Paleo Challenge Inspiration

Sometime last year I attempted to go Paleo and I made it through about 3 months before I stopped due to lack of motivation mainly, but also expenses & digestive issues. But this year, where I do cross fit they're having a paleo challenge & I'm ready to tackle it again hopefully making bigger changes, trying new recipes, and possibly more lastingly.

This Monday I'll begin the challenge. I'll be weighing myself at the beginning & end of the challenge. & I'll have to record my food & water intake, as well as my sleep! Our records will be sent in every night for the coaches to look at and comment on. This will definitely keep me motivated to stay on track & not cheat too much!

We will also have a "Benchmark WOD (Workout of the Day)" at the beginning & end of the challenge to see how the diet affected our training. If you couldn't tell I'm very excited. It's definitely time for me to get back on track with my diet & exercising!

Here are some of the amazing differences I felt
after my first trial of the Paleo Diet...

+ Patience
Having to cook almost every meal really made me learn to be patient when it comes to food. That all good things take time & it makes it that much more enjoyable when I finally get to eat. Using a slow cooker really helped during the crazy days when I would go to work, school, then the gym. I could pop in a pork shoulder or chicken breast, let it cook all day & come home to juicy deliciousness.
+ Cooking Skills
& of course my cooking skills improved! I started trying to be creative & I'd purposely buy ingredients I didn't normally eat and try to come up with ways I could include them in my meals. It doesn't work all the time but that's half the fun! I learned so many more cooking techniques, and how to multitask with proper timing from all of the cooking I would do.
+ No more bloating!
Probably the best part of the diet was the decrease in stomach bloating. Asides from a few desserts I attempted (& misusing coconut flour) I never had to "lay down after eating", never felt lethargic, or "too full". The lack of grains & dairy definitely reduces the inflammation all through the digestive system weather or not you believe you have an allergy.
+ Food Awareness
The entire reason I started the paleo diet was because I took a nutrition class as part of my massage therapy program & it opened up my eyes to all of the horrible substances found in everyday food & how it's taking a toll on society. I won't get into the details (FDA, allergies blah blah blah) but I decided it was time to really eat real, wholesome foods, which is exactly what paleo is all about.
+ Diet Shaping
And lastly, this diet really got me thinking about what I was putting into my body & how it affected me. I started paying attention to how I would react after eating certain foods & how different foods mixed together would really affect my digestion.
Here are some of my more memorable meals I had among the many. Pretty basic but like I said I was just getting into it & with a busy schedule I did struggle at times!