In part 1 of this article I talked about my experiences of the 30 Day Paleo Diet Challenge in terms of performance progress, and improvements in energy and physique, as well as the practical issues I faced on a day to day basis. Today though I?m going to talk about the unexpected, positive (mental and emotional) consequences of the challenge and how the paleo lifestyle has helped change my whole attitude to food, exercise and dieting?.
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For many years now I have struggled with the negative emotional and physical effects of over-training and under-eating ? both of which I engaged in in an attempt to lose weight. For anyone who has experienced something similar they will know that it is a very tough mindset break ? for so many years we were told that ?if you burn more calories than you consume you?ll lose weight?, and even though many of us now realise this isn?t really true and is too simplistic a model of how the body actually regulates its fat stores, it is STILL an approach that has intuitive (and emotional) appeal.
I fully believe that women put excessive pressure on themselves to conform to the size 0 ideals. Every day we are subjected to pressure from ourselves and each other to look a certain way (i.e. ?thin?). However, as a sports person this then creates huge conflict when the negative effects of under-eating and over-training take their toll on your performance and race times begin to slip. Before my injury at the beginning of the year I was stuck in a rut and could not improve my times. I was also diagnosed as anaemic, and after longer distance runs I was guaranteed to become ill as my body was not strong enough or healthy enough to cope with the physical pressure I was putting on it.
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Gradually my approach has changed through good eating and effective and efficient training. My focus is no longer on the measurement on the scales (most of the time anyway ? there are still times where I find I slip back into bad habits) ? instead it?s on the run times I achieve and using body fat and general well being as a measurement of health. As a runner I have come to realise (albeit the hard way!) that lean and thin?are two very different things and from having the option to run taken away from me for 6 months my mentality changed. I now always see it as a privilege to be able to run and even when I have a bad run I try to remind myself of how far I have come since January and it has re-lit my passion for it. Ultimately if I don?t look after my body, then how can I expect it to return the favour by enabling me to run further or for longer?!
Bearing in mind my history, understandably people were wary of my taking on this Paleo challenge, and for some people in particular it did result in a heated discussion. However, the initial scepticism I was met with subsided as people got used to seeing me eat turkey for breakfast and the highly recommended berry and cinnamon omelette! To be honest I think a select few people were just pleased to see me eat more and weren?t going to question it! As such, my confidence in what I was doing grew and I no longer felt as daunted requesting things to be changed when I went out for a meal, and this helped make the diet even easier to maintain.
In general the news that I was following the Paleo diet was received in several ways, from genuine interest to ?that?s a stupid diet, we all need grains, carbs and dairy?. Through extensive reading I feel better placed to argue the point but ultimately what works for one person may not work for another so I do not expect everyone to understand or agree with the paleo concept. Whilst restaurants can be a bit of a nightmare, it is perfectly achievable. There is absolutely no need to become a social outcast ? it just requires you to not be worried about asking for what you actually want or don?t want! It also requires a strong will and confidence to stick with it when all around us we are constantly exposed to processed foods and refined carbs which people consider the norm ? e.g. the biscuit tin at work!!.
Now that I?ve reached the end of the 100% 30 day Paleo Diet Challenge I would definitely refer to it as a lifestyle, NOT a diet ? I am not deprived of anything. I have increased the volume of good quality food and in turn I have been rewarded with a decrease in body fat and a gradual improvement in my running. Importantly, for me personally at least, I have also found it to be an effective way to control body weight in what I consider to be a positive way.
Bucking the trend in the face of a constant barrage of diets, diet food and images of how we ?should? look as women these days (which has, from previous personal experience, led to both mental and physical damage) is a refreshing feeling. From my love of running and previous eating struggles, as a lifestyle I can safely say that the Paleo way is something I will continue with long after this 30 day challenge. As my running improves and the body fat shifts it only serves to motivate me even further, and in what I consider to be a sustainable and, more importantly, healthy manner with the emphasis on a being fit, lean and healthy, not on being thin and deprived!
As I said, the paleo way of eating may not work for everyone and I do not argue that we have evolved as a species since caveman times and so our dietary needs may well have shifted slightly too. Having said this, for someone who is acutely aware of what they put into their body, I feel as a lifestyle it has extensive benefits. I relaxed on harshly limiting the quantity of food I consumed as what I was eating was unprocessed and nutritious and in turn my body clearly appreciated it and I am pretty sure my mind did as well.
Forgetting the ?caveman? association for a moment, the paleo lifestyle essentially strips our diet right back to basic, natural and nutritious food sources. It eliminates the refined carbohydrates, high-sugar foodstuffs which saturate the market today. Yes it is time consuming to begin with and may seem tough, but we are creatures of habit ? as I began to see and feel the benefits of these changes both physically and mentally I adjusted and adapted and the preparation involved became just another habit. Whilst in 21st century living there will inevitably be times when a Paleo option isn?t available and you do have to resort to a quick fix I have every intention of maintaining this approach while I?m living abroad.
The past 30 days has been quite a learning curve, with moments of weakness and moments of a great sense of achievement when there was an actual measurable difference. After a long period of depriving myself I have started to genuinely believe that you are what you eat and have come to the realisation that I do not have to deprive myself to reach my goal which is no longer ?skinny?, but ?lean? and ?strong? and ?energized?.
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