So, about a year ago I read a post on Smrt Mama's blog about identifying things about ourselves that are positive, really showing ourselves a little love and admiration. I didn't do it a year ago. I wasn't ready. I did do it, though, last March. (If you're interested, here's the link to that post.) Smrt Mama's challenge was to identify five things each about my looks/body, my mind, and that I've accomplished without qualifying them with any sort of negative comment. I did pretty well in March...but I can do better now.
About Me
- Annie
- Like all of you, I'm a number of things to a number of people...Navy wife, homeschooling mama, educated woman and aspiring writer. Read my thoughts on all of it here. Please feel free to leave your thoughts on all of it too!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Answers, already!
So, if you're not following along with my fun...here's what's gone on recently...
Two posts ago I offered four cook books up in a giveaway. All you needed to do to enter was ask a question about healthy living! I know, not too tough! Then, I announced the winners and gave a little background on me and my primal life over the past few years. And that brings us to right now, when i promise to answer the winner's questions, and maybe a couple others!
1) Was is hard to get your kids to make the paleo jump?
Yes and no. I switched very quickly (although I've wavered on and off and haven't been super strict in the past with social gatherings) but I worked the kids into it much more slowly. At each step I've gotten a little (or a lot) of resistance. But within a few days or a week, all three usually get used to the changes and stop they're moaning and groaning.
I've only recently switched them to 100% paleo/primal foods. They are allowed to make their own decisions, for the most part, when at friends' houses or parties. Gracie almost immediately gets a tummy ache from eating gluten. The boys do sometimes but not all the time. They all act like different kids completely when they get their hands on sugar, and that includes breads that turn to sugar during digestion. It's amazing to me and makes it clear to me that a little diet change could go a long way in the vast majority of those ADHD cases out there. But that's just my opinion. And, no, I don't think it would "just be easier" to let them eat crap all the time so they don't get tummy aches after pizza and birthday cake! (Sorry, no one asked about that on my blog, but it is a comment I get from people quite often!)
Last year I did a Healthy Living Unit in our homeschool. It was great to teach the kids all about healthy living. They still refer to things they learned then, like getting enough sleep or finding "poisons" on labels in the supermarket. Jace, who is eight years old, is spending the night at a friend's house tomorrow night said to me today, "I'm going to try to eat right while I'm gone. I'll read the labels if I can. I know I can always have fruit." Sometimes he makes me so proud!
2) Did you get headaches when you switched? I heard that happens...
The only time I've gotten headaches in this process is after I get hooked on Mt. Dew again and have to detox from that crap! I didn't get headaches when removing all the sugar and gluten from our foods. However, while my bowels were healing from the abuse of gluten and got used to processing clean foods, I did have some loose stools and was fatigued for a while. Sometimes it's called the low-carb flu. After a week or two it passed, though, and I felt fine.
3) What is the best thing you've noticed about yourself that isn't related to the size of your clothes since you made the switch to Paleo?
There are two huge changes that jump to mind and I'm not sure which is better, so I'll name them both! First of all, I have so much more energy. Within weeks of starting to live primally that was noticeable and has only become more so since cleaning up my food intake even more and beginning to work out regularly. And secondly, my moods are so even now. I still get stressed out. I still get anxious. I even still get angry. But the extreme changes aren't what they used to be, and that's a good thing. I'm happier. I'm joyful.
4) How do you respond to people when they say, "Oh, you're on a diet?" Do you look at paleo/primal as a diet?
It depends on the person and the situation, but ideally I explain that we all have a "diet." The word simply means what we eat. My "diet" fills me with energy. If they're open to hearing more, I gladly tell them that my life is more than what I eat and so is being primal.
I don't consider living primal a diet, though. I consider it living.
5) Which book will give me info and help me build my personal cookbook?
Honestly, any of these would be a big help with ideas to build on! They're great. As for info...Paleo Comfort Foods, Make It Paleo, and Everyday Paleo all come with incredible intros - how to set up your kitchen, staples to have on hand, etc. Paleo Comfort Foods includes a great list of websites to give you more information (all the ones that anyone who's anyone in the paleo/primal world frequent). Make It Paleo has menu ideas for special occasions. And Everyday Paleo has a full 30 day menu with shopping lists! Any of these books would be great starts for someone just getting into this life.
So, that's it for now...you might remember I mentioned sleep being part of a healthy life...and it's time for me to hit the sack! I'll be back to answer more questions soon! Feel free to leave any other questions you have in the comments and I'll tackle them too...in time!
(2nd Round of answers)
Two posts ago I offered four cook books up in a giveaway. All you needed to do to enter was ask a question about healthy living! I know, not too tough! Then, I announced the winners and gave a little background on me and my primal life over the past few years. And that brings us to right now, when i promise to answer the winner's questions, and maybe a couple others!
1) Was is hard to get your kids to make the paleo jump?
Yes and no. I switched very quickly (although I've wavered on and off and haven't been super strict in the past with social gatherings) but I worked the kids into it much more slowly. At each step I've gotten a little (or a lot) of resistance. But within a few days or a week, all three usually get used to the changes and stop they're moaning and groaning.
I've only recently switched them to 100% paleo/primal foods. They are allowed to make their own decisions, for the most part, when at friends' houses or parties. Gracie almost immediately gets a tummy ache from eating gluten. The boys do sometimes but not all the time. They all act like different kids completely when they get their hands on sugar, and that includes breads that turn to sugar during digestion. It's amazing to me and makes it clear to me that a little diet change could go a long way in the vast majority of those ADHD cases out there. But that's just my opinion. And, no, I don't think it would "just be easier" to let them eat crap all the time so they don't get tummy aches after pizza and birthday cake! (Sorry, no one asked about that on my blog, but it is a comment I get from people quite often!)
Last year I did a Healthy Living Unit in our homeschool. It was great to teach the kids all about healthy living. They still refer to things they learned then, like getting enough sleep or finding "poisons" on labels in the supermarket. Jace, who is eight years old, is spending the night at a friend's house tomorrow night said to me today, "I'm going to try to eat right while I'm gone. I'll read the labels if I can. I know I can always have fruit." Sometimes he makes me so proud!
2) Did you get headaches when you switched? I heard that happens...
The only time I've gotten headaches in this process is after I get hooked on Mt. Dew again and have to detox from that crap! I didn't get headaches when removing all the sugar and gluten from our foods. However, while my bowels were healing from the abuse of gluten and got used to processing clean foods, I did have some loose stools and was fatigued for a while. Sometimes it's called the low-carb flu. After a week or two it passed, though, and I felt fine.
3) What is the best thing you've noticed about yourself that isn't related to the size of your clothes since you made the switch to Paleo?
There are two huge changes that jump to mind and I'm not sure which is better, so I'll name them both! First of all, I have so much more energy. Within weeks of starting to live primally that was noticeable and has only become more so since cleaning up my food intake even more and beginning to work out regularly. And secondly, my moods are so even now. I still get stressed out. I still get anxious. I even still get angry. But the extreme changes aren't what they used to be, and that's a good thing. I'm happier. I'm joyful.
4) How do you respond to people when they say, "Oh, you're on a diet?" Do you look at paleo/primal as a diet?
It depends on the person and the situation, but ideally I explain that we all have a "diet." The word simply means what we eat. My "diet" fills me with energy. If they're open to hearing more, I gladly tell them that my life is more than what I eat and so is being primal.
I don't consider living primal a diet, though. I consider it living.
5) Which book will give me info and help me build my personal cookbook?
Honestly, any of these would be a big help with ideas to build on! They're great. As for info...Paleo Comfort Foods, Make It Paleo, and Everyday Paleo all come with incredible intros - how to set up your kitchen, staples to have on hand, etc. Paleo Comfort Foods includes a great list of websites to give you more information (all the ones that anyone who's anyone in the paleo/primal world frequent). Make It Paleo has menu ideas for special occasions. And Everyday Paleo has a full 30 day menu with shopping lists! Any of these books would be great starts for someone just getting into this life.
So, that's it for now...you might remember I mentioned sleep being part of a healthy life...and it's time for me to hit the sack! I'll be back to answer more questions soon! Feel free to leave any other questions you have in the comments and I'll tackle them too...in time!
(2nd Round of answers)
Cook Book Winners and Some Background Details...
I know you've been eagerly awaiting the results of my cook book giveaway. Since you're on the edge of your seats, here are the winners...
Congratulations Jaime! Your copy of Everyday Paleo is on it's way!
Congratulations Carmel! I'll happily hand you your very own Make It Paleo soon!
Kelly, I put Paleo Comfort Foods in the mail for you today! Congratulations!
Congratulations Fawn! I hope you find lots of tasty ideas in Primal Blueprint: Quick & Easy Meals!
And a BIG thank you to everyone who asked a question! There were some wonderful questions and I'm excited to answer some! Let's start with a little background, that will actually answer some of your questions...
This is a picture of me before I heard about The Primal Blueprint, which happened in February 2010. I saw an interview with John Durant on The Colbert Report. (You can read about how I first dipped my toes in the water here, here, and here.) I've never really looked back, although I've gone back a few times! I love so many things about primal living and the benefits far outweigh the short-lived joy of a Butterfinger, so it really hasn't been that hard of a decision.
Here I am October of 2010. (Obviously it's October...we don't always dress up like this!) That's nine months since I'd first heard about this way of life. It's also after moving across the country, living with non-primal family for a month, attending a wedding, supporting my husband as he began a new position, and beginning to homeschool our kids.
This picture is me in April 2011. I was feeling pretty good and getting into a job that would use my brain again - in ways being a stay-at-home-mom just doesn't, which excited me! I was still eating almost completely primal, but the things that weren't primal, weren't good. I was "treating" the kids and I to a candy bar every week. I was drinking Mt. Dew daily, often more than one a day. And I wasn't working out in any regular way. Not formal working out, not playing (one of the rules of The Primal Blueprint).
This shot was taken in September 2011, after getting rid of the candy and pop and beginning Boot Camp Diva (about 2 months in). It was as part of Boot Camp that I learned about paleo. One of you asked what the difference between paleo and primal living is. I used to think that paleo was just the diet and primal blueprint covered all aspects of life. Now, I realize that there's not much difference at all. One difference is that paleo tends to not include dairy, but even Robb Wolf said in an interview that if dairy doesn't effect you adversely, then it can be acceptable. So, I might say that they're pretty much different sides of the same coin.
Both paleo and primal promote not only a paleolithic food plan, but also have a paleolithic perspective on moving, sleeping, exercising our brains and finding balance in our lives. Both are pretty outstanding!
So, that's my story...and I think that's all I'll stuff into this post. It's getting on the long side. I'll add some links with the answers to your questions soon!
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