Great Success Story from Mark's Daily Apple

Primal was like a magic pill...

I have already posted this link on my facebook group... but I have a need to reflect on this article.  For several reasons I related to this article.  I grew up athletic. Participating in soccer and swimming.  I was always doing everything and anything outside.  I continued my active lifestyle until mid way through college. At that time I gained the Junior 15.  I have yet to be able to lose it (And gained some more.. I went from a 8/10 in my peak of swimming health to a 14/16) .  My life quickly turned into eating a great deal of carbs and sugars.  I was addicted.  I gained weight and quickly developed PCOS. I was told that it would be hard for me to conceive since it is very my ovluations are unpredictable and sometimes happen only a handful of times a year.  I went to my gynecologist and I was quickly put on birth control. I went off of birth control over a year ago and I want to be able to manage my PCOS naturally.  This diet has helped me become more regular, it has also seen improvement in bloating, in my hair and I just flat out feel better. I just realized that I am extremely sugar sensitive... and insulin resistance... here is some information on PCOS.

PCOS information.

21 Day Sugar Detox

21 day sugar detox

Above is the link to the 21 day sugar detox I am going to be starting June 1.  I will be fully documenting my experiences! Granted, I have been 70/30 paleo for over a year, I will be giving up dairy for the first time.  This should be interesting.  I have been taking some pre detox steps to prepare...  I have stopped using stevia to sweeten things... Its been going pretty well! I am going to have to replace half and half with almond milk.. I don't know how that is going to go! I'll let you know when I start June 1st.

Why eating fat doesn't make you fat!

Say no to SOY..... unless it is fermented!!

170 Scientific Reasons to lose the soy in your diet.

Paleo Crab Cakes Tonight: YUMMY!

This recipe comes from Everyday Paleo


1 pound crab meat (I used Chicken of the Sea “fresh” canned crab from Trader Joe’s. Yes fresh is best but when made into crab cakes, this worked just fine!)

2 tablespoons finely diced red onion

2 tablespoons paleo mayo (not the red pepper mayo but just the plain mayo)

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon of chipotle powder

1 egg

2 tablespoons coconut flour (or enough to make the mixture stick together)

2-4 tablespoons coconut oil

Shredded green cabbage for garnish

Lemon wedges for garnish

If using the canned crab, make sure to crumble the crab with your hands into a large mixing bowl and pick out any shells you might find.  Mix the crab with the onion, mayo, garlic, sea salt, pepper, chipotle, egg and coconut flour.  In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat for 1 minute or until hot enough that a sprinkle of water in the pan makes the oil sizzle.  Form the crab cake mixture into palm size patties and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.  Makes aproximately 10 crab cakes. Serve on top of the shredded green cabbage with lemon wedges and topped with my red pepper mayo if desired.

To be honest, I never have the patience to make paleo mayo, so I use regular... won't be able to do this on the detox! I wish they made mayo out of good fats instead of soybean oil. I use the Kraft Olive Oil Mayo. The number one ingredient is Olive Oil but there is some soybean oil. Can't be perfect all of the time! It is just about doing the best you can!

This is a great recipe! I love them!

Paleo 101

I am going to using a ton of other great resources on my blog! This is a great Paleo 101 lesson I found on Paleo Diet Lifestyle~

Here is some guidelines given to us by Paleo Diet Lifestyle

• The Paleo diet should be high in fat, moderate in animal protein and low to moderate in carbohydrates. Calorie counting is not encouraged, neither is portion control.
• Eat unlimited amounts of saturated fats like coconut oil and butter or clarified butter. Beef tallow, lard and duck fat are also good, but only if they come from healthy and well-treated animals. Beef or lamb tallow is a better choice than lamb or duck fat. Olive, avocado and macadamia oil are also good fats to use in salads and to drizzle over food, but not for cooking.
• Eat generous amounts of animal protein. This includes red meat, poultry, pork, eggs, organs (liver, kidney, heart…), wild caught fish and shellfish. Don’t be scared to eat the fatty cuts and all meals with proteins should contain fat as well. Learn to cook with bones in the form of stocks and broths.
• Eat good amounts of fresh or frozen  vegetables either cooked or raw and served with fat. Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and yams are also great as a source of non-toxic carbohydrates.
• Eat low to moderate amounts of fruits and nuts. Try to eat mostly fruits low in sugar and high in antioxidants like berries as well as nuts high in omega-3, low in omega-6 and low in total polyunsaturated fat like macadamia nuts. Consider cutting off fruits and nuts altogether if you have an autoimmune disease, digestive problem or are trying to lose weight faster.
• Preferably choose pasture-raised and grass-fed meat coming from a local, environmentally conscious farms. If not possible, choose lean cuts of meat and supplement your fat with coconut oil, butter or clarified butter. Also preferably choose organic, local and/or seasonal fruits and vegetables.
• Cut out all cereal grains and legumes from your diet. This includes, but is not limited to, wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, brown rice, soy, peanuts, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans and black eyed peas.
• Cut out all vegetable, hydrogenated and partly-hydrogenated oils including, but not limited to, margarines, soybean oil, corn oil, crisco, peanut oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. Olive oil and avocado oil are fine, but don’t cook with them, use them in salad dressings and to drizzle over prepared food.
• Eliminate sugar, soft drinks, all packaged products and juices (including fruit juices). As a rule of thumb, if it’s in a box, don’t eat it. At the grocery store, visit only the meat, fish and produce sections.
• Eliminate dairy products other than butter and maybe heavy cream. You don’t need dairy, but if you can’t live without, read this article and consider raw, full-fat and/or fermented dairy.
• Eat when you’re hungry and don’t stress if you skip a meal or even two. You don’t have to eat three square meals a day, do what feels most natural.
• Eliminate to most sources of external stress in your life as possible and sleep the most you can. Try to wakeup without an alarm and to go to bed when it’s dark.
• Don’t over-exercise, keep your training sessions short and intense and do them only a few times per week. Take some extra time off if you feel tired. Consider short and intense sprinting sessions instead of very long cardio sessions.
• Consider supplementing with vitamin D and probiotics. Levels of magnesium, iodine and vitamin K2 should also be optimized. Iodine can be obtained from seaweeds. You probably don’t need a multivitamin or other supplements.

Play in the sun, have fun, laugh, smile, relax, discover, travel, learn and enjoy life like a daring adventure!

Why Paleo?

Hello, My name is Lauren. I am a sugar addict... I need to kick it for good! I am going to be doing the 21 day sugar detox and continuing on a mostly paleo diet. 21 day sugar detox

I have been thinking for awhile now to blog about my ups and downs regarding my diet and health.  I was a competitive swimmer for years.  (God I wish I had that 145 lb body back!) As I got older, my ability to keep the weight off while pounding grains and sugar seemed to vanish. I have PCOS.  For those that don't know, it is basically a hormonal imbalance. I constantly am battling my body's quirky ways.  I have some of the classic symptoms: weight issues, hair in places its not supposed to be (even resistant to laser therapy), and severe insulin resistance.  This isn't something I usually come out with openly, but I feel it is important to my decision to go paleo.  Prior to my decision, I did not have a regular menstrual cycle. Never had. I would go months.  Since going paleo, I have been regular! I know that might be too much information, but when you have PCOS, its a big deal.

I have been about 70/30 Paleo. I'd like to improve upon that.  It sometimes seems that I go up and down, up and down.  I treat myself.  This treat turns into a bad week.. Sugar makes me hungry, its not just real sugar. Stevia also makes me hungry. Anything sweet makes me crave more food. I need to stop!

There are a lot of conventional wisdoms going around in the health world that are just flat out wrong.  The Low-Fat craze made people scared of all fats.. there are good fats out there.. and good fats that you need. And did you know that when they chemically take the fat out of foods (Process them) they replace it with sugar? No wonder I am sugar addicted! I am going to be posting a ton of info on this blog.  Follow and make your own choices.  I don't claim to know everything, and in reality, I am still learning.  Feel free to ask questions on here or the facebook group. We can find the answers together!