Alright so the question now is "What is Paleo". The Paleo (Paleolithic) lifestyle is basically eating Whole Foods or foods our bodies are designed to eat. As my sister likes to call us "Hunters and Gatherers". We have eliminated grains and wheat, anything processed, alcohol (yeah right... 20% rule.. I'll get to that later because we all know I love my wine!) seed oils, sugar and starches. Eliminating grains goes as far as eating grass fed, happy animals. For those of you that dont' know, I grew up in a household of hunters and I fought eating venison all of my life. This is the first year that I actually cared whether Bill shot a deer. He unfortunately, did not and now I must mooch off my Father. #Iheartfamily! Dairy is also an "eliminatable" (yes, it's a word, maybe...not) food but I do allow full fat raw dairy in the house. I know, I know... where do your kids get their calcium. I will address that at a later date.
This transition is a simple one for me but as expected is more difficult for the Bill and the kids. Charlie is a huge bread lover! I am thinking that psychologist bills may be in my future. He actually woke up the other day and said "Mom, I had a dream you bought pancake mix. (heads to pantry and looks in, falls to floor) You didn't buy pancake mix". My heart broke but it pushed me to open one of my Paleo cookbooks and find a pancake recipe. The one I found involved pumpkin, but he seemed to enjoy it. There are ways to still enjoy foods, they just need to be Paleoized. (Yes, it's a word)
The other part of the Paleo Lifestyle is to commit to regular sleep and to get out and play! I have no problem with the sleep part. I have been called a "Sleepwhore!" No need to mention names, Lucy... The playtime is two parts for me; exercise and play with the kids. I enjoy running and have always enjoyed strength training. Playing with the kids has been so rewarding. When the kids were little, I had no choice but to play with them. I remember when they were all under the age of 5 and I couldn't wait for them to entertain themselves or play with each other! Once that happened, I lost sight of spending that type of time with them. I have made it my goal to try and do something with all of them at least 20 minutes each weeknight, more on the weekends. It sounds like a little bit of time but between homework and activities, sometimes it is difficult to get in. I know they enjoy that time too. My favorite part is seeing their reactions when I ask them to do something. Last night when it was getting dark, I asked them who wanted to go outside and play football. They were so excited! Of course, Charlie went out in his shorts while everyone else had on hats and scarves and we had the best time!
In a nutshell, that is what the Paleo Lifestyle means to me and my family. Not only are we all feeling healthier but we are becoming a happier family. My patience level is the best it has been in years. My oldest is 10 so I am going to need all of the patience I can get in a few years.
Lastly, I haven't come up with a Christmas card yet this year... would it be tacky to have each of us hold a letter to spell out PALEO?
Jen
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Journey has begun...
Hello Paleo Peeps
About 4 months ago, I decided to participate in the Men's Health Urbanathalon. In order to get to a performance level I would be happy with, my trainer gave me some general rules to follow when it came to my diet... actually my whole lifestyle. Little did I know, she was jump starting my journey to a Paleo lifestyle. From September 1 through mid October, I followed this plan and never realized that impact it would have on my life. I have never felt so good physically and mentally! Once I started feeling this way, I knew I would never go back to my old way of living. Of course, the first step is to get my family on board.
The first challenge is the husband! He travels quite a bit so it has been difficult to try and educate him on Paleo living. I had a solid week of working with the kids and changing some things over when he came home from a trip. I came back from the walking the dogs and there they were making two cakes out of the box! Aghhh! After a little conversation that evening, he realized how important it was to jump on this Paleo Train.
The second challenge are the children. Alexandria, who I thought would be the most difficult one to change eating habits has actually been one of the easiest. Courtney has also been pretty easy. She has always been a good, non picky eater. Charlie is my biggest challenge and need to come up with a plan. He is the one that begs me for bread for dinner... just bread! He doesn't like meats, veggies, fruit (except apples), nothing... if he had his choice, he would be eating pretzels and bread every day, all day! The few small changes they have made has already made a difference. My kids do not graze all day anymore! My kids do not look in the pantry for their food anymore! Amazing changes in such a short time.
My goal by writing this blog is to get my story to you while we are still going through this process. We are just beginning and have so far to go! I know you can relate to my challenges and can help me celebrate my success'. Maybe you will get a laugh from the things that happen in my househould. I know I laugh every day. Changing the way you live is a challenge and when you try to do it for your entire family, it is challenge times 2! I tell myself that my children will thank me one day for giving them the gift of health. I only wish I would have started this process years earlier.
Are you in the process of change? What challenges are you facing?
About 4 months ago, I decided to participate in the Men's Health Urbanathalon. In order to get to a performance level I would be happy with, my trainer gave me some general rules to follow when it came to my diet... actually my whole lifestyle. Little did I know, she was jump starting my journey to a Paleo lifestyle. From September 1 through mid October, I followed this plan and never realized that impact it would have on my life. I have never felt so good physically and mentally! Once I started feeling this way, I knew I would never go back to my old way of living. Of course, the first step is to get my family on board.
The first challenge is the husband! He travels quite a bit so it has been difficult to try and educate him on Paleo living. I had a solid week of working with the kids and changing some things over when he came home from a trip. I came back from the walking the dogs and there they were making two cakes out of the box! Aghhh! After a little conversation that evening, he realized how important it was to jump on this Paleo Train.
The second challenge are the children. Alexandria, who I thought would be the most difficult one to change eating habits has actually been one of the easiest. Courtney has also been pretty easy. She has always been a good, non picky eater. Charlie is my biggest challenge and need to come up with a plan. He is the one that begs me for bread for dinner... just bread! He doesn't like meats, veggies, fruit (except apples), nothing... if he had his choice, he would be eating pretzels and bread every day, all day! The few small changes they have made has already made a difference. My kids do not graze all day anymore! My kids do not look in the pantry for their food anymore! Amazing changes in such a short time.
My goal by writing this blog is to get my story to you while we are still going through this process. We are just beginning and have so far to go! I know you can relate to my challenges and can help me celebrate my success'. Maybe you will get a laugh from the things that happen in my househould. I know I laugh every day. Changing the way you live is a challenge and when you try to do it for your entire family, it is challenge times 2! I tell myself that my children will thank me one day for giving them the gift of health. I only wish I would have started this process years earlier.
Are you in the process of change? What challenges are you facing?
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