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Thanks so much for all the wonderful feedback on my first week of Paleo. It seems to have sparked a curiosity for a lot of people. While I am certainly no expert on the Paleo diet, I certainly have had my fair share of experiences that are worth sharing.

So, How am I feeling?

Great! I have a lot of energy. Good days are just that; really good. I feel excited about going to the gym when I plan accordingly. On gym days I set up the slow cooker or heavily prep for a meal the day before/morning of so I can quickly assemble dinner when my work out is complete.

Am I doing Crossfit?

Hell No. I know a lot of Paleo peeps raving about cross fit but I made the personal choice to just do what felt good for myself. I don’t need to lose 50 lbs by tomorrow. Slow and steady suits me just fine.

Working out regularly is new for me. If I do something that is too challenging I am less inclined to do it again. If you do anything, make sure you enjoy it.

Filling Paleo Breakfast. Mangu with a fried egg and fried onions with a side of bacon. Boil 1 plantain (skin removed) for 8-10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy water, drain plantains, smash, add a Tbsp of grass fed butter, salt and some water as needed. (used the bacon drippings to fry the onions) #paleo Zucchini "pasta" with pesto shrimp. Made pasta-like strands of zucchini with a julienne peeler, sauteed that in olive oil in garlic. Then, covered raw shrimp in an emulsion of fresh basil, garlic and olive oil and cooked for 10 minutes at 400*. #paleo

Day 8: I woke up on a beautiful Sunny day. Received my bounty of organic meats and vegetables from FreshDirect. Experimented with my new coffee creamer: Paleo Pumpkin Spice Creamer and immediately fell back in love with coffee! I also added a new item to breakfast: Mangu. A super filling plate of bacon, eggs, mangu and fried onions. BR’s first time trying Mangu- he loved it. So did I. We hit the pool and did 45 minutes of laps. It felt awesome. We brought turkey burgers to the pool to grill up and had a protein feast of turkey burgers and grilled chicken breasts with a side of fruit. That evening I experimented with a zucchini and discovered zoodles with pesto shrimp. Angel-hair like strands of zucchini. Amazing. I noticed on this day that I had an insatiable thirst. My lips are dry and cracked and I couldn’t speak for long periods of time without needing water to moisten my mouth.

Crock pot pulled pork served hot onto a bed thinly sliced raw cabbage. Two sweet plantains on the side. #paleo

Day 9: Leftover Mangu for breakfast with bacon and fruit; plus, my morning coffee. At work I am super thirsty and drink 5 bottles of water. I barely feel relief from my thirst. My lunch consisted of leftover pesto shrimp and zoodles, a banana with sun butter (I love you sun butter!), cucumbers and watermelon. I drink a ton of water some more and can’t stop peeing. (TMI- sorry.) My mom thinks this is a good thing. I think something is wrong. Later that evening I get home to a slow cooker FILLED with tender garlicky pork waiting to be shredded and devoured. Freshly pulled pork over a raw cabbage slaw and a few sweet plantains. The constant thirst made my side hurt terribly while starting my work out. I decided to not work out this evening.

Zoodles bolognese. #paleo

Day 10: I discovered I am dehydrated. Despite drinking SO MUCH WATER, the spike in protein and the drop in carbs put my insides on alert and my electrolytes out of whack. Research is important! Breakfast consisted of a banana, ½ a peach, and a hard- boiled egg with a glass of coconut water. Coconut water helped a ton, as did the banana. Not feeling crazy thirsty. Lunch consisted of leftover pulled pork, a brown avocado, ½ of a peach, and 2 slices of sweet plantain. I went home and did some zumba. A 20 minute beginner session on the Wii. Gasping and sweating like crazy. Dear endurance, where you at?? BR was working late but while I was dying, my grass fed beef Bolognese was simmering on the stove for… ZOODLES Bolognese! A great comfort after such a grueling 20 minutes. Also, coconut water. MMM.

Grass fed steak with sauteed, locally grown swiss chard, baked acorn squash with cinnamon and a 1/4 of an avocado sprinkled with sea salt. #paleo

Day 11: I woke up feeling really hungry. Like I want an entire plate of bacon. BR doesn’t stay for breakfast so I am on my own. I don’t feel like cooking so I reheated some pulled pork and slice a peach. I had a cup of coffee with paleo pumpkin spice creamer. Reheated some leftovers zoodles Bolognese for lunch. Didn’t get to eat my lunch on time and was grumpy. I hate feeling grumpy. But once I ate my lunch I felt better. Dinner was massive. A 6 oz grass fed steak, seared to juicy deliciousness, sautéed swiss chard, half a baked acorn squash with cinnamon and grass fed butter as well as a ¼ of an avocado. It’s delicious and it’s satisfying. However, my body wasn’t done. I felt like I could eat way more. While my stomach wasn’t growling, my body needed more food. I was thinking about bread. Sandwiches. Cookies. And Cakes. Oh no, I was having a craving. My BF asked if I was expecting my monthly visitor; lo and behold, I was. So, I eat a handful of raw cashews, a few plantain chips and then finally, have a spoonful of pulled pork and drink water. The hungry beast was satisfied. For now. Feeling guilty. BR applauds my “paleo” snacking despite wanting a warm baguette smothered with melted cheese.

#paleo #breakfast poached egg in a pepper with two slices of bacon and watermelon#paleo #dinner skirt steak with guacamole and a baked sweet potato with grass fed butter

Day 12: I felt a lot better this morning than the night before. I started with some bacon. It’s the last few slices before our delivery in 3 days. I pair it with an egg poached inside of a pepper- a trick I learned on instagram- and a healthy cup of watermelon. Getting the dry mouth feeling again so I have a few squigs of coconut water and keep pushing fluids. Had leftover pulled pork and cabbage for lunch with a handful of cashews, ½ a peach, and leftover swiss chard. There was so much pulled pork left at home that I decided to freeze it. Was super cranky after work and was taking it out on the pots and pans. BR ordered us dinner from a local restaurant. Skirt Steak with onions, baked sweet potato, plantains and guacamole. I read that during those “hungry days”, having a sweet potato helps. It certainly did on day 12.

#paleo pan seared pork chop with sauteed bok choy and whipped pureed pumpkin

Day 13: I felt terrible on this day. Achy. Nauseous. And intense back pain. (TMI warning, my monthly visitor is an entire week early and its being mean! Paleo forums tell me this is normal in the beginning and to expect it to be heavy and unpleasant.) I went for a really long walk with the dog. 10,639 steps long. Didn’t want to cook so I picked up a Rotisserie chicken from the super market. BR wanted his own. We both sat in the living room with our own personal rotisserie chicken and ate caveman style. Goooo Paleo. I managed to eat half the chicken. BR’s chicken never stood a chance. I went to bed midday with a heavy dose of motrin in my system. I took several naps throughout the day and around 7pm felt hungry for dinner. I pan seared some mammoth porkchops and served with whipped pumpkin puree and garlicky baby bok choy. I discovered I have an addiction to baby bok choy when its sautéed in garlic and ginger and finished off with some coconut aminos. Yum.

#brunch #paleo mangu with fried onions, fried egg, steak and guacamole#snack #paleo Love the 85% right now with raw almonds. Going to eventually upgrade to 90%

Day 14: Can’t believe it’s been two weeks. A few people have mentioned my face and tummy going in. I noticed my gut is not feeling bloaty- crampy yes, bloaty no. It’s a gym day and despite the bad back, I made a big breakfast to fuel up for my time at the gym. Mangu, eggs, a lean steak with some guacamole. Went to the gym, did the treadmill for 40 minutes (no running), felt good about it. Got home to BR cleaning the house. Best feeling ever. He suggested we order in. I really wanted sushi. I order cirashi, seaweed salad and kani salad. The cirashi was delicious. The seaweed salad was amazing. I looked it up and realized it was def not paleo thanks to the mirin its seasoned with. I didn’t beat myself up too much about it… but then that kani salad was SOOO not paleo. Artificial crab meat. Cucumbers. Mayonaise. Siracha. And Panko. I took a bite and couldn’t stop eating it. It was only about a cup of it but it was loaded with panko. My stomach gurgled all evening. And I felt bloated. BR was craving chicken wings and couldn’t find any on seamless that weren’t covered in sauce or deep fried in bad oil. He picked up some fresh wings from the supermarket and baked some smoky paprika and garlic wings. We ate 5-6 wings each. I was feeding my PMS monster and picked up some paleo-approved dark chocolate. A handful of raw almonds and a square of dark chocolate (70%) were fab!

Overall: Time is flying by! I am making new paleo friends on Instagram and starting to add more paleo peeps to my blog reader. This week was tough towards the end of it with the intense cravings and lethargy. I am really trying to push forward and listen to my body. I drink tons of water and if I feel thirsty despite that, I have a banana and coconut water and that puts me in check. Looking to branch out with the menu more. And feeling good… except for when I had kani salad.