Back to Reality…

Note to my readers: I took a brief sabbatical from posting here as I figured out what my new reality looks like as a Paleo eater and to spend time with family and friends during Easter and my daughter’s 2nd Birthday celebrations (yes, celebrationS. With so many out-of-town family members, we celebrated turning 2, four times!) But, I am back and I hope you will stick around because I have a lot to share! This journey is so NOT over yet – it is just beginning for sure!  I

I enjoyed living in my Whole30 bubble where rules were outlined clearly and any deviance from the plan meant the game was lost. I like having clear boundaries. Now that I am out of my Whole30 and into my real, new life as a Paleo eater, well things aren’t so “easy” any more.

Not that I am saying the Whole30 was easy… I am just saying that for me, the weakness hits when the rules allow for some bending.

I work better when I know you can or cannot do something.

For example:

No: you cannot snack.

No: you may not have sugar.

No: you may not have any of the off-limits foods… AT ALL.

Things like:

You can occasionally indulge in Non-Paleo foods

You can have snacks, but they shouldn’t become a “psychological habit”

give me loop holes. It is like Satan himself is whispering into my ear and trying to get me off track from my journey to be healthy and fit and prepared for whatever God sends my way; “It’s just one piece of cake – that’s only two for the whole week!” Isn’t that how everything starts – just “one”.

I think if I was doing all of this simply to lose the weight and be healthier it might not be such a battle, but since all of this is purposed to be for God’s Glory… I just know that Satan wants to derail this train.

So like I said… in ways, the Whole30 was just easier for me.

But now that the Whole30 is over and I don’t have the “Oh, well, I can’t have that because I am doing this Whole30 thing” to lean on.

Now, I have to own it, “No, sorry, I can’t have that or go to that restaurant because I only eat whole/clean foods now.” It just SOUNDS snobby.

Forget when I actually try EXPLAINING it and people start to look at me as though I am condemning and judging them. It is certainly NEVER my intention to do that – I am just trying to explain how I , personally, got to this decision and lifestyle… and like my Pastor always says, if it offends you – then perhaps it’s not so much my offending you as it is your being convicted…?

Again my point is, that this new reality is a new kind of hard.

I am glad to be doing it. I am happy I made the decision to “Go Paleo”. But it ain’t easy, people.

Especially with a husband who didn’t jump on board the Paleo train with me.

In fact, I am the ONLY one in my circle of family and friends who A)knows anything about it and B) is actually doing it.

When I was finally done with my Whole30 it took me another entire week to actually deviate from it and I didn’t even go too far – I was still eating Paleo.

But even then, I felt UBER GUILTY and like I wished I hadn’t. To date, nothing I have eaten that is off the Paleo plan has been worth it. The only thing I haven’t really struggled with is the occasional in-between meal snack (only twice) – those I don’t feel TOO badly about as long as it is a workout day and I eat according to the Paleo plan.

Actually, looking back on that, there was actually ONE thing that was worth it: the dark chocolate almond bark that I got myself a week after Easter (couldn’t find any for my actual Easter basket and honestly didn’t want to jump ship so soon after the Whole30 ended anyway), but when I finally did find it and eat some… OH MY GOODNESS!

It has been 16 days since I ended my first Whole30. 16 days since officially “Going Paleo” and each time I indulge and eat something outside of the Paleo Plan (I don’t say cheat and I don’t call it a diet because they have a negative connotation to me) I reap the consequences. (More detaiils on that in a soon to come post).

Anyway, I am officially back to reality. A new reality, but reality all the same.

So what was it like for you when you came off the Whole30? Did you go back to your old way of eating? Did you immediately indulge or hold-off a while? Did you learn anything new about yourself/your eating habits that helped you as you moved forward?

Check back soon for posts on:

Post-Whole30 Indulgences (and results of)

My New Toolbox courtesy of my Whole30

My Finish Line was just the beginning