Hey team, I was thinking of doing a short Paleo experiment for a week. For those unfamiliar with Paleo, it's a certain type of eating that's believed to mimic the way our ancestors ate before the advent of agriculture. In its strictest form, it's the raw food diet; the mainstream form is basically lean meats/fish + eggs + veggies + fruit + nuts and no grains of any sort, no legumes, and no dairy; and the least restrictive form allows dairy (albeit organic only) but still eschews legumes and grains. Of course, you are not allowed any sugar or artificial sweeteners, and no processed foods. But there's no limits on fat intake, no calorie counting, and no portion control (not that it's an issue for sleevers!).

I was thinking of trying this for a week just to see how sustainable it would be and to see how it'd make me feel. There are all kinds of claims as to improvement in your sleep, digestion, energy levels, loss of cravings, disappearance of afternoon crashes, depression, etc etc, and I basically just want to test that.

Anyone with me? I'm thinking of doing the modified version with dairy - just because I'd like to continue with my whey Protein shakes. I'll be using almond milk instead of milk in my shakes, though, but I'll let myself have an organic Greek yogurt or two here and there if I feel like it.

I would like to start on Monday, just to make things easier and give myself the weekend to prep some meals, and hopefully find a few people to do this with me for support and exchanging experiences!

Tonight's dinner is tilapia and zucchini. Can't wait.

This does sound interesting... I'll be checkung in to see how you do!

If I can get my ar*e into gear I might join you!

Day 2 went well. Some roast chicken and veggies, steak, trail mix, fruit, Greek yogurt, a latte, and lots of sashimi. No Protein shakes/bars, yet 150+ grams of protein!

Zero cravings, I'm pleasantly surprised. Workout went ok, too, I didn't notice any drop in energy levels or endurance. If anything, I was really wired all day yesterday, to the point of having trouble falling asleep.

Almond milk in my protein shake, scrambled eggs, an angus beef patty, spinach, and peanuts were my foods yesterday, felt fine. Today the same minus the peanuts but plus some hummus, which is just ground up chickpeas and lemon juice and OO. Total calories today less than 800.

I ordered the 21-day primal blueprint transformation book!

I ordered the 21-day primal blueprint transformation book!

Cool! I'm about 2/3 through it. I just bought another book, The Paleo Solution by Rob Wolf, I've heard a lot about it, apparently it has lots of good sources and explanations for their theories and is an easy read. We'll see how it goes.

Day 3 went well, although we went out for dinner tonight and my boyfriend wasn't interested in the 2 restaurants I suggested (that I knew had grain/legume/sugar-free options I would like), so we went to a different place. The menu wasn't too helpful - good thing I asked the waitress, because the "lean chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella and marinated in basil" was apparently deep-fried and breaded! She went and asked the cook for what was grain- and sugar-free and I was given like THREE options, one of which was a dip....lol even I won't eat dip without chips or something!

I ended up just ordering assorted sliders without bread. I don't know for sure if the burgers had any bread crumbs or something in them - didn't seem that way - but I did my best. The only other reasonable option was salad, but none of their salads had any Protein on it.

I had eggs and homemade chili sans beans today. I also had a piece of cheese. I felt more energized today but tonight, I am dog tired. I had a good workout.

I haven't had my sleeve yet but I did a 30 day raw food/ vegan diet and it was awesome... I lost 10 pounds and u honestly don't feel hungry when u cleanse ur body like this. It gives u so much energy and really changes how u feel inside. If u have a whole foods market around they have several options for raw/vegans. You can get protein in several ways too.

I haven't had my sleeve yet but I did a 30 day raw food/ vegan diet and it was awesome... I lost 10 pounds and u honestly don't feel hungry when u cleanse ur body like this. It gives u so much energy and really changes how u feel inside. If u have a whole foods market around they have several options for raw/vegans. You can get Protein in several ways too.

This is not vegan, though, quite the opposite...I'd never do raw, either (well, non-vegan raw would be tough, anyway!). I generally find it impossible to go a single day without dairy or meat, so anything vegetarian, let alone vegan, was never on my list.

Oh ok I'm sorry for the miscommunication

Day 4 done! Some trail mix, 2 lattes (one of which was at 7 pm, which was an awful idea given that I have to be up at 5 AM tomorrow), leftover burgers from yesterday, some fruit, goat cheese, then Mucho Burrito for dinner - just had barbacoa with salsa, sour cream, guac, and cheese on a bed of lettuce.

Down 1.5 lbs, which is kind of crazy. I think some of it is Water, but still, my abs are crazy cut and my butt feels leaner. I'll probably snap some pix on Sunday once I'm done 1 full week on this eating plan, to see if there's any obvious photographic evidence, especially on the rear end. I haven't been below 140 lbs for like a year, since shortly after I hit goal post-surgery.

Checking in, day 5. Woke up another pound lighter this morning! 138 lbs. The size 4 capris that were kind of tight last time I tried them on in the fall before hell froze over are loose.

I had a weird experience this evening, I went out to this lounge alone to have some of their steak tartare and beef carpaccio, which are both very good for this diet, and also ordered a glass of wine since wine is allowed in moderation. Some dude joined me, even though I was reading a book and not exactly broadcasting a need to converse with anyone - bought me THREE rounds of shots, without asking me - I felt compelled to drink them all. I flashed my engagement ring more than a few times, and then after he said he wanted to take me to the casino, I just plain told him I was married, but he said he was not after anything. Then he made all kinds of bizarre comments to me, like he was going to install some sort of home theater in my condo for me for free, then he insisted I meet his girlfriend of 9 years - called her from work and made her come by to meet me - etc, etc. Anyway, it was all very weird and then they drove me home (WTF?).

Bottom line, I had 3 shots of sambucca on top of my regular glass of wine - I don't think I've had more than 2 alcoholic drinks in one sitting since I was a sophomore in college! Got home wasted, then ate a bunch of marzipan. So I had a bit of a totally random cheat this evening.

Otherwise, things are going well. I didn't eat any other junk, of which I have lots in the house. Packed a good variety of primal-approved meals for tomorrow's 26-hr call shift.

Checking in, day 5. Woke up another pound lighter this morning! 138 lbs. The size 4 capris that were kind of tight last time I tried them on in the fall before hell froze over are loose.

I had a weird experience this evening...

What an awesome story

I love the way primal eating makes me feel, and that's my ultimate goal for eating, after I go through my surgery (2 weeks from now) and get to the point when I can eat that sort of food again. Primal was my last ditch effort to lose weight before deciding for sure to do the surgery, and I managed 6 great weeks before I got back on the nasty carb train again which just compounds itself with my carb addiction. I'm looking forward to having the sleeve as a tool to keep me on track, and starting and keeping my new food habits.

But, I first need to go through liquid pre-op, liquid post-op, and go through all my mushy steps until I can eat real foods again. One step at a time, as well as long term goals!

I will join you guys post op! 6 week away. I love the concept of paleo!

So I'm wrapping up my week today! I did really well yesterday, I had a very busy day on call, a 26-hr shift. When I started, I hardly sat down from 7 AM to 11 PM, then had to get up 3 times at night. I ate some fruit, roast chicken/veggies, and leftover burrito bowl sans beans/rice, as well as some trail mix. Today I've had some yogurt, an omelet with chicken sausage and various veggies, fruit, almonds, beef Jerky, and a latte, and then I treated myself to a cheat meal of pork and cheese pupusas (they are made from corn flour, which is verboten). Then we're going for oysters later, so that'll be diet-approved.

I've lost 2-2.5 lbs this week - my scale is not electronic, so I can't be too precise - and am pleased to say that I've had NO bread at all, no rice, no legumes of any sort, and my only real cheats were that marzipan (the only stuff I've had with sugar all week!), sambucca, and then the corn in the pupusas today. Save for that drunken craving for marzipan, I've had ZERO trouble staying away from sugar this week. Going without bread or Beans is also quite easy, craving-wise. It does complicate eating out a bit, but so far I've found that every restaurant has something that tastes decent and will satisfy me without me veering from the eating plan. If everything fails, there is always the option of chicken wings (not breaded) or a burger without the bun.

I'm planning to stick to eating this way, with a cheat meal or two per week, much like I did this week. I'll keep you posted on how it's going, although now on a less regular basis.