When Your Switch Flips

I have a friend that is really health conscious. She exercises and watches what she eats. Nobody’s perfect, and neither is she, but when she finds herself slipping a little bit in her health-life she’ll say she flipped a switch. Like all the sudden she recognizes that she’s been letting herself go a little and she needs to turn the train around. So the flip switches and she reigns it in.

My switch has flipped in a big way.

Its not that I’m not health conscious. I have always been a “healthy” eater. I don’t really binge. I eat a lot of veggies. I exercise….sometimes.

Learning Well LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links from Amazon or other programs are used on this website. For more info, please refer to our disclosure statement.

But here’s the thing with that darn switch: the dang thing flipped and I have really been doing some long hard thinking about just how healthy I really am. I decided to make some changes with sugar and carbs…both weight gainers and addictive. Then I heard about this 30-day challenge. The challenge is like this: no sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, or alcohol for 30 days. (no fun….at all)

Here’s why I decided to take this drastic step:

Get the 6 Secrets to a Simpler Mom Life

1. I am a plan-girl. If I don’t have a plan, I almost always fail. Also, challenges are huge motivators for me. I love a good challenge.

2. Jarrod agreed to do it with me and we both have needed to make some changes in what we eat…even though we are mostly good eaters. There was still a lot of sugar and carbs we were consuming and we both wanted to see how much better we felt being completely OFF those things.

3. Baby weight. Let’s just call it like it is: this crap ain’t easy to lose.  After Vera, I still have a good 25# to lose.  I’ve read about the Paleo diet not only just helping people lost weight (around 95% of people that do this challenge lose) but it gets to your right weight. We all usually have a specific number in our heads and sometimes that’s not the number meant for our body. So eating like this gets you to your body’s correct weight and if you’re pretty good with eating like this, you’ll stay there and not fluctuate all over the scale.

We’ve been loading our plates with good meats, eggs, lots of veggies and fruits, and good clean fats like avocados and olives.  Its been better than it actually sounds. Did you know you can MAKE your own mayo? Well you can and store-bought mayo is illegal in Paleo because there’s sugar in it (like every other condiment in the world)…so I made my own. It was crazy-good fun and it tastes so good! So with mayo, I can make egg, tuna, and chicken salad and that takes care of a lot of lunches.

Its been 8 days. I woke up today to my ninth day of a strict Paleo diet. Overall I feel good. I have energy I haven’t had one headache…something that’s been an every-other-day normality lately, I feel less bloated. I’ve been drinking almond milk in my coffee and I miss my half-and-half a lot, but other than that the cravings have not been bad. The first few days were the absolute worst.  I felt so isolated, like I couldn’t even breathe without thinking about food.  Eventually after a few torturous mental days, we got the hang of it.  We even survived the FOURTH of JULY with NO slipping or cheating! Its really exciting what your mind can lead your body to do when that switch is flipped.  

A few final thoughts on our 30-day challenge:

-I can’t tell you if we’ve lost any weight because part of the challenge is hiding it away so if you don’t lose any weight, you’re not discouraged to keep going with the challenge.

-I can tell you already that I probably will not eat like this exclusively when my 30 days is over, but part of the purpose of this challenge is to change the way we think about eating and change those bad habits. And that for SURE is happening. It was crazy how many times I walked over to that snack cupboard to just grab a pretzel or a handful of tortilla chips in those first few days….I wasn’t even hungry!! I’ve realized how much just plain habit eating I do…I’m just bored so I grab something.

-You can follow along with some of what I’m eat on Instagram: @alicias_whole_plate

-This is probably the last you’ll hear me talk about this challenge until the end of it. And I’ll probably just tell you I’m done and if I feel forever change and if I lose any weight. There’s nothing more annoying than hearing someone obsess over their diet over and over and that is certainly not me.  I am healthy, I’m taking steps to be healthier, and we are doing this challenge…I don’t have any desire to write a 12-part series on how sugar negatively effects our hormone balance or how the wrong carbohydrates trick our bodies into wanting more and more of them. No desire to do that. So while I would love your pats on the back of encouragement, I probably won’t be giving daily or even weekly updates unless you have specific questions….we don’t need to wear this thing out, ya know?

Alrighty cats, off to my eggs and tomato brekky. Have yourselves a terrific Wednesday!

12 Comments

  1. Love having pictures of meal ideas! Looking forward to your ig photos :). I LOVE healthy foods, but also have two major downfalls: chips and sweetened coffee (I'm so sad without them…really sad). I hate that I have little will power where those two things are concerned. I need my switch flipped!!!

  2. hey sweet girl
    my daughter has lost over 60 lbs with eating strict paleo..
    i am so proud of her flipping her switch and being so strict with it. i am proud of you too for being intentional with this. before my surgery i ate paleo..no bread got past all the withdraw…no brain fog and then bam! now i can't eat much of that stuff anymore and i am SOOO sad. but you will love it and it is awesome that your husband will do it with you. you are a team and the kids will benefit too:) love ya!!

  3. ooohhhhh I've been thinking about this kind of thing and needing to flip the switch for AWHILE now … but old habits die hard and I feel SO overwhelmed with the whole 'well what will I eat?!?!' so I would LOVe if you kept telling us some of your meals ideas!

  4. I definitely know what you mean about the "switch being flipped." I am so that way in many, many areas. Happy to hear that paleo is working well for you! I'll be follwing on IG so I can be encouraged and inspired by your healthy food. =)

  5. Glad this diet is working for you. I personally don't believe in these types of diets. I think many things they have you cut out, your body needs. A good diet is more about making smart choices, portion control while still allowing yourself to indulge in a craving every now and again. I personally like weight watchers when I need to flip the switch. I don't go to the meetings, just follow the diet and love that I can eat what I want to eat (in moderation!) and still lose weight and keep it off.

    With that being said, I'm glad you like what you are doing since we are all different.

  6. Like you, I think my diet is pretty good. I've been considering this BUT I don't eat meat…so I think I may be too limited. But I am intrigued by it for sure.

  7. I have been wanting to make my own mayo after reading about all the junk in the store bought stuff but have heard it is difficult. Would you mind sharing your recipe? Thanks!

  8. The food looks good! I know someone who just finished the challenge with her mom, and they both lost quite a bit of weight. I think it probably matters how much you weigh to begin with though. I have thought about doing it many times, but I can't seem to part with cheese….

  9. I am planning on doing this when we return from vacay. I love a good challenge too! I look forward to seeing what's on your plate! Did you make your ow almond milk or can you use store bought? Also are you following recipes or just making stuff up? I looked at the website for the book and couldn't find a eating plan or idea's for meals, is that included in the book? Yay for you taking care of YOU!!

  10. I started the same challenge on the same day. My friend was doing it and while I know she struggles with more serious health issues than I have with my weight, I wanted to support her and jumped on board. For the same reasons as you, I am glad I did. I find myself changing for the better and being way more aware of my eating habits. For instance, the urge to eat when I should be going to bed. I gave up caffeine a month before this challenge so I don't even have THAT crutch anymore. It's tough but I am getting there! I will start following your melas as that is my only issues really – getting food bored. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  11. Happy you "flipped the switch!" Not all carbs are bad– just the empty ones! your brain needs carbs! Idk what your diet is, but if you are allowed carbs, simply switch to good carbs– whole wheat bread, pasta. ๐Ÿ™‚

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.