Chicama Run Family Farm

As many know, I have lost a bunch of weight (over 60lbs since July 2012).  Diet has played a big part - tracking EVERYTHING I eat plus exercising - and I dislike cardio so it's been mostly weights.

Things happen when you start tracking everything and it's funny the direction you seem to go in.  Try it for awhile - a month.... use that fancy smartphone we all know you have (I have one too - so I'm right with you!) and track everything - and I mean everything you eat for a month.  Make notes of how you feel afterwards (say within 1 hour of eating) and watch a trend start forming.  It's pretty cool once you think about it and start to look back and say, "Well no WONDER I feel like crap today!"

That's what I did.  I started out with Weight Watchers and found myself saying, "I have 16 points left - that's 4 ice cream sandwiches I can eat!"  Not good right?  I still lost weight - but I felt awful and was tired constantly.

Moving on - I found "The Fighter Diet" - which I absolutely LOVE.  Tons of calories per day (huh?? seriously??) that you get from TONS of vegetables.  Pauline is hardcore, but it works for me.  I love the workouts as well.   However, I wanted more "whole foods" which you can certainly do - and I noticed I felt and performed better if I had more protein in my diet from meats vs yogurts etc.

Now, it seems after reading and reading and MORE reading, I have naturally progressed to a "paleo-style" diet.  It works FOR ME.  I am personally taking a break from tracking what I am eating.  I have a food list where I can eat what I want as long as it meets certain criteria FOR ME.  Veggies are still where it's at - and timing of my food works as well.  I eat carbs (yes, it's not low carb - been there and done that over time on my roller coaster of weight loss) - my personal favorite is sweet potatoes with REAL butter :)  but I eat it at night.  My system slows down and then I am ready for bed.

Because of all this, I am finishing up my nutritional consultant certificate and my herbalist certificate - ultimate goal is to complete the Holistic Health Practioner program.  I have started a new FaceBook page for people who want to work with me and join me on the journey (http://www.facebook.com/getfarmfit) and I plan on working with people to help them reach their own goals and finding out what works for them.

My family will NEVER be 100% paleo.  Seriously - if you know my husband (Joe) and his love for fresh bread you KNOW this will never happen.  It doesn't mean though they won't be 90-95% paleo.  I make a LOT of paleo-style dishes they all eat.  Sometimes bread gets involved for them (the steak sandwiches I'm told are amazing - but I stick with the no bread version at this point in my journey) and that's just fine with me.  They already eat a TON of vegetables - you should SEE the farmer's market score my daughter did this past weekend!!  I'm going to have to post pictures up on FaceBook about it since it was that amazing.

So start tracking and see where it leads you!  You might be surprised when you find out that all the "bad/evil" foods according to the USDA make you feel better.  Trust me - I currently am eating like a pig and STILL losing weight.  I honestly believe my body will know when to stop losing, there is no "magic number" - I'm a size 6 now down from a size 18+ a year ago.  The number on the scale wouldn't make people think "size 6" - but I am, I have the jeans to prove it!

So, figure out what works for your body.  Ask for help if you need it - I know you will be thrilled if you start listening :)