Starting off soon...

I'm starting the Paleo diet on Friday, March 1. This basically means that I'm cutting out grains and dairy and stepping up my fruit and vegetable intake. I'll still have milk in my coffee, and I'll still have chocolate every once in a while (let's be real here: no one wants to be around me if I'm cut off from chocolate), but for the most part, the plan is to eat as our Paleolithic (hence the name) ancestors did: lean meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils.

I first heard about Paleo from one of my favorite bloggers, Heather Armstrong, at www.dooce.com. The main thing that impressed me about her Paleo experience is that she hasn't had a sinus infection since she started living Paleo two years ago--SIGN ME UP! Now that I've read more about the Paleo diet, I'm even more impressed with it. People have reported less joint pain, more sustained weight loss, fewer diabetic emergencies, and fewer random breakouts.

When I told my husband, Adam, that I was starting the Paleo diet, he thought I meant right that minute. This was two weeks ago, Ash Wednesday. I think that he was under the impression that I was giving up grains and dairy for Lent and that by Easter I'd give up and cave in. I set March 1 as my start date so I would have some time to enjoy all of my favorite foods that will be restricted when I change my diet. (For instance: today for breakfast I had a Dunkin' Donuts chocolate frosted cake donut and a decaf Latte Lite with mocha syrup. For lunch I had macaroni & cheese and Lay's new Cheesy Garlic Bread potato chips. For my snack, I'm having Cadbury eggs. I'll probably have a salad for dinner so I don't hate myself quite so much.)

Confession: I haven't done any meal planning, though I've done a lot of Pinning and recipe flagging. Since my start date is now the day after tomorrow, it's probably time to sit down with a notepad and plan out my menu for the week and make a grocery list and all of the tedium that everyone is good at when starting a diet.

I'm counting on y'all to keep me honest and motivated through the Big Change. I'll try to post updates every few days, and you can count on temptation-avoiding posts. I'll also post some recipes, but it might be quicker to visit Lindsay over at Delighted Momma since I'll be getting quite a few ideas from her. (I've already tested a few out, and the Flourless Zucchini Brownies are amazing!)

So here's to living cleaner, greener, and healthier!