The Paleo Diet Disaster

I managed four days on the Paleo Diet, well, three and a half, and it was a complete disaster. I am not going to state that it is unequivocally a terrible plan, but I am going to state that as a vegetarian who also needs to eat two out of three meals very quickly, it simply doesn't work.

After shunning grains and dairy for four days, and basically eating just nuts, fruits, and vegetables, I spent two of those days with no energy at all. I had no ability to workout or even move off of the sofa without whining like a baby. Two nights in a row, I fell asleep at 9PM and was proud of myself for making it that long. I had hoped to make it an entire week to "jump start" my weight loss. However, not only did I feel terrible, but with two days of no exercise and relying heavily on fruits and nuts, I actually gained back some of the weight that I had initially lost.

So, yesterday, I gave up and gave in. I had gotten so deprived in a short amount of time that my hands were shaking and I had a severe migraine that wouldn't go away. At lunch, I had low-fat cottage cheese and a slice of Ezekiel bread. Within an hour, I felt better. I was even able to work in the garden and walk a couple of miles. For dinner, we went to Subway and I had a Veggie De-lite, no cheese, no dressing, and I was full of energy and could stay up to work last night.

I know that people survive and even thrive on extremely stripped diets, but it simply doesn't work for me. I'm going to go back to what I know makes me feel the best and gives me the most energy: clean eating, no cheating, and plenty of exercise!