Over the course of the ~5 weeks, I lost 10 pounds and some of my pants don't fit well anymore (had to go down one notch on the belt). Part of that may have been to a 3-hour long "cardio tennis" session during the last week. I didn't feel as sore in the mornings, and was able to work out 5+ times per week and still function. I noticed a *slight* improvement in athletic performance, more in endurance than raw physical strength.
The 5 weeks ended up being a different experience compared to my prior strict-paleo experience. Here are some things that I found:
- Having the pre-made meals made staying on track much easier. Zero prep time meant there was no excuse for eating something bad-but-quick.
- Conversely, when not having the pre-made meals, it was much harder to eat right. Restaurants, cafeterias at work, etc. have very few truly paleo options, and I had to go with salads.
- Having something sweet / dessert-ish took a lot of the harsh drudgery off of eating strict. Making paleo pies every week was our trick -- we tried coconut cream, key lime, blueberry, peach, and cherry pies. They all turned out surprisingly good -- like, I'd-eat-this-even-not-on-strict-paleo good.
- I found my true enemy: Sugar. Finding sugar-free but yummy food was challenging, but it meant not having big swings in hunger pangs, and not feeling crappy an hour after snacks. I also learned there is a *ton* of sugar in fruit (apples!), so I stopped drinking OJ and cut down how many fruits I was eating as snacks.
- Limiting my alcohol consumption, especially at night, probably had a bit part to play in the weight loss but I'm in denial on this one :)
In the end, I feel much better on a daily basis, look trimmer around the gut -- and the challenge wasn't hell, thanks to cheat days and paleo treats. As a result, I'm going to keep at it for the foreseeable future.
Now, I just need to discover a paleo beer...not sure if I can switch over to sugary ciders...
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