Week 2 recap
23. Nov, 2009 
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The Label Says Paleo team is halfway through the challenge and still going strong! I’m going to report my progress in this post; team members please post to comments.
Week 2 was tough. I traveled to San Diego for work and did the best I could with eating out and living out of a hotel for a few days. Breakfasts and lunches weren’t too bad (although In-n-Out Burger is just not the same without the cheese), but dinners proved a little more challenging. Lots of menu substitutions and meals that were not ideal. I also discovered the Larabar (amazing!), and while they’re a little high in sugars, if you need something quick and you can’t be a traveling pantry, they’re a solid option.
I was pretty good on the alcohol throughout the week. I found out that even after just 2 weeks of eating clean, alcohol affects me much more. Hangovers are much easier to come by, which is both a blessing and curse. I know, alcohol is not technically allowed in the challenge, but I’ll post on why we’re allowing it another day. It is nice to remember everything and have much cheaper bar tabs.
My last 2 issues have to do with the macronutrient composition of what I’m eating. I don’t think I’m eating enough fat, because I’m STARVING throughout the day and just looking for the next meal. That leads into a dangerous situation where I go to the grocery store and want to buy the entire dessert section (try to stay out of the store when hungry, btw, it’s bad news bears).
Overall, I’m starting to feel much better throughout the day (other than the hunger thing), and I’m also starting to believe that the paleo lifestyle can be sustainable, with a little modification (i.e. bourbon, please).
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Week 2 was a little tougher for me, as well. My energy and performance where up and down. There were a couple days when all I could think about where Thai curry (with rice!) or pizza. Honestly though, those cravings were out of laziness. I just didn’t want to cook or clean up after. I wanted to sit on the couch and pay someone to bring it to me. Thursday’s Team TLSP dinner was a god-send because Lisa cooked us an awesome meal…and I didn’t have to clean it up after
Total treat!
I think I’ve mentioned before what a sucker I am for ice cream. Well, I discovered that if you take Lyssa’s Fudge Baby recipe, add coconut milk, blend, and then freeze for about 30-60 minutes you get a wonderful ice cream-like cup full of paleo awesomeness. Considering how small my personal little food processor is, I can indulge now without over-indulging. I mean, hey, I can only make 1/4th of the recipe at a time…I should be able to stop the madness when necessary.
Oh, I had 2 bourbons this weekend (which was within the rules established by Team TLSP) and discovered that my liver does not like it. My tastebuds finally decided to like it but my tummy said HELL to the NO! 2 to 3 hours of intense, “which side is the appendix on?” pain was enough for me to swear off bourbon. I’m now left solely with red wine. That’s just fine with me since I love big reds. Love learning about them. Love them with food. Love them alone. Love them instead of dessert. Love, love, love them. Moderation will be the key…
Final thought on Week 2 – Thank goodness this is half over!
Week 2 was a tough one for me as well. I felt tired and not myself a lot of the time. My workouts felt a lot slower. However, I’m not completely sure how much of that I can attribute to diet change. I had a stressful week at work, and by Friday I was sick. My mom tells me that ever since I was little, she would know when I was getting sick because I would be unusually cranky for days before hand. So maybe I still get a little bit of that
Week 3 is off to a good start though, and I’m once again feeling thankful for this challenge. I’m starting to see some good benefits (post coming soon!), so I’m feeling really motivated to finish strong for the last half of the challenge.
Week 2 felt easy in comparison to my Week 1 because I was home the entire time sans visitors and able to cook. I too, however, was sick, so I didn’t get in as many workouts as I usually do. I did get to make some great food that allowed me to stay totally Paleo and get well pretty quickly.
I really enjoy the social aspect of eating, so it was also really nice to have dinners Thursday and Saturday nights with other Paleo-eaters. This week will be interesting, as I travel to two Thanksgiving dinners and then LA this weekend … headed to the grocery store to stock up on my traveling Paleo stash!
Like Lyssa, week 2 was significantly better for me than week 1. I was finally able to knock off the cold that had been plaguing me since the beginning of the challenge. It just reminds you that no matter how well you take care of yourself, you’re not invincible. On a more positive note, the cold was one of the mildest colds that I can remember. Although it took me over a week to get rid of it, I never felt overly horrible and didn’t develop a chest infection. Can I attribute this to going Paleo? Perhaps so… I certainly know that I am much healthier than I was a year ago.
As for Thanksgiving, I was able to avoid offending my sensitive mother by refusing her food as my family came to visit me for Thanksgiving. Rather than cook for the entire crowd, we went to Hudson’s on the Bend. With a few simple changes, I had one of the most delectable Paleo meals that I’ve ever tasted.
I’m concentrating hard to try to stay on task during week 3. This will be a crazy week for me as I’ve got a million things going on, including moving! Stress often brings out poor eating habits, but I’m determined to stay the course. I’ll check back in and let you know how it goes.