Archive - January 2018

…and cut it out completely.  You’ll thank me later.

There are so many wonderful alternatives out there, that you end up not even missing the real thing.  Daiya is a company that makes dairy free stuff – cheese, cream cheese, pizza, yogurt, dressings, and more.  Daiya products are free from all dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, eggs, fish, shellfish.  It covers a lot of bases – food allergies, vegan, special diet.  Try it out, you won’t be disappointed.

If you’re a baby calf, then you can skip this post.  So the USDA recommends that you have 3 glasses of milk a day!  Milk makes baby cows, big cows.  Once upon a time, I used to drink milk with every meal.  When I got into my late 20s, it started to bother my stomach.  I ended up not drinking as much, but when I went Paleo – I stopped altogether.  There are so many wonderful alternatives to drinking milk – almond milk and coconut milk are my go-to’s.  When you cut out dairy, you just have to make sure you’re getting calcium and vitamin D elsewhere – but that’s easy peasy.  Dark leafy greens and fatty fish are wonderful sources of calcium.

You’re body fat will go down, as well as your weight.  You’ll just start to feel better (and less bloated).  It seems like a win-win.  I promise you, that if you give the alternatives a chance, you won’t miss it.  I even made cheese once out of cashews and pine nuts, I’ll have to find the recipe.  The texture was a little off, but it melted like cheese and tasted like it too!

I have mild eczema, but when I cut out dairy, it almost completely went away.

Ghee and butter are staples in my diet, but I only buy grass-fed.  Kerry’s is a wonderful brand for butter.  I know it sounds like quite the commitment to give up dairy, but try to give yourself at least 30 days.  Elimination diets are good.  Sometimes you can find out that something really was causing a lot of trouble for you.  After going Paleo, I realized a lot of the foods I eliminated were causing a lot of problems for me…and I haven’t looked back.

So when you consume milk from a cow, you are getting a lot of extra hormones in it (because the cow is most likely pregnant).  The extra estrogen will cause a whole plethora of issues – allergies, eczema, endometriosis, decreased sex drive, acne…need I say more (because the list goes on)?  Listen to your body…give it 30 days.  What have you got to lose?

“Be mindful and listen to your body.  Take action – omit and reintroduce.” 

I’m not sure where the drive comes from – simply not fitting into my old clothes doesn’t do it for me.  Old pictures get me motivated, for a few minutes, until I think about how I like to eat to fuel my emotions.  I’m not sure where the dedication came from the first time.  I just really liked how I felt, and learning to cook was fun.  Now it’s more of a chore sometimes.

I’m working out pretty much everyday, and I’m starting to feel the difference.  If I look back – that’s how it started last time.  I did the gym thing, turned that into a routine, then I went into the Paleo lifestyle.  Together, it was magical…to say the least.

I have to dig deep and realize that this is what’s really good for me.  My mindset is changing, but it’s taking much longer than expected.  I keep telling myself to stick with it.  It’s so easy to give up and just want to eat a cheeseburger, especially on days that aren’t so great.

“The harder you work for something, the better you feel when you finally achieve it.”

And by here, I mean – at the start of a new Paleo “cycle”, if you will.

Let me first start by saying today I made a list of habits that I want to do everyday (starting with 90 days – inspired by my friend, Katie from World Momination), but hopefully continuing on much longer.  I started my day, albeit I was at work, with mediation.  It was a 10 minute mediation, and it was just what I needed.  I continued to listen to mediation music in my headphones for most of the morning.  After work, I came home and went right to the gym.  I didn’t want to do the stair master again, but I did it.  I’ve been going to the gym consistently for a little bit now and I already feel the difference.  In less than a week, I’m down 4.5 lbs.  I’ve also been reading a book – The History of Love.  It was recommended by my cousin.  Best book I’ve read in a long time.

I really wish I never fell off the wagon, but stress will effect you if you let it, and I certainly let it.  I stayed pretty healthy, even though I gained weight.  I stayed pretty strong as well, but that cortisol really got me good.  I can’t make excuses, but my year (2017) had some pretty rough spots and eating became my comfort.  My dad being sick took a toll on me in a lot of ways.  One – he had cancer…cancer.  That’s a scary word and you never think that it will personally effect you, and then one day it does.  And two – I had to take him to hormone and radiation treatments, as well as doctor’s appointments – pretty consistently for awhile.  I’m sure he was under stress, and probably upset – but boy did he take it out on me a lot.  I don’t blame him, I can’t – but it was hard.  You work to please others, but often you forget about taking care of yourself first.  That’s probably the most important think, and I neglected myself.  I stopped caring because it seemed other things were more important and I had to prioritize.  Making paleo friendly food at the end of a long day of working and running around was not at the top of my list.  I grabbed what was fast.  I tried to stay “healthy”, but the proof is in the pudding.

So here I am, back at square one (kinda).  All that hard work and dedication I put in the first time, fell by the wayside, and now I have to get there again – mentally, physically, emotionally.  One step at a time, right?  I’m mad at myself, or well, I was mad at myself, until a few days ago – or maybe it was today.  I just want to let go of the regret and remorse, and just do what I need to do to get back.  Luckily, everything I learned the first time around hasn’t left me.

I’ve been making my own versions of paleo meals (I’ll post the recipes in separate posts).  I’ve been meal prepping.  I started eating my prepared breakfasts at work.  I cut out the sugar and dairy.  I’m on my way to great things.  When I’m not in shape, overweight, and not the optimum version of myself – I’m an asshole.  I take it out on everyone around me, and that’s not fair.

The one thing I always loved doing – snowboarding-, I was starting to no longer love.  I couldn’t dig deep enough in my stubborn soul, to get over being stubborn about it – and just do it.  I needed to prove to myself that I still loved doing it…it was still a passion…I still felt that rush and adrenaline…the only thing I was brave enough to try and start by myself – teach myself – push myself….and I was losing my passion.  But today, an epiphany – I do care about snowboarding.  I do want to do it.  I want to feel that rush.  I’m not the best, but I love it.

Over the past couple days, I’ve showed myself that if I put my mind to it, I can do it.  I have a great year coming up.  I’ll be 35, I’ll pay my car off soon, and I will finish my Master’s degree by December!!!  Speaking of school, next semester starts on February 4, and I have to do my mid-point review soon.  So crazy, but I’m so ready!

“Be you.  The world will adjust.”