About two weeks ago, I had a week of too many cheats. While we do indulge in non paleo things about once a week, I got a little careless with my eating habits for a few days. Nothing horrible or awful, but a couple of Dutch Bros iced mochas, some peanut M&M's, some cookies, a caramel macchiato, some fries and tator tots, and a few sodas. We ate out more than usual, which is usually what gets me in trouble. I like to have some treats now and then, but not several treats a day for a week.
Anyway, why am I telling you all this? Not because I felt guilty and needed to confess or something. We make no claims about being perfect paleo eaters. In fact, I think it's easy to get stressed out about eating perfectly and that can really rob you of the simplicity and enjoyment that eating well brings. We have really learned to slow down and just enjoy life (and food) and not stress about everything. We want to eat to feel good. And how I was eating last week was not making me feel good. For the first time in a long time, I had some pretty bad joint pain. I used to get skin rashes all the time too -- from heat or chocolate or allergies -- and I had some issues with that last week as well. And my allergies bothered me more than they have since I started eating paleo. In general, I just felt old, sick, and bloated. Lovely, huh?
All that to say, I decided that I'm going to practice a little discipline in one area: eating out. As in, I'm not going to do it. Well, I should qualify that. We have a weekly date night and we generally go out for dinner and dessert or coffee. We did give up eating out when we did our Whole30, but we realized how much talking and connecting we do when we can sit down for a meal without those cute little kiddos of ours. So, date night is still a go, but other than that, my eating will be strictly what we've got at home. And I've just shared my commitment with the world, so I guess I've got a little bit of accountability now...
It's been a week now since I decided all this and I'm back to feeling great. I tell you though, those first few days of cutting out the junk, I was tired. Really tired. Not as bad as when we first started paleo, but much more tired than normal. Just goes to show you that I wasn't fueling my body with what I should have been.
How long will I do this? I don't know, but I'm not going to stress about it. I've just got to pay better attention to what I'm putting in my mouth because I can't be a very good wife or mama when I feel like a lump.
Yes, good for you! It's definitely all about balance! The last time I did Paleo/GAPS, I was religious about it. It soon became oppressive and unsustainable. This time, I do allow myself some small cheats occasionally, and I don't feel bad about it. I usually feel the consequences the next day or two, but that's the price I pay for indulging every now and then. It's all worth it for a little sanity!
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