Back to basics

WARNING: THIS POST MAY SOUND WHINEY. CUE YOUR VIOLINS.

O.K. so, going paleo didn't exactly pan out for me. Or rather, I didn't exactly pan out going paleo, if that makes sense. After a month I lost some weight as I shared in a previous post, but I couldn't stick to it.

I worked out with a trainer twice a week for three months and felt stronger, but didn't lose any weight because my diet was out of control. And when I say "out of control" I don't mean I was washing down 18 super-sized value meals with a carton of ice cream. Mainly, I go out to eat a lot with The Boyfriend which usually includes appetizers, wine (on my side of the table at least) and restaurant-sized portions.

I told myself that I'd get back on track during the summer - get really focused and concentrate on getting fit while looking for a job. But of course, that didn't happen.

I've been freelancing for my old newspaper writing about local restaurants where I interview owners and/or managers and generally I test out the food, so naturally, I choose places with delicious food which isn't always diet-friendly.

Nonetheless, I didn't stick to paleo because in the end I found it to be a bit too restrictive with the exclusion of grains and some dairy, I can't give up cheese, I just can't do it. haha.

I have no one to blame but myself for my short-comings while trying to lose weight and I make a lot of excuses:

Excuse: "My mom buys garbagey foods and I don't have any money to buy my own stuff all the time."

• Translation: I'm lazy and have no will power. 

 Excuse: "I worked out today, I can treat myself to some (a lot) of fro-yo."

• Translation: My fro-yo ends up as a huge serving, mostly with fruit but there's usually some kind of chocolatey bits on there. 

Anyway, I like the idea of the paleo diet, whole natural foods and basing your diet on unprocessed items, but like I said, the lack of grains is just a bit too restrictive for me and it made me feel like a scumbag with every .

I follow so many people on Pinterest who live healthy lifestyles that I envy and the term "eating clean" kept popping up so I decided to look in to it for myself and I'm pretty much sold.

The two pyramids have the same basic elements: fruit, vegetables and lean proteins. The twist is the clean eating pyramid shifts focus from proteins to plant matter and includes grains, legumes and dairy.

I think clean eating is going to be a better situation for me, it's essentially eating an overall healthy diet which just makes sense.

So let's see what happens. Maybe I'll be bold enough to post some before measurements and pictures. ..or maybe not. I'll wait until I see some results maybe.

Until next time!