Friday, September 12, 2014

My Health Journey

May 2014 was when it all started. Joel is obsessed with anything crossfit, and back in May he noticed a lot of the athletes follow the Paleo diet. He found this simplified Paleo diet for beginners, and the article made so much sense to us. In the Paleo diet, we don't eat grains or dairy (we do drink milk with our protein shakes). We eat a lot of ground beef, chicken, veggies, nuts, sweet potatoes, and fruits. Basically what our "ancestors" (in the Paleolithic time period) used to eat waaaay back in the day before agriculture.

We slowly changed out all of our pasta, rice, and anything else grain and started researching other recipes we could eat instead. It didn't happen over night, but our mentality was changing on how we wanted to fuel our bodies. We are DEFINITELY not perfect (I may or may not be eating ice cream right now... mwahahaha), but for us it is all about having a good balance, and not overdoing the snacks and treats. I'm not worried about this "diet" crashing, because it has become a complete lifestyle change for us!


Since we started this health journey, I have been working out 4-6 times a week and eating healthier! For the first time in years, I am finally at the ideal weight I have always wanted to be, and now I am focused on building muscle, getting stronger, and lifting heavier weights. It is so nice to finally find something that works for me, and something I know I believe in. 

Even though it was SO HARD to take that first picture, I am very glad I did so I could see the changes I am making are really working. The changes might be small, but I am so happy to see changes! For me, I believe the first step to changing my mentality was taking that first picture, accepting my body, and having the desire to change. I always heard people say how hard it is to stay in shape after having a baby, but I am now in the best shape I've been in since high school when I was doing track and ballet all year.

Working out in the beginning, I started out very simple. I set small and realistic goals, and kept those promises to myself. If I broke that promise and was having a hard day, I tried to not be hard on myself and said, "I will try again tomorrow." I started out by going on walks with Emma, just to get out of the house. Slowly I started lifting weights to get my body used to working out again.

Our goal is to eat Paleo 80%, since it would be tough to eat 100%. For instance, barbecue sauce isn't Paleo, but we used it in our giant meatballs and it was DELICIOUS. I would say what helps us be most successful in eating healthy is cooking in bulk. We usually make enough food for 12+ people, and keep the leftovers in the freezer. That way if we are starving we don't have to cook, just pull one of those bad boys out of the freezer and we are good to go!

I thought I would post some other of our favorite recipes if someone out there is interested in trying Paleo food!

- Giant meatballs with barbecue sauce. Need I say more?? We follow a lot of people on instagram who cook and eat Paleo, so that's how Joel found this recipe. We put carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, and a bunch of spices in the meat balls! My mouth is drooling just thinking about these beautiful things sent from heaven.

-These avocado bacon sliders are really simple. Basically a hamburger but instead of a bun you use lettuce! I love that you can put whatever you want on it. Soooo good. We like onions, peppers, guacamole, bacon, and some kind of sauce on these burgers!

-The Pastel de Papa was the first Paleo recipe we tried and fell in love with it. We cook this in bulk as well, so we have TONS of leftovers we can keep in the freezer!^^

- Joel and I are obsessed with Thai food. Ok, mainly I am obsessed with curry. I love anything curry really! Joel isn't much of a recipe follower, so I actually don't have a recipe for this. He is really good at making stuff up and it ends up tasting divine! It is just curry, coconut milk, chicken, spices, and wok vegetables. Super delicious!

- For this last recipe I'll post, this is the most recent one we've tried. I like it a lot too, because you can put anything on this meatza (meat+pizza). Even I cooked this, that is how easy it is! (I'm not the cook in our house haha)

And there ya go! A little glimpse into what we eat, and what we've learned about the Paleo diet.

2 notes:

Kerri Andersen said...

way to go mollie! you are awesome!

Jenna Haderlie said...

You are awesome. I have been going on walks to get out of the house, but I really need to start working out more. I have been looking into doing a more paleo diet, but I am nervous to give up grains. Was that hard? That is my biggest concern.