My ancestors may not have lived in caves...

[lilypad]

But they certainly didn't eat the crap that I have been eating for the last 30+ years. I have been fad-dieting for the last 10 years since I started to gain some weight and in the process have gained even more weight. 10 lbs off, 15 lbs on, etc. Yet, I never got off the roller coaster of wanting to lose the weight overnight and all of a sudden be done and be able to eat an entire cheesecake in one sitting without gaining anything back.

I have had stomach and digestion issues for years, but still never made a huge effort to try to figure out how to fix it.

Reality set in within the last couple years ago though. I had gestational diabetes in my pregnancy (actually pretty common in Native Americans) and that increases my chance of getting diabetes later in life by a huge margin. I got my act together during pregnancy and my sugars were in line 100%, and in looking back, I was basically following the paleo diet, with the exception of a large amount of peanut butter. Amazingly, I felt great - better in my third trimester than I had in a really long time.

Post pregnancy, I stayed pretty good for the first year, but then the bad habits started getting back in and I gained a good amount of weight in the last year. Sadly, that didn't impact me as much as the fact that I woke up one night having indigestion so bad I would not have been surprised if it was a heart attack. That was a wake up call for me. The idea that bad choices could make me leave my daughter early woke me up to the fact that I needed to make a huge change.

I started researching and eating more cleaning, but still with high grain processed foods and lots of flour and sugar. The more I read, the more things lead to learning about paleo and it made sense to me. I decided to commit for a month and follow the Whole30 completely.

I started a week ago, and I feel so much better already. Days 3-4 were really hard and I nearly gave in, but I held firm and am going to try to stick with this for the long haul. I am not weighing myself in for a month to try to make sure that the number on the scale doesn't determine my attitude towards this plan. The only negative is feeling really tired, but I am hoping that resolves itself soon.

Today on the menu:

B: 2 Eggs and some berries

L: Spinach salad with leftover roasted chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas

D: Ribeye steak with a sweet potato and some roasted veggies

[Amanda5de5]

GL, I also had gestational diabetes with my daughter (she's 19 months now). I started eating 80/20 paleo in June of last year when my sugar levels (I test on occasion still) were too near the high end of "normal" for my liking. I went and had my sugars tested last month and my monthly average was well within normal range.

I'm hoping the whole30 challenge will help shift them even further down

[lilypad]

Day 9: Today I randomly wanted a bagel, which is weird, because it was never a craving of mine before this. I think it is probably the forbidden nature of it. However, it actually wasn't hard to say no, so that is a big step.

Additionally, I went home last night and took my suit off and the familiar red ring on the belly was not there, so I am really hopeful things are moving in the right direction.

Today's menu is:

B: Hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit

L: Leftover Roasted chicken on a spinach salad with tomatoes, and a homemade balsamic vinagrette

D: Spaghetti Squash and homemade meatballs and sauce

S: Some olives or some avacado

[lilypad]

Day 10:

B: 2 Hard boiled eggs and an orange

L: Spinach Salad with leftover roasted chicken mixed with apple and homemade mayo

S: Larabar

D: Turkey Tacos in Lettuce Wraps

May have a small snack tonight, but I don't know what.