Two months and counting

I hate to leave something hanging, like my little bloggy here. I'm nowhere near done with this journey. I'm still eating about 90-95% "paleo." For any newbies to that way of thinking, it is basically meat + veggies with a little fruit thrown in. There are different interpretations of it. I have added in a little dairy (usually just some real dairy coffee creamer and some cheese here and there). About once a week, I'll have some rice or corn chips. That may change at some point, but for now that's what I can live with. I'm not militant about soy consumption, but don't use any at home. However, if there's some in my chicken at Qdoba, I'm not freaking out about it. I'm eating a salad instead of cheese-laden nachos, so it's got to be better.

Winner, winner chicken dinner
I have lost a total of about 11.5 pounds since the beginning of Sept., but even without that, I generally feel much better. Sometime in the past two weeks or so (can't nail down exactly), I have realized that the pain in my hands is gone. They are a little stiff when I wake up, but I don't have pain or any shooting pains throughout the day!!! That is huge. I was to the point of hurting just trying to wash my hair in the shower.

Real-world obstacles
My struggles really seem to be when I want a quick lunch out because I'm running errands. I'm used to eating in the car on my way to/from somewhere, and it's really difficult to eat a salad while driving! I always have to be thinking ahead to bring leftovers, or if there aren't any to pull together a salad option. I still crave french fries. I've had them about once in the past month. They are good. I cannot tell a lie. I have a little dark chocolate from time to time. The good thing about high-cocoa dark chocolate is that you don't really WANT to eat a lot of it. Potlucks and social gatherings are also tricky. It may be that I BYOB (banana) or eat before I go.

I had a Papa John's pizza last week. My first real pizza in over two months. Pizza is the reason I put off doing any of this for so long. I thought a life without pizza was no life at all. Turns out I was wrong. First of all, the pizza I ordered was not the pizza I got. BOOOOO! And second, I felt all heavy and crappy and acid-reflux-y all night. I just feel better when I eat veggies and lean meat.

Surprises
I ate brussel sprouts and cauliflower as my side dishes last night, which made up half my plate. Jerod really likes the way those taste. I admit they weren't as bad as I thought they might be. Don't go calling me a raging fan or anything, but we can put them in the rotation.

So that's where I am two months out. When I have a bad eating day, I go back toward the whole 30 way, with very little sugar, dairy, etc. for a few days to reset. I've pretty much banned gluten, though I'm planning to eat dressing on Thanksgiving. It's just easier for me to make a hard rule and follow it. Gluten seems a good place to land.

Thanks for cheering me on!

Reintroduction--Fast Food

Except, that wasn't on the plan! True confessions, here. I really have so little desire to reintroduce legumes. I am thinking I'll do another whole 30 challenge in January to reset after the holidays. Perhaps I'll "reintroduce" legumes at that time. I don't care for most beans. Black beans are about my only bean-consumption beyond soy and peanuts. There are so many other options for peanuts out there, that I really don't need those. Soy is inevitable in some ways. Maybe not at home, but try finding a grilled chicken out there in restaurant-land that doesn't have soy. About impossible. So, if I have a legume or soy issue, it will have to wait to be found out. I don't use soy at home, and try to avoid it as much as possible, but again, we have to live life too. Soy happens.

About that fast food. Yes, yesterday I went through a drive thru. I got a hamburger and french fries. It's been well over forty days. There are no excuses. I'd love to say it tasted horrible and made me feel like crap. Except that wouldn't really be true. I had planned to eat the burger without the bun, at least. But as the slippery slope often happens, I ate the glutenous bun as well. I'd love to say I felt itchy and sluggish, but I didn't really. Though, I know that that is not good fuel. So, no more fast food for a lonnnnnggggg while. I just can't say forever. But for the foreseeable future, unless it is a salad without extra "junk" on it, we'll just steer the car home for lunch.

Which brings me to an obstacle that I'm not sure I can fix. I am just a bad cook. I'm not great at planning the meals. I scour pinterest (filthy liar) and blogs and cookbooks. I pin "the world's greatest chicken!" and make it, and...meh. I think Husband makes the world's greatest chicken, frankly. It's just that by the time we get home, he preps the chicken and makes it and we sit and eat, Little Guy has tried to clean out all the fruit and chex mix because he has a hollow leg to fill and it's all of 7 o'clock and time for bath, etc. So, I have tried to prep stuff the night before. But I cannot deal with raw chicken unless it's with tongs and baggies. There is no trimming it. So, I can make beef ok, if I work around touching it. Pot roast is probably the only thing I generally do well. I killed some meatloafs this week. Like terrible. Like, that beef was sad it became meatloaf. The chicken last night was edible, but definitely NOT the "world's best." I am good at following directions, I watch cooking shows to see what kinds of spices and seasonings go with what...I just don't have the knack. And it's incredibly frustrating. So, when there's nothing prepared or easily accessible, I really just want to eat something fast and easy. I need to look into how to make that happen. Protein is the obstacle here. Protein and a cooking gene that missed a generation.

Gluten Reintroduction Day

Yesterday was a day I had been dreaming about. Sweet, perfect gluten. I am a breadaholic. Truly. Jesus said something about our not living by bread alone. And if I didn't believe in Him so much, I'd almost think he was lying. 'Cause bread and butter together=kingdom of heaven.

Reintroduction includes the food at each meal. I went whole-hog, not necessarily whole-grain. I started with a chocolate croissant and a top of the day muffin (with some eggs and strawberries). I couldn't decide between the two. Top of the day muffin has some semblance of healthy with whole wheat, raisins, carrots, dates, etc. But chocolate croissant...well, it inspires me to write haiku. Fo' realz.

I bought some crusty bread and some vegetable soup for lunch. One of the whole 30/paleo "things" is that proponents maintain that eating grains often pushes vegetables off your plate. Yes. It's true. One I heated up some slices of European crusty bread and spread them with sweet, creamy butter, I couldn't have cared less about that dang soup. More bread, please.

About that time of the day, I noticed sharp, stabby pains in my hands. They are usually sore & stiff in the morning, but get better and better all day. I had done NOTHING to cause pain (lifting, squeezing, etc.) and had even been at my keyboard less than usual. My stomach was fine, but I was definitely experiencing some soreness and pain that was unusual.

I decided to have gluten-gluttony (GLUTTONY!) for the rest of the dang day, as by this point it was fairly obvious that this bread-lover is relegated to a fairly gluten-free life. We made real spaghetti and the rest of the crusty bread for dinner with salad. Then I topped it off with two chocolate chip cookies later. I had forgotten how much I love chocolate chip cookies.

Now, writing this on Friday morning, I have woken up today with my right hand puffy. I mean, not crazy-puffy, but I can tell. I was, however, able to get into pants today that haven't fit since before Shepard was born. My perfect bread is not worth pain and bloat and an expanding waistline. I now join the ranks of the gluten-free. Thankfully, they are making products that help with that, provided I don't have corn and rice issues. We'll intro those fully on Sunday-ish. I hate, hate, hate to be that "special" girl with more food issues. I'd rather just eat whatever. But, I think I need to give this a full-on year or so and see what happens with my body. I think I already know that answer. Sigh. Who wants to sponsor my order of coconut flour?