I LOVE to eat. I love the taste, the smells, the social enjoyment of eating and the emotional escape that cramming a cookie into my face seems to allow. The truth is, I have major issues with food. The only time in my life I have ever felt a true sense of control around food was when I was completely and honestly following the Paleo Diet guidelines. I also had more energy, slept better, felt less aches and pains and almost no random "I need chocolate NOW!" cravings. So....what happened?
My inner demons took over. I gave in to the feeling of being left out. I hated everyone constantly asking me "Is that paleo?", or "Should you be eating that?" or "Why not just have a little? It can't hurt anything." The truth is, it did hurt. As soon as I started to cheat the urgent cravings, the emotional defeat and the sense of failure took over and BAM! I gained all the weight I had lost back, and the entire list of other physical and emotion complaints that lead me to paleo in the first place came back. Shoot. It stinks. I hate it.
So, back to the plan! I had a plan. I was going to wake up this morning and eat a wonderful healthy breakfast and hit the ground running. While I would like to say I did just that, I didn't. I had a hard, rushed morning getting my kids out the door to school, which is always a draining task in this house. I had a toddler who felt the need to embrace his terrible twos just a little more than usual, and instead of a big healthy breakfast I grabbed a large glass of coke and three left over cookies. I think I ate some goldfish crackers with my kid too.
Well, there you have it. Proof positive that I have absolutely lost motivation and control. So I took a hot shower, brushed my teeth, drank a large glass of water and gave myself a little pep talk. It's time to take control over my own life again. And I need to do it in a sustainable, family friendly way. So yes, I am going to eliminate sugars. Sugar clearly makes me crazy. And I am going to embrace the Paleo lifestyle again, but with a few adjustments to fit our family. I'll discuss those changes another time. But for now, my cranky two year old and I are going to the grocery store to buy a few wonderful vegetables so I can start a big wonderful pot of delicious healthy soup.
Step one: Refill my fridge with easy, delicious food options! Today's project, lots of yummy soup that can be reheated in 2 minutes time all week long!
What's my recipe? I don't have one! Clean, and chop every veggie that looks fresh and wonderful and throw it in the crock pot with some homemade broth. Season with wonderful herbs and let the crock pot do work it's magic.
It is simple, but that is where I am starting. Join me on this journey! I will conquer my food demons one small step at a time.
