Before we begin... Day 0

People keep asking me what I'm thinking by embarking on the paleo diet. It's tough to answer. After barely finishing a marathon and continuing to be in pain daily a month later, maybe it's to see if I can heal my injury without significant medical expenses. Or maybe it's to see if something will allow me to be alert and awake at the office past 2:00 in the afternoon. Actually, more likely is that I just want to see if I can do it and what it will do to me.

Alex and I heard about the paleo diet from a friend of his. I was predictably skeptical at first but after doing some of our own research (http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet) and picking up a book (The Paelo Diet by Loren Cordain), my mind quickly changed from it being an unthinkable and unnecessarily depriving "diet" to a potentially life-changing challenge.

Ok, so this is the last time I will use the word "diet" to describe what we're doing. We're thinking of it as more of a lifestyle change. So, the basics: The paleo PLAN is based on the theory that we are meant to eat only the natural foods that our ancestors ate and none of the unnatural, overly processed and refined foods that we have become so accustomed to. No refined carbs, very limited dairy, and NO unnatural sugar or salt. The theories are backed up with science and all that, but that isn't what I want to write about. Check out my sources above or google it if you're interested in that. I would rather share the experiences we have while trying the paleo plan; shopping for food, cooking, and of course the effects of the di.. I mean, the plan.

So far it's been quite interesting and we have yet to begin the actual eating. We shopped for food today, following recipes and meal plans provided in our book. Noteworthy tidbits:

1) Ever heard of pimentos? Yeah, neither have we. Turns out they are the little red things that are put in the pits of green olives. I'll let you know how that turns out...

2) Cub doesn't sell figs

3) If you're restricting your eating, obviously you're going to pig out the night before you start the plan, for us this meant chips and guacamole, plenty of good cheese, and imitation crab meat. Turns out we both have this weird weakness for fake crab?

4) Kiwis are (kiwi is?) super cheap this time of year- like $.25 cheap.

5) Just because you're eating healthy does NOT mean you're saving money. In fact, why did we think that in the first place? Fresh is expensive. So is seafood.

So, here we go, as of tomorrow we are all in for a serious challenge, adventure, and hopefully positive change. Our goal is two weeks of all-paleo, all the time. Wish us luck!