Ancestral Weight Loss Registry

The other day I received an e-newsletter from US Wellness Meats mentioning the Ancestral Weight Loss Registry.  In the newsletter, they encourage people who have been doing a low-carb diet to add their weight loss (or weight gain) data to a list for statistical purposes, so I checked it out and decided to add my info.

I find the whole study really exciting because it's more validation for my own experience, and I was fascinated to read the current results of the data they've collected.  You can see the data here:  http://www.awlr.org/results.html

One of my favorite quotes from the study:  "People who eat high protein, high fat diets seem to lose more weight without counting calories."  Through personal experience, I know that to be true, but now there is data to back it up.  I think that is awesome!

Starving yourself really is not a long-term, sustainable solution to maintaining a healthy weight.  At one point several months ago I tried counting calories for a day with an iPhone app just because I was curious, but I found the whole thing ridiculous and cumbersome.  I think I calculated I was averaging around 1,300 to 1,500 calories a day, but it didn't really matter.  I ate when I was hungry and I ate enough to maintain my energy levels.

As I started making better food choices, my apatite changed, but I also majorly increased my fat intake and I think that played a key role in tiding me over for longer periods of time.  Fats like coconut and avocado have more dense calories, so they burn slower and more consistently.  It turned out I didn't need as many calories over all anymore.  No more insulin spikes and gorging on bags of cookies and chips.  Ahh, what a relief.

One of the more frustrating aspects of the registry is that it currently consists mainly of wealthy white people.  I really hope that this trend will change.  I feel a great burden for all races and classes to know health through proper food choices.  I know cost has a lot to do with why this hasn't caught on yet, but I'm confident the Paleo health movement will become too strong to for our nation to ignore.  Hopefully, healthy whole food can become more cost effective in the near future.

What I'm Eating

Since there is a long list of foods I don't eat anymore, several friends and family are curious to know what I AM eating, so this post will be all about that.  I can eat the same thing almost every day and never get tired of it if it's something I really like, but for my husband's sake, I try to mix it up a little.

Since I follow Whole30 protocol for all the meals I prepare at home, I make an effort to have a protein, a veggie and a healthy fat with every meal.  For more ideas and a detailed list of good choices, go here.

Here is a list of some of my favorite meals, sides and snacks so you have an idea of what I'm eating on a regular basis:

Breakfast:
- Eggs, scrambled with coconut oil
- Egg Caserole with peppers and onions (from Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield)
- Fresh cucumber with salt
- Celery with Sunbutter (If you don't know what Sunbutter is, you need to check it out!)
- Raw carrots, broccoli, or spinach with olive oil
- Fresh berries
- Bacon (we only eat this occasionally at our house because even though I buy organic, it's hard to find any without added sugar)

Lunch
- Grilled chicken over spinach (or kale) topped with avocado, balsamic vinegar and olive oil (I eat this a lot because it's easy and fast)
- Leftovers from last night's dinner (see below)

Dinner
- Morrocan Chicken
- Pumpkin Chili with Avocado Cream
- Squash "Spaghetti" (I use clarified butter and olive oil, and leave off the feta)
- Thai Chicken Wraps
- Grilled grass-fed hamburger with onion and avocado
- Beef Coconut Curry Stew (from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso)
- Grilled Chicken with Pesto sauce (pesto recipe from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso)

Sides
- Baked Sweet Potato fries
- Sauteed asparagus with garlic
- Stir-fried kale with bacon

Snacks
- Larabars
- Organic Shredded Coconut Flakes (I get a small bag from Whole Foods or Sprouts for around $3.00)
- Macadamia nuts
- Raw veggies (celery and carrots are typically what I carry around with me)
-apples with sunbutter

This is not a very long list, but these are the recipes I'm using the most at the moment, and I'd recommend any of the popular Paleo websites and cook books.  There are also some tasty recipes in the back of It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.  My mom has cooked the The Perfect Steak for a family dinner, and it was SO delicious.

I mostly cook with coconut oil, organic butter or leftover fat from my bacon.  If you don't know much about the benefits and risks of cooking oils, this is my favorite reference:  http://tinyurl.com/3ofx7gq

Here is a comprehensive list of some of the Paleo/Whole30 recipe websites I use regularly (there are more than this, but these are the ones I use often):
http://everydaypaleo.com
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com
http://www.chowstalker.com/whole30/ (my new favorite!)
http://nomnompaleo.com/ (some of her stuff gets a little complicated, but you can poke around for some of the easier recipes)
http://www.health-bent.com/
www.paleoplan.com
http://whole9life.com/category/recipes

Here's two sites I haven't used yet, but they have Whole30 approved recipes and I hope to try them soon:
http://www.thefoodee.com/tag/whole30/
http://wholelifeeating.com