# about to start paleo



## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

i have a feeling the first few weeks are going to be hard. i have a massive sugar and diet coke addiction. 

i don't need to lose much weight - less than 10 pounds. i can live with that, as i am currently a normal weight, but being at 117 would be a happy weight! LOL

the reason i am going to try it is. . .i am scared. my mom has MS, and it has been fairly severe several times over the past year or so. it has affected her quality of life. now, i have had some odd leg pains and tingling the past week, and this morning my hand is going numb. this has happened in the past and usually goes away, but i have got to do something to help prevent it! 

one of my biggest concerns is my blood pressure. i cannot have it drop, as i will feel dead. at the dr the other day, it was perfect - 108/70. but it has dropped much much lower and those are the days i feel horrible. is it a given that my bp will go down?

also, i am not much of a meat eater. i eat a small portion with every meal but honestly don't like it very much. any ideas on how to enjoy meat more, if it is supposed to be close to half of what i eat?


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## summerdaze (Jun 11, 2009)

Bama, I also liked the sweets and diet coke. I didn't drink much pop though, like, one can a day if that, but a little more on the weeekends. I'm surprised that I haven't had a craving for either one! When I eat sweets though, I either feel really bad afterward, or I fall asleep! So, sweets are NOT my friends, and pop is just fake...whatever it is.
I actually really LIKE eating this way! But although I like cooking for others, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to cooking for myself! All the washing, chopping, etc even just to make a really good salad sometimes gets to me, especialy if I've worked late, and I'm tired. So, I like to make bigger quantities of things, that I can have several meals from. And prep a few extra veggies, so they are convenient. 
As far as the meat goes, maybe a shake using protein powder in place of a meal now and then? Or maybe sprinkle a little protein powder in other things? Do you like fish or seafood? I top a salad with salmon or tuna sometimes. I also like eggs just about any way they can be fixed. Protein is found in other foods besides meat too, although not as much. I'd do some reading about other sources, and try to eat more of those foods. 
I'm sort of new at all this too, so it's not like I have all the answers, lol! My advice is to read, read, read, to where you can make the best decisions and choices for yourself. Good luck to you!


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

well, so far, with tons of water, i haven't been tempted to off someone for some liquid crack. . .i mean. . .diet coke! LOL

breakfast was sauteed spinach and mushrooms, with an egg scrambled in. oh, and a banana!

i didn't prepare well for this, so i have no salad makers for lunches. and my pantry is full of corn and beans and starchy stuff. :huh: yup, i kinda jumped in without planning too well. oh well.


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

oh, and i meant to say thank you for the support!


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

i have done fairly well today. i DID crave and eat a tiny little dark chocolate pomegranate candy today. it was maybe the size of half a hershey's kiss, so i didn't figure it was TOO bad! 

it was the chocolate, or hurt someone for a diet coke! 

i also put maybe a tbs of shredded cheese over my squash tonight. i figured it was much better than my usual serving of cheese with a little squash thrown in! LOL but that, a salmon fillet, and green beans makes for a really good meal!


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## Hannah90 (May 2, 2012)

OO! I am so excited to see other folks here doing this. I just started february first! I honestly haven't seen any drastic changes in the last 6 days other than no cravings. BUT I am young (22) and I don't have bodily aches, etc. I am intolerant to gluten which was what spurred me to do this. I had originally been going along with the "wheat Belly" thing, but then I found Paleo, and it made a lot of sense to me. 

I didn't plan when I started either. It just happened to be Feb 1st, and I figured, what the heck! So far I have been eating two meals per day with usually two snack in between. This is when I feel hungry. If I'm hungry, I eat until I'm not. Breakfast is always eggs with something. I like plain eggs, but I prefer eggs with spinach and tomatoes or chard or kale. I love greens. I usually have some bacon or some other kind of meat. I cook the eggs in butter.

I made my own paleo dressing for my daily salads. I love salads. Love greens. But, I can't eat consecutive salads with vinegarette dressings. I get tired of the taste combo REALLY fast. So, I made paleo mayo and turned that into paleo dressing. The recipe was for paleo ranch, but it tasted nothing like ranch by the time I got done fiddling with it. So, it's just "My dressing." hehe. It was a major break through for me as in the past all my diets were NO CREAMY DRESSINGS! Ha. 

I should say, I do not consider this a diet. As soon as I figured out I was intolerant to wheat, almost to the point of allergic, I knew I needed to change. When I ate a sandwich, toast, drank a draft beer, etc, I would get a day stopping headache. Some times I would get stomach cramps or bloat up. Enough convincing for me. 

The first two days, basically as soon as I said I was done with wheat and sugar all I could think about was... wheat and sugar lol! To top it all off, I work in a bakery! Yikes. Well, I've mostly worked passed that now. I don't feel many cravings. I do have a pretty good amount of weight to loose. If I loose it, it will be a side benefit. I didn't weigh myself at the beginning, and I don't care to weigh myself anytime soon. The number on the scale just doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is no headaches, no stomach cramps and general feelings better. 

Keep me updated on your progress!


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

i am still having some cravings, but i am allowing myself my one little bitty piece of dark chocolate when i get home. i really look forward to that! LOL

i did cheat a bit last night and put a few beans (maybe 2 TBS?) and about a half a TBS of ranch dressing on my taco salad last night and for lunch today. oh and some storebought salsa. i have decided to do a few cheats here and there so the stuff in my pantry doesn't go to absolute waste, but it won't be an all day every day thing either.

it is actually yummy food, that i didn't eat before, simply because the honeybuns and cookies called to me.

i will say that when i got up this morning, i had lost about 5 pounds, and better than that - my tummy was flatter than usual!!!!!!!! i know it is water weight probably, but i am stoked about the flat(ish) tummy!


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## Hannah90 (May 2, 2012)

Woo hoo! Tonight was a hard time at work for me. Very busy, too much to do, major stress. I ALMOST shoved my face into the stack of donuts. BUT I resisted and told myself "it's only stress." I managed to get through.

What I was most amazed with was the fact that I ate a salad of mixed greens (kale, chard, bok choy, spinach) with turkey and eggs at noon. I fully expected to be ravenous mid way through my shift. However, I didn't feel my stomach growl until the moment I walked into my house. Normally a salad only lasts me a couple hours. Today it lasted until 8pm. Woo hoo! I cooked the turkey on low heat with coconut oil, then spooned some of the oil over the greens and added my dressing. I didn't put any cheese on the salad which I normally do, but I topped it with sliced tomatoes and a pinch of sunflower seeds. This, for me, was progress.


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## PistolPackinMom (Oct 20, 2012)

Woohoo! Stay strong!


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

6 days in, and i have lost 6 pounds. mostly water weight, i know.

i have ENERGY! thursday, i walked the stairs to the top 2 times (maybe 22-24 flights total) plus i walked to the 2nd and 3rd floor multiple times, oftentimes carrying stuff. i went home and cooked dinner, then walked a mile and a half before eating. i was able to move yesterday, despite my predictions! LOL in fact, i didn't get on the elevator until one of the guys was with me (they aren't much for walking, ya know). all of that would have left me in the bed just a month ago.

i was offered all kinds of carb-y and starch-y things at work this week. the ONLY thing i accepted was a carrot stick. and WOW - it was SWEET! i have never noticed how sweet a carrot can taste before. so my taste buds are readjusting also. someone bought me a biscuit yesterday, and i gave it away.

my only cheats have been that tbs of cheese, some salt (but not nearly what i normally eat), and a bottle of apple juice (subsitute for a diet coke or sweet tea). oh, and my daily dark chocolate ball, which i totally forgot about yesterday! 

i went grocery shopping at a little mom and pop store and racked up! LOADS of fresh fruit and veggies (enough for nearly a week) and some meats and stocked up on canned green beans for less than $64.


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## Tinker (Apr 5, 2004)

Congrats Bama, you are doing great! Those steps would have been a killer for me, but exercise is so important to loosing weight and being healthy. It does give you more energy too! Keep up the good work!


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

4 weeks in, and i have lost 10 pounds! my tummy is nearly flat!! losing off of my hips also!


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## PistolPackinMom (Oct 20, 2012)

Awesome!!!


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