Passage to Paleo Part One

I haven't always eaten this way. And it certainly didn't happen overnight. The very first change I made to my eating habits happened in February of 2008. The year I got married. But at the time of this change, I had no idea I would be getting married that August!

I was on a mission trip in Mexico for a month where we had been several times before. Upon arriving that February (seeing them last that previous November) our local friends had no problems pointing out that I had put on some weight. Of course I had! Thanksgiving? Christmas? New Years? Then back to Mexico at the beginning of February? Who doesn't pack on a few pounds over those holidays? They weren't pointing out anything I didn't already know though. I had been convicted of my eating patterns just before this trip so this was just another reminder to get with the program.

When I arrived home I met up with a friend of mine (pictured with my firstborn below) who had recently told me she was once addicted to food and had lost over 300 pounds by completely eliminating sugar and wheat. She taught me a few things, took me grocery shopping, and gave me a cookbook. Over the next few days and weeks I started making changes and eventually stuck to it 100%.

I had never felt better in my life.

I had struggled with acne from puberty up til that point and for the first time in my life my skin was CLEAR!

In May I started dating the man I was going to marry that August. We got engaged just 10 days after dating and left the country 12 days later. I stuck to my diet as BEST as I could working at a camp in Ecuador and Canada. I arrived home just 4 days before my wedding. Got married and 12 days or so later moved from Texas to Kentucky. Can you say whirlwind? Whirl. Wind.

In the process of getting settled I went back to fast food. And my face went back to breaking out. And shortly thereafter I entered into depression. It wasn't until my first Whole30 almost 5 years later that I realized the food I ate when I first got married more than likely was the main culprit in my depression.

We spent the first 3 1/2 years of our marriage in Louisville, Kentucky where we enjoyed eating at local restaurant's and I wanted to learn how to cook healthy things and I experimented once and awhile but mostly we ate out. We had our first baby in Louisville and 10 months later moved back to Texas.

The first month in our new house (March 2012), our first house ever, I followed Jillian Michael's one month plan to a T. I also found out I was pregnant around this time. I had little to no morning sickness and wonder if it was due to our healthy eating. We continued to eat far more healthy than we did before once that one month boot camp was up and we ate at home more as well. I didn't realize it at the time but we still had a long ways to go to get to Paleo.

That September of 2012 we started our first Gospel Community group in our home and we had a lot of Crossfitters and Paleo peeps in our GC. Zoe was born that October and within a week I weighed 7 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. All that healthy eating paid off!!

The following October (2013) my friend Abbey asked if I wanted to do a Whole30 with her. I said "yes" and for the first time ever I cooked three meals a day, seven days a week, for four weeks straight. It was SO. MUCH. WORK.

BUT...

My hubby and I never felt better. I laughed at his jokes (I never did that before...they were just annoying). I slept perfectly every single night. I felt energetic all day long, no slumps. My mind was CLEAR. My mood, wait for it....was STABLE. No depression. No sadness. I think I lost like 14 pounds too! I think I got down as low as 130 pounds. With no exercise. Just diet.

Our first meal post Whole30 was a pizza from West Crust. So good. I believe we got a gluten free crust so as to not totally destroy the last 30 days of work we put in. Slowly, but surely, old habits creeped back in and I was DONE cooking every meal! However, we still ate healthier, and certainly more Paleo, than we did before the Whole30 and now I had a lot of great healthy recipes to add to my rotation. Two steps forward, one step back. Slow progress. But progress, nonetheless.

The following Spring (2014) we found out we were pregnant with our third. And our third brought out some health problems. First my thyroid at 13 weeks or so, then high blood sugars around 18 weeks. I went strict no refined carbs, no sugar until 26 weeks when I passed my glucose tolerance test. After that I slowly allowed some things in my diet that I had previously cut out but I didn't go completely overboard. The last week of my pregnancy I finally gave in and had bowls of cereal (really my only pregnancy craving); gluten free chocolate chex was my fave! My gut did not approve. It was my 'last meal' before heading to the hospital to give birth and that bowl of cereal plus the stress of labor completely destroyed my gut. Abbey was born, no problems, and then a few days later after fried chicken and apple fritters (rewards for birthing a baby) I had the WORST abdominal cramps I had ever had. We searched for tums to no avail so I turned to my essential oils. I started taking basil in a capsule every 4 hours which took care of the cramps but didn't necessarily address the root cause.

Abbey's first month of life (January 2015) was another whirlwind of sorts. She spit up like no baby I had had before and was fussy as all get out! Gassy too! Not to mention jaundiced and tongue tied but thats another story for another time. I was determined to figure out what was causing her to be/do all those things! This led me to begin my second Whole30 sometime around March. We were also renovating our kitchen. I don't advise starting Whole30 during a kitchen reno. Or right after you have a baby. Ha. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Anywho, I quickly learned I was going to have to cut out even healthy things like sweet potatoes and broccoli to keep Abbey from getting gassy and spitting up. Dairy and soy could take up to 6 weeks to leave mine and Abbey's systems so I had to wait at least THAT long to see if food was affecting her spitting up.

I posted daily pics to Facebook of every meal I ate each day and occasionally commenting on Abbey's health. A FB friend of mine messaged me separately and we started chatting about all things food and babies. She was a wealth of information. And somewhere along the way another friend of mine mentioned Dr. Ben Edwards with Veritas Medical in Lubbock, TX and she sent me his intro videos. I watched them and was amazed.

This leads to Part 2. The part that put Paleo on steroids.

Writing this and reflecting on this journey has made me realize just how much has changed just in the last 6 months! When doing Whole30 I NEVER thought it was sustainable. And while we don't eat strict Whole30, it's pretty darn close. Stay tuned for Part 2.