Giving the Paleo Diet a try

Dieting is not a favorable task in our home.

We love food.

When my husband told me the other day that he wanted to do a Paleo diet for a month, I responded in a not so submissive wifely manner.  Meaning, I said don’t you realize there are five other people in this house that require food every day, how could you possibly think that adding this to my plate right now is a good idea and there is no way I am going to do it?!

Not my finest moment as a wife.

The Lord convicted me of my wrong attitude, and I started looking through the Practical Paleo cookbook that has been sitting in our kitchen for over a year now.  To my surprise, I found that in many ways we were eating like that already.  Processed foods aren’t generally in my weekly meal plans, and I do cook mostly from scratch, so it didn’t seem as challenging as I thought.

The nice thing about this book is that included with the recipes are 30 day meal plans based upon what kind of issue you are addressing. I’m adapting the fat loss plan a little bit, to fit more our daily schedule, but following the guidelines as much as possible.

In preparation for this diet, we did what any food lover would do and we went out for dinner Saturday night.  I had to capture this food with my camera phone:

Steak au poivre with pomme frittes

Chocolate chip Cheesecake

Yesterday was Day 1.

At 3:15 yesterday afternoon I said to Bradley, “This diet is dumb.”

And as we grumbled a little bit about it we realized that we have a problem.  We couldn’t even go a few hours without feeling the need for something sweet, dairy or carbohydrates.

For me it boils down to this:  a lack of self-control.

So, we’re sticking this diet thing out for at least a week, since I planned meals for one week’s time. And during this time, I’m really asking the Lord to teach me about self-control.   Not just in my eating, although that is foremost on my mind, but in other areas like attitude, speech, reactions to unpleasant circumstances, etc.

As I watch what I put into my mouth a little more closely, I’m hoping that what is displayed in my life will reflect more powerfully the Spirit at work to change me and make me more like Christ.

Lunch: Avocado with balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner Day 1: hamburger with caramelized onions, Dijon, and tomato; grilled veggies; roasted sweet potatoes