The number of things that have changed for me since I've started this diet is astounding. I can't say which of these things is directly related to the diet and which is not, because I am not a scientist. But I am someone who has lived in this shell for the last thirty-eight years and, therefore, has a pretty good understanding of the norm.
Let's start with my sleep habits. For years I have had difficulty falling asleep at night. I've been known to lay down at ten at night and watch every hour pass by on the clock, one by one, without so much as a wink of sleep. This has happened so often that the concept of even setting an alarm became more of a precaution should I fall asleep, rather than a given for waking me up in the morning. I often "awake" feeling more tired than when I laid down. Just as the day is about to begin, I am ready to start sleeping. I often attributed this to being a "night" person, and for awhile worked night shifts because of it. I never really attributed it to a sleep problem because I could sleep just fine if it were the middle of the day. Naturally you would assume I have sleep apnea, especially being severely overweight. Except, this problem dates all the way back to junior high and persisted during periods of my life where I was not overweight.
When it was at its worse, I became so desperate that I would eat a heavy carb loaded meal before bed in the hopes that it would knock me out enough to get some sleep; similar to what happens on Thanksgiving! It became that eating the wrong foods close to bedtime would actually help me sleep, rather than keep me awake as it does with most Americans, or so I thought. When that sleepiness began to follow every meal and not just the ones I had close to bedtime, is when I knew something was seriously wrong not only with my sleep patterns, but also with my body's ability to metabolize a meal.
For the last two weeks I have had less of a problem falling asleep at night. I'm still a night owl and I still don't fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow, but I am actually getting sleep! I know this because I awake recalling dreams- something that hasn't happened in a really long time! Sure it could be the change in weather, maybe a reduction in stress, perhaps the new sheets, but I think it is because of the paleo diet! When you've had chronic sleep problems you're entire life and now all of a sudden you are dreaming every night, well that's pretty terrific. I don't want to jinx myself but I'm praying that this continues. Robb Wolfe certainly believes our ability to get restful sleep is connected to cortisol levels which are exacerbated by a grain filled, carb loaded, diet. Having made the decision to eliminate these foods has certainly improved both the quality and quantity of the sleep I am getting.
I have more energy. I have had an easier time getting my day started and have energy levels that remain even throughout the day. Generally, I awake exhausted, drag myself through the day, and just as it's time to start winding down I get a second wind, which keeps me up all night and into the next day. I'm sure getting sleep has helped tremendously in this regard, but on a more closely examined level, my meals restore my energy, as opposed to landing me in the arm chair where I must digest a meal for several hours before resuming my day.
Finally, I feel happy! I always feel depressed on a diet, like every eating decision is nothing more than a reminder of how much a fat slob I am and how many things I can't have! It doesn't feel that way this time. Even though many things have taken off the menu, I still feel excited about the choices I do have! Maybe for no other reason than it pulls you out of the monotony of what you have been eating. I seriously do not feel deprived. This I believe to be for two reasons. One, I am using the "80% rule," which is to either follow the diet one hundred percent, 80% of the time, or follow it eighty percent, 100% of the time. Or as Mark Sisson sees it, strive for 100%, knowing you will achieve eighty.
Two, is something very pivotal which Robb Wolfe said. "Stay in the moment!" Don't worry about tomorrow's meal, or how you're going to handle Easter. Don't think to yourself, "I'm never gonna be able to do this!" Wait and see first. Don't focus on, "I'm never gonna be able to have carbs the rest of my life." Just worry about the moment! If in that moment you can make it through another meal without bread, do it! If Easter comes and it's too much for you not to have Aunt Betty's potato salad, then have some! But for God's sake, don't ruin something that is working for you simply because you siked yourself out and worried about a failure that hadn't even arrived yet! This small concept has helped me, "embody the woman I wish myself to be!!!"
What's most remarkable is that none of what I just mentioned has anything to do with weight loss. I am excited about how this diet makes me FEEL!!!! That's never happened before. I haven't even worried about the scale. So let's hope that part is working too. I believe that it is, but I will be confirming this on this Tuesday for "Weigh-in Tuesday, " which we will now resume.
"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" - Robert H. Schuller
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