Week two of trying out the Paleo Diet started out great. I had so much energy. Gobs and gobs of it. I felt like I was drinking energy drinks the whole week.
Then I started to get a little frustrated.
You see, this diet is marvelous if you happen to have a lot of time on your hands. But I do not have a lot of time on my hands. My hands are full with homework and school and friends and a social life. Therefore, when I get hungry 10 minutes before class, and I don’t have time to cook anything and I can’t just grab a protein bar, it gets inconvenient. Like…really inconvenient.
At least my hunger issues have partially gone away with this nutritional regime. By hunger issues, I mean my alter ego who would come out when I was hungry and kill everyone in my path. Or I would at least be extremely grumpy and too lethargic to function. With Paleo, my stomach aches, but I can still do things! And be in a good mood! This, to me, is the most amazing part of the whole thing.
It’s cut down on my grocery bills a lot, too. I basically can’t eat out anymore (everything is cooked in canola oil, which isn’t acceptable), and when I do, I find myself making much healthier choices. Not to mention, I have to pack Paleo-approved snacks like nuts and dried fruit in advance, which means I’m not spending $10 at Qdoba every day when I’m hungry in between classes anymore. But passing up chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants? Definitely on the list of hardest things I’ve had to do in my life.
I had a small slip-up this week when I was absolutely starving (like, almost zombie mode) and I met my sister at the EMU for lunch. I should have stuck to healthy Holy Cow…but my taste-buds won out over my willpower and I got Panda Express. Then, I came home and had Ruffles and ice cream with my roommate…did I say small slip-up?
And oh em GEE…my stomach, which had had nothing but healthy vegetable matter in it for the last two weeks, decided to fully die when it came into contact with the grease-coated, high-fructose-containing “food” I had just consumed. I was slightly nauseous for the rest of the day, and my insides were gurgling like there was a swamp monster giving birth inside of me.
But were the heavenly tastes of “Cheddar and Sour Cream” and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough worth it? Debatable. I’ve been feeling so ridiculously healthy lately, I hate to sabotage it. That fake Cheddar taste that melted on (and probably just straight up melted) my taste-buds was awfully delicious though…