Paleo Fail-eo

So remember when I mentioned the Paleo lifestyle.

How I was so intrigued by the book and all the positive things I'd heard about it?

well... I kind of suck at it.

I binged worse when I was doing Paleo than I have in a long time.

When I read the book, the author, Robb Wolf, mentioned a situation when a client got frustrated that they couldn't find grass-fed, organic beef, so they just ate a turkey sandwich and chips (or something like that... I'm paraphrasing.)

this, my friends, is how I reacted.

I did really well for the first week or two.

and then I fell off the wagon.

then the wagon ran me over.

and then backed up over me.

total Paleo FAIL.

Perhaps I should back up a little bit.

{{I rarely mention my diet/eating lifestyle on here, mainly because I have co-workers and family who read this and sometimes I don't feel like opening up 100% about EVERYTHING going on in my life, but today... I'm going there.}}

approximately 5 years ago, when Diz and I were still dating and started talking marriage, I remember going to a bridal fair with my Mom and looking at wedding dresses. I realized I how much weight I had gained.

 I decided I had to start doing something because I was not going to walk down the aisle, toeing the scale at near-200lbs. I started running 5-6 days a week and eating better. I lost 40lbs by the time Diz and I got engaged in December of 2007.

After we got married, I started to gain weight. I blamed everything but my diet. I was still running (and training for the St George Marathon) but my diet had completely taken a turn for the worse. I had thyroid labs done (don't we all want to blame our weight gain on something? our poor thyroid gets such a shitty reputation) - Which came back normal, as well as other labs I had drawn.   My weight gain was my fault. I decided to join Weight Watchers a few months after I got married. I learned SO much about foods. I started looking at labels. Counting fiber, fat and calories. I learned that food journaling was a valuable tool. I earned activity points for running. Weekly weigh-ins and meetings kept me accountable. I lost the weight and have since become a Lifetime member.



my lifetime keychain - which has since been lost. boo!



and back to the present time...

Here is why I think I had such a hard time with Paleo.

WW (Weight Watchers) preaches some basic principals.

There are 'power foods' - basically lean meat/protein, fruits & vegetables, whole grains, fat free (or low fat) dairy, and healthy oils. You are assigned a daily point target (designated by current weight, height, activity level, and sex). And you can earn activity points by working out. Points are calculated by some algorithym of fat, fiber, carbs, and proteins. This has been so ingrained into my thought processes about food that I struggle when something challenges that. I know the point values of a lot of food. I know how to get the biggest bang for my buck - point wise for a meal. Foods that are high in fiber, low in carbs and fat, tend to be lower points. Foods that are high fat, regardless of fiber or protein or even carbs, are higher points.

so when Paleo preaches high fat foods - like nuts, bacon, avocados - you see my dilemma.

Not that I couldn't eat nuts, bacon and avocados on WW. But lets say I get 26 points in a day. For reference - 23 almonds (raw) are 5 points. 1/4 avocado is 2 points. I don't even know the points for bacon, because I never checked, but I can assure you it's high, because of the fat content.

Now, to be honest... there are a lot of similarities between Paleo and WW.

Both like lean protein and fruits (though Paleo limits these) and vegetables and (to a certain extent) healthy, fats (WW suggests 1-2 tsp of healthy oils, like EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), per day, where Paleo seems to love coconut oil and bacon fat). And with the somewhat recent change in the point system (no longer 'points', but 'points plus') it seems as though more processed foods, and carb-rich foods are even higher in points.

Now... WW still suggests eating whole grains, like oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat, etc.

I'm pretty sure in Paleo-world, those are all blasphemy-foods.

oh... and in Paleo - no dairy. (I missed yogurt and cottage cheese...)

When I first started Paleo I decided I still wanted to track points and see if I could stay within my daily point target, or see if it evened out. But I gotta tell you, it was really depressing when I'd eat a handful of almonds and realize that my point target was almost gone. And salads with olive oil & lemon juice for salad dressing simply suck. sorry.

Some of my frustration with Paleo is that there is SO much info out there and some of seems to conflict.

Some people say it's not worth it if you don't do Paleo 100%. Some say to shoot for 80/20.

Some people don't eat ANY dairy. Some say that dairy is okay. Or that it's okay if it's full fat.

Some people eat peanut butter. But I was told peanuts are legumes and legumes are BAD.

Some people drink protein shakes... Um... did cavemen have protein shakes?

Some say only get organic and/or grassfed proteins. WTF?! do you know how much that shiz costs?! Diz and I don't have money trees in the backyard.

oh... and I'm not supposed to have my beloved Peppermint Mocha creamer on Paleo. That's just not right. NOT. RIGHT.

So where does that leave me? (besides being utterly frustrated and confused as shit)

I'm currently 7-10 lbs heavier than I need to be. (and quite frankly, I'm pissed about it)

and let me be very clear, I'm not blaming Paleo for the weight gain. My incessant binging made me gain weight.

and I NEED to lose that weight or Ogden will be even harder than it needs to be.

And as much as I'd like to think I'm just a bad-ass Crossfitter and that the weight gain is all muscle, it's not. I'll be glad to strip down to my skivvies and bra and show you where those 7-10 lbs are sitting (or jiggling).

So the plan is to go back to what has worked in the past. I'm going back to WW and getting back on that wagon. I'm going back to meetings and starting to track my daily food intake.

To be completely honest, I'm not 'head-over-heels' in love with WW like I was when I first joined.

There are some things that are preached by WW that don't always sit well with me.

Sometimes going to meetings is frustrating. Other members tell us 'success stories' about getting the kids meals from McD's instead of the regular combo meals to 'save points' and I want to bang my head against the wall. Or 'did you know that a slice of Domino's pizza is only XX points?' Or we're told to do arm curls with our water bottles during commercials when we watch TV. Umm.. No thanks, I'll go back squat and clean and jerk at Elevated CrossFit or run a half marathon.

Bitchiness aside, the fundamentals of the program do work for me. A healthy, balanced diet with lots of activity. Nothing wrong with that. I probably do need to find a better meeting time, though. I will try to eat "clean" and cut back on the processed, carb-y shit foods. Lots of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, dairy (cottage cheese & yogurt), sweet potatoes (before long runs), some healthy fats and lots of water. (still Diet Coke sober since 10/31/11 - I deserve a gold star for that).

I have about 7 weeks til Ogden Marathon. And I'm definitely going to work hard to get the extra weight off.

because I really want to make Ogden my bitch this year. ;)