Whole30 and More Strict Paleo

[faesdeynia]

In the opposite vein of mac's post, is anyone else here doing the Whole30 this month? I want to transition to eating more paleo - and this vacation to my mom's house has cemented that desire. She's a carbavore, and my gut has been yelling at me for about three days straight. I wasn't 100% at home, but I was moving closer and closer to it over the last two months. Now I really want to dive into it when I get home.

But, I won't be starting till a few days after I get home. I have to kitchen-purge and go shopping before I go full force. I looked up the farmer's market that's open the day after we get home, so I'll have to get up extra early to hit it up. There are benefits to living in Austin, and that is year-round Farmer's Market produce.

My biggest problem is eating out or eating at a friend's house. I really don't want to be rude, but I'm going to have to buck up.

Comments

[frogfarm]

I've been lacto-paleo the last five-ish years with most of the lacto coming from butter and raw goat's milk, but I've been wondering if my lingering eczema might clear up with no dairy. As of today, I'm giving it thirty days' tryout.

(Re previous post, "paleo" is/should be proscriptive, not prescriptive: Don't eat grains, legumes, industrial fats or added sweeteners. Otherwise, find what works for you in your context.)

[allegory]

I started paleo last year and started off with a whole month with absolutely no dairy, grain, etc. before slowly reintroducing my body to a few things that I can't go without (some dairy, some rice). And then the holidays came around and I completely fell off the paleo wagon. (and I feel terrible! eating grains and such again really makes me feel like crap most days) I was planning on starting a whole-30 this month, but I'm visiting relatives this weekend and my aunt wants me to try her new toffee recipes since she's thinking of starting a business with it, so it can't be helped. XD But after this weekend, I'll be doing 30 days of pure paleo. Texas is great about year-round Farmer's Market stuff. (: I live in Dallas, but it's pretty much the same here, haha.

[kimboo_york]

Kinda sorta; I'm more a 90/10 kind of person, as I do drink coffee with a bit of half and half, and prepared sausages with nitrates in them.

But, over the last three months I've not even been that; with illnesses, grad school stress and a wacky schedule I really fell back into eating wayyyyy too much dairy, refined sugar and processed junk food like potato chips (!!!!). I managed to steer clear of grains and legumes almost completely, but the other stuff took it's toll. I think I weakened my immune system which is one reason I came down with whooping cough, laying me out for nearly the whole months of December. :( I also dealt with acid reflux for the first time since I switch to paleo in late 2010. Lesson learned!

So, on Dec. 26 I pretty much returned to my "purer" ways. By Friday I was pretty whacked out, which is what always happens to me when I withdraw from carb and sugar overloads: I become a zombie, falling asleep randomly and walking into walls! LOL! But I'm feeling better now I've cleared that hurdle.

My big challenge isn't so much eating with friends as in planning ahead. I work full time and have a full class load in grad school, so my schedule is punishing. If I don't take time to plan ahead, I'm going to be stuck on campus with no food I can eat within two miles. I know, I've done that before, and it's BAD. That's my hurdle for the next 30 days, not to just stick with the program but make sure I'm not stupid about it. *sigh*

What I'd love to do is cut out artificial sweeteners; I've tried multiple times but my taste buds never ever acclimate. I guess they are the lesser of two evils but it's my one big weakness I wish I could kick.

Admin note

[rydra_wong]

I've created a "30 days" tag for the comm, in case it's useful for anyone doing this.

[0jack]

That's a really fantastic distillation of paleo principles. Thanks. :) I'm going to put that up in my kitchen. While I don't think I'll ever go full paleo (my massive collection of rices is testament to that), I have always felt better when I don't overdo the grains. Lately, I've been finding that pairing my carbs with fats keeps away any reactive hypoglycemia (one of the most annoying things ever—eat for energy, pass out).

[frogfarm]

I've been almost 100% grain-free barring a couple of isolated rice incidents, one being a holiday dinner with in-laws where the battered shrimp was at least guaranteed gluten-free. I'm a lot more militant about no industrial fats :) I've also added back more sweet potato, rutabaga, etc., since I started heavy lifting.

One benefit of the prohibitive perspective is it even allows for vegan paleo, which I don't think is healthful or sustainable, but it gives me more flexibility in terms of my own menus and cooking for other people. I think the best way to do a minimal-meat diet for whatever reason would be Denise Minger-style (rawfoodsos.com) and stick to wild-caught seafood and pastured organ meats.

[0jack]

What would you define as an "industrial fat"? I use cold-pressed organic oils (mostly olive & coconut, and a little almond, walnut, canola) and local butter. If I were going to indulge and deep fry, I'd make my own lard. I don't use anything else.

[frogfarm]

Yeah, I was just trying to come up with a less verbose phrase than usual, but sacrificed some precision in the process. I'd say canola's the only thing on that list that I'd qualify as industrial, since Wikipedia (the font of all truth and accuracy as all right thinking people will agree) says rapeseed oil wasn't used in food products until the 1950's. J. Stanton of gnolls.org had a good pithy bumper sticker: "If you can put it in a truck and the truck starts, it’s not food."

[0jack]

*nods* Okay. I don't use canola much (it's grown locally, at least). Just for popping popcorn (a non-issue with paleo) and for making salad for people who aren't used to the taste of the other oils.

(Speaking of trucks starting, my cousin heats his machine shop entirely on oil from deep fryers, and he runs one of his trucks on it, too—goes around to collect the oil in it. *g*)

Re: Admin note

[faesdeynia]

Thank you very much!

[faesdeynia]

I've found that if I just stop with the sweeteners, I can kick them. . . but once I have a diet coke, I'm hooked again. I also only drink coffee with aspartame, so now I avoid coffee too. I just can't stomach a coffee without aspartame; I started drinking coffee around 10, and that's the way we've always had it.

I live pretty well without coffee now, though. My boyfriend doesn't drink it at all, and my mom and dad (usually the weak point in my year, because my family has always been hardcore coffeeholics) have transitioned to tea.