Last week instead of WIAW I shared a little information about my progress with making a transition to a mostly Paleo diet. You can read that post here. I wanted to continue this week with talking about some of the specific foods that I’ve found make me feel good or not-so-good. I think by taking some time away from certain foods it helped me to better understand how my body responds to them.
Dairy: I don’t think that dairy has any negative effects for me. I have continued eating plain Greek yogurt in my smoothies with no issues. I think that the times when I have diary and don’t feel great it’s because of eating a food not only with dairy but also with sugar. Some people say that their skin gets clearer when they stop eating dairy. I haven’t noticed any changes but I also wasn’t eating a ton of diary to begin with and didn’t have issues with my skin to begin with. I don’t necessarily miss dairy- if I’m going to use milk in a recipe I’ve been using almond milk. I’ll have ice cream or frozen yogurt as a very occasional treat. Same with Starbucks iced skinny vanilla lattes- I was addicted to them for a little bit but have pretty much cut them out. 
I still have pizza occasionally (maybe once a month) and feel fine with that.
Sugar: I am so glad that I have cut back so much on added sugar. There are still some foods that I eat that I know have sugar but its way less than I was eating before. I notice that if I have a piece of cake or something baked with alot of sugar I get really shaky and don’t feel good. I had ice cream a bunch of nights when I was on vacation and I think it caught up to me because I had a terrible stomach ache on the morning we were leaving. I never eat candy so that wasn’t a change. I’ve also mostly cut out processed protein bars that have added sugar and just stick to the most natural Lara Bars I can find. Out of all the Paleo concept this is the one that I have the most appreciation for. If I’m going to look at an ingredient list I am always looking for added sugars. But like I’ve been saying, I do treat myself to foods that I really like on occasion.
Grains: I really thought this would be harder for me than it was. I actually don’t think my body handles whole grains well even though I always thought it did. I realize now that my stomach never felt great after eating turkey on whole grain bread for lunch every day. I do still enjoy a good piece of bread if I’m out to dinner. Generally I don’t really eat grains anymore (if I’m really in the mood I may have the bun with a burger when I’m out). My digestion is better than its ever been, although I will still eat some pasta the night before my long run. It’s helpful to have learned what I can eat occasionally and what to avoid.
Beans, Nuts, and Peanuts: I was pretty surprised that beans and peanuts were not Paleo-friendly, although I understand the concept after reading about it. Like I said last week, I still have black beans in brownies and feel fine. I never really ate beans otherwise and still don’t. However, peanuts are a whole different story. I still eat peanut butter somewhat regularly. I buy the completely natural kind and maybe have it 3 times a week. I don’t really eat whole peanuts…and I have found that nuts in general may upset my stomach a bit. I need to be careful with them and make sure I don’t eat too many.
Fats: I continue to struggle with adding more fat into my diet. I use quit a bit of olive oil and I have also been cooking with coconut oil and ghee. I’ve been trying to plan more meals with avocados but that doesn’t happen regularly. We also eat salmon once a week, and I’ve been trying to get meat with a little more fat than I used to.
Daily staples: These are the foods I eat regularly: eggs, peppers, onions, spinach, bacon, tomatoes, berries, kale, bananas, almond butter, plain Greek yogurt, ginger, apples, pears, spring mix, carrots, cucumber, olive oil, grapes, raisins, almonds, cashews, lara bars, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, red potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, meat and fish (chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, pork), almond flour/coconut flour, coconut oil, and dark chocolate. Obviously I don’t eat all of that stuff every day and there are other things I may eat as well but I know I feel great when this is what I eat so these are generally the foods that we buy each week.
I think that’s about it! I think that this is an ever-changing process so I’ll be continuing to evaluate how all these foods make me feel. I honestly feel like my running has improved quite a bit over the last few months so maybe this has something to do with it. Hard to say for sure, but I’m planning to continue eating this way as long as it’s working for me!
Thanks Jenn for hosting WIAW!
Are there any foods that you have found don’t make you feel good?
What are some of the everyday staples in your diet?
I’m learning so much about Paleo from you! I don’t think I’d ever eat a Paleo diet, but it sure sounds interesting. Shrimp and red meat have made me feel sick for years, and anything sugary also doesn’t make me feel well.
You know, I never thought I would eat Paleo either. I feel like I could be talked into just about anything if someone tells me it will improve my running:)
I have learned that I do best on a higher plant-based/complex carb diet with lowered animal protein. When I became a vegetarian, my world changed and I didn’t totally know that it needed to lol. So many immediate and noticeable health benefits. I was still eating dairy and eggs but have cut back major (not that I ate a lot of dairy to begin with)..Like you, if I eat some things on occasion, I am fine and don’t really eat processed foods with added sugars or even too many grains at all. I will never give up a good dessert though!
Oh there is no way I will give up a good dessert either:) Isn’t it weird that you didn’t even know you could feel so much better? I want to cringe when I think back on all the processed junk I used to eat- I know that stuff made me feel terrible and I truly didn’t even make the connection!
One reason that I know that Paleo isn’t for me is my body doesn’t like things in oil/ghee/etc, so EEEEEEEEEEENNNNN (annoying “wrong” buzzer noise). Another reason? My body no like beans. But like you said, it is about finding out what works for you, and if Paleo is the answer, get it girl!
Yup you definitely just have to figure out what works for you! There’s no one size fits all diet, that’s for sure. I think just trying different things and eliminating some stuff once in a while can really help in figuring out which foods are ok and which aren’t.
I feel so much better since reducing my sugar intake too. I’m less stressed out and “on edge” if you know what I mean. I also don’t totally hit the wall at 3:00 anymore. I’m still working on cutting back on grains since I suspect they don’t agree that well with my stomach. I’ve always eaten a lot of carbs and very often have stomach issues of some kind. I have noticed a decrease in that since I’ve cut back on processed foods though.
That’s so great that you have been able to cut back on sugar and feel better! I didn’t even realize how gross I felt from processed foods until I stopped eating them. I feel so much better now!
Awesome post girl! I’m so glad that you are sensitive to finding out what works for YOUUOUOUOUOU!!
So true. So far I am CRAZY loving eating no meat while on a plant based whole foods diet. Meat kinda grosses me out now so it’s been easy. I’m not strictoh though and will eat things ‘out of diet’ here and there. I’m all about relaxin’ and going with the flow, but making good choices 85% of the time!
You rock!
That’s so awesome that you are liking the plant based diet so much! But its even better than you are ok being flexible about it…switching things up once in a while is not the end of the world! 🙂
As you know, I definitely think we have to figure out what works for us – and I love that you are experimenting like this! Especially fir running, it’s great to figure out what foods do and do not work for us!
Exactly! I had been stuck in my ways for so long, its felt great to finally make some changes, and its been SO worth it!
I am right there in the nut camp with you – I am realizing they aren’t great for my digestion, although it seems to be one of those “moderation” foods that I won’t have to avoid entirely. On my WIAW post today there were a lot of nuts and I’m sure it wasn’t helping me at all since it took a couple of days after that to feel normal again. It’s hard to avoid nuts while out of the house though as a snack. It’s great reading about your experience and so interesting to see how you can go from feeling “fine” to feeling even better and also identifying specific foods that aren’t so great for you. I am thinking of trying plain greek yogurt for variety and since dairy seems to be mostly okay for me.
Nuts are such an easy and convenient snack so I wish I handled them better! I’m just grateful that lara bars work- they’re delicious and convenient:)
I have tried black beans in brownies before and they turned out awful. Maybe I did it wrong. Will have to try making them again.
There are so many ways to make black bean brownies, you should definitely try a different recipe! (I’ve had some failed attempts too:))
I love this post, I actually did a similiar post on why I went Paleo as well!
It took me awhile to get used to more fat in my diet and there are even some days now I struggle with it. I keep a jar of coconut butter in my cupboard for days I don’t eat much fat and just enjoy a few spoonfuls of that after dinner. It’s so good!
I need to try coconut butter- I’ve never tried it before! I just have to figure out where to buy it at a good price:)
Spaghetti squash = EVERY SINGLE DAY… Same goes for SALMON and spinach! MMMMMM so good 🙂 And butternut squash is going to start making an appearance as well.
All those are awesome foods! I think fall is a great time for butternut squash….even though I have been eating it all summer long!
I gave up gluten and I’m having a hard time giving up dairy completely because my family eats them on a daily basis!
That can definitely be tough! I know even just coordinating with my husband its harder to not eat the same stuff. (Luckily he has adjusted to eating mostly Paleo foods for dinner too- and for lunch he does his own thing at work).
I’m a primal eater (aka lactopaleo, or paleo + dairy). Besides avocados, nuts and nut/seed butters, and oily fish, I use coconut anything as a great source for fat. I have coconut cream, berries and a a fatty nutty mix I make, every day as part of my breakfast. I also have a bulletproof espresso: 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and xylitol to sweeten. Don’t knock it until you try it! It’s the best part of my morning.
As for running, I’m also a runner, and my running has improved greatly since becoming primal. I eat sweet potato, white potato or basmati rice (approved by some Paleo people, like Russ Crandall) as my muscle fuel. I have a friend who is an elite runner, and she uses the same. No need for pasta 🙂
Thanks for the ideas about ways to get more fat! I need to try some of that out.
I didn’t realize basmati rice was approved by some paleo people- I will have to look into that more!
I’m right there with you on the sugar section. I used to pound large bowl of ice cream every night when I was younger. Now I don’t eat much added sugar at all and when I do, I don’t feel too great. I just talked about store bought Granola bars in my post today…definitely tons of crazy ingredients and sugar in those. Lara bars are the bomb.
Isn’t it amazing how you could think your eating something healthy (as most granola bars are advertised to be) but really they are not good for you at all! I’m so glad to have learned more about nutrition and processed foods.
While I still love ice cream on occasion, I do know that the sugar will impact me. It’s still delicious though:)
Try Banana Ice cream! (that is if you have a food processor or blender). just blend up frozen banana chunks with a little milk, add in some cocoa powder or pb and you’ve got delicious ice cream:)
YUM! I’ll have to try that!
There is one food that I know makes me feel absolutely terrible. Raw walnuts. I can eat any other kind of nut under the sun and feel just fine but a handful of walnuts and I’m bloated and gassy for a full day after.
I couldn’t do any kind of diet that excluded beans. I would die dead. lol
I’m on the fence about grains. I get the theory behind grains and gluten and such, but I don’t think I have an issue with them at all. I guess I’d have to go off them and then back on them to see how they really make me feel but… no. haha
Interesting about walnuts! I know if I eat too many nuts in general I don’t feel good, but I haven’t noticed anything about a specific kind of nut. And I think I’ve learned that I do ok with grains. I try not to overdo it because I feel like when I focus on other foods I get more nutrients into my diet.