I was in Colorado last week for a bit of snowboarding, a fitness conference, and to visit one of my best friends. The long weekend trip was planned a while ago- before I started my Paleo challenge- and I built-in an exception for myself for this trip. I decided that while in Colorado I would allow myself a little Wiggle Room with the Paleo diet; I would allow myself to drink beer and eat a small amount of Paleo Prohibited foods. And so when I went out there that is exactly what I did.
Since Denver has the highest number of microbreweries per capita of our country, and since I am a HUGE fan of beer, I had a beer or two each day I was out there. I didn’t consume in excess but tried lots of new brews that were yummy! I “cheated” in small amounts here and there: a bit of cheese at one meal, some french bread at another. I didn’t go off the deep end in any respect; I stuck mostly to the Paleo rules, but was definitely much more relaxed about marinades, sauces and the possibility of the wrong oils being used to prepare my food.
The trip was so much fun all around but I found an enormous amount of value in taking those few days to “Cheat” a bit. What I found was that my body was very sensitive to eating even the slightest bit of bread, potato, or beer. I definitely enjoyed having some local Denver brews but I could absolutely feel the difference in my body and energy level. I felt a bit bloated [this tends to happen when I go out to eat anyway] and sluggish. It didn’t take long for the “tight” feel that became my baseline to escape me. Truthfully, I was shocked that my body had become so used to the Paleo Diet foods over a few short weeks & was surprised that the re-introduction of some Paleo no-no’s shocked my system so much.
I came home from my trip and was very happy to resume a strict Paleo menu for myself. It definitely took me a few days, though, to get rid of the cravings for beer and bread. I hadn’t had any trouble with cravings previously, but I found that once I had just a taste of those forbidden foods, I wanted more. Scary. And crazy! I made sure to keep my promise to myself; when I returned from my Colorado vacation, it was back to strict Paleo, cravings or not!!
With Lent coming to a close at the end of this week, I must say that I’m thankful I tried this Paleo Challenge. I definitely plan on continuing along with it [I will be doing another blog about this soon] because it makes me feel the best I’ve felt in a LONG time!
Since Denver has the highest number of microbreweries per capita of our country, and since I am a HUGE fan of beer, I had a beer or two each day I was out there. I didn’t consume in excess but tried lots of new brews that were yummy! I “cheated” in small amounts here and there: a bit of cheese at one meal, some french bread at another. I didn’t go off the deep end in any respect; I stuck mostly to the Paleo rules, but was definitely much more relaxed about marinades, sauces and the possibility of the wrong oils being used to prepare my food.
The trip was so much fun all around but I found an enormous amount of value in taking those few days to “Cheat” a bit. What I found was that my body was very sensitive to eating even the slightest bit of bread, potato, or beer. I definitely enjoyed having some local Denver brews but I could absolutely feel the difference in my body and energy level. I felt a bit bloated [this tends to happen when I go out to eat anyway] and sluggish. It didn’t take long for the “tight” feel that became my baseline to escape me. Truthfully, I was shocked that my body had become so used to the Paleo Diet foods over a few short weeks & was surprised that the re-introduction of some Paleo no-no’s shocked my system so much.
I came home from my trip and was very happy to resume a strict Paleo menu for myself. It definitely took me a few days, though, to get rid of the cravings for beer and bread. I hadn’t had any trouble with cravings previously, but I found that once I had just a taste of those forbidden foods, I wanted more. Scary. And crazy! I made sure to keep my promise to myself; when I returned from my Colorado vacation, it was back to strict Paleo, cravings or not!!
With Lent coming to a close at the end of this week, I must say that I’m thankful I tried this Paleo Challenge. I definitely plan on continuing along with it [I will be doing another blog about this soon] because it makes me feel the best I’ve felt in a LONG time!
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