Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Food, food, FOOD!

After the holidays Nick and I decided we needed to make some changes to our diet. We talked about what we could and could not live without and how we could make enough reasonable changes to help ourselves eat better without sacrificing the things we love. For me it was sweets like ice cream and chocolate and for him it was pizza and pasta. For awhile we worked on portion control, which was nice but in the end we would just pig out and undo all the good works we'd been doing. So for the first couple weeks we weren't doing so hot.

Then, we decided to try a "cleanse" 5 days on juice, soups and veggies. It was just what we needed to kick start our healthy life. We bought a juicer and found an awesome meal plan and stuck with it for 5 days. Granted we choked our way through some of the recipes, for the most part we enjoyed it. Then, we decided to keep the juices and add in some whole foods. Since then we've transitioned to a "paleo" diet. I use the term loosely because I'm sure there are things here and there we eat that aren't completely paleo in that we still eat rice, used some processed spices and things like that. And we also have occasional cheat days or times when we indulge, like on Valentines day we went to a fancy schmancy place called Prime Ocean. I had a steak and carrots but topped my meal off with peanut butter pie. I think knowing that I am allowed to do that when I want makes me less likely to want it because aside from times like that when I crave sweets some fruit or a juice suffices.

Health wise this new lifestyle has really helped me. My skin looks and feels great, I have much more energy and of course I'm losing plenty of weight. I went to the doctor a while back for a pretty nasty case of the flu and she had me take some blood tests since it had been awhile since I'd been to the doctor. My blood pressure was crazy high, my cholesterol was so bad she gave me a prescription to lower it and most of my vitamins were really low. No surprise, I was eating like crap and it finally caught up. Instead of taking drugs to regulate my body, I decided to let food do the work.

As if our relationship needed any improving, doing this diet has really made Nick and I closer. We're able to take a real look at why we're doing this and what is important to us. Not just because we want to be healthier but the things we learn now about eating right are things we'll be passing to our kids someday. We shop together, cook together and plan our meals out. And, we get to share our successes as we go!

There are some awesome resources that have really made this process easier!
Of course, all of the awesomeness that is Reddit: /r/Paleo and /r/juicing
TheFoodee.com is the single most awesome website for building meal plans and making grocery lists
MarksDailyApple.com
and Reboot with Joe

And a super special thanks to our great friend Otlyn whole is providing guidance and support as we learn how we're actually supposed to be eating!