Hi Friends,
So, in a bit of a plot twist this month, I (Bill) am going to be following the eating template laid out in our popular ebook, The 30 Day Guide to Paleo. Like many winters before it, this past winter was a doozy and I spent most days craving grain-free sugary treats and starchy foods to compensate for a near total lack of sunlight here in Western PA. And now, here it is – mid-March – and I certainly look like I’ve been sitting on my butt all winter eating some borderline Paleo foods. I’m not going to beat myself up over it or make excuses (okay, I might make a few excuses), but the time has come to hold myself accountable and get back in the game. So today I officially started my 30-day challenge. My goal is to be well on my way to getting back in shape by the time we land in Austin in 3 weeks for Paleo Fx. I realize that will not be enough time to make a significant strength or physique change, but I will surely be feeling back to my old self… or so I hope!
My planned approach is to put a 50% emphasis on eating clean Paleo, and 50% emphasis on starting to work out again. My eating is already nicely dialed in to begin with (I’d call it 90/10 Paleo), so truly my focus is to clean up that last 10% of deviations (grain-free treats, occasional snack of organic popcorn, excess of dairy like cheese and cream, and generally trying to kick my sugar cravings). Admittedly, this is fine tuning, and not major changes for me. We hardly ever have sweet things in the house to begin with, as Hayley has already been doing ‘strict Paleo’ for several weeks now in an attempt to remedy some adrenal issues. She’s been avoiding sugar because it “messes her up” (her own words). Meanwhile, I’ve been sneaking treats when given the opportunity. However, the big thing for me will be getting back into a routine of working out. With the change of seasons, I hope to incorporate as much outdoor activity as possible, too.
Today was my official first day, so I thought I’d share some of what I did with you all. Luckily Primal Palate is our full time job, so when we get a warm and sunny spring day, we are fortunate enough to be able to take some time to be outside! Today was beautiful here – almost 60 degrees and sunny, so that’s what we did!
Breakfast: 2 pastured eggs, 3 strips of organic bacon, big salad with Tessemae’s lemonette salad dressing. Oh, and I had an espresso as well.
Midday Activity: Trip to our local farm to talk about backyard chickens and pick up a few weeks worth of meat & eggs.
Late Lunch: Paleo Wrap with ham, wilderness family naturals mayo, Lettuce. Then ate quite a bit of Union Pig and Chicken BBQ from the other night (pork shoulder, brisket, and a rib), all with a little US Wellness Meats BBQ sauce (even though it contains honey, I’m not scrutinizing minutiae like this, FYI). I also had a cara cara orange.
Afternoon Activity: Cleaned out the garage to get to our weight bench and bumper plates. Brought them into the basement to establish an indoor workout area. I love doing ‘labor’ as a workout… I feel like I’m accomplishing two things at once!
Dinner: Pasture-raised pork chops with coconut aminos based marinade. Roasted broccoli in duck fat. Big Salad
If you’d like to follow along with us using the guide, you can get that here.
But you can also follow along without the guide if you want some basic principles:
- Eat meals balanced with 1/3 high quality protein and about 2/3 vegetables. Use high quality fats, spices and seasonings as necessary. Any sauces or dressings should be as high quality as possible without causing you to stress out.
- Get up and move deliberately at least once a day (go for a walk!)
- Work out 3 times per week for 20 minutes (moderate to high intensity)
- Get outside in the sun if possible.
- Get 7-8 hours of sleep if possible.
- Make a conscious effort to drink sufficient water.
- If you mess up, don’t start over – just move on. Stress is the enemy, so give it your best effort without worrying about it.
So that’s about it. Stay tuned for more updates. Follow us here on the blog for periodic updates, or get daily updates by following Primal Palate on Instagram!
I loved this post! Keep them coming 🙂
the Pasture-raised pork chop looks delicious, I wanna know the recipe.