Cavewoman vs. the modern social gathering

Following a Paleo lifestyle and diet is pretty easy once you get used to it. After the initial "detox" from sugar, salt, and grains, I generally find that the food selection is diverse enough to keep my stomach and my taste buds satisfied, which in turn keeps my mind happy and focused on the task of improving my health.

Despite my success adhering to the "program" most of the time, there are situations in which I almost thoughtlessly revert to my Neolithic eating habits. Not entirely, mind you, and I do give thought to what I'm putting in my mouth before I eat it - Paleo or otherwise. But there are times in social settings where the pull to stray from the "program" is just too strong.

For example, this past weekend, there was a cookout at a coworker's house, and I ate my burger on a bun, had a little piece of cheese, and a little cake. Today after work, I helped a friend move, and our reward was pizza. I had two slices (and I was stuffed!). Do I feel guilty? Not really. While I would've preffered to stay true to Paleo, in these situations, I made a conscious decision to stray, and I made this decision because I knew a) it was a temporary situation, b) I was in a social setting that was designed to be enjoyable (enhanced by tasty food), and, most importantly c) I knew I could control myself and not overindulge.

This last point is was one of the main lessons I've taken from the Paleo lifestyle so far. I'm learning how to make good choices and have self-control. We are bombarded daily with all sorts of opportunities for gluttony, and I spent the better part of 29 years taking advantage of those opportunities without any sort of internal trigger to say "enough."

Now, while the Paleo community would tell me I'm not following the program or that I'm not really "Paleo" because I have the occasional non-Paleo treat, I belive that balance is also important. I don't think it's reasonable to go the rest of my life not being able to enjoy little treats from the modern ago from time to time. I don't intend to have these treats every day or even every week. In fact, I would rather be able to stick to the program 100% of the time -- if only that were feasible to do. I think that there are just times where it's okay to not be the freak caveman diet girl and have a whole grain bun on my hamburger. I'm not saying I'm going to eat five bowls of ice cream and bag of chips at every party I ever go to in my life. With any luck, there will always be a fruit tray, a veggie tray, and some sort of meat that can enjoy while actively participating the social setting in which I am eating. But I don't think it's worth the psychological stress to avoid all non-Paleo foods when the social situation calls for a little flexibility.

Of course, my opinion on this whole thing seems to be evolving, and next week I may very well say that it's all or nothing - that I'm not ever having another hamburger bun again. But right now, I'm feeling a little more realistic. I'm aiming high. I'm succeeding about 93% of the time, and I'm dedicated to the overall purpose of this mission - improving my health - which I don't believe is compromised by the occasional Neolithic food.

Personal paradigm shift - eating well, eating local

I used to brush off the Madison fad of buying and eating local. People here make a big deal about it, but that's probably because it's a good idea, and it's hard to do. I've been doing a lot of reading about food systems, the Western diet, the business of nutritionism, and buying local/organic. Who can argue with the idea of supporting local farmers, knowing where your food is grown, and eating fresh, flavorful, seasonal food?

But the Western way is hard to deny. I'm accustomed to getting whatever type of food I want whenever I want - at 3 am, if I so choose. This convenience is courtesy of my local grocery stores. There are several, and many are open 24 hours a day. They are always stocked with a wide variety of food...and food-like substances...all at relatively reasonable prices.

The same cannot be said for my local farmer's market. Or the CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm down the road from which a purchase a fruit and vegetable share. Or the farmer north of here who sells me grass-fed and finished beef and pork. I can't run to the store to pick up the items I purchase from these people, nor can I buy foods that aren't currently available. Sometimes the farmer doesn't have what I'm looking for, so maybe I have to call another farmer or eat something different. And there are plenty of foods I should and do eat, such as bananas and pineapple, that I will never be able to buy from my local Wisconsin farmer.

I have to plan. I pick up my CSA share every Tuesday evening, right at the farm. But I don't know until that day what vegetables and fruit will be available for my family to eat that week. Most of the produce I get from my CSA is stuff I've never heard of before. I have to spend time not only researching what it is that I was given but also what to do with it, how to cook it, etc.

Meat is a little easier to plan for - it's not hard to cook a steak, and they (unlike my fresh vegetables - which I want to each fresh) can be frozen indefinitely and cooked when I want to eat it. But also unlike my CSA share - which I find to be reasonably-priced - grass-fed beef and pork, as well as free-range chicken and eggs, are, I have found, about twice as expensive as their grain-fed counterparts.

Without getting into the ins and outs of why grass is better than grain or why people would do well to eat more locally grown, whole foods (for that, read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food), I'm becoming more and more willing to pay the premium to support my family's health. That doesn't make it easy on the household budget, but I'm becoming increasingly aware of the importance of spending our hard-earned cash on good food that's really fresh from the (responsible) farm (and doesn't just say "farm fresh" on a package) instead of overly processed food-like substances from the grocery store or local chain restaurant.

So where does this leave me? I'm swimming in sea of information - good and bad - and I'm trying to clear my own path (and my family's path) by reading as much as I can, making decisions based on the best available information, planning and making food and health priorities in my life, and not balking at the prices of things I put into my body when those things give me health and life. There is little more important to our lives, our selves than what we put into our bodies, and I'm trying to take great care to make the right choices.

Relapse and recovery

Confession: After 26 successful days of eating Paleo, I had a relapse. It started with my trip to Minnesota. I had planned to go a little off course for my dinner Friday evening because I knew I would be on a dinner cruise. I thought that would be my one indulgence and then back on track the next morning.

Well, hotel continental breakfasts are not exactly Paleo-friendly. Yes, there were boiled eggs. I don't know if I've just gotten used to my free-range Omega-3 super-expensive eggs, but the eggs at the hotel were sub-par at best. So what was the next healthiest thing? An English muffin. Grains, yes - but better than a bagel, right? Probably would've been - without the grape jelly...and coffee with creamer...and little fruit danish for dessert (which defintely wasn't worth the sugar or the calories).

Okay fine - I didn't have much to choose from at the hotel. But for the rest of the day, I could control my food choices. I would skip whatever was served at the baby shower for lunch, eat my trail mix on the way home, and then eat dinner when I got back to Wisconsin. Do you know how hard it is to resist little homemade melted ham and swiss sandwiches, cheesy hashbrowns, and brownies? It's damn near impossible. Even if I'd had all the willpower in the world, I would've been shunned by my in-laws for not enjoying the feast that was laid before me. So I ate. It was delicious. And by this point, the guilt started to set in.

Not to fear! I knew I would be able to hit the gym when I got home Saturday evening, and that's exactly what I did. Sure, I was up a couple pounds, but no biggie - that would come right off. And I'm sure some of it did -- until I drank myself silly Saturday night. Bacardi Limon and 7, followed by peach schnapps. Had a fabulous time drinking hundreds of calories.

At this point, virtually the whole weekend is a loss, and waking up with a raging headache Sunday morning, we traded church for Pizza Hut delivery and, I'm ashamed to say, damn near downed a pizza a piece throughout the day. And, to add insult to injury, topped it off with a trip to Culver's for frozen custard.

DAMN! Not only did I completely sabotage four weeks worth of perfect eating and weight loss, I also felt completely sick Sunday night - and not from my hangover. There was no doubt in my mind that my little bender was a one-time thing -- one weekend of reckless abandon and complete gluttony. It wasn't worth it. I have to re-lose some of the weight I lost, clean out my system of alcohol, sugar, salt, and processed crap and restore the healthy balance I had created in my body over the previous month.

Come Monday, I got right back on the horse. No problem. Now it's Tuesday, and it feels good to back to myself again - the "new" self that cares what's in the food I'm eating, where it comes from, and what it does to my body. Yes, if I could go back, I would definitely make different choices over the weekend - especially Saturday night into Sunday. But at least I've learned that this isn't just a phase or some "thing" I'm trying out. This is really what I want to do, and despite a slip-up, I'm doing it.

Plateau or progress?

As expected, the speed of my initial weight loss has slowed as I get used to this new cavewoman lifestyle. I knew I couldn't sustain weight loss at a half pound per day forever (though I wouldn't object ot it...). When I actually saw the scale go up a pound this week, of course my initial reaction was to feel discouraged. But I just knew that I shouldn't feel that way. I have been doing everything right for almost four weeks now. I cannot be gaining weight.

So, as any other obsessive person would do in my situation, I went straight for the internet for affirmation that this lull was really my body getting used to things...or gaining muscle...or any other random hypothesis that would suit my needs. And I found plenty of them! Some of them are probably true, I suppose. I bet I am gaining muscle. It would be pretty amazing if I hadn't gained any muscle after a month of running three times a week and lifting weights. But that's not the real point.

The idea behind the changes I'm making is to lead a healthy lifestyle -- and I'm doing that! I'm succeeding! A month ago, I was stopping at the Burger King drive-thru for breakfast. Just over a year ago, I was smoking. Just last week, I couldn't run as far as I ran today. And damn - I'm already down 50 pounds from my weight at the beginning of 2009, and I'm down 14.5 pounds from a month ago! So what if I didn't lose much (or any) weight this week? I just put on an old pair of pants that isn't tight anymore. I ran longer and faster today than I did all week. My friends are amazed at my persistence. My husband thinks I'm sexy, and, well - I just feel good!

And today, I say -- that's plenty reward for me.

Cavegirl prepares to travel

When the cavemen traveled, they didn't have to think about going out to eat at restaurants or being rude for not sampling the in-laws' dishes at a baby shower. I do. I'm preparing for an overnight trip - a little over 24 hours, including car time - with the women of my husband's family, and I need to devise a plan to make Paleo possible while I'm traveling. I'll be driving Friday afternoon (alone), socializing Friday evening, sharing a hotel room with my mother- and sister-in-law Friday night, attending a baby shower Saturday noon, and then driving home (alone).

Here are some thoughts:

1. Pack a lot of snacks. There are a lot portable Paelo foods, especially nuts and fruit. I plan on pre-portioning a number of snacks so I can eat in the car on the way there and the way back and in the hotel at night, if I need to. Total control of the situation.

2. Pack breakfast. Chances are, the plan is to eat breakfast at the hotel. I can pack a couple boiled eggs and put them in a cooler and eat those with some fruit. Another crisis diverted.

3. Prepare a script for the restaurant. I'll bet that we'll be eating out for at least one meal - probably dinner on Friday evening. This is when I get a little nervous. There must be a way I can eat Paleo at a restaurant and resist the temptation of dinner rolls and french fries. I'm thinking I'll do a little more internet surfing on this topic before the trip, but right now I figure I should be safe ordering a plain chicken breast, prepared without salt or butter, with fruit and veggies on the side. I should be able to get that anywhere, right? Yikes...

4. Prepare to defend. I imagine at some point during my trip, one of my in-laws will question why I'm such a finnicky eater. It's easy to say, "Oh, I'm on a diet. Trying to lose some weight." But what usually follows is, "Come on, this is a fun weekend away - you can cheat just this once!" No. I can't. And I won't. I've made a committment to this way of life for the sake of my health. I've made some real progress in the last two and a half weeks, but I have a long way to go before I don't fear temptations from my old way of eating. So - my resolve must be strong, and I must be able to gracefully decline. We don't want to offend the in-laws!

This is my life on Paleo. I will have to travel. I'll consider this my first real test, and right now - I'm studying!

Katie goes Paleo: A little background

The past couple years of my life have been filled with blessings and hardships. In the summer of 2008, I finished graduate school, married the love of my life, became a step-mother, started a new job, moved to a new home, buried my father, and gained 40 pounds (on top of the 100 or so I already needed to lose). In 2009, I began to lose my vision, was diagnosed with Pseudotumor Cerebri and Chiari I Malformation, lost 30 pounds, quit smoking after 11 years, took lots of medications, celebrated one year of marriage and professional employment, supported my husband as he became a little fitness celebrity, visited my neurologist a lot, and had part of my skull removed.

So far, in 2010, I've had multiple ovarian cysts, endured chronic pain of unknown origin, began trying to get pregnant, faced the fact that I will not live forever, and decided that whatever years I have left should be good ones. After a little lecture from my new primary physician, I set out to reverse my medical problems with sustainable weight loss and physical fitness. My jumpstart: sign up for a 5K run and start eating Paleo.

Women of my size don't run races. We don't run. Period. It's really hard and it hurts. So what better motivation to get into shape and drop some pounds than signing up for race 9 weeks out. I will be running my first 5K at the end of July, and I'm currently in my second week of training, using the Couch to 5K program. I'm a competitor by nature. I can do this. I will do this.

As my husband will tell you (all about it, for hours if you let him!), exercise is only a small part of the process. Diet is key, and I picked a crazy one. Well, crazy by modern standards, but it makes a whole lot of sense to me. I started following The Paleo Diet, which eliminates dairy, sugar, salt, and grains from your diet and encourages consumption of lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The premise is that the latter are the foods that would have been available to the "cavemen" during the Paleolithic period, before the advent of agriculture, and are foods that our bodies are genetically designed to process. (Thank you, Loren Cordain! I hope I get to meet you someday.)

The first few days were very difficult. I even went through sugar withdrawals, I'm sure of it. But 10 days in I feel great, and I've lost over 8 pounds. I scour the internet for Paleo recipe ideas and read labels like there will be a quiz afterwards. I have a sense of determination that carries me through weak moments in the presence of chips and salsa and gives me energy to run. I know I cannot be defeated.