It was Mother’s Day.
I got up before everyone else and cleaned out my pantry… again. I know it doesn’t seem like something most would do for Mother’s Day, but it gave me to two distinct feelings.
1. Freedom and
2. Dread
Almost 2 months ago, I decided that my body had screamed it’s warnings to me enough, and that I was going to do something about it. I’d already been limiting my bread and sugar consumption and dairy was off the boards, so why not go ahead and embrace the Primal/Paleo movement and just get rid of grains as well?
For the first few weeks, I felt the way they say you can expect to feel… not so great. But, then things started to gel and I felt much better. About that time, I cleaned out most of my pantry. I gave items to my neighbor and to my daughter, but didn’t quite clean out everything. I left a few items, as a comfort I think, so that “just in case”, I’d have something non-paleo to fall back on.
Now that I’ve completed the second month, and lost a few lbs (14, I think), I had my first foray into the world of non-paleo eating in a long while. My daughter surprised me with a Mother’s Day visit and we went out to lunch and ended up having some pizza later in the evening. Interestingly enough, my body tolerated the pizza better than it had ever done so in the past, and while I felt kinda raunchy, I didn’t feel as wiped out and horrible as I did when I was eating a traditional diet. Still, it was enough for me to notice the difference and decide that I was going to the next level of commitment. (It also let me know that while I’m in France, it’ll be perfectly fine for me to sample a croissant or two, and I’ll be fine!)
So, I got up early and made some raspberry-lime green tea, washed some berries to nibble on, and got into my stash in the pantry. Out goes the oatmeal, panko breading, flour, agave nectar, beans – both canned and dry, cornbread mix and rice cakes. I stuffed a Trader Joe’s bag full of food and still had to put some items in a smaller plastic grocery bag. I hadn’t realized how much of a “just in case” pile I’d still had!! Now, my daughter will take what she wants, and the rest will be donated.
While I was clearing items, I noticed that I was just a bit nostalgic about some of the meals I’d made in the past, and all those years of baking. I also panicked a bit, because these items were some of my safe stash. But the thought process of just in case, means you never feel 100% sure of the choice you’ve made and if I always have the stuff around I don’t want to eat, then am I fully committed?
Snippets and Tidbits 