"Reward" Foods

The day after the 30 Day Challenge ended, Superman and I experimented with the world of non-Paleo foods.  We each had one Fritos scoop, and really disliked it.  We tasted a Cheez-It, and were terribly disappointed.  We stared in my mom's fridge at the mountains of yogurt and Mango Smoothies, and ended up pulling out a bottle of pure carrot juice.

We ordered double-double animal-style cheeseburgers from In 'N' Out, and could each barely finish.  They were so salty!  And the flavors and textures were completely substandard to us.  Absolutely unsatisfying.  I ended up digging the fries out of the bottom of the basket, to avoid the sauteed onions and "special sauce" they were smothered in.  We kept remarking about how weird it was -- this was a meal we used to really look forward to!  We each had to admit that we'd been "trying" to crave this food all day, thinking we'd love it again as soon as we tasted it.  We really regretted eating it.  (The next day, we made turkey burgers with fresh guacamole, wrapped in lettuce.  Our mouths were much happier.)

I enjoyed a bowl full of homemade granola, but it didn't give me the energy I've come to expect from breakfast.  Thankfully, I didn't blow up like a balloon, or get terrible gas.  But I have no desire to put craptastic food in my mouth again.

I am happy to report, however, that my mouth really loved the cheesecake.  At least not all my former delights are disgusting to me now.  Even so, cheesecake was a rare treat before, and it will continue to be.

We talked a little about cravings.  I've never heard of anyone craving tilapia and asparagus.  But pizza?  Cinnamon rolls?  Ice cream?  These foods are loaded with sugars (in the form of commonly recognizable sugar and sugars known as starches), which I'm finding can really act like a drug in the body.  We feel like we need them.  They numb our minds and bring us a form of comfort.  And then, when we've eaten our fill (our fill = too much) we roll around on the floor, feeling sluggish and full and fat.

Ballerina and I had similar experiences with "rewarding" ourselves with non-Paleo foods.  Some things are worth it.  Some are most decidedly not.  My fridge/freezer is once again full of fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, chicken and turkey and seafood.  Sure, I'll have to alter all my slacks again.

It's worth it. :)

Comments

  1. I have been eating paleo for 9 month now and i'm loving the food and how its working for me. more energi and i dropped 80 pound (paleo/crossfit).

    if i look on your food i'm thinking wow that littel protien... did you ever go hungry ?

    Casper Denmark

    ReplyDelete
  2. Casper - first of all, right on! 80 pounds - way to go! The combination of Paleo and Crossfit is such a great one, isn't it? I've been doing Crossfit since last September. Love it.

    To answer your question, no, we never were hungry. If we felt hungry, we ate! That's the great thing about eating real food. No need to starve yourself.

    I'm not sure what you're comparing our protein amounts to. True, there were some meals that weren't as protein-rich as others, but often those were on the days where we ate five to six meals. Overall, I'd say we took in a really good amount of protein in varied forms.

    I used to supplement protein intake with protein powders, but I haven't done that since I started eating Paleo. I have no interest in putting those ingredients in my body anymore, and really, what I'm doing is working very well for me, so why mess around with a good thing?

    Thanks for your comment!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment