I can’t believe
how quickly the past month has flown! I
don’t know about you, but I have felt like this year has been in fast-forward
mode since it began. And the transition
to Daylight Savings Time last week surely hasn’t helped me feel like things
have slowed down, either.
At any rate,
Friday marked the end of week four of our Paleo food experiment and we are
still happily rolling along. I realized
I haven’t posted an update since we started; most likely because I’ve been
spending most of my “free time” (whatever that is) looking up recipes that fit
the Paleo profile, shopping for the necessary goods to produce said recipes, or
in the kitchen, actually making them. Since
I have a chicken in the crock pot (on a bed of potatoes, no less) and know that
dinner is cooking itself, I thought today was as good a time as any to let you
know how we’re doing.
I’m thrilled to
report that hubby, kiddo and I all have noticed positive changes in how our
bodies feel:
Hubby’s
past challenges with IBS have disappeared and believes he is sleeping better. That last part is especially significant for
him, since he’s had challenges with insomnia on a regular basis for more than
twenty years.
I
have shed somewhere around ten pounds thus far.
I only weigh myself once or twice each month (and strictly with the
intention of getting information), so I actually may be down a little more than
that. I’ll find out sometime next week
where the numbers fall. I’ve felt so
much changing in my body that it’s actually been fun to get on the scales
and see numbers that confirm my progress.
Prior to this, I don’t think you’d ever hear me use the words “fun” and
“scales” in the same sentence. Yee and
haw!
Kiddo
has reported feeling less “scattery” (his word) even though school days still feel “too
long for me sometimes, Mom.” In
addition, we are getting reports from the school staff who work with kiddo
that his behavior has been steadily improving (for the most part) over the past
month. Hot damn!
The progress in
kiddo’s behavior alone is enough reason to celebrate what we’ve done thus far
and motivate us to continue with this food experiment. If you had told me at the beginning that we had
to do thirty days, I would have bailed right then. The challenge to go full-out Paleo already
felt like it was significant and, while I was ready to give it an honest try,
the two-week window was what made the agreement possible for me to say
“yes." In talking with my boys, that’s
what they thought, too.
When we first began
eating in the Paleo profile, we were hungry.
Ravenously hungry. All the
time. And we were eating. Ravenously eating. All the time.
Seriously – I can’t tell you how much protein and how many fruits & veggies
we went through the first week. We were
so hungry that we joked about the “Angry Birds” game we like to play
online. We swore then (and still do at
times) that the birds aren’t saying “angry”…they’re actually saying “hungry." That is why they’re so angry! No
doubt, they want to kill the pigs because they’re hungry and have bacon on the
brain. Ha!
At the same time we
felt so hungry, we also felt incredibly satisfied. I know -- it sounds strange, doesn’t it? Unlike diets <shudder> of the past, the Paleo perspective is one that
encourages us to eat what we want, when we want it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner can be any
combination of whatever we want from the many food choices available. Craving steak and potatoes for
breakfast? Go right ahead. Scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner? Sure thing – help yourself!
The hunger I experienced was more of a “Hey, woman…your body is actually using
the fuel you’re giving it, so you need to give it more!” type of feeling. What a breath of fresh air from the feelings
of deprivation I have experienced on past food plans that were based on
restriction! In talking with hubby and
kiddo, I found out they felt the same way that I did – hungry, yet satisfied
with what they were eating. It was just
a matter of adjusting how much we were eating and when.
And kiddo,
especially, ate a lot. One day, he ate
more for breakfast than hubby and I combined!
Initially, I thought we were going to break the bank with our grocery
budget, but a number of friends who have gone this route assured me things
would start to level off. Thankfully,
they were correct. Actually, as I
compared our food expenses for the past month with the prior ones, I found out we
are spending a bit less. I’m not
surprised, since the only items we’re bringing home in cans or boxes have very
few ingredients in them. Almost
everything we’re buying comes from a natural, non- or minimally-processed
source.
We met with the
doctor who is helping us navigate this plan again last week to talk about our
progress and look at what foods we want to add back in (a little at a time) to
see how our bodies react. Hubby is
really missing bread, so we found a local bakery that specializes in items that
fit pretty well with the Paleo profile and snagged a loaf that he can use for
sandwiches. Pizza has been about the
only thing I’ve craved along the way, so we found a crust mix that was pretty
decent (though, I’m sure, hard-core Paleo folks would shudder) and non-dairy
“cheese” shreds that, when melted, have the same mouth feel and stringiness
that I would expect on a pizza. Kiddo’s
request was for chips (though there were a lot of other processed goodies he’d
like back!) so we were able to find some that are very simply made. And those tweaks were enough to satisfy the
cravings we had while not setting back the progress we’ve been making.
And we want to be
careful what we re-introduce and how we do it.
The main focus of this experiment has been to see if we can help kiddo’s
behavior improve without using major medication, so we’re moving at a cautious
pace. We know from past experience how
sensitive his system is to medication, and are finding out that’s equally true
for food. So as to not overwhelm him, we
are trying one new thing at a time and waiting a few days before trying it
again. We tried rice pasta once that
seemed to be okay but, a few days later, rice-based bread seemed to get a
negative hit. It may or may not have
been the food (our thought is that one of his sensitivities is to yeast), so we
need to let his system be clear of it for about a week and we’ll try
again. If we get another hit, then we
can explore the individual ingredients in the bread to see if we can narrow
down what is irritating him.
Yes, it is a
labor-intensive process but it’s one that we have fully embraced. If you know me, you already know I don’t like
to half-ass any project I take on; I’m either in or I’m out. Kinda like the Yoda thing – “Do or do not;
there is no try.” How in the world can I
not “do” when it comes to my precious kiddo?!
When we began the
experiment, the doctor asked us what our biggest fears were. Hubby indicated that he was worried he’d
never get to eat bread again. (Yes, he’s
usually a smart-ass like that; no worries – he knows it and owns it.) My response was that we’d put in a lot of
hard work and time to try this experiment but not get any results. I can handle not eating certain foods ever
again; it’s the thought of not being able to help kiddo have a better quality
of life that keeps me up at night.
The blessing is that we’ve already been seeing progress. In addition to what I mentioned earlier in
this post, we are seeing better behavior from kiddo at home on a regular basis. In the past two weeks, I haven’t had to send
him to his room even once!
I’m not sure if you realize how significant that is, so let me
give you a little background:
About a year ago,
we had to remove almost everything from kiddo’s room, bolt his furniture to the
wall and put his box spring and mattress on the floor because of his violent
outbursts. He was unsafe to us, the pets
and pretty much anything in his path and we had to have a safe place to contain
him when he was in full-on meltdown mode.
He tore things up, threw anything not nailed down, and hit/kicked/bit us
on a regular basis when he came unglued.
And it broke my heart. I know he
doesn’t know how to be in his body any differently than how he has been, and
it’s not his fault he’s wired that way.
Over time, he’s
gotten receptive to being “herded” down the hallway to his room as he’s melting
down and has gotten better about calming himself down without as much
turmoil. A few times, he even walked
down the hallway himself and sat down on his bed to calm down. And now, he’s pulling himself together with
just a simple warning…for the most part.
We’re also having
some fantastic conversations these days!
Kiddo has been quite the conversationalist for some time; the change
that we’re seeing is his focus on whatever conversation is at hand. In the past, he maintained the attention span
of a gnat and completely missed information told to him directly because his
brain was still working on something else.
Now, we are seeing more clarity in his conversation and the ability to
focus for longer periods of time.
Recently, kiddo was in the office where I work and sat down to chat with
my boss. She commented afterward about
how that was the first conversation they’d had where he actually sat still to
talk with her for a solid five minutes.
It’s great to get feedback from others who know kiddo that they, too,
are seeing positive changes in his behavior.
It seems as if the
fog is lifting and that feels hopeful.
For the first time in a long time, I feel like we have a good option
that might actually be helping our precious kiddo. And that makes my heart so happy, it could
burst! I want nothing more for kiddo
than to be able to function in a way that isn’t harmful to himself or others
and I think we’re onto something.
We’re keeping pace
and it feels good, so the experiment will continue.
Oh, and in case
you didn’t catch it in the title, we have fondly adopted “White Lion” as the
name for our experiment. Paleo = Pale +
Leo. Get it?
Stay tuned…
