Paleo 30 Day Challenge

When we first moved to Colorado, I was in search of something that would put myself out there and help me meet other mommas. Enter Stroller Strides. We have a Stapleton branch of Stroller Strides at a park that's walking distance from the house. Perfect. Then, I went a few times and realized that it blissfully helped me pass the morning with both boys until Max would start preschool. Bonus! Before I knew it, I was going 5 days a week for almost a month solid. I felt GREAT! I was getting stronger, faster, and had more energy. My body was changing, too. I had more muscle definition and my face looked thinner. However, the scale did not reflect how I felt or the changes my body was making. The scale showed a measly 3 pound drop in over a month.

I know, it's not all about the scale. But, it's SOMEWHAT about the scale, yes? If I'm being honest, I've got a solid 35 pounds to lose before I'm at a healthy weight for my body. I haven't been that size since (early) college, but I didn't look sickly thin - I looked healthy. I carry weight fairly decently and most people are shocked to hear what I actually weigh, but none of this erases the fact that I NEED to lose some LBs.

THEN, Ritchie comes home and mentions that he's entered some sort of percentage of body fat loss competition at work and will win money if he wins. BUT, he's already starting with the lowest percentage of body fat PLUS he gained a pound the first week of the competition. Ritchie runs and works out regularly, but that alone wasn't showing results.

We had company for a week straight and indulged very heavily in foods and we both realized (for the umpteenth time) that if our bodies (and health) were TRULY going to change it had to start with what we put into our bodies.

Enter Paleo.

When I first heard about Paleo, I totally bunked it. I actually DO believe that you need grains (the right ones) and dairy to have a healthy, balanced diet. I still believe that. However, I'm not opposed to trying anything for a period of time. And, the Lincolns LOVE a challenge. So, we signed on to start Paleo tomorrow for a full 30 days.

This will not be easy. Paleo is a very restricted diet. No grains of any sort. No dairy of any kind. No sugar, Starbucks, cake, pizza, ANYTHING. Plus, we'll be trying to maintain this through Max's birthday (we'll let him have cake, we'll skip it) and two separate strings of out of town guests (hope ya'll are okay with meat and veggies).

So, what WILL we eat? Lean meats, tons of veggies, fruit (in moderation and mostly berries), nuts (not peanuts) and seeds, and eggs and good fats (coconut oil, avocado, etc).

Here's our first 4 days of Paleo dinner menu:

I've decided for this challenge not to weigh myself until the challenge is over. The goal really isn't weight loss so much as a body cleanse and getting on the right track with diet to add to the exercise. I'll check in with a weekly menu plan and if anything is amazing, I'll share with you all.

My friend from the bay area, Daphne has an awesome blog that shares Paleo recipes, as does her cousin. They can be found here and here. Check them out! It's where I'm getting most of my recipes from.

Also, I started C25K (couch to 5K) and am trying to gear up to run a 4 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. ALSO? I'm going to Stroller Strides 5 days a week again (I took a week + off when company was in town and BOY did I pay for it when I went back. OUCH.). Yeah, so let's hope that after 30 days you'll be seeing a lot healthier (and, okay - I want to be leaner) Jamie.

Oh, yes. And just to keep it real - I'm going INTO Paleo with a bang: