As previously stated, I wholly agree with the concept behind the Paleo diet. I think anyone who reads about it and studies it will see why it’s been such a success for so many people. Now for the part where I “fell off the paleo wagon.” It was early fall (October-ish) and I had been doing great. However, I soon learned I was (as I suspected) pregnant. Usually when I hit about 5 weeks the intense morning sickness begins for me. I waited, and it didn’t really come. In fact, I didn’t take a pregnancy test until I  was around 10 weeks along, and even then I already knew, I just wanted the visual confirmation. I was feeling pretty good. Better, in fact, than any of my previous three pregnancies by far. I was still doing Insanity every day and eating the paleo way. I was able to wake up every morning and still make breakfast, with the exception of a few days where I felt a little sick when I first woke up. I only gagged on my eggs once, which I think was pretty good! When I did feel sick, it was always in the evening. It was almost as soon as I got my children into bed around 6 or 6:30 that it hit me. I laid on the couch every evening, doing absolutely nothing but feeling nauseated.

One of these “sick” days I just could not relieve the nausea I felt. It was really bad and I wanted to throw up. When it had been hours of no relief, I told my husband to get me some saltine crackers, ASAP. All I could think of was every time in my entire life when I’ve felt that way, and the only relief given came in the form of a little crusty cracker. That was my first “grain” since starting the paleo diet. And it did relieve my nausea. After that, when I had a really rough night, I would eat a few crackers and go to bed after rubbing my tummy with DoTerra’s Digestzen blend oil. I used that oil every single day for the first four months of pregnancy, and still use it all the time whenever I feel a tiny upset in my stomach. I will talk about how essential oils have helped me in another post, but those were just two of the things I did when I felt awful. After eating those first few crackers, I would have a random piece of toast with peanut butter (not even once a week) to help in the mornings if I didn’t feel I could stomach eggs.

Those few little things obviously led to eating rice here and there, or having a bowl of cereal with my kids on a busy morning, etc. I wasn’t baking bread much but I did have crackers, rice, and quinoa. I also baked with whole wheat flour here and there and would eat some of it. So there it is, my slide back into the world of grains. I have recently been battling them on a whole new level, but again, that is a separate post.

I have to say that eating the paleo way for those couple of months was one of the best things I’ve done for my body. Like I said in part I, my fat melted, my muscles were more defined, I had more energy, and slept better than I ever have. I didn’t snack hardly at all, and felt full longer in between meals. I woke up feeling great every day. This pregnancy threw me off a little, but it’s still been a huge blessing in our lives to have started eating more protein and good fat and cutting back all of those carbs. I am very conscious of how I feel after each meal, and am now aware if I didn’t get enough protein or fat, because I feel hungry soon after eating if I didn’t. Eating enough protein while pregnant is extremely important, and I know it’s helped me to not feel as sick and to have the energy that I do. I am now 22 weeks along with our baby BOY (yay) and couldn’t feel better at this point. I have continued to work out and will detail that later with what’s worked for me.

I love meat. I love fat. I love Paleo. That’s the bottom line. I will support anyone who wants to give it a try and see for themselves how it truly can change your body and your life. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I’m sure I’m forgetting something. I discovered a lot of great grain-free recipes over the past six months and will be sharing those as well.