Quick post today.
Enjoyed some of the delicious sweet potato and turkey hash for my post-workout meal/lunch. Now, I'm packed up and ready to take a trip to hangout with with my girlfriend (who is amazing : ) and who is following me on the Whole30 challenge) and family.
One thing I've noticed with travelling is that it obviously presents challenges to the paleo inclined. First, you are only presented with the fruits of modern society which are obviously strictly forbidden as you're on the road. Also, it is likely that your family don't eat as you do, which makes meals at family gatherings interesting. My advice: pack a cooler with some of the fruits, nuts, and other snacks to sustain you while on the road and be as disciplined as you can be during meals with your family. As Cordain points out in The Paleo Diet, this is not a crash diet, where you only stick with it up to 2 months at a go. It is a lifelong way of eating and a conscientious departure from the way that we've been taught about what healthy eating means. Because it is a way of eating, you should make accommodations to help you stick with it over the span of your life. There is not enough time for me to delve into appropriate cheat meals here, but I'll make sure to post that in the future.
However, I'm going to be faithful to my challenge. If you are in the same boat as I am, where you're with family over this holiday weekend and doing Whole30, then go barebones with what you eat. Stick with the mantra, and if there is a question as to whether a certain dish is paleo or not, steer away from it and load up on what you know is good. If this leaves you with not enough choices, the supplement with the foods that you packed.
No meal plans until Tuesday because of the holiday weekend. Hope every one has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend.
Four days in and he already is taking vacations ;)
ReplyDeleteCordain actually has a lot of thought regarding the practicality of the paleo diet. In interviews I've read he talks about how we wouldn't be able to feed everyone if everybody wanted to eat like this (since we get some 70% of our calories from grains etc.) His very reasonable response was that we should proceed informed by what is optimal for our bodies but being flexible to what is practical in our times.
Of course that isn't a blank check to eat whatever is offered, nor are we anywhere near a situation where everyone is going exclusively paleo, but I thought it lent him even more credibility because he was willing to be rational in the face of real life instead of just sticking to his mantra like some others. Actually the more I read/listen to him the more I'm inclined to think that he is actually motivated by data and theory instead of just perpetuating his own claims.
Anyhow, keep it up. I'm glad your mom is making you do this.