30 Day Challenge

Katie is a big fan of Crossfit. In fact, some of her buddies from the fire department founded Crossfit Lincoln, and she was one of the (if not THE) first members! If you're familiar with Crossfit, you may know that they are strongly affiliated with the Paleo diet. This isn't something that Katie participates in all of the time, but it is something that interests her. She has done some trials of the diet in the past, and recently decided to partake in a 30 Day Paleo Challenge.

And I decided to join her. Well, kind of.

In case you don't know, the Paleo diet is a way of eating that is supposed to mimic how cavemen ate. I am no expert, and there are many interpretations out there, but here is the gist of it:

• meat = free range, grass fed, nitrate-free, and uncured
• all fruit is ok
• all vegetables aside from starchy root vegetables are ok
• local, raw honey is the only sweetner used (aside from fruit)
• nuts and seeds are ok
• eggs are ok
• no dairy
• no soy
• no grains or grain-like seeds
• no legumes
• no alcohol

Again, this is just my broad interpretation. I have no intention or desire to follow the Paleo diet. If you're a vegetarian (like me), you'd probably find it difficult to live on vegetables, fruit, eggs, and nuts alone. (Again, no grains, legumes, dairy or soy allowed.) But there is one aspect of this plan that I can get on board with: no processed foods.

Since Katie was working on meal plans and grocery lists anyway, I thought I'd build a 30 Day Challenge of my own that would line up nicely with hers. And even though Paleo gets the rep of being meat-heavy, I've found that it actually pairs up with a clean vegetarian diet quite well!

Here is my 30 Day Challenge:

• no dairy (yikes!)
• no alcohol
• no grains
• grain-like seeds are ok (quinoa, millet, amaranth, & buckwheat)
• only beans that I soak and cook from dry myself are ok
• no sugar (honey and agave are ok)

So, what Katie and I will be eating is quite similar. It's just that she will be eating meat, whereas I will be eating beans and grain-like seeds.

How Is It Going?

We started last Saturday (9/17), and it's actually been a lot of fun! I like that we are looking up recipes, grocery shopping, and cooking together...all things we usually do separately. I also like having a built in support system for when times are tough (I REALLY wanted a beer last night, but Katie distracted me with a ginger soda that is sweetened with honey and pineapple juice.)

It has also been really hard. I just have to make sure I never find myself hungry without something on hand to snack on. And I've found that I need to have at least one warm meal each day to feel satisfied...and not like I'm restricting myself.

Why Are You Doing This?

Which leads me to my next point: I'm not restricting myself. You may argue that, by cutting out certain food groups, I most certainly am restricting myself, but what I mean is that restriction is not the goal. My goal is to actually expand my food horizons. Every couple of years I find myself in a lull eating-wise. The other day I realized I had had an egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast, mac and cheese for lunch, and cheese pizza for dinner. Cheese + bread/pasta just became too easy for me. I needed to find a way to bring variety (and produce!) back into my diet. And to generally clean it up.

I have no intention of cutting dairy and alcohol out of my diet completely once the challenge is over. They are some of my favorite things! But I would like to take a break from them since I realized they have become a large part of what I consume.

I thought about doing one day on/one day off with dairy, but then I worried I'd just overdo it during the "on" days. And that seemed too much like a binge/purge cycle to me. I also wouldn't have to work as hard to try new things or really evaluate what I was eating.

What Do You Hope to Gain?

I hope that within these 30 days I'll find new ways to enjoy food, new foods to enjoy, and a more keen eye for what I'm putting in my body. I'd like to break my dependency on cheese and remove as much processed foods from my diet as I can.

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to lose a few pounds, too.

Truth is, it's hard to admit here on the blog that I would like to lose weight. There is so much criticism out there about scales and diets and body image, etc. I get it, I do. I love my body and am proud of everything it can do. But that doesn't mean that I can't want to be a different weight. And it certainly doesn't mean that I can only want it secretly. More than anything, I want to be healthy.

Well, I'm hoping for clearer skin, too.

What Should We Expect From You?

Well, I don't plan to give day-by-day updates or meal plans or anything like that. In fact, we're already through day 6 and this is the first time I'm mentioning it. However, I will share hardships and successes, any great recipes that I come across, and occassional (weekly?) updates on how it's going. I plan to give a general idea of what I've been eating by possibly posting a day or two of my meals. And I will definitely give a review at the end, including how I feel and if I've lost any weight. 

And I will gladly entertain questions in the meantime!