Getting creative

Two days!!! I've gone two days so far!! Woo hoo!!!

OK, so that does sound incredibly lame, even to me, but I'm learning to celebrate my successes. I've now had two days without wheat or grain, and I've gotta say I'm feeling kinda chuffed. Wheat has been my "crack" for my entire life, so going without it has taken some commitment. 

I realise it's only two days, but something feels different about this time. I think part of it is that I'm being public about doing this, and I'm focusing on emotional health as well as physical health.

But I think one of the biggest differences from previous weight loss efforts (of which there were MANY) is that I've decided to get creative in the kitchen. In the past I must admit my meals were quite boring, and speed and convenience was king. Now I've decided to step up my game, I've made a significant investment in buying a Thermomix (whom I've christened "George"), and I've decided to adhere to a primal food plan - and I'm discovering it doesn't have to be boring!

Tonight I did chicken and coriander pesto as a sous vide in George, and then used him to make a brussel sprouts mash. YUM! The fun thing was that I knew what I wanted to make but couldn't find a recipe, so I read bits of this and that, experimented, and made my own one up! And I had a hankering for chocolate and peanut butter brownies, so I took a Standard American Diet recipe and paleo/theromix'ised it. They're still cooling, but they smell delicious! I'll post the recipes and pics soon so you can see what I'm going on about.

So tonight I feel positive. I'm moving forward, and that's the direction I want to go. 

Paleo... say what?

If you 'd asked me six months ago about "paleo" eating, you'd have had a blank but curious stare. Food for me was both my lover and my nemesis, something I would go to in a time of need, but also something I didn't really think that much about. I would guiltily order pizza when I couldn't be bothered to cook (something that happened way too often) and I never read the ingredient panel. My supermarket decisions were based on how hungry I was when I went shopping, how good the food looked in the packet, and whether it was on sale.

But a few months ago I was watching a chef on TV and she mentioned she had bacon and eggs for breakfast because she was on the "caveman diet". Around the same time, a friend of mine suggested I cut out wheat in order to help minimise arthritic pains from an injury . Bored and curious I googled it, and stumbled across the paleo/primal way of life. I downloaded a couple of books and started reading.

Everything I read made sense - our bodies were designed to live in a time of uncertainty around food, so our brains seek out foods which pack the highest calorie punch. We're also constantly bombarded with processed food, containing additives, preservatives, hidden wheat and sugars, and all kinds of nasties. It's cheap, easy and very available.

Mentally I could put the pieces together and see the business case for going paleo, but emotionally I was stuck. How could I give up wheat? Bread is my food equivalent of crack,one little taste was never enough. And here I was contemplating giving it up forever? And not just wheat but all grains, even rice! Plus many people stopped eating dairy as well - so how was I going to do without my daily coffee?

And that led to a mexican standoff in my brain - my good angel was encouraging me to finally look after my body, but my bad angel was having a full-on temper tantrum. It was easier to just ignore it.

But ignoring it led to my weight continuing to rise, until I found myself 1.5lbs away from the dreaded 300lbs (136kg) mark. I knew what I was doing was the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results) and it was time to change.

A big part of taking the first step was figuring out how I could cook faster, more easily and healthily. I bought a Thermomix, and it arrived two days ago. I will admit to having made breads and pizzas in the past few days, as I get the hang of it. But starting tomorrow, I'm switching to paleo versions.

So this blog will hopefully chronicle my journey as I start "going paleo". I don't expect it to be smooth sailing, but I know it's a journey I need to take. And who knows, maybe I'll have some great results and help others along the way. Let's get started!