TIGER BLOOD! March: T-Minus 6 Days

With 6 days left before the start of what in our house has now been deemed "TIGER BLOOD! March," I've found the process is already getting started, as far as the mental shifts related to food.  In preparation for our first venture into paleo, I've let myself indulge in many tasty, gluten-y treats.  Having just recently completed a strict 30-day gluten free experiment, it's enlightening to have the direct contrast (and will be enlightening to see the direct contrast with paleo).  In the past week or two that I've been indulging, I've noticed significant changes in the way I feel.  First off, my skin problems came back with a vengeance.  My digestion is incredibly cranky.  And I've found I end more days feeling run-down, exhausted and just yucky feeling. 


Aside from being educational (as far as highlighting the fact that, at the very least, increased gluten consumption does bad things to my body), it's also serving to motivate me and get me excited to try this paleo thing (because I don't know about you, but I don't like feeling gross).  We'll be starting on March 2nd, because we decided to try to squeeze in a cake tasting for our wedding on the 1st.   So we will have quite a send-off to deliciously processed foods by not only hitting up a cake tasting, but also indulging in what the closest thing to Chicago-style pizza we've found out here so far (and hopefully hitting some favorite beer spots).  We will have quite the detox to go through once we get going, but as food and beer-lovers, we're willing to deal with that in order to get in a few last indulgences.  


For anyone curious, so far my resources in getting ready for this process and researching have been the following:

• The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain
• Your Personal Paleo Code by Chris Kresser (my favorite so far - he's got a good head on his shoulders and is really realistic about the whole concept)
• The 30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking by Hayley Mason & Bill Staley
• The Whole30 Program
• The interwebs.  Seriously just google "paleo" and you'll find more blogs, recipes and articles than you'll know what to do with. 

One tip for anyone starting to research this stuff: you've got to be able to decide for yourself what you believe.  There are obviously a lot of people who believe paleo is ridiculous, or even bad for you. And even within those who are pro-paleo, there are a lot of conflicting opinions.  If you read all three books I listed above, you will get three different perspectives and opinions on what you should and should not do.  You've got to be able to read it all and decide for yourself what works best.  For example, we are going to eat unlimited eggs (something Chris Kresser says yes to, but Loren Cordain says no to) because we love eggs and know it's an easy and accessible food option for us.  We will also long-term plan to follow the 80/20 rule (something Chris Kresser and Loren Cordain both say yes to, but Hayley Mason and Bill Staley say no to), because we believe enjoying an indulgence every once in a while is important to enjoying life and maintaining sanity.  It's your life, your body, your health, your mind - you've got to just take all that info out there and find a way to make it fit for you. Because if you don't, you won't be able to maintain it anyways, so why bother?