Project Paleo

Ever play Kinect with your husband and kids only to be completely and totally mortified when the "action photos" show up after the game and you realize that your shirt flew up and your jiggly belly was exposed for all the world (or at least the household) to see?! Oh, that's just me? Awesome.

Well, regardless, my name is Katie and I am overweight. Not a lot. But enough to be a problem. Genetically speaking, I predisposed to curves. Problem is, it looks like someone took the curves and used the Warp tool in Photoshop to make them even curvier. Mama don't play dat....it's time to shrivel down.

I thought about joining Weight Watchers so I could sing like Jennifer Hudson or Jenny Craig so I could swing my hair around like Mariah Carey. But, when I realized that they weren't selling singing skills or hair flinging pointers I decided to do it the old fashioned way :: good choices and exercise. Or as I like to say...."start using my brain instead of my ass."

By way of a recommendation from a good friend I learned about Paleo eating. It's not a diet. You don't wean yourself off of it. Instead, it teaches you about the food groups that are REALLY good for you and REALLY bad for you and how to revolve your menu and regular eating habits around them. If you haven't heard of Paelo eating I recommend these websites to teach you the basics and help you understand the benefits:

http://www.thepaleodiet.com

http://robbwolf.com

http://www.primal-palate.com/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

So, anyway, after watching my jiggly bits show up on the Xbox big screen I decided it was time to go primal. Get back to the grass roots. Stop eating crap that makes my belly bloat and eat things that digest easily and give me energy and brain power. Lucky for me, my same Paleo friend introduced me to this awesome cookbook called "Make it Paleo" written by a super cute married couple who run one of the sites I listed above called The Food Lovers Primal Palate. This cookbook is maybe my favorite cookbook ever. Its sections are organized by food category and the beginning even gives you a brief look at the main ingredients you'll use throughout the book. It teaches you about cooking with coconut oil over vegetable oil and other little tricks. There is even a "Cheats and Treats" section that includes DESSERT recipes! Yes, even cavemen had a sweet tooth or two. Oh, and did I mention the ginormous glossy photos of each and every recipe? BONUS!

Couple all of this with the fact that I recently watched Julie & Julia (yes for the first time) I thought it might be cool to chronicle how little old me can live a Primal lifestyle while running my two businesses, raising my two kids, taming my insane moose of a dog all while living in the South - where everything is deep fried and smothered in chocolate.

My main goal is just to become a healthier woman and mom. But, the obvious benefit to all of this is weight loss so I'll keep you guys posted on how that goes. (Shameless plug :: So far I'm down about 6 pounds!) I'm going to exercise regularly but without any sort of religious conviction. I don't need Bob Harper (although I would love to have him in my list of People Who Make Me Cool) or the Biggest Loser ranch, I just need to curb my enthusiasm for all things sugary and gluteny.

Thanks for reading and being interested!