HFCS: It's everywhere!

I was reading this article from HowStuffWorks.com/TLC on High-fructose Corn Syrup and whether or not it really is bad for you.

They discussed the different arguments, with the conclusion that it's all about moderation. Their advice goes on: "Next, it wouldn't hurt to mimic the practices of those strange (and rare) individuals in grocery-store aisles who read the labels of the food they are purchasing."

I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Thanks to Paleo, that "strange individual" is me.

I was going through our pantry to see if we had any canned tomatoes, since we can be a little looser in our diet now that the challenge is over (meaning: we can eat some salt). This is what I found: every single can of tomatoes we have contains high-fructose corn syrup. So do my tomato soups. So instead, I had to get organic canned tomatoes when I went to the grocery store, which contain what you would expect from a can of tomatoes: tomatoes, spices, and naturally derived citric acid as a preservative. But, I had to be careful, because some cans also contained organic evaporated cane juice, which is also essentially just sugar. Who needs extra sugar in their tomatoes? This just baffles me.

Day 40 and beyond

Sadly, Team 2 did not win the Eat Real Challenge. However, my lovely consolation prize was losing 13 pounds, so I'm happy.

Mary at Crossfit Rockwall asked us to answer a few questions about our experience during the challenge:

· What did you think of the challenge overall?

We wanted to get away from processed foods anyway, and the best way to do that is to dive right in. Overall, it was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself and about food.

· Do you think it was worth it to eat Paleo?

I enjoyed getting back to the basics. I had to use a lot of creativity to keep from getting bored. But yes, I do think it was.

· Are you going to continue to eat Paleo?

For the most part, yes. I have always enjoyed food and eating out with my friends, and there are certain foods and occasions that I just can't give up. But, now that we've gotten into a routine of eating Paleo, it's just normal. We got up on Saturday, and I noticed that afternoon that I was still eating Paleo all day, even though I didn't have to, and it wasn't a big deal. Then, we went and ate sushi for dinner and had a small cup of ice cream for dessert, and I felt fine. The non-Paleo food wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. I enjoyed it, sure, but I didn't overeat on the carbs and dairy and I recovered fine the next day. We've decided that one meal or snack a week that has non-Paleo components will help us be able to better participate in social events, but we can maintain Paleo eating the rest of the time. The items we plan to add back in that are "debatable" in the Paleo world: Celtic Sea Salt, balsamic vinegar, and the occasional glass of alcohol.

· If so, why? If not, why not? (We won’t judge you either way…we said it was up to you if you kept going and we meant it.)

We know that eating foods with less processing and chemicals is good for us. We will likely be following more of a restricted calorie diet in the coming days, too, now that we're in the groove, to get rid of the rest of this weight. Beyond that, we are looking at having kids in the near future, and I want my body to be as healthy as possible. Plus, I'd love to bring kids into the world with healthier eating habits. I think that a lot of my food issues stem from those of my family, and I'd love for my children to have a healthy relationship with food.

· What was the best thing about eating Paleo (weight loss, more energy, faster recovery, etc…)?

I lost 13 pounds and didn't have to count what I ate, which was great. I don't feel as though I have more energy necessarily, but that my energy has evened out - I no longer have high peaks and deep valleys of energy during the day. I've never done well with caffeine, so eliminating that completely from my diet has been great. My runs have been increasingly better. I'm also not nearly as hungry as I always was on other diets, but we'll see if that changes once I start counting again. :-)

· What was the worst thing about eating Paleo (overall misery, inconvenience, co-worker harassment, etc…)?

My stomach still hasn't gotten quite right. And, to be gross about it, it's very "when you gotta go, you gotta go," which is really inconvenient. I can't trace which food it is. I thought it was nuts, but I'll go days without nuts and have a similar issue. All the cooking and preparation is difficult and time-consuming, but we're getting better at that, too, and coming up with more quick snacks. My co-workers haven't liked me heating up my stinky foods and don't understand why I can't have any cake, but overall they've been really supportive. I think they already thought I was nuts, though.

· Is there anything you would change about the challenge?

I wish we could have met our teammates sooner and had more encouragement there, but it's hard when we don't work out at the gym.

· Was there more we could have done to help you through the 40 days?

Nope, you guys were just peachy. :-)

Day 33: Still human

Although I would say that "eating real" has gotten much easier, and that we do plan to stick with it the majority of the time after the challenge is over, I haven't become some super-human being. I still crave sweets from time to time. The cakes I'll be baking this weekend are bound to look really good. But, if anything, the challenge has kept me from falling victim to my cravings and has reintroduced me to restricting myself. I'm sure there will be times after the challenge that I will fail, but I have confidence in my ability to make good choices most of the time. I don't want to live my life without occasionally enjoying a food splurge, because I love food. But that's the key: occasionally. Now I know that I can go a while without it and I'll be fine. The food will still be there. And, hopefully, eating this way will give me that many more years to enjoy myself.

Day 29: Getting Creative

As we get closer to the end of our 40 days, I'm finding that I don't necessarily miss all the processed junk and grains, but I am getting a little tired of eating the same foods all the time. So, I've been digging for recipes again to shake it up.

This weekend, we went to Joe's Crab Shack and got some really tasty steamed crab. We also got some turkey with no added preservatives and had that for lunch with avocado, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, cucumbers and watermelon.

For last night's dinner, I found this recipe actually by going to the website featured on the sticker on my Dole banana. I modified it slightly to make it Paleo, and it turned out GREAT.

Chicken Coconut Columbo

Overview
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Serves: 6
Ingredients: 12

Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
1 pound butternut or acorn squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (2-1/2 cups) (I used butternut)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I used allspice as a sub)
1 small green or red bell pepper, cut into short strips (I used small sweet red, orange and yellow bell peppers)
2 medium, firm bananas, sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice (from fresh limes)
Hot cooked rice (I substituted cauliflower. Just put in the food processor to give it a rice-like quality, then microwave for 5-8 minutes with no water or anything)

Directions
1. Cook and stir chicken and onion in hot oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until chicken is browned. Stir in coconut milk, squash, curry and cloves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until squash is tender.
2. Stir in bell pepper; cook 2 minutes or until pepper is tender-crisp. Stir in bananas and lime juice. Serve over (cauliflower) rice.

Day 25: Lighter

We're over halfway there, and when I stepped on the scale this morning, I was officially down 10 pounds since we started. Granted, a lot of those first few pounds was water weight lost by eliminating salt, but the rest are real, honest-to-goodness fatty pounds.

I'm getting used to the way foods naturally taste, without a lot of salt and/or sugar. I've stopped seasoning my breakfast omelette at all, and just adding either a piece of bacon or a heaping spoonful of sausage and a whole cup of frozen spinach. I can eat steamed broccoli without anything on it and actually enjoy it. I have decided that salmon, fatty ground beef, steaks and pork all have some inherent saltiness and don't need much seasoning to be tasty.

I do miss being able to eat out whenever and wherever we like. It's difficult now to find a restaurant that serves food we can eat. We tend to fall back on steak restaurants, since they serve good meat and usually at least one steamed veggie side or baked sweet potato. However, I don't find that I'm missing the "forbidden" foods nearly as much...although I still occasionally dream about junk food.

Day 18: Piece of...well, not cake.

Eating Paleo is getting easier. I've gotten over my little period where I felt sorry for myself for not being able to eat junk and felt frustrated with all the cooking and preparation.

One of the things that really helped was cooking two meals on Tuesday. We made a double batch of stuffed bell peppers to put in the fridge and eat for lunches and dinners. Then we made this awesome shrimp scampi dish and served it over sauteed zucchini. It was probably the best meal we've had so far, and it was fairly easy to cook. Plus, after one night of cooking, we haven't had to cook much since, aside from the occasional bacon and eggs for breakfast.

I've been trying to limit my intake of dried fruit and nuts because I know I ate them too often during my first two weeks, and they can be both calorie dense and bad for your digestion. They're often the easy choice, though, so I've been trying to grab a piece of fresh fruit or a vegetable, like a cucumber, when I need a snack.

As far as exercise goes, we went on a two mile run last night, and it was just okay. I still don't feel that massive energy boost that one is supposed to feel when eating like a caveman, but then again, David commented that maybe it's because our diet wasn't that bad to begin with. Maybe if we were going from McDonald's every day to Paleo, we would have felt a more drastic change. Still, I have lost 8 pounds so far!

Day 16: Learning to celebrate

One of the things you get from growing up in the South is a reverence for food. Food is the central part of all celebrations and happy memories: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, vacations, birthdays, weddings. Food is also what you turn to in times of crisis, such as a death in the family. Rich comfort foods are as much a part of Southern culture as the word "y'all."

So it was hard to imagine a Fourth of July celebration at my house without all the typical fare, especially with my 17-year-old brother coming to visit. Luckily, traditional Independence Day barbecues lend themselves to Paleo eating. And, I did make cakeballs on Corey's request, but I didn't try one. I didn't even lick my fingers.

Paleo fare on the Fourth: steaks, hamburger patties and sausage on the grill; sweet potato hash; Ashley's guacamole with veggies for dipping; watermelon. I found that I didn't really miss the food much and was still able to really enjoy the party...even without partaking in the beverages.

I tried to make things Corey would eat the rest of the weekend as well. For breakfast, we had bacon and almond flour pancakes with bananas and raisins in them. For dinner, I employed the almond flour again for Paleo fried chicken. Both were very tasty meals that felt like cheating, but weren't. Foods like that keep me from feeling stuck in a rut.