This doesn't just apply to beer, curries and donuts. Even healthy choices can sometimes get too much. For instance, if you get so caught up in working out that you do it every day, your body wont have time to heal. And the resting time between workouts is what actually makes you fitter, stronger and faster. It's the period when the muscles that you have damaged during your workout, begin the process of repair. You shouldn't exercise the same muscles on consecutive days for just this reason. It's the same with extremes of exercise, like marathon running. Endurance type events take a real toll on your body. So great are the demands that they should be annual feats, rather than monthly or (please no) weekly trials.
This really applies to going on a diet, also. When you start, it's all too tempting to go overboard and try and be some kind of super dieter. It's exactly the same with Paleo. If you jump right in, and try and be Mr or Ms Paleo-champ there's a good chance that you'll spend every waking hour daydreaming about the things you can't eat and consequently not enjoying the things you can eat.
For example, some days I really can't be bothered to cook something for breakfast as soon as I get up. My solution? A fruit smoothie with hemp protein. A high protein shake will do the same job as a breakfast, the protein speeds up your metabolism and sates your appetite. All the fruit provides everything your body needs until its time for lunch. It really is a good "cheat", however, taking it a stage further in order to speed up weight loss i.e. replacing a meal or two every day with a shake, like the more mainstream diets, only served to make the quality of my life take a nose dive. We need food, proper food, for the psychological effect as well as the physical.
If you can go for 80% of your days being paleo, that means that every fifth day you can have a donut or roast potatoes and gravy or whatever else you crave, (Obviously, if you crave a bathtub full of ice cream or 30 cheese burgers, then you'll have to think about it a bit more carefully).
Lots of people that I've spoken to about the paleo diet have started out with "Wow! You look great! How did you lose so much so quickly?" Then, when I tell them, they inevitably say something along the lines of "Oh, I couldn't give up bread, or potatoes."
Why not? It's not as if the potato growers union is going to turn up at your house and pelt you with King Edwards, is it?
Just take a moment to think of 3 days worth of food that is paleo and make the effort to eat it. It's only 3 days, and your body will respond.
After 2 weeks your clothes will be a little looser, there will be a spring in your step and you may even decide "nah, don't want that double chocolate muffin, after all," when day 5 comes around, but if you do want it, knock yourself out, just make sure you enjoy it!
Paleo seems a big leap at first, but take small steps. It's going to amaze you just how far you can travel if you only think about the next meal, next walk, next day.
Whatever you do, don't think "It's going to take ages to shift all this weight." It may take a while, but the benefits aren't just weight loss, there's a whole ton of well-being to be had too.
And if you "fall off the wagon" and eat things you shouldn't some day, don't worry, cos 80% of your diet is going to be top notch fuel for your body, it can cope with the odd slip up. Just try not to be "bad" on consecutive days, give yourself time to get over the naughty foods.
That's all for now.
But come back tomorrow, when I post the review for my new e-cigar! (Yes, I'm giving up smoking).
Spence
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