No grains, no gains - Off template foods I enjoy

A group of Primal/Paleo/Grain Free women who blog about their experiences/life/benefits without grains. A great way for others (who may be WANTING TO LOSE WEIGHT, reverse an acute/chronic health trend, and/or transition from commercial weight loss programs) to read about real life women who are living the life and succeeding.

This month's topic is about what non-Paleo foods I enjoy. Just a little background info first for those of you not familiar with my blog. This month would mark my second anniversary on maintenance...but I gained a few pounds and I'm back on weight-loss mode. It's all good. I weighed in today and I dropped 5 pounds from 2 weeks ago, so I'm only 2 pounds above my "goal" weight. I want to lose between 12 and 17 more pounds which will bring my weight between 150 - 155. Strictly for running performance. I'll likely not stay that low after I run the races I'm trying to get leaner for. Both take place in March. I am also 39 months grain/refined sugar/processed food and mostly legume and dairy free.

So what are the off template foods I enjoy? Sometimes I have legumes (ie: hummus, natural peanut butter). The hummus is a rare occurrence. Only when I have company, which does not happen often. The natural peanut butter was more common. I'd have a couple teaspoons following a run. I don't do that any longer. I cut that out a few months ago. I normally follow the 85/15 rule for Paleo. That's 85% Paleo eating, 15% other. 

My "other" foods are red wine, cream for my coffee, sports nutrition (ie: gels and sportive for long runs), and sometimes I have cheese (which can get out of hand and causes me stomach upset), and you know about the peanut butter and hummus. I'll also not stress over sauces when I eat out. I'll avoid it if I can,but don't make too big a deal out of it if there's sauce on a chicken breast or something. I just scrape it off. I  know those sauces include sugar and other non-paleo ingredients, but I'm not going to stress over a little bit of something non-Paleo. What I can't have a little bit of? Grains. Grains are completely off the table for me. That was my binge food of choice...pasta, bread, rice. It's a trigger for me so I completely stay away from it. Life is so much easier that way.

Wine is my big indulgence. I was drinking it on the weekends and really should only be doing that when I'm running regularly. My last injury got my weight up by 7 pounds. I was still eating fruit, nuts and drinking wine like I was running 50K per week. I am currently off wine, fruit and nuts. I'm only eating lean protein and veggies with the exception of sweet potatoes (none) and the starchier ones (squash, carrots, turnip) only a few times a week. I'm going to eat like this while I train for my two races in March. My celebration food after the Around the Bay 30K the last weekend in March? Wine and dates and nuts and dark chocolate. Something to look forward to!

How do I know eating my off template foods won't throw my eating off? They very well could if I'm not careful. I got very anxious when I gained 7 pounds. And when I was on holiday in Europe in September, I gained then too. I ate all the cheese and dates and drank lots and lots of wine. I'm just not sure how much I gained because I didn't have a scale until very recently. My point is that when I'm not as physically active as I normally am (due to injury, or during a European vacation due to laziness), I need to reign my eating right in. Nuts can become a problem for me because I can mindlessly eat them. I don't have to worry so much about amounts of Paleo foods when I'm training hard, but when I'm not, I need to be mindful. My recent gain was a valuable lesson for me and one I'm glad to have been given. Not only do I realize that I need to be on top of my eating, but the scale, and food journaling are valuable tools to use. 

Now check out my blogging buddies and find out about the off template foods they enjoy. Each with different experiences, each with a different story.

For Life -Jeanette
Garden Girl - Karen
The Sunny Coconut - Gwen

My most recent snap on the right taken on Tuesday in the Pilates studio.
I'm about 140 pounds lighter than I was in the photos on the left.