Life as a cavewoman...

So today marks the end of week 8 in the weightloss game.  Over the past 2 months I've tried several different diets and exercise routines.  What I've finally settled on as working well for myself and my family is a 90% Paleo diet (the other 10% would be the occasional cheat, otherwise it's 100% Paleo) and a workout routine 5-6 days a week consisting of 20-30 minutes High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on my elliptical combined with weight lifting for about 20-30 minutes, alternating between upper and lower body each day.  Now, the reality of this combination is that I've been more consistant with diet than I have been with exercise.  I had about a good month of daily workouts but it's been nothing but excuses and a few workouts here and there for the last few weeks.  Today I was up at 5am and working out... it's my goal to have workouts be as natural to my day as eating since the two go hand in hand.  The good news is that my husband is home after an 8 week hitch and he is very PRO- Paleo!  I was afraid he wouldn't be on board.  He's not at it 100% but when he isn't Paleo, it doesn't seem to effect my diet at all.  I'm very proud of him because he's not only eating better but he's drinking a lot less... not that he drank a bunch to begin with... but we are social drinkers and it's hard to go cold turkey... ESPECIALLY after living on a boat in the Gulf Of Mexico for 2 months!


Anyway... so 2 months in and I'm down 14 pounds total.  I had hoped for more but I'm happy with my progress.  It's time to step up the exercise because I don't think there's much else to tweek on my diet.  And by diet, I mean lifestyle change.  I've gotten to the point where I just don't want all of those processed foods in my life anymore and I don't plan to stop eating the way we're eating. I have a 6 week workout routine planned out so I'll update then (August 27th) which will put us at almost 2 months of eating Paleo.  I'm excited to see where I'll be!


As we progress through this new way of eating, I'm having to research recipes and experiment using Paleo techniques.  This means the "Foodie" in me gets to keep cooking and eating but this time, there's no guilt associated with my foods.  Sure, it's more work to make everything we eat... but if you do it correctly it's possible to have 2-3 meals come of 1 meal worth of cooking.  I had to adapt to cook for 1-2 and now I'm cooking for 4-6 servings because it's better to eat my leftovers for lunch than just about anything else.  I hope to update my blog more frequently than I have been.  My friend Cassie http://leetsstreet.com/diet-and-exercise/ is a Paleo pro and uses her blog to document her creations.  I've come across several keeper recipes... and while I doubt I'll be able to devote the time that Cassie does, I do hope to start a section for recipes and I should be adding that soon.  Stay tuned!