Paleo February: A Review and Reflections

Well, Paleo February is several weeks behind us now.  Non-Paleo (or possibly Anti-Paleo) March is well underway.  What did we think?  Did we love the experience?  Did it leave us bitter and scarred?

We both agreed that it was good.  We picked up a few dietary insights that we will carry with us into the rest of the year.  Here are our Paleo February take-aways:

• There is a difference between eating strictly paleo and eating healthy (such as when you eat paleo muffins).  Unhealthy paleo food may not be as bad as unhealthy regular food, but that doesn’t make it good for you.
• Speaking of muffins, it turns out paleo baking can get a little pricy!  Nut flours are a lot more exspensive that wheat flour.  I guess that is good, because it discourages us from doing too much baking?
• A bright spot: our dinners are usually paleo anyways!  So, that was a pretty easy adjustment to make.  Dinner typically consists of a meat, salad, and a fresh fruit and vegetable.
• I realized how much time I spent eating unhealthy snacks between meals.  I guess a little bit here and there adds up when you snack 30 times a day.  We will try to be more vigilant in not keeping unhealthy food around as much.  Our efforts will be aided by the depletion of our stash of German candy from my brother.
• White flour is being relegated to “Dessert” status.  When we use flour for normal meals (which is not that often), we will use whole-wheat flour.
• Sarah was able to throw off the shackles of the campus dining hall dessert table.  No more will it wield dominion over her!  In fact, she has re-evaluated the options the cafeteria provides and figured out how to make healthier choices there.

March 1^st, we ate chocolate chip pancakes with ice cream on top for breakfast.  You could say that after Paleo February ended, we fell fast and hard.  Does this mean we hated it and would never try again?  No.  However, I think we may re-evaluate how we proceed in the future.  There was certainly some value in setting aside a designated period of time to a particular eating pattern.  It helped us identify problem areas in our diet and gave us an extra boost of self-discipline in making good choices.  Next time, we will probably give greater emphasis to “eating healthy”, rather than “eating paleo”.  Also, we may not try to go for a month at a time.  It may be better to try and go for 6 days a week, for several weeks.  I suspect that may curb the wildness that marked our early March.

Those are our thoughts from the great Paleo February experiment.  I hope that it was edifying for you to read about, and I would encourage you to evaluate your diet and overall health as well.  It’s fun!