I’ve been sticking to my modified (for thyroid issues) paleo diet for 4 days now.  I’m logging my food intake here, in case anyone is interested.

I have to say… it’s going well.  VERY well!

When I started this, I almost cried.  We went to Who.le Foo.ds to buy “essentials” and came out of the store with very little because, well, there isn’t much on the list of foods I can eat.  I am limited to most veggies, natural meats, and some fruits.  When we lived the paleo lifestyle last summer, we did allow ourselves to have dairy as long as it was “whole” dairy and nothing processed beyond minimal federal requirements.  This time around, I have cut the dairy.  Completely.  This is by far the hardest part for me.  This part of the diet almost made me cry as I walked out of Who.le Foo.ds with my bags full of… super whole foods!  The milk in my cart was for Matthew.

Going grains-free is not really an issue for me.  Sure, I tend to bulk up on them before starting down the paleo/modified-paleo route, but I can see myself living almost grain-free for the bulk of my life if I would just set my mind to it.  Not eating grains over the last 4 days has been no big deal, aside from the fact that everything “easy” includes grains (pizza, sandwiches, Mexican food).  Once I got past the first day of this, my definition of “easy” went out the window and I came up with easy ways to get calories without needing grains to put them on, essentially.

So how am I making this work?  When I started out on this, I was very concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get creative enough to get all of my required calories in for being a 20-week pregnant gal.  The first day, I failed miserably.  The second day, with B’s help, I almost hit my target and I was thrilled.

The key to this is high-calorie items like meats, avocados, and coconut milk.  I eat grass-fed, all-natural, nitrite-free meat sticks every day in the form of beef, turkey, and salmon (sounds gross, but is wonderful).  We order these, and most other meats, from Wallace Farms and they deliver them to whichever pickup location I select within our area (they deliver to Naperville as well).  Coconut milk has been my saving grace – I pour it over my berries at night and, well, it makes me happy!  I had tried coconut milk yogurt which was OK, but B suggested I put straight coconut milk on my berries and that was the best suggestion ever!  Coconut milk is way cheaper than coconut yogurt, and it’s actually better.  I love it!  We also use it to make mashed cauliflower which is awesome!

How am I feeling?  I feel pretty darned good.  I have a lingering headache which I believe is from caffeine withdrawal.  Besides that, I just feel better and way less bloated.  I was having a lot of stomach pain before I started this and that has all disappeared.  I am still not perfect in the GI area, but it’s getting better and I have to believe that that will improve over time.  I was rather swollen in my legs and face and that has all gone away.  I am stuffier, which I wasn’t expecting having given up dairy, so I think it must be a cold.  Interestingly, but not surprisingly, I have dropped 4.2 pounds in 3 full days of this.  I know that that is not a goal, but I was gaining weight at record speed during this pregnancy and even though my doctor didn’t seem too concerned, they did say that there’s no reason for me to be putting on the weight I was.  It was time for a change – I don’t want to gain 50 pounds while pregnant!  I am now down to “normal” pregnancy weight gain for being 20 weeks pregnant, and feeling way better.  I was just retaining water like a crazy woman!  I noticed on our scale that my water % was going up at the same rate as weight, telling me it was severe water retention.  That number is now back down to my normal levels.

We went out for dinner last night to one of my favorite places of all time.  I think I’ve written about it before – it’s called the Flying Mango.  They have the most incredible smoked brisket on the planet – I am not kidding you.  Their entire menu is rather paleo-friendly, which makes it special to us – but beyond that, it’s just a great place to go!  It’s one of the few restaurant gems we have in DSM, land of the chain restaurants.  😉   I got my brisket and trimmed off all of the fat, got a mashed sweet potato cake, and steamed zucchini and brussels sprouts.  It was divine, and I only missed their decadent corn bread a little.  I didn’t even put BBQ sauce on my meat – I ate it plain Jane and it was perfect!

If I can go to my favorite restaurant and not slip up, I feel like this is more than do-able for the long term.  I do plan on re-introducing whole dairy after the initial 30 days are up, but only in the form of cheese (I miss Chip.ot.le a lot!).  I don’t see myself eating many grains in my future, except on my birthday!  I already told B that there must be an orange mimosa cake waiting for me on St. Patricks Day!