Really, I need a swift kick in the ?~#!
Well, I haven't posted here in a while. I have been eating sooo un-Paleo, I am ashamed to admit it. My baby is 9 months old now. A month ago I took on a 5-day a week babysitting job of a 16 month old. I have been soo stressed, and we have been eating out a lot lately. So needless to say I am not losing weight at the moment. And I just feel awful, headaches are coming back, stomach trouble, tired and cranky!
But, I am starting from scratch right now!
I wonder if the fact that most of the meat I've been eating lately is not grass fed, if that is making the diet hard for me. What does everyone think?
I did get to try some grass fed beef for the first time. The only grass-fed beef farmer in Florida is about an hour and a half drive from here. My friend went their a week ago and picked up some ground beef for me (it was on sale for $3.00 a pound). Something I noticed, the grass-fed beef fills me up way faster and I am not hungry for a long time after. This is not the same with grain fed beef.
I just read a post a few days ago about the New Zealand and Australian lamb meat being grass-fed, so I went to Sam's Club and got three legs of lamb. Each leg of lamb is about 4lbs for about $15. Not bad really, and I've decided it's worth it to get myself healthy once and for all. I think the higher quality meat is going to make me feel much better on this way of eating. Tomorrow I am going to the health food store to stock up on eggs also. I was feeling much better when I was consuming raw eggs every day. Okay, so every feel free to kick me! then pat me on the back. lol.

Hi Jaybird
You know what? I think it is mainly the stress. Having a 9 month old and a 16 month old to take care of is as about as stressful as it gets!! I know because I watched my girlfriends little toddlers one weekend so she and her husband could go to Vegas. If I hadn't had my husband helping me for one of the days - I think I would have gone nuts.

I helped raise my own stepson since he was in diapers but it's when you start multiplying the kids you have to watch that you get thrown off guard! Think about if you HAVE to watch this 16 month old. If not - maybe give yourself a break for now and just take care of your own little bundle - if you DO have to babysit, then just try to be aware of your stress levels throughout the day so you don't find yourself heading for the fridge and more carbs (which your brain may even be TELLING you to get in order to have more serotonin circulating in your brain for stress relief & calming ability)

Other than that - although I know grass fed meat is definitely a great idea, in my opinion dealing with the stress first might be the way to go. I DO agree on the raw eggs though - and I am going to the store tomorrow to pick up about 4 dozen - they are a Wonder Food in my opinion!!!

Good luck!!!

Hi Jaybird!
I agree with Sunkist on dealing with the stress first. Your body is probably telling you to get those stress relieving carbs.

I doubt anyone on this whole board hasn't fallen off the wagon at some point of their journey. I myself had a dessert during the weekend and simply got back to my low carb lifestyle on Monday.
The best thing about low carbing for months now is that I know all is not lost if I have a little something once in a while. There are other low carbers who are much stricter than I am, but I seem to be losing weight anyway and want to make this something I can live with.
The key here is getting back into control after slipping, and not making it a habit to eat the wrong things.

In fact, I was so happy yesterday...a friend I hadn't seen in a few months told me that I was looking great and he could see I'd lost weight!

I really don't know if grass fed meat as opposed to grain fed makes ALL that much of a difference. I'm sure a few people on this board would disagree with me, but I've always lost weight just not eating carbs and sugar. I haven't done anything special like driving miles to search out special kinds of meat! Yes, it's probably better for you to eat grass fed, but just eliminating all the other junk should be enough for starters.
You have to be practical and make the diet work for YOU, not the other way round.
Wishing you lots of good luck and hope to see you around more often!

hey jaybird,

sorry to hear about all that stress! i agree that the grain-fed meat versus the grass-fed meat is not really what is causing you to slip. the stress will though. don't beat yourself up about it! everyone slips. i think it is great that you are moving toward better meat though. it does make a difference to your health. since low carbing does require eating meat quite a bit, then it is a good thing to find a good source for it. i know that even when i have slipped and gone for a few days cheating on junk food... i am still involved with pursuing good sources of food, etc. thinking about how i am evolving my diet to include healthier and healthier foods keeps me from really going off the deep end with cheating. it is much easier to "get back on track" when you have something to look forward to. for me, i look forward to continuing working on evolving my diet... and by that i mean finding better sources of meat and organs, eggs, veggies, recipes that include these types of food, etc. it is possible to be doing this and slip off the track, and then when you get back on track you don't have to re-invent the wheel or start from the beginning... in other words, you can still feel good about the progress you've made in creating more healthful eating habits.

good luck, cuz i know it is not always easy to eat the healthy way that we want to. i have had many cheating episodes in the last couple months. in november i have been doing very good, though. i have really been able to stay on track. for now ... and hopefully for a long time. but even if i slip, i KNOW i will be coming back to this woe. and that is much better than the way things were several years ago, when i ate tons of carbs and very little fat and quality protein and really believed i was eating healthy! so, even if i cheat now and then (and everybody does) my main diet is FIFTY times better than any other woe that i have had in my life. think about all the stuff that all of us have learned, especially in the midst of so much misinformation and backward health theories that have surfaced over the last few decades. we should all feel very good about that!

hang in there and remember that we are always here to give you support!

Thanks everyone. I think you are all correct about the stress factor. My husband and I have been discussing things and I possibly will stop the babysitting job for now...we're still talking about it. But my husband said the exact same thing, that the little bit of extra cash isn't worth all the stress. If I was babysitting an older kid I think it would be different, but the closeness in age is making it pretty crazy!
I've been pretty much back on track for the last week. You are right PaleoDeano about at least for the most part I'm eating a lot healthier than I used to and a lot healthier than most people.
Thanks everyone for the support.