How did I choose Paleo?

Paleo Dos: lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. 

Paleo Don'ts: grains, legumes (beans), dairy products, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

Paleo health benefits: it's great for those with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, it improves blood lipids, weight loss, and reduces pain from autoimmunity. (To research more about the Paleo Diet I suggest reading Robb Wolf's book The Paleo Solution. It's hilarious!)

Once I read what it includes and excludes my thought was "how hard can it be?" Answer: It's not!! The only part that is taking some time to get used to is the cooking! I haven't gotten all my recipes down to a science like my old grain/pasta filled recipes, but it's only been a week and starting to come along.

When I first started my health journey, Fall of 2011, I was a couple pounds shy of 200 at 5'11! That's the biggest I'd been in my whole life and I was appalled at how unhealthy I let myself become. With this revelation, I become determined to get back to a healthy weight and an overall more fit and energetic body.

Healthy eating for me was whole grains, low fat dairy, greek yogurt, lean meats, almonds, granola, vegetables, and fruits; sounds perfect right? I struggled for the first 6 months with my new lifestyle change, but when March 2012 came along I buckled down and lost 40 pounds by July. Since then I've been struggling with belly fat. Working out 5-7 days a week wasn't cutting through my belly fat and I was stumped.

Then I found out about Paleo eating from my mom and I was shocked to find out that grains, dairy, and legumes could be the reason I wasn't getting back to my formally fit and trim self. This journey hasn't been about the perfect body, but having a healthy and fit body I'm comfortable in. I don't know about you, but having to wear shirts a size too big to hide my belly roll or "mom" jeans that come up past my belly button to hold my stomach in is not my idea of a healthy body. Not only was I not comfortable in my own skin, but I was exhausted day in and day out from eating unhealthy!

Paleo eating makes sense for myself and my boyfriend James because of our health issues. Yes, being in our 20's we do have health issues from years of unhealthy eating! I won't bore you with the details, but I'm definitely on board with the thought process of Robb Wolf about what you eat being directly related to your health.