The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning the house, writing blog posts, and doing projects for our front porch. Ryan's parents bought Ryan a tree for our front breeze way as another birthday present. We planted that with the help of Ryan's Dad and it looks great. I named the tree Trey because of the three trunks at the bottom. I like to name new members of the family :)
What is Paleo?
What I found was the research of an American science writer named Gary Taubes. Taubes has been credited for going against the medical world and defending low carb diets. Among other reasons, Taubes bases his advocacy of low-carb diets on the fact that when refined carbs are eaten, our body reacts by releasing Insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is released after we eat. The amount of insulin released depends on the individual, as well as the foods eaten, with carbohydrates triggering a greater amount of insulin than other food types. Source
- Good side of insulin - it supports muscle growth and recovery. This is why post-workout meals are so important.
- Bad side of insulin - too much of it can lead to fat gain by triggering your body to store your food as fat, and even worse, it can lead to Type II Diabetes.
After much research I decided to give it a try. I started with cutting out breads, rice, and pasta. After two weeks of just cutting out grains, I lost five pounds! Now, I have been a personal trainer and healthy eater for most of my adult life and I have never lost and maintained weight in this manner. I also knew that the weight that I lost was the good kind because I still had energy to workout 4-5 times a week and with the amount of protein I was consuming I assume that I was not losing muscle mass.
After my trial period, I did decide not to go full throttle with the Paleo diet. I love greek yogurt and have it for breakfast almost every morning. Greek yogurt has many benefits and because I do not have any issues with digesting dairy, I decided to keep it in my diet. I also decided to still have grains 1-2 times a week, if I feel the need. This is what is called Paleo with Privileges! About 80% of the time I do not have grains, dairy, or sugar but if I am at a great restaurant and feel like dipping into the bread basket or having pasta, I go for it!!
Whats great about limiting your grains, dairy, and sugar is that you automatically end up cutting out a lot of refined and processed junk that tends to sneak into our diets. That stuff does more than make us fat, it also triggers disease in our bodies. No thanks!
Also, if you are one that tends to have upset stomachs, give Paleo a try and see how your body reacts. I have had friends that have tried it and insist they will never go back because they finally feel great! My favorite blogger at Carrots 'n' Cake, just posted this today. Exactly what I was saying!
If you are still skeptical, get a blood test done before you start and again after a couple of months of eating Paleo to see how your body reacts. Your blood is the lifeline of your body, it will tell you how healthy you really are!
** Side note - many doctors are still not sold on a low-carb diet. This has to do with the fact that not many, other than Dr. Atkins, have challenged the traditional "Burn more calories than you consume" theory for losing weight, until now. In medical school, students are still learning the old school Food Pyramid that bases everything on Grains.
Have a great week!