Ten Days of Paleo and Going Strong

Just a quick post this evening to say that my paleo journey is starting smoothly. I have now spent ten days following the basic guidelines – no grain or derivatives, no legumes, no dairy. I am feeling quite normal, and adapting to the new routine is much easier than I expected.

As with any new regime it takes a while for the body to settle into the new conditions. But already I see some effects. I’ve lost nearly 5 pounds (without any significant running mileage or other physical exertion). My resting heart rate has dropped from 60bpm (my normal average during all the marathon running earlier this year) to around 50bpm, which indicates that my heart is now working slightly less hard.

Of course it is far too early to read anything significant into these numbers, but they encourage me to believe that the paleo path can actually make a positive difference to my overall health.

Most importantly this has not been particularly difficult. Our weekly shop now looks a little different, with larger than normal quantities of fruit and vegetables. I used to eat massive amounts of pasta and rice, but these have dropped to zero. Coffee in the morning is now black rather than latte. And the evening beer (or whisky) is unfortunately a thing of the past.

But it’s not too hard. It is actually enjoyable to come up with creative new meals, and breakfast in particular is a delicious start to the day! This weekend we were invited to a barbecue, which would be something of a challenge on most diets – but since meat and veg are “all you can eat” in paleo, I was able to go back for seconds and thirds, and nobody even realised I was watching what I eat!

I definitely feel my metabolism changing, and I have not yet faced the challenge of fuelling for high weekly running mileage. One step at a time – but I already look forward to running my first paleo marathon…

Click on the images to taste – I’ll bet your mouth starts watering!!