{We Are Cave People} - Week One

As of yesterday, Monday, March 28th, we have been on our Paleo diet for one week, so I thought you might like an update. Read about our start here.

Things are going very well and we have definitely not reconsidered our commitment to a strict 30 days. If anything, our results have encouraged us. Of course there are challenges, but overall, I think the transition has been easier than we thought it was going to be. Here are some questions we wanted to answer:

No bread, no pasta, no candy... What have you been eating?

It might seem like there is nothing left after carbs and sugar, but you won't find any complaining in the Curtis household. This week we had steak and salmon... more than once. I discovered that I love asparagus and pears and you might be surprised, but we haven't gone hungry one single day... I swear.

What about the preparation? How do you find the time?

If there is one thing I don't have in spades, it's spare time. We wouldn't be able to do this diet if it was something that took a lot of extra hours. Surprisingly, Paleo doesn't require a ton of prep or even that much thought if you're doing it like us. You see, we cleared out everything we couldn't eat from our apartment, remember? So, when we pack a lunch or come home from work, everything in the fridge and pantry is fair game, there is no considering what's allowed and what isn't and there is no counting calories.

One thing I'm really excited about is that we are learning to cook real food. Before, we were sucked into the Stouffer's and Bertolli trap WAY too often and we ended up just warming a bunch of over processed pasta meals or going out to pick something up. I always thought cooking fresh food required a strict recipe and a lot of time. Two invaluable lessons we've learned this week: "Almost anything goes on chicken." and "Broiling a steak takes less than 10 minutes." Throw a big tasty salad on the side and you are good to go.

I will caution a little bit about lunches. Since we aren't home for lunches, we found that we needed to be a little bit more prepared. You can always go out for a chicken salad, but that gets old pretty quick and we prefer something hot mid-day. Our solution is to make a big batch of chili (a recipe we used before that we have just modified a little) a couple times a week and do that for lunches. We also pack some fruits, veggies and nuts for snacks throughout the day and drink lots of water.

Do you ever get to go out anymore?

Yes! There are things we can eat pretty much everywhere. I had lunch with one friend this week where I ate mango salmon (yum!) and steamed veggies and happy hour with another friend where I sipped on a delicious house Cabernet (totally allowed). Of course, we can't forget about our favorite places... Jake tried his first protein burger at In N' Out (still good) and we can still have modified burrito bowls at Chipotle.

Has anything been tempting you?

The first couple of days, I had a little bit of a withdrawal from Coca-Cola. My sugar fix was satisfied with fruit and a few Paleo chocolate chip cookies (made with almond flour, honey and dark chocolate) from our friend Mandi. I randomly wanted a milk chocolate and almond Haagen Dazs bar, which is something I don't normally eat. A co-worker brought in my favorite kind of donuts (another thing I hardly ever eat). I actually was a little sad because donuts are so rare, but I just took a long whiff of their sugary goodness and walked away. Surprisingly, I haven't craved rice or pasta one single time. I think it's because I've been enjoying life without that bloated, have-to-unbutton-my-pants feeling. Nope, haven't felt that once this week.

Have you seen any results?

YES!!! I have actually been really surprised. Everyone knows dieting takes time and dedication, but Paleo has showed us results right away. I started losing pounds steadily after day one. In one week, I've lost 8-10 pounds! No joke. I swear. I am not selling anything. I already had to exchange some new jeans I bought last week for a smaller size. We are feeling great and can't wait to see what the next three weeks brings!

So, that's all for right now, but I'll be sure to check in next week and let you know how it is going!