raising godzillas

Fitness Friday- Slow Paleo

Where I stand today: about 3 weeks into transitioning Paleo. 132 lbs, waist measurement : 31.25 inches

Once I started cutting things like grains out of my diet, I found it ridiculously easy not to eat them. I have only had grains twice in the last three weeks- barley in beef and barley soup at a church soup supper, and about 1/2 a bowl of popcorn yesterday (yesterday was all about stress eating and also included two sunbutter chocolate chunk cookies.) I've even been making my waffles with almond flour ( just mine, as no one else in  the family is giving up grains and might riot.)
Legumes are another matter, which is why I do have come leanings toward slow carb rather than Paleo. I have run across a few paleo folks who still eat beans, as long as they make them themselves from dry and soak and drain them before cooking.
When I tried doing this first time around, I found I got shaky and nauseous and was hungry all the time. Following the suggestion that I might not be eating enough, I let myself eat as much as I wanted during the transition. And you know what I found- after a couple weeks I was hungry for much less. I rarely snack anymore. I make better choices with the things I do eat. I know some primal leaning folks with consider this heresy, but I don't view this way of eating as an excuse to eat all the bacon and butter I want. It may work for some, but I'm a small woman with a not so great metabolism, so I STILL need to be prudent. I have even found a few times where I was not or barely hungry at mealtime and ate (or not!) accordingly. While I haven't seen  much fat burning boostage from this, there is a large body of evidence that intermittent fasting or calories restriction is a major factor in longevity (but that's another whole post). I'm going to eat a small, early supper tonight and not snack until brunch tomorrow.
 My current exercise: On alternate days I do either 20 minutes of cardio and 20 of strength training (with 2 10 lb weights) or 22 minutes of cardio with a resistance band.  I usually do 50 crunches both before and after my workouts. If it's nice I walk- and I can walk for hours. One thing I have read in several books is that fat burning is boosted by working out BEFORE breakfast- not an easy one for me. Even if I'm not really hungry when I get up, I am a creature of habit. It was hard enough switching from cereal for breakfast- not because I don't like eggs but because it was different. I have successfully put off eating til after my workout on two of my shorter workout days, and want to transition into making that the norm. I need all the boostage I can get.
That's all for this week- as I work on those last 5-10 pounds, I will try my best to consistently make my self accountable to you, dear readers!

posted by gojirama @ 2:22 PM