Hippie at heart, living in a box of cheap and easy eating.

[Mouki25]

Hello!

  My name is Michelle. I'm a "new" mom (having a 14 month old still counts as new, right?) with a saggy tummy to prove it.
I used to be effortlessly skinny, I could eat nothing but cookies all day and feel no worse for wear. That has definitely changed!

   I recently read an article about how grains and sugars are the real enemy and not fats. That sort of freaks me out because most of my new family's diet consists of the evil carbs. Cereal for breakfast, grilled cheese for lunch, pasta for dinner! No wonder we eat huge portions and feel tired all the time.

   I want to change my diet to feel better about what I eat and especially what I feed my son. Getting "back to basics" with the Paleo diet makes the most sense to me. Even though I will miss my cheese. And cookies. And just about everything Paleo cuts out. I'm considering having Saturday as my "eat whatever" day, and only buy Paleo for the groceries. Does giving myself a break day ruin the whole thing?

   Another thing I'm struggling with is how it may cost us more for groceries. Right now, it's looking like it's going to be a toss-up between rent and food next month. Our son will be well-fed of course, but for us, we might eat the cupboards bare (consisting mostly of white rice and pasta). Soo, that's a bit of a concern.

  I'm also worried that I'll let myself get really excited about this, then not change anything, forget about it and continue with no exercise and lots of crappy "food" because change takes work. I also have to get my husband on board. Haven't even explained what Paleo means to him yet. He'll miss his carbs even more than I will. At least we get to keep meat on the menu! Though I think that'll be the last thing to switch from cheap and easy to organic and healthy.

Well! I've babbled enough. Thoughts?

[Ba'sini'on]

You could plan meals ahead, it may be time consuming but it will help with a tight budget. Veggies are always cheap, and there is always some type of fruit on sale. Keeping an eye out for sales and preparing meals around them is a really good practice. And always buy meat in bulk and freeze it for later. It's been recommended to me to make foods that leave a lot leftovers, so you can have leftovers for the next days.

 

And no giving yourself a break will not hurt your goals.

 

Going straight into Paleo is not really a good idea. You can try it but be prepared for wailing, moaning, and gnashing of teeth, especially with your family. You should take out the bad stuff one by one, like sugar or breads. Even for the sake of loosing weight you shouldn't have to decide between rent or food. Oh, and if you can't afford it forget about organic, I don't eat organic because of money being tight. Just do what you can and cut what's not important. 

 

I bet there are Nerds in your predicament, maybe you could ask the Rangers for help. They are mainly Paleo eaters, or even posting something on the General Diet and Nutrition thread.

 

Don't hesitate to ask questions!

[Mouki25]

Yes, meal planning is something I've been reluctantly thinking about.
I really hate cooking, but I think if I get excited about eating food that's good for me, that will push me into getting excited about planning, buying, cooking and eating well. A friend also referred me to a neat site called www.supercook.com where you enter in what you have and it will give you recipes. Can't go wrong if you only enter paleo ingredients.

I did pick up some coconut oil today and have been looking into making chocolates with it. I think that's a delicious start to the paleo change-over! The first thing I'm abandoning is peanut butter. I read somewhere that peanuts contain a carcinogen! Crazy. Milk is another easy thing to cut out, as I know I'm a bit lactose intolerant anyways.

I didn't quite get what you meant by asking the Rangers for help. Who are they and how would I do this?