Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Whole 30.... ish

Apologies for the very long break. The new little girl in my life has been taking up most of my time in the past three months, and my diet has suffered as a result (though not as much as my blogging.)

But that poor diet inspired me to try out the Whole 30 challenge. I got to day 5 of using coconut milk in my coffee (or having it black if I buy it) and avoiding dairy, potatoes, and alcohol, in addition to the grains and added sugars I've been mostly avoiding for a year.

But then I stepped on the scale and noticed that not only was I losing weight, but I was losing it dangerously fast - despite snacking on high-calorie pemmican whenever I felt hungry.

I know, it sounds like an unusual problem to have, and most people wouldn't consider it a problem. But I'm breastfeeding my daughter, and toxins normally stored in body fat are released into the bloodstream (and, therefore, into my milk supply) when I lose weight. Losing more than two pounds of fat in a week could release more toxins than her tiny body can handle. Since I've also started exercising again (though lightly), any weight I do lose is more likely to be fat than muscle.

So the dairy is back in my diet, at least for a while. I'll continue to be more fastidious regarding other non-paleo 'foods', and dairy should suffice to keep my weight loss within acceptable levels.

I could probably accomplish the same by eating more root vegetables and fruits instead of adding dairy back in. Should any of you be inclined to try the Whole 30, I recommend that option if you experience the same extreme weight loss I did in the first week. For me, though, the high number of calories required to continue feeding my daughter makes milk, cream, butter, and yogurt a more practical solution for now, at least until I can get my life more settled in other areas. I'll be revisiting the Whole 30 challenge again in the near future, though.