Slave to the House

Thanks to the folks over at PaleoPlan I am no longer stressing or confused about what I’m going to be eating for the day. I bought their quickstart guide and will definitely be subscribing to their service when I’m done with my six weeks. I’ve come up with a very reasonable goal of losing 5 pounds a month, and bringing my mile run time down to 8 minutes (currently 12:30). I feel pretty good about the whole thing, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes. I lost my fabric tape measure so I don’t have measurements, but I currently weigh 181.9 pounds. I was down to 178 before the holidays, but if you knew how my mother-in-law cooked, you’d know it was futile to resist. I didn’t feel guilty about it though, it was only a couple pounds and I only get to eat her cooking once a year.

The one hiccup I’ve run into so far is that getting a 4 year old to eat what the rest of us are eating is nigh impossible. I’ve ordered “Eat Like a Dinosaur” but sadly that won’t be released until March. I’ll just keep trying to get him to eat stuff that’s good for him.

Primal or Paleo? There are dietary differences between the two but on my quest for personal health, I really don’t differentiate between primal and paleo. I reference primal a lot when I tweet but I think I prefer the word “paleo” because it feels better in my mouth to say it, even though what I’m doing isn’t strictly paleo. I bought the Primal Blueprint a couple months ago and read through it, on the recommendation of a friend. I also picked up Skinny Bitch/Bastard because at the time, I was thinking to go straight vegan and be done with it. I’ve also previously dabbled in raw diets and have a few of those cookbooks around as well. Well, of all the books I read, the Primal Blueprint resonated with me the most. Honestly, I think I knew from the beginning I’d never be able to go vegan. I grew up in California where tri-tip BBQ was a common weekend thing. I DO try to be responsible about where my meat comes from and what it eats (organic and grass-fed), but I’m not going to feel guilty about digging in to a nice juicy steak.

I’m getting off on a tangent here. What I really intended this post to be was a list of my paleo bookmarks (that I add to almost every day) because I have found there are LOTS of people – even people who have published books, holy crap – who are eating this way. And the coolest thing for me is that SO FAR, no one seems to have an agenda. Skinny Bitch definitely had an agenda, and that agenda was “meat is murder and you should feel bad”. But every paleo person (so far) I’ve followed on twitter or read about in a blog has been “I’m doing this because it worked for me” which is what THIS post is. That’s not to say there aren’t some paleo militants out there, because I’m sure there are, just that I’ve felt a lot more comfortable and natural about delving into this lifestyle than any other.

I’ve lost 10 pou… actually, I’ve lost 20 pounds. This year I topped out at 201 pounds, the heaviest I have ever been for my 5’3″ body. I am now down to 180-181, with the fastest 10 pounds when I decided to do an 80/20 diet about a month ago – that’s 80% primal and 20% not. I tell you what, the 20% wiggle room really keeps me from feeling guilty when I have a piece of bread, I only kick myself because my BODY definitely doesn’t like it, but at least mentally I’m good. I took a 2 mile walk (barefoot) on Wednesday and it was awesome and I’m planning on taking another one today because the weather is beautiful.

And there I go again.

Here’s my damn list! It’s a mix of recipes I’d like to try, websites I’ve found helpful, and things I’d like to buy. It’s pretty obvious to see how my train of thought works on some of these ;)

Primal Palate
Paleo Plan – Can’t wait to do this one, honestly. Meal planning and grocery shopping are my downfall.
Primal Texas Chili
Primal Breakfast Suggestions
Our Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes (Primal Palate)
Thanksgiving Paleo-style (Paleo Plan)
Paleo Candybars
How to Make Dried Fruit
Excalibur Dehydrator
Paleo Parents
Eco Nuts Soap
Zucchini Mac & Cheese
She Cooks…He Cleans
Make Your Own Almond Flour
How to Make Coconut Flour
Mark’s Daily Apple
Primal/Paleo Pie Crust
Unconventional Kitchen
Deep Creek Ranch
US Wellness Meats
Paleo Hacks
Free Coconut Recipes
Primalmeded
Highbrow Paleo
Primal Balance
The Lazy Caveman
Altamonte CrossFit – my local CrossFit gym that I hope I can afford to attend someday
Top 10 Paleo/Primal Gifts – If anyone wants to buy me the Quickstart Guide and year of meal planning, I would be eternally grateful ;)

This year, I have come to the uncomfortable realization that there will be no Christmas presents for anyone this time around. We simply can’t afford it. Heath is the sole provider, and there’s simply no way we can get presents AND pay rent/power/groceries/bills. We’re hopefully that our tax return will be a good one and we’ll be able to get some things then, but right now, I’m not even sure I want to put up the Christmas tree. I keep telling myself that Christmas isn’t about what presents I can get for my kids, but come on, some of my best childhood memories are of unwrapping things. I suppose I’ll get my head in order soon enough. My daughter has given me a massive Amazon wish list (most of which is Japanese import stuff – sorry kid, I’m not buying you anything that needs yen), and I’m debating whether or not to let my middle son do the same. My youngest turns 4 on January 2nd so not only do we have Christmas, but birthday too for him to worry about. I know my older two will understand if we have to put presents off for a few weeks, and my youngest doesn’t have that concept of time yet, but it’s still … it still sucks, quite frankly. My husband works his ass off and we still can barely make ends meet. I can’t work, because childcare is so expensive here I’d end up paying to go to work. I’m HOPING that his mom will be able to loan us some money so we can go home to visit for Christmas, because that would be the only present he and I need.

This is a definite “life is ARRRGH” rant.