Starting out.

Alright, then. Let's get this party started.

I think I've convinced at least a few of the easily-persuaded folks at CrossFit UCS to join me on a Paleo Test-Drive. And so today I'm going to give you something special, something sacred to me, something I wouldn't share on a normal day.

Most of you know I started the whole "Strict Paleo" thing a few weeks back. Two Thursdays ago to be exact. On the Wednesday night before we started, I went through the house on a manic rage to purge everything that even looked like it might belong to the grain family. I called a (very non-judgemental) friend and asked if I could bring her all these groceries I was now vowing not to use, so they wouldn't go to waste. We got started on Thursday and cooked all weekend long, making honest-to-goodness some of the best dinners we've ever had. Nothing beats fresh ingredients, and my new favorite go-to meal is Thai Curry. L and I prefer the red curry, as we are spice-lovin' folks.

Anyhow, back to the point. Day 1 - check. Day 2 - Fail on making mayo, but good day of eating Paleo. Day 3 - check. Day 4 - check, Day 5 - check. Day 6 - check. Day 7 - check.

Day 8 = Ultimate Fail. Looking back on it, I think I ate almost an ENTIRE package of raw cookie dough (I know, I know!!) between Day 8 and Day 9. It was bad. I didn't just fall off the wagon, I dove head-first into the next lane of oncoming traffic.

The reason why I've decided to be vulnerable and share this is for two reasons: Number one and probably the most important is this: We ALL fail. We are all GOING to fail. What happens AFTER you fail is probably going to better determine the course of your life than anything else. See, on Day 10 when I went to pick up E at my parents house, I get there and guess what? They had frozen cookie dough too. And not just the generic chocolate chip, but the triple-chocolate-chuck-pecan-put-your-face-in-this-now kind of cookies. And I had a choice to make.

The second reason I'm sharing this is because I REALLY did notice a difference in my energy levels, my attitude toward my husband, my sleepiness/tiredness, my appetite/cravings (I woke up one of those mornings wanting doughnuts....really??) - and they weren't changes for the better, y'all. Every single one of those scales slid in the reverse and I felt. like. crap. Seriously. Oh, and not to mention that even though I had not gained a single pound on the full-fat, eat-anytime-you-are-hungry Paleo thing, I gained 4 POUNDS in a matter of two days on my stuff-your-face-with-cookie-dough thing.

So I woke up on the morning of day ten DETERMINED to get back on track simply because I wanted to feel good again. I turned down about three or four opportunities that day to have cookies without even the slightest bit of hesitation because I now knew the cost and wasn't willing to pay it. And today I decided to share all that with you, thinking that maybe it might resonate with one of y'all out there staring at an empty bag of Cheetos and wondering what's next.