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| Beef. Nom. Photo by piyato |
One hat that I have tried on and decided that I would like to wear is that of a healthier person. I'm currently extremely overweight, and, well, I'm kind of tired of being that way. When it comes to diets, I've been there and done that. I've been up and down the scale, although at the moment, getting below 200 lbs. would be my holy grail. I don't think I've seen a scale number below 200 since high school (and my 20-year reunion isn't that far away). When we recently moved, I sent bags and bags of clothing on to the Goodwill, in everything from a size 16 to a size 30. I tossed over 30 skirts and pairs of pants and over 50 tops. Despite that packed closet, I was only able to wear about three or four outfits at any given time.
Being overweight is, quite literally, a royal pain in the ass. My back hurts, my hips hurt, my knees hurt, and my feet hurt. I can't keep up with my kids. It's all I can do to haul myself up my stairs every day. The thought of going for a fifteen minute walk makes me want to cry. I hate feeling so limited.
A while ago, my sister inspired me to start eating Paleo/Primal, and I read The Primal Blueprint.
Despite my initial reservations and insistence that I could never eat like this and that this diet was a fad and fats are baaaaaaad, and so on and so forth, the science was compelling and made perfect sense. Plus, I couldn't deny that after a few weeks eating paleo, I felt incredible. My skin was clearing up, I actually had energy (for a change), and the weight was practically falling off.
Despite my initial reservations and insistence that I could never eat like this and that this diet was a fad and fats are baaaaaaad, and so on and so forth, the science was compelling and made perfect sense. Plus, I couldn't deny that after a few weeks eating paleo, I felt incredible. My skin was clearing up, I actually had energy (for a change), and the weight was practically falling off.
Then a whole string of birthdays and other life-type stuff got in the way, and soon I was snarfing down cake and potato chips again. I regained some of the weight and went back to my pimply, cranky, low-energy self.
Well, I'm giving it another go.
I'm gonna give this bad boy another try. I saw the results and I believe in it. Plus, I'm in a Biggest Loser type competition with a group of friends and I want to win that pot!
I'm gonna give this bad boy another try. I saw the results and I believe in it. Plus, I'm in a Biggest Loser type competition with a group of friends and I want to win that pot!
Which brings me to my next point.
My family isn't exactly rolling in the dough, if you know what I mean. Items like pasture-raised/grass-fed beef are a little challenging to procure when the weekly grocery budget for a family of four is often less than $100. At the same time, I don't feel like stuffing our faces with cheap rice and pasta is an option either, now that I'm aware of what they do to me.
My family isn't exactly rolling in the dough, if you know what I mean. Items like pasture-raised/grass-fed beef are a little challenging to procure when the weekly grocery budget for a family of four is often less than $100. At the same time, I don't feel like stuffing our faces with cheap rice and pasta is an option either, now that I'm aware of what they do to me.
So here's my plan: I'm going to write about what my family is doing to eat Paleo/Primal on a limited budget, share with you what we learn and discover along the way (including ways to buy quality ingredients for less and good Paleo-style recipes I find), and you can cheer me on or share your stories and ideas. Sound like a deal?
Good.
Let's shake on it.
I'm looking forward to reading more! My family's eating habits are changing to something very close to paleo/primal, so this blog could come in very handy for us! :)
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