September/October weight loss challenge

[GLC1968]

I eat a lot of protein myself, but I have issues with just not eating entire foods.

I personally love avocado and egg yolks and frequently eat them together.

Veronica

Yeah, but the theory is that the foods a paleo person doesn't eat are not meant to be eaten by our bodies in the first place. They will keep you alive, but on them, you will not thrive. Many feel that they aren't really foods as much as they are poison. I still eat plenty of carbs (sweet potatoes, fruit, veggies, etc), plenty of protein and plenty of fat... so I am eating all the types of foods my body needs. I even eat raw, full-fat dairy in small amounts, so I'm not a total militant type.

But for example: Do you eat margarine? I'm guessing not, but just 25 years ago, margarine was the 'healthy' choice and people freaked out if you mentioned eating real butter.

The only reason that 'grains' are a HUGE food group (the bottom of the entire food pyramid) is that the food pyramid was built by the department of agriculture! Of course they want us to eat lots of grains! It's been a staple of the human diet since the rise of agriculture, but that doesn't mean that it's the best choice for us. It's cheap and easy to grow though...

What I find amusing is a conversation I had with my mom last night. My father has a rare form of kidney stones and because of it, he cannot eat any whole grains or legumes...two things that you'd think would be healthy right? Except that for him, they could kill him. Not unlike a person with celiac. I mean - not eating wheat? That's insane...it's the basis for our food system! Or I have a family friend who was allergic to all corn products. He passed away 10 years ago, but imagine how impossible it would be for him to eat these days. Corn is in EVERYTHING.

I don't know - it makes sense to me. If we were meant to eat grains, we'd have stomachs like ruminants.

Just so you all know, I am so NOT a paleo-pusher at all. I don't preach. I would rather not even talk about it in real life unless it's to find good recipes. Most people assume I'm on Atkins or that I'm a celiac, so I just let them think that. It's a lot easier than getting into philosophical arguments about my choices!

[Veronica]

Oh, I think there is a lot to be said for the basis of the paleo revolution - I think my diet is fairly paleo. But if I want to eat ice cream - I'm going to. I had the opportunity to have some homemade Dutch Chocolate ice cream this weekend. It was AMAZING. And I think I run best if I've had Trader Joe's Cinnamon bread for breakfast - slathered with butter. Funny - I eat almost no corn now. I love it, but I've had trouble digesting it since I had a stomach bug when I was twenty.

I find the obsession and the pushing of the diet off putting. I really think it comes down to what works best for each individual. Of course I am probably a bit obsessive myself.

Veronica

[GLC1968]

After I've been 'strict' for a month or two, and after I reach my goal weight, I will definitely be having occasional non-paleo foods. So far, the only things I'm missing right now are hummus (and I'm planning on making baba ghanoush this weekend instead!) and pizza. I will have pizza again some day. And I will definitely eat my mom's stuffing at thanksgiving.

Dutch chocolate ice cream sounds like a damn good way to splurge to me!

[Veronica]

We're on the once a month pizza plan. I buy a Newman's thin crust pizza the first weekend of the month - love, love , love pizza! I don't have a specific ice cream plan. Mostly, I just don't buy any.

Pizza and ice cream were what made me "fat" last year. I'm down 14 pounds overall from this time last year and I've gained 4 pounds of muscle. And I love what I'm doing for workouts. I do wish it would cool off so I could run after work - 97 degrees at my house right at the moment.

Veronica

[Crankin]

I, too am turned off by the "obsessiveness" of the paleo/crossfit people. A close friend's son went to a cross fit gym this summer, went on the diet (he was not really heavy) and became a "trainer." He is in college, extremely bright, but it seems like he's been "taken in" by this gym. Now my friend (she's the one who is the newer cyclist I've been enabling for about 2 years) is going to try out a class there today. I wonder what she will say when I talk to her tonight.
I too, don't eat a ton of grains, but I can't live without them.
I know this diet would work for me, but when I've needed to lose weight, it's always been a diet/exercise plan of my own creation. Generally, cutting carbs and changing my exercise up works.

[GLC1968]

The scale is finally moving in the right direction, so I'm hopeful for seeing a little 'motivation' by Friday.

The most difficult part about being paleo is not giving up bread or grains. It's removing sugar, corn and soy from one's diet. Oh, and vegetable oils. Seriously, this stuff is in EVERYTHING. I cleared out our pantry in week one and that was pretty easy to do (most of it is boxed up for food donations). Week 2, I cleaned out the fridge - giving all yogurt to the chickens, saving all beer for the slugs next spring, and tossing a lot of half-finished bottles of salad dressing, condiments and asian sauces. ALL of these thing have either soy oil or sugar as their first ingredient. It's insane.

This week, I finally cleared out our 'spice' cabinet. Basically, I removed all the bad oils (corn, safflower, canola, etc) and every single asian sauce (fish sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, tamari, soy sauce, etc). as they ALL contain either soy or sugar or gluten. I had no idea!

I always thought that we ate pretty home-made foods, but we do use a lot of prepared sauces and spices and flavorings and I'm amazed how much these things are processed. This way of eating is opening my eyes to all kinds of things that I'd never thought of before.

[skhill]

120.4! Moving in the right direction at last...