.  
• I am satisfied with my diet.  As opposed to EVERY other diet I have ever tried...I never feel hungry or cheated on the paleo diet.  For the first time (possibly ever), I am listening to my body and its hunger cues.  If I am hungry...I eat.  If I am not hungry...I now am realizing it's okay to actually not eat.  Just because we are raised and conditioned to eat at 8am, noon, and 6pm...doesn't mean we actually have to eat at those times!  Who would've thought?
• I am becoming a great chef!  I am learning to adapt some family favorites and I am also exploring new vegetables and foods that I had previously been timid about trying.  Calabaza squash!  Kale!  Lamb!  Tamari Sauce!  Coconut Milk!  Coconut Oil!  Bulb Garlic!  I am also learning how to combine things into interesting dishes that both hubby and I are loving every evening.
• I am becoming an advocate and witness to the Paleo life.  Since I have started, my in-laws, a few other relatives, a teacher friend, and another friend have decided to try it out as well.
• And perhaps most of all...I am optimistic and encouraged.  For the first time in a VERY VERY long time, I feel like perhaps my destiny is not to just be the nice, fat, red-headed girl in the room that everyone likes, but secretly pities and feels sorry for (I know people say, "Thank God I don't look like that...or "I would die if my wife was that fat."...I know people think it...I'm not stupid).  Perhaps...just perhaps...my future holds fun, interesting, inviting opportunities!  Perhaps I can actually do things like snow ski with my children, go kayaking with my husband someday, actually take up running and jog with my marathon-running husband now and then, buy clothes in the "regular" section of the store, take my kids to a water park, not panic if I ever have to go an airplane and worry about fastening the seatbelt, not worry about fitting into a booth at a restaurant...actually feel like a "normal" person for a change.  I've NEVER felt normal.

So what does this all mean?

It means I am just getting started baby!  I plan to keep on eating Paleo, sleeping Paleo, exercising Paleo...just living Paleo.  I feel great.  I feel happy.  I feel hopeful.  I feel encouraged.  I feel like the rest of my life is ahead of me and I CANNOT wait to see what it holds!

So, check back here because I intend to keep posting about this journey.  I jokingly entitled this blog "The Incredible Shrinking Cave Mom" a month ago...but now all I can say is...it is incredible!

Day 28 - Back Home Again on a Slippery Slope

Hello again!  I am finally back from the Land of the Lost, or in my case...Houston, TX!  LOL!  I spent my Spring Break vacation there helping my parents clean out the rest of their house in preparation for a move to a much smaller house here in my hometown.  While they are not "elderly" yet, they certainly need to be closer to myself and my brothers so that we can help take care of them in the coming years.  We all know that time has come for them to relocate.

Needless to say...not the most relaxing break from school and work...but one that needed to get done.  That being said, I don't think the week would have gone near as well if I had not been eating Paleo for the three weeks prior to the trip.  Even dear hubby has noted that I am never tired anymore, never want an afternoon nap on the weekends, and definitely am acting like a younger version of myself lately!  ;-)

For the most part, traveling while eating Paleo was very easy.  We made sure to pack plenty of snack type foods and fruit for the car, including various nuts, raisins, and some dehydrated apples we bought at Costco that are deeee-licious!  We stopped at Buc-ee's for our regular pit stop (do they have Buc-ees in other parts of the country????   Cause we love them in central Texas!) and bought jerky, smoked pork tenderloin, a giant dill pickle, and ate the fruit while the little kids were able to have a hot dog and tater tots.  For meals there, we either ate out (lunches at Subway...club salad with all the veggies, no cheese) or helped out and cooked ourselves.  Since there were a lot of family members gathered together, we even smoked 3 racks of baby back ribs one evening and made a giant salad for the Paleo eaters and had the regular sides for the rest.

Because this trip was so family-focused, sweet loving hubby did treat me out to a "date night" at Flemings Steak House one evening.  We were doing fine...ordered a glass of cab to "share", ordered our entrees (filet mignon w/lobster and scallops for him, lamb for myself, roasted asparagus to share instead of salads), and were just settling in for a nice conversation that promised to be about anything other than children, our parents, or our jobs...when IT happened!  What might that be, you might ask?  The first true temptation both of us have had since going Paleo.  A piping hot, straight from the oven loaf of sourdough bread, topped with parmesan cheese...with two spreads on the side.  One was a sun-dried tomato/basil/herb butter and the other was a feta butter cream.  OH NO!  Seriously?  What were we supposed to do?  Actually pass on that deliciousness?  We eat at a $100/dinner date place about once every 5 years or so (remember, we have 4 kids, 2 in college, and I am a happy (non-unionized in Texas btw!, but still underpaid) school teacher.  We don't go to these fancy schmancy places very often.  We might never get a change to eat feta butter cream every again.  Were we supposed to politely just decline the bread?  Were we supposed to scream in agony and throw it across the restaurant at those other potato/bread eating people?  Were we supposed to give in with the realization that our paleo ancestors surely would have given in as well if presented with the opportunity to eat something so luscious?  So, what did we do?  We looked at the bread, waited a beat too long and the waiter walked away, looked at the bread again, shook our heads at each other and said at the EXACT same time, "It's not worth it." and pushed it to the end of the table and never looked at it again!  We rock!  So proud of us.

But, I did have a few "slip-ups" on this trip, despite my best intentions.  I ate some house vinaigrette (have no idea if I spelled that right!...when some book publisher decides to pay me thousands of dollars for the rights to my blog, I'm sure they will correct it at that time...LOL!) one evening on a salad because there was no olive oil or vinegar as an option.  The next evening, I ordered a Cobb Salad and then realized once it was delivered that it had a couple of tablespoons of bleu cheese crumbles on top...I LOVE bleu cheese.  Despite trying my best, I did not get it all picked off and ate some.  Then, today at the grocery store, I found myself reading just about every prepared salad dressing label on the shelf with the hopes that surely one might be paleo-friendly.  I love salads, but the olive oil/balsamic vinegar thing is getting old...I need another option.  I bet I picked up at least 20 different bottles...name brands to organic brands to "healthy" brands...not one had an absence of sugar or corn syrup or corn starch or sour cream solids or wheat flour...NOT ONE!  Unbelievable what I have been ingesting for years without bothering to read anything.  So, unless someone out there can email me a great Paleo alternative, I guess I will stick with olive oil and vinegar.

But, I am worried that I have had a few little stumbles.  As I have said in a previous post, getting off a diet can become a VERY slippery slope for me.  I guess my saving grace is that I don't feel like I am dieting.  I am just eating healthy and liking everything about it.  In 2 more days, we will be at the end of our 30 day challenge.  I am dying to see how much weight I have lost, but at this point, we are not even considering getting off of it.  We both feel so good and want to continue...no question about it at all.

College boys drive back to college tomorrow.  For their last night at home, I am making lamb chops, roasted mushrooms and asparagus, mashed cauliflower with garlic, and grilled pineapple w/cinnamon on top for desert.  Now, even my reluctant eaters should eat that...right?

Rocking on in my cave world!

Day 23 - On The Road

Well, I am taking the true Paleo lifestyle to heart today as I get ready to travel for a few days with my family.  Unfortunately, we will not be "hunting and gathering", we will be "cleaning and tossing" as we travel to my parents' house to help them clean it out, organize, de-clutter,  get it ready to put on the market and downsize to a smaller home.  LOL

The challenge will be staying Paleo while on the road and staying away from my own kitchen.  I think the thing that concerns me the most is eating out in restaurants and/or fast food places.  I may or may not have Internet while I am there, so if you don't here from me for a few days...no worries...I shall return.  Hopefully with a wonderful success story of how easy it is to stay Paleo, even away from your own comfortable surroundings.

I am so thrilled with how good I feel and how much weight I am losing at the same time.  I hit the 20 pound mark yesterday...and it has seemed so effortless.  I am finding it easy to find new things to eat, as well as tweaking old, family favorites.  One of my college-age sons came home for Spring Break and asked for his favorite meal...taco salad.  I made it the way I normally would except for a few changes.  Omitted the cheese and crumbled up tortilla chips.  Added a chopped bell pepper and doubled the amount of tomatoes and diced avocado that I would normally use.  Substituted salsa (after reading a thousand labels of the different ingredients...some salsas are nothing but chemicals and corn syrup!) for the ranch dressing.  It was delicious and actually better than it used to be.  Even my college son called it a success and wants it this way from now on.  Go figure.

On the road soon...rocking on in my cave world!  Smile at someone today and be happy!