I never thought that I would go on a Paleo diet. When I read about it, I found it to be way too restrictive for my taste. However, now I have become convinced that it is worth a try.
For as long as I can remember, I have had major digestive issues with daily bloating. I read that a Paleo diet is a good anti-inflammatory diet. It is also a good elimination diet, since so many things have to be excluded.
I have needed to do an elimination diet for at least 20 years. I did do a diet that eliminated bread, dairy, nuts, and sugar in the past. I didn’t feel so great on it that I continued with it, and while I did lose some weight on it, I easily found it again. Now I am giving up bread, grains, sugar, dairy, and legumes.
The basic premise of Paleo seems to be going back to the diet of the cavemen. It is about eating what they could readily find for food. Eating real and unprocessed food is an important aspect of the plan. I am not so convinced that I will give up all these things forever, but I hope to be able to get a better handle on what is causing my digestive issues. If certain foods really are causing my problems, it will be good to know which ones.
So far, I have been on the plan for nine days. I don’t feel better at this point, but people say it takes time. I have lost five pounds, and that is enough motivation to stick with it at least for the 30 days that I have committed to doing. I will assess things at the end and possibly add back certain foods one food at a time.
For now, I am trying not to focus on what I cannot have, but focus on eating good food. This is a good time for me to experiment with different things. I have discovered that I like plantains. I found a recipe to make bread from them, and it is yummy. The recipe can be found at http://purelytwins.com/2014/06/04/5-ingredient-almond-butter-no-sugar-jelly-sandwich-paleo/.
For a long time I have wanted to try cauliflower rice and finally did. I liked it. I just cut it up and put it into my food processor, and it came out great. Next, I sautéed the rice with onions and peppers. I used Coco Aminos in place of soy sauce. It worked well. I like that it has much less sodium than even the lower sodium soy sauce.
I tried using Portobello mushrooms in place of hamburger buns. I still need to experiment more with that, but it wasn’t bad if I used a knife and a fork. I am finding it difficult to eat out if I want to be strict during the 30 days. I have wanted to eat out less, so that actually works out except for when I want to be social.
I like that I am eating more whole foods. I am definitely eating more fruits and vegetables. I even got my husband to try spaghetti squash, finally. It is a good thing that I have plenty of asparagus from the garden to help me with the veggie intake. I sure hope that after the 30 days I really do feel better and have more energy.
