No Grains, No Gains - Health benefits of my diet

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 the health benefits of my diet. Now, there are a lot of sceptics out there regarding the Paleo diet. I followed a low carb, high protein, low fat, low sodium diet to lose weight. I decided to go Paleo for maintenance. I'm a binge eater, and the thought of eating my trigger foods again (processed carbs and refined sugar) caused me MUCH anxiety when I reached maintenance. So I made the conscious effort to not eat those foods again. I had already gone 16 months without them, it made no sense to me to start eating the foods that got me to 300 pounds in the first place. 

Many nutritionists, athletes, doctors, people in general believe we need carbohydrates to fuel. I have been a long distance runner for over a year. I started training for my first half marathon in December 2012. I was not eating processed carbs at that time. Although I do eat carbs, they are carbs found in fruits and vegetables. I have never "carb loaded" before a run. I don't need to. I use a sports nutrition sportive to fuel my long distance runs. Two scoops in a cup of water is all I need. I can't eat a lot before I run. What I eat following my run is the most important. Lots of protein to repair muscles.

So moving on the the benefits, I always eat until I am full or very satisfied. I don't measure portion size (except with nuts), count calories or fat. That gives me such freedom. True, I leave out a lot of different foods from my diet, but I'm okay with that. I enjoy the way I eat. It seems that it's the people around me who have issue with my diet. The snide remarks, the looks I get sometimes when asked about why I'm not eating certain foods. I get the eye roll sometimes too. But that's okay. It's my body, it's my decision. And there is scepticism in the unknown. I get that.

I have great skin. Right now it's not looking it's best. But that is due to the stress I'm going through (which has nothing to do with my diet). I did have a break out this week and a cold sore formed on my lip, I haven't had one of those is a very long time. But back to the topic under discussion. I have pretty good skin, everywhere. Not just my face, but it's soft and even toned. At 43, I still get the odd pimple here and there, but I think that has to do more with wearing make-up than anything else. 

I also have really good hair. I never had hair loss issues during my weight loss (common with low-carb diets). And my hair, although in desperate need of a cut and shaping, is in healthy condition. All my new hair growth is brown. I do not get my hair coloured, I have very little grey. I honestly had more grey hair 5 years ago than I have now. Not sure if that has to do with my diet, but what else could it be? People have often commented to me that I look younger now than I did five years ago. I have to agree with them.

My doctor, although supportive, was concerned about my blood tests and ordered 3 in the last year. My blood is perfect. I am not deficient anywhere, and I am no longer anaemic. I developed anaemia when I was pregnant with Julien and was unable to shake it for years. My blood test from a year ago showed that I had regained all my red blood cells. I also eat A LOT of eggs. I do not have high cholesterol.  

I used to have a lot of stomach issues. You know, nasty stuff, like gas, heartburn and general stomach upset. Gone, gone and gone. And I know you all want to know about my toilet habits. I used to have "issues" with that. A thing of the past! I'm relieved to report that I am a very "regular" person. Probably for the first time in my life.

Since being on maintenance, although my weight hasn't dropped significantly (8 pounds), I have gone down in size. I was wearing size 10 in December 2012, and now I wear size 6. That has to do with the running, but being on a diligent eating plan has definitely helped as well. Processed carbs turns into sugar in your body which is stored as fat. Since I don't eat them, I never worry about gaining fat. I have gotten leaner due to diet and exercise.

Besides having boundless energy, being able to long distance run without issue, having the resting heart rate of an athlete, and just feeling good overall, I wouldn't trade how I physically feel at this moment for anything to eat. That is why it is so easy for me to stay on plan. If you felt as physically good as I do everyday, you'd get it. That is one of the most asked questions I get, "how do you resist eating all the good food"? I do eat all the good food. The food that is good fuel for my body. And I feel like a million bucks. If that's not motivation to stay on track, I don't know what is!

Now take a moment and check out the health benefits of my best bloggy friends. I love writing in this type of forum because we all have different experiences to share. Take a look and leave a comment if you have a moment. Tell them Leigh sent you. Have a good weekend:)

Against the Grain
For Life
Living the Life
Garden Girl

The post about my first counselling session, therapeutic massage and melatonin

My first real smile in a while...and a good bang day:)

• Today I felt semi-normal for the first time in a long time. I put on make up. Did my hair. Smiled. I had my first therapy session and a massage right afterwards. Therapy went pretty well. I wasn't sure I would click with the therapist when we first started out. She was pretty scattered and 20 minutes late! But once we started talking, I enjoyed her approach with me and she gave me some useful advice that I will follow up with. She has treated self esteem issues before, in a very similar case. She also gave me home work. She knows I write a blog. I'm supposed to photograph myself and say what I like about my photo. So here goes...
• I took the photos this afternoon. I like my neck and collar bones. I liked my hair today. I like the shape of my eyebrows (I plucked them myself). I like that I didn't force my smile today. I liked what I was wearing today. That's all I got for ya. I'm supposed to do this everyday. I won't be posting this everyday. No need to bore you with my self love. But it's a start.
• Right after my counselling session, I went to see my massage therapist. I haven't seen him since before Christmas. He thought I broke up with him and was seeing someone else. I assured him that I was not. My body was in desperate need of a massage for sure. He gave me a general tune up and I gotta tell you, I was tense and anxious the entire time. He kept having to tell me to relax. I haven't felt this self conscious in front of him since he began massaging me over a year ago. He told me I looked great. He also told me that he could feel definite muscle definition in my glutes and hamstrings. So the hill repeats (#peachreps) did build up my ass muscles. Hearing him compliment me was hard though.
• We talked a bit about my self esteem issues. He totally got it, and he told me that he often forgets that I was morbidly obese. He's never read my blog or seen a before picture of me. He told me that he massages a lot of athletes and that we all have similar body types. That was interesting to me because I figured if anyone could see my imperfections, it would be him. I've booked to see him again after I run the Bay. I'm going to keep on top of the massage. It's definitely therapeutic. Although I was tense for most of the session, when he flipped me over and worked on my neck, I almost fell asleep. Maybe I'll pay him $80 just to do that for an hour next time!
• Everyday things seem to get a little easier. I actually got work done the last two days. I was able to focus and be productive. This has lightened the load on my shoulders too. Once I'm caught up with my paperwork, I should be less anxious. I have the next two days planned out. Although I'm seeing a couple of clients, I have everything that I need to do organized in a nice neat pile. It will be done by Monday for sure!
• My last two runs have been better. I ran in daylight both days. Daylight savings time is this weekend. The days get longer, but the morning gets darker:( So I run in the dark again starting Tuesday. For a few more weeks anyway. I think I have a touch of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) on top of everything else. This has been a brutal winter. Especially to run in. I am so done with it. Even when it is bitterly cold, if the sun is out, it lifts my spirits a bit. 
• My emotional state is improving. I haven't cried for a couple days. That's progress right? That in itself is a huge difference from last week. The photos below depict what my emotional state was a week ago. I only had enough time to put my hair behind my shoulders and I went from looking relatively normal to crying. My husband asked me something, but in his defence, it could have been "what did you have for lunch"? Bottom line is this. I am healthy, my family is healthy. I have a good job and lots of people who care about me. I have a lot to be thankful for. There are people who are really suffering and way worse off than me. I need to put things into perspective and carry on. Simple right? So why does it feel like a vice grip is crushing my chest most of the day? That is what I need to escape. I think the answer is in my therapy, getting better sleep and the changing seasons. I have a doctor's appointment on the 19th to discuss medication. I'm hopeful that by then I'll be doing better on my own. Two people have suggested melatonin to help me sleep at night. I think I'm gonna give it a try. It's natural and is also said to be effective in treating SAD. I'm getting some tomorrow. I need to stop being SAD and work on being glad...

See how important good posture is?

The post about Morgan Freeman narrating my run...NOT! It wasn't awesome enough:(

Sadly, no one narrated my run today...but it was sorta awesome.

• I have been struggling with my runs over the past month or so. I'm sure some of it has to do with the weather, but some of it also has to do with my depression. I love to run. Lately, I have lost my zeal for running. Every run, even the short ones, are more of a chore than something that I enjoy. Running has always been therapeutic for me. Lately though? Not so much. I find myself anxious before runs. Some of that has to do with my toes cramping due to the Morton's Neuroma, but lately I've been anxious because of the panic attacks. I had another one during my Saturday run. It was a short run, but I had to walk it out for a few minutes before I could continue with my run. Not as debilitating as my panic attack from last Sunday, but scary enough just the same.
• It was one year ago today that I ran my first half marathon. The Chilly Half in Burlington. My finishing time was 2:19:47. I ran a half marathon distance (21.1K) for my long run today. I can't tell you what my time was. My phone froze at 15K. This is the actual route I ran. There was a few inches of newly fallen snow, and a -22C temperature. I also ran the back half of The Bay which meant that I ran the 8 hills. It was a difficult run to say the least.
• When I first started out on my run I had very little confidence that I was going to complete it. I felt emotional for some reason. And I really didn't want to do it. I was feeling real sorry for myself. And I actually thought to skip it all together when I first started out.The first 10K was pretty tricky. Running through the snow was not easy. When I finally made it to the cleared road, I had to switch from road to sidewalk a few times and the last time I made the switch over, I slipped and fell on my hip. I went limp when I was falling so I didn't hurt myself. But I did get snow all over my right side. 
• So the first 10K was spent running in the snow, the last 10K was spent running on a cleared road, but up and down a ton of hills. I ran faster because I was finally on a clear surface, and the hills weren't really an issue. Until I got the last giant hill. It was snow covered. That was a tricky hill to run for sure. 
• My toes only cramped a little. They probably cramped really badly, but because my feet were soaked, they were also numb and I couldn't really feel them. I had on 3 pairs of socks, but it made no difference. My toes got a bit of frost bite. When I got home and hopped in the shower, my feet were in so much pain it wasn't even funny. I still don't have complete feeling in both my second toes. It will come back though. They're numb but sore at the same time.
• I did feel a bit more confident in my running today. I know I ran slow, but I completed my run without a panic attack, and my head was clear for a change. I'm not even sure what I thought about, if anything. I just ran until I got back to where I started.
• I lay on my couch all day today. I need a massage in the worst way. My whole body is sore. I have not been taking care of myself in that department either. I haven't been for a massage since before Christmas. My massage therapist is going to think I broke up with him. I will call tomorrow and make an appointment for this week. Hopefully he's not booked up.
• Last night I went to the drug store and bought an over the counter sleeping aid. I took it, and although it made me sleepy and I went to bed by 10:30pm, I still woke up at 5am, and I felt groggy. I'm not liking that side effect. I will definitely be using them sparingly, if at all again.
• This weekend has been fairly low key. Got all my chores done in record time and did some work as well. Work has been overwhelming me and I need to do it in stages. So I actually got through a bunch of emails and wrote some letters on Saturday.  
• Not sure what else to say right now. I'm feeling nothing. I know I'm not happy, but I'm not emotional like I have been lately either. I'm not confident that will last long. I look rough and have for about a week. I haven't been wearing make-up because I have a good cry at least once a day. Crying + make-up = hot mess. On the bright side, my morning routine is shorter. I'm just looking forward to my therapy session on Wednesday. I really need someone to talk to.

Where my phone froze. I made it back to the
first dot!!!