Since I have been put on a new diet per my doctor, I started doing a bit of research!

I talked with some friends about my new diet and they let me barrow this book, The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young.

Let me just say that this book has really opened my eyes and has me second guessing a lot of things.  I’ve oftentimes found myself wondering why we have so many obese and people who really struggle with their weight in this country.  I’ve also wondered why the government hasn’t looked to more research to figure out why and make new recommendations.  I’ve come to the conclusion, that our government really has no clue about nutrition and in my opinion, really should not be setting recommendations unless they are going to reference all the research that is out there.

Disclaimer: As a Christian, I do not fully agree with everything that has been said in this book, however, while I may not agree with the theories, I can believe and understand the factual studies and conclusions drawn.

Chapters

1. Paleo 2.0
2. The Truth About Saturated Fat
3. Your Own Paleo Diet
4. Vegetarianism Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
5. Just Say No to the Milk Mustache
6. Grains Are Antinutritious
7. The Trouble with Beans
8. Potatoes Should Stay below Ground
9. The Food-Autoimmune Disease Connection
10. The Paleo Answer 7-Day Diet Plan
11. Paleo Supplements and Sunshine
12. Paleo Water
13. The Paleo Diet for Women
14. The Paleo Diet for Children

What I Learned

This book is very thought provoking, and I oftentimes found myself saying, “Really?  Is that really true?  That goes against all that I was taught.”  I will have to say that honestly, there were times that this book made me feel extremely ignorant.  There were also times I felt like he was being extremely nit picky and some things can seem unrealistic in our modern world.  The Paleo Diet is a low carb and natural diet.  The basic premise is that if caveman ate it, then it’s alright for us to eat it.  In other words; protein, fruits, and veggies are good.  Grains and milk are bad.  (My friends told me that he has gone back a little on some of this dairy conclusions and basically says if you are trying to loose weight than dairy needs to be avoided, if you are trying to gain weight than dairy is a good option, however, I have not found this information on-line anywhere).  I also learned, that not all veggies are good for you.  For instance peas, potatoes, green beans, legumes, and beans are not good for you.  Many beans can even be toxic!

What I Didn’t Like

As I mentioned, much of this information goes against everything I was taught growing up.  I honestly have a hard time believing some of this information.  I also didn’t like how he would tell you something was bad, but then also say that the “solutions” were also bad.  There were a few times I thought well “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t!”  To be honest the milk chapter thoroughly grossed me out and the chapter about grains made me sad, because that’s one of my favorites!

My Conclusion

I think that this book has some amazing information in it (I mean it has 50 pages of references in it)!  I do think that this is a book that almost everyone should read, especially parents.  I do think we need to really consider what we are putting into our and our children’s bodies.  There are so many health issues in today’s modern world and I can’t help but wonder if our diet really has played a major role in that!  While the reasoning and information in this book seems sound, I really don’t know what to believe, because I believe that you can make almost any information/data say what you want to prove your point if it is worded carefully.  However, I do think that much of what is in this book is worth a try.  Our friends have implemented this diet for over two months and both feel amazing and say they will never go back.  One thing that I do really like and think is essential is their 85/15 rule.  Meaning that you can have 3 meals a week of whatever you want.  Pretty much, throw the rules out the window and enjoy.

I have tried this diet for a little over two weeks.  I’m not so sure I’m convinced, but I don’t crash in the afternoon like I used to.  I don’t wonder how I’m going to make it another 6-7 hours before bed.  I have been a little sleepy, but I’ve been told that that is common when you drastically change your diet, plus I’ve also been sick during that two weeks too.  Right now, my answer is to try and cut back on carbs and dairy.  I try to make it a point to eat a spinach salad everyday for lunch, to follow the Paleo plan for dinner, and I am experimenting with lots of Paleo recipes.  (Check out my board on Pinterst).

Other books I’m interested in:

Here are some good blogs I’ve found so far:

Paleo OMG

Paleo Plan

Mark’s Daily Apple

The Paleo Diet

Have you heard of Paleo?  Do you have any experience with it?

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(I know, not the best picture, can you tell the baby didn’t want to cooperate?  Imagine that a two-year old not wanting to stay still!  Anyways, I figured that since I’m getting “real” in this post, then I need a “real” picture.  Not a perfect picture, a picture of me and my kids, me without make-up, looking like I look almost every single day!) 

It has seemed that we have been on a roller coaster ride this past year (and I don’t like roller coasters)!

Background

Let’s just say that when things get difficult, I tend to run.  You know, the whole fight or flight phenomenon?  Well, I flee!  I can’t tell you how many times my husband has physically blocked my way out of a room during a disagreement, which aggravates me to no end!

I feel that the reason I do this, is because in the past, I have said some things in anger that I shouldn’t have said and it really hurt a few relationships.  So I try to calm down and to rationally think about my thoughts and feelings before communicating them so that I don’t damage a relationship and wish I could “unsay” something.

However, there are some times I just sweep things under the rug and try to forget about them!

Family

There have been numerous occasions where I have swept things under the rug when it comes to extended family.  I’ve been sweeping for at least seven years (because we did have about a year of the honeymoon phase) and let’s just say that I needed a bigger rug! 

I was getting to the point where I felt like I was getting ready to explode.  All it would take is one little thing and I’d have to say something (does this have anything to do with turning 30??  I had several people tell me that they got to the same point when they turned 30 too!)  I tried “warning” a few people and it seemed as if they thought I was blowing it out of proportion and just trying to stir up drama!

Well, it happened, that one more thing!  And sure enough, tempers flared.  However, it was actually my husband who flared up first, but I got some of the aftermath.  So, he apologized (which was not openly received) and we tried to move on.  Only I couldn’t!

I stewed about everything for almost a month and then decided that I had to speak my mind!

So I thought about things and wrote a letter.  To me this letter was very selfish and describing how I feel in certain situations.  I thought that maybe just writing the letter would help, but it really gave me no relief.  So I sent it.

And nothing has been said about it.  No apology, no kiss my rear end, NOTHING!

The silence has caused more problems, started involving other people who weren’t originally part of the problem, and even though my husband and I have desperately tried on several occasions to have a discussion, our efforts are always thwarted!

School

My husband is a very hands-on father.  The children adore their daddy and they are used to having him home.  He has started going back to college and is in an accelerated program so that he can earn his degree in three years.  He is gone a couple of nights a week, and it’s really starting to take a toll on the children and me.  (His job has also changed and it a lot more stressful and demanding than it was before!)

My Mom

My mom is very sick and has been for years.  She lives in a small town in Florida, and it has been one of the hardest areas hit as far as the economy goes.  My step-dad has been unable to find a steady job for two years.  They have been living off of my mom’s meager disability check and were recently told that they would have to move!

What I’ve Done

I’ve tried dealing with it on my own.  I’ve read numerous books (Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment, A Confident Heart: How to Stop Doubting Yourself and Live in the Security of God’s Promises, When God Doesn’t Make Sense, etc) and started a new, more intense Bible Study.  I have talked about it with people who are really close to me. They all seemed to help for a little while, but whenever I see them, anger comes rushing back.

I decided to go to the doctor to have lab work done, just to make sure that there wasn’t a physical reason why I wasn’t handling stress well.

As you can guess, my lab work wasn’t the best and the doctor put me on a strict diet (no fruits, all the protein I want, lots of broccoli, spinach & cauliflower and try not to have more than 25 g of carbs a day!  (Almost impossible!)).  That’s when some friends mentioned a Paleo diet.  I also wasn’t happy with my doctor’s recommendation (quite a few pieces of the puzzle didn’t seem to fit together) so I got a second opinion and this doctor said to be more cognizant of what I was eating and to try and limit the amount of carbs I was eating.  This doctor stressed exercise!

Next Step

So I am going to try and resemble a Paleo diet for a little while and I think I’m going to have to go talk to a counselor, because I just can’t seem to take my power away from certain people!  I am hoping to get back to “normal” very soon, with just a few tweaks! 

I hope to become more organized and put myself more on a schedule.  I would like to try and take a couple of hours on the weekend and organize my week.  Make sure that my calendars are synced, make a meal plan and grocery list, make my to-do list, and just get everything more together to hopefully make for a smoother week.

I know life happens, it’s happened a lot lately (one child getting a concussion, one with bronchitis, and one with pneumonia)!  But I can try to plan more so that I have time to deal with crisis when they occur.

How do you deal with difficult situations/season’s of life?

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May’s Parenting Challenge is talking to your children!

Week 1:  Read the blog post and try to “catch” your child being good and compliment them, sing a silly song about it, or cheer for them.  Try to do this 2-3 times each day this week!!

Week 2: Make sure your child overhears you saying something wonderful about them to someone else!

Blog Post

I know this is a simple thing and many of us think that we do this, but do we really?

Experience

My experience as a teacher (and recently speaking to current teachers) has revealed that children lack good communication skills. They don’t know about give and take during a conversation. They don’t know that listening is a vital skill of communicating and conversing.

Read the rest of my guest post on I Can Teach My Child!

Here is another useful blog post.

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Materials

• Your Skin and Bones (Science Vocabulary Readers (Pre-K – 3))
• Sing Along and Learn: Early Concepts (with Audio CD): 12 Learning Songs With Reproducible Activity Pages That Teach Key Skills and Concepts
• Kids in Motion
• balloon
• funnel
• small needle
• bowl
• cotton ball
• band aid
• water

Directions

1. Play song #4 on Sing Along and Learn: Early Concepts (with Audio CD): 12 Learning Songs With Reproducible Activity Pages That Teach Key Skills and Concepts
2. Read Your Skin and Bones (Science Vocabulary Readers (Pre-K – 3))
3. fill up the balloon with water using a funnel and tie it tight
4. place the balloon in a bowl and prick it with a small needle
5. explain to the children that the balloon is somewhat like our skin
6. ask the children what they should do when they get hurt
7. put the cotton ball over the hole and put a band-aid on the balloon
8. tell the children that one difference between the balloon and our skin is that our skin will heal itself and grow back
9. play songs #2-4; 7; 10; & 12-14 on Kids in Motion

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Last Weeks Goals

I feel like I spent the entire week cooking!  I’ve made lots of new things for my diet and since they are ingredients that I’ve never used before, it’s taking me a long time!  I also made a few meals for a friend who just had a baby.  I’ve been reading a lot on my new diet!

Spiritual:

1. Continue reading devotionals

Marriage:

1. daily 1 minute hug
2. watch another marriage video

Personal:

1. get up early
2. read 1 chapter a day
3. work out 2x
4. freezer cooking for my new diet (I’ve just been trying lots of new recipes to see which ones I like and will actually eat before making enough to freezer cook!)

Parenting:

1. get up to date on devotional reading
2. play a board game
3. read Charlotte’s Web

House:

1. laundry
2. e-mail
3. 5 minute room rescue in the master, laundry room, living room, buffet, desk, and craft table

Blog:

1. write 3 posts

This Weeks Goals

Spiritual:

1. Continue reading devotionals

Marriage:

1. daily 1 minute hug
2. watch another marriage video

Personal:

1. get up early
2. read 1 chapter a day
3. work out 2x
4. freezer cooking for my new diet

Parenting:

1. get up to date on devotional reading
2. play a board game
3. read Charlotte’s Web

House:

1. laundry
2. e-mail
3. 5 minute room rescue in the master, laundry room, living room, buffet, desk, and craft table

Blog:

1. write 3 posts

What are your goals for this week?

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